Conclusion:

The advantage of connecting a hard drive using Ethernet is you do not need to have a separate computer to act as a file server. This could save you hundreds of dollars when you factor in purchasing the hardware and software. For the typical end user, it has to be simple to setup and convenient for the other users to get access to the data.... which the TelStar TLD-3500 is.


This unit can meet the needs of many individuals. The installation was very simple, and no serious technical knowledge is required. If you can read and follow a set of instructions you shouldn't have any problems getting this up and running quickly. Just be sure you get the latest version of the software from Ximeta.com to ensure proper setup.

I did find two things that I was not happy with. The first and biggest issue is the noise from the side panels. The vibration of the drive during activity, or even from bumping the desk the unit was sitting on would cause a severe rattle in the side panels. I could quiet this by simply touching and moving the panels a little, however any vibration/bump would cause them to rattle again. I did find a solution to the noise, I put a little glue onto the panels so they stayed in place. This stopped the vibration rattle!

The second issue is the Ethernet transfer speed. I might have been expecting a bit too much of a low cost unit that uses an IDE hard drive, but transfer speeds of 10.9MB/s are much slower than I expected. At these speeds, I feel I would be better off connecting it as a USB 2.0 drive to my main computer and sharing the drive, although this does cause other limitations (such as the computer needing to be powered on to access the files). I am told this speed is not surprising for a low cost Ethernet enclosure, which if true, makes this a minor issue.

The TelStar TLD-3500 Network Attached Storage Enclosure can be found at Geeks.com for $55.00. This price puts it slightly above average for a USB 2.0 enclosure, but lower than many enclosures that have both a USB 2.0 and an Ethernet connection.

Given the performance and overall features I award the TelStar TLD-3500 Network Attached Storage Enclosure the rating of "Recommended".


Pros:

» Easy installation
» No IP configuration
» Standard IDE
» Ethernet and USB connections
» Lost cost NAS
» Fast USB 2.0 transfer speed

Cons:

» Noisy side panels
» No built-in FTP support
» Really bright blue LED
» Claims to only support up to 250GB hard drives

Special thanks to Geeks.com for providing the TelStar TLD-3500 Network Attached Storage Enclosure to Bigbruin.com for review!