ANTenna Blog -- Storage

NetGear, best known for its wireless LAN products, continues its expansion into new markets with the release of ReadyNAS Vault -- cloud-based backup and disaster recovery integrated into the company's ReadyNAS storage products. But if online backup is so great, why do you need the in-house device at all?

Drew Meyer, director for SMB storage at NetGear, described ReadyNAS Vault as online storage -- provided by ElephantDrive -- fully integrated into any ReadyNAS storage device. Management of the offsite archive is built into the storage platform and is accessible from any Web browser. That means SMBs can log in from anywhere to to see and manage their backup jobs, which is especially useful for managing ROBOs, or Remote Offices / Branch Offices. (BTW: I never heard the ROBO acronym before, and I love it!)

Competing products from, EMC, Mozy, and iomega, Meyer said, bundle online options with their storage products, but still require client-based software.

ReadyNAS Vault, he says, integrates:

1. Client backup


2. Local backup to USB drive


3. Online backup of a disk "snapshot"


4. Offsite replication (for small remote offices)


5. Complete online backup ("the whole belt and suspenders")

Basic service starts at $5.95/mo with 5GB of storage for a single ReadyNAS unit. Business service begins at $19.95/mo for 20GB of storage, up to 5 ReadyNAS devices, with no monthly transfer limits, or maximum files sizes - plus phone tech support and offline data delivery if needed. The service will be available in the middle of March, and will launch with a 30-day free trial.

bMighty is all for leveraging the online world whenever possible, but this approach seemed to beg an important question: If online storage is so powerful and affordable, why bother with the on-premises ReadyNAS devices in the first place?

"Yeah, someday we'll all be be storing in the cloud, Meyer replied, "but not right away."

"Some customers are ready to move to the cloud," he explained, but "others are more reticent. They want to be able to hold their data."

So, if you're the kind of company that wants to leverage the cloud, but still be able to touch your data, ReadyNAS Vault puts them both together into what Meyer called "a multilayered storage option." And for those hardware lovers out there, Meyer added that additional ReadyNAS products are in the works for larger businesses, but wouldn't specify exactly what or when.