LaCie d2 Network 2 1TB review

LaCie’s d2 Network 2 is a chunky, metal NAS that feels sturdy and looks classy, too. It’s similar to LaCie’s cheaper Network Space2 1TB, yet costs £86 more but has the same amount of storage.

Configuring the d2 is generally straightforward thanks to the logically organised web management interface. The home page consists of various status indicators, the layout of which can be rearranged by dragging and dropping. Creating user accounts, assigning them different access permissions to different shared folders and settings quotas so users don’t hog all the available storage is easy.

Unlike the Network Space2, there’s no restriction on creating top-level shared folders – you can create as many as you like. Unfortunately, one particular aspect of the interface is unnecessarily confusing. Folders can be shared using various network protocols, such as Windows file sharing, AFP and FTP. You can choose which protocols newly created folders will be available on by default. If you wish, you can then customise an individual folder by changing which protocols it will be accessible on. Unfortunately the interface for doing this is unclear and poorly laid out, so it’s too easy to change the default settings for new folders when you meant to customise one particular folder. If you do deliberately change the default settings, these are sometimes ignored for no apparent reason.

A download manager allows files to be downloaded from a website or over BitTorrent, but the controls are only accessible from within the web management interface. This is a flaw since it’s unlikely you’ll want to give all the users on your network unrestricted access to the d2’s full range of settings at the same time. A power timer can be set to turn the d2 on and off at specific times of day, but different times can’t be set for different days.

We didn’t have any trouble using the d2 to share the contents of a USB disk across our network. It can also be set to automatically back up the contents of an attached USB disk. It was far more fickle when we tried to share a USB printer, refusing to work with our Samsung USB laser printer, but working fine with an Epson inkjet.

Like LaCie’s Network Space2, the d2 can also be connected directly to a computer via USB. The web interface insists on partitioning the available storage into a network partition and a USB partition – the size of the partitions can’t be changed later either. The network partition isn’t accessible over USB but, unlike the Network Space2, the USB partition [ital]is[/ital] available over the network. This could be useful if, for example, you want to take it to another location to transfer files but don’t want the hassle of hooking it up to a network.

The d2 was fairly quick at copying both large and small files although – strangely – it was slower than the cheaper Network Space2 in most of our benchmarks. Large files were written at just under 25MB/s and were read at just over 28MB/s. Small files were written at just under 11MB/s and read at 19.4MB/s. Although usable, we expected faster performance at this price.

Apart from a more rugged and attractive design, plus a slightly more flexible shared folder scheme and USB mode, LaCie’s d2 Network 2 isn’t different enough from the company’s cheaper Network Space2 to justify its high price per gigabyte of 20p. At this price, it’s poor value.