I can hear the words echoing through my high school Macintosh lab...

"Make sure you save!"

Echoing, echoing, echoing... more like beaten into my head! This reminder was thrown out multiple times over the course of each class, whether we were being allowed to browse the Internet (which was a phenominal experience back then, being that it was so "new"), writing a paper, or creating our HyperCard stacks for our class project. I think I still have a floppy disk from back then lying around somewhere.

So, this mantra has stayed with me my entire life. I've always saved documents, projects, presentations... even my SimCities multiple times and in multiple locations. Up until now, though, I haven't needed a full-scale, industrial strength backup solution. I had been backing things up to CD and DVD, and only recently acquired a small (120 GB) external drive that I currently use with Time Machine on my Mac. My music also resides there.

But, that just won't cut the mustard. For all practical purposes, it's almost maxed out on space. And frankly, it seems a little unreliable at times and needs rebooting once in a while. It hasn't failed yet, which is fantastic, but I get worried sometimes.

I had been longing, desperately, for a unique, easy to use, and stable solution for my backup woes. Before you know it, I welcomed the ReadyNAS Duo into my life with open arms, and she's been good to me. Being that this is my first experience with a "real" piece of backup hardware, I'd like to share with you what it was like to get this baby up and running!

[Editor's Note: This article is being written from the perspective of a Mac user. The functionality of the ReadyNAS Duo is designed to be accessible from Windows, Mac, and Linux alike - one of the reasons I love it - but be aware that some procedures/screenshots will be different if you are on a different OS. If you'd like to submit an article on your experience with the ReadyNAS Duo on Windows or Linux, we'd love to see it. You can also talk about it on our forums. -Pete]

Unboxing the NETGEAR ReadyNAS Duo

A first look at the shiny, glossy new box reveals some of the features the ReadyNAS Duo supports - BitTorrent, ReadyNAS Photos, and more.

(Click on the photos for the larger version in the image gallery.)

So, by now I'm very excited. I couldn't wait to see what this thing had in store. The unit is well-packaged in foam and feels very secure in its box. Here's what's inside:

You'll find the power adapter, the unit itself, a "goodie bag" which contains an Ethernet cable, the installation CD and quick start guide, and some hard drive screws.

When I removed the unit itself from the box, I was immediately surprised at its size and weight. It feels solid and is reasonably heavy, but is also very small and compact. Somehow, I had imagined it to be much, much bigger. However, it slid into my setup like a stealthy Geo Metro into an already-half-taken parking spot, and is actually shorter than my other external drive. Of course, it's wider (it holds two hard drives and a fan) but still fits quite nicely. It's metal, which I love. The appearance is spartan and austere, but also solid and promising, much like the interior of a BMW M3 I once drove briefly. It's black... very black... the only colors being the blue power light and the access light. The grille on the front of the unit with the shiny NETGEAR logo definitely adds something to the design.

Overall, the look of the ReadyNAS Duo really talks to me. I'm not a big fan of flashy looks - I like simple, clean, and powerful.

The NETGEAR ReadyNAS Duo: Up Close & Personal

Here, you see the activity light, drive lights, backup button, USB port, and power button.

Take a look at the size comparison between my iPod and the Duo. Again, you can see why I was surprised to see it at first, as given what it can do, it has a very managable footprint!

The front panel of the Duo opens easily, and craftily enough, held closed by a magnet. I think this is a great feature - no latch to wear down or break, and it's just cool. You can see the two hard drive bays in the front, which are easily removable with the press of a button. Click on the thumbnails to see some more photos of the removed drive bays.

It's easy to screw in a new hard drive (must be the same size or bigger) and install into the ReadyNAS Duo, which will allow you to keep redundant backups in the event of a hard drive failure. Your storage limit will be limited by the smallest drive in the group (i.e., if you have a 500GB and a 1TB drive, your storage limit will be 500GB) I haven't installed a new disk yet, so I'd like to hear experiences from folks on how this process goes, but the procedure is super easy and should detect the new drive automatically.

Well, now that we have the unit unboxed, let's move on to the installation, shall we?