[OT] Netgear ReadyNas

[WhinYett]

I just took delivery of on of these. I am confused about how to set it up.
It comes with a CD which has no manual or detailed documentation. There
is a brief "installation Guide" leaflet. It tells me how to connect it
up and switch on, then get to an internet set up page.
Then it tells me I will have to select one of 2 modes: "readycloud" or
"offline". There is nothing to tell me what these are i.e. what's their
difference. I found a 200+ page manual from the netgear site but it
nowhere mentions these modes (I searched the pdf carefully).

Can any of you knowledgeable people help me?
Meantime the little black box sits on my desk just willing me to switch
it on!!!

TIA
FRank

 

[Paul in Houston TX]

I just took delivery of on of these. I am confused about how to set it up.
It comes with a CD which has no manual or detailed documentation. There
is a brief "installation Guide" leaflet. It tells me how to connect it
up and switch on, then get to an internet set up page.
Then it tells me I will have to select one of 2 modes: "readycloud" or
"offline". There is nothing to tell me what these are i.e. what's their
difference. I found a 200+ page manual from the netgear site but it
nowhere mentions these modes (I searched the pdf carefully).

Can any of you knowledgeable people help me?
Meantime the little black box sits on my desk just willing me to switch
it on!!!

TIA
FRank

Have you tried google? I got 847 hits.
"readycloud" or "offline"

 

[(PeteCresswell)]

Per WhinYett:

I just took delivery of on of these. I am confused about how to set it up.
It comes with a CD which has no manual or detailed documentation. There
is a brief "installation Guide" leaflet. It tells me how to connect it
up and switch on, then get to an internet set up page.
Then it tells me I will have to select one of 2 modes: "readycloud" or
"offline".

I've had a ReadyNas for a number of years and would say their
documentation is less than great.

I don't have any actual knowledge, but my first guess would be that
"ReadyCloud" is part of the marketing effort to get people to use remote
storage/backup. Second guess would be that it refers to what mine
calls "ReadyNAS Remote", which allows me to connect to the box from
remote locations.

Only advice I can think of offhand is:

- Whatever shares you set up, include a "Temp" share. Then you
can link directly to it's root from Windows or whatever and have
a quick/convenient place to store stuff you might not want to keep.

- Although moving files from share-to-share takes time (as in a full
Copy followed by Delete) moving files from folder-to-folder within
the same share takes almost no time at all... it just *happens*...
so plan shares/subdirectories accordingly.

- Another thing to think of when setting up shares is backup
convenience. I've got a "Data" share (actually I just call it
"A") where the stuff lives that I copy to external media periodically
for backup. Another share "B" is for my ripped DVD that are
intrinsically backed up by virtue of the DVDs in a closet. "B",
of course, is way too big to conveniently back up to external
medial anyhow.

- Depending on the size of your box (mine is currently about 9 TB) you
might want some other backup. I use an ancient Windows Home Server
box crammed with all the obsolete disc drives I can find and synch
the NAS box and the WSH box every so often using a classy utility
called "Beyond Compare".

- My final count of shares on the NAS box is 4.

- "A" for "data"

- "B" for media

- "Temp" for convenience

- "SysImages" for images of my various PCs' OS'

- "Work"... which sounded like a good idea at some point in time,
but which I've never used and probably ought to delete

 

[(PeteCresswell)]

Per WhinYett:

knowledgeable people

I forgot: there's a user forum at http://www.readynas.com/forum/

 

[Paul]

I just took delivery of on of these. I am confused about how to set it up.
It comes with a CD which has no manual or detailed documentation. There
is a brief "installation Guide" leaflet. It tells me how to connect it
up and switch on, then get to an internet set up page.
Then it tells me I will have to select one of 2 modes: "readycloud" or
"offline". There is nothing to tell me what these are i.e. what's their
difference. I found a 200+ page manual from the netgear site but it
nowhere mentions these modes (I searched the pdf carefully).

Can any of you knowledgeable people help me?
Meantime the little black box sits on my desk just willing me to switch
it on!!!

TIA
FRank

http://www.readynas.com/?p=6880

"ReadyCLOUD Discovery provides unprecedented installation simplicity.
No IP addresses to figure out, no setup applications to install or run.
Just plug in your new ReadyNAS and go to readycloud.netgear.com

Once configured you can manage your device, setup access permissions,
and browse content. Your own private cloud with data you can access
from anywhere. Plus the security and privacy of knowing you have
total control."

And from this review

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/nas/nas-reviews/32104-netgear-readynas-rn104-reviewed

"Setup

The ReadyNAS setup process has been completely redesigned and doesn't require
a CD to be run or the RAIDar utility to be installed. You just connect the
ReadyNAS to your network, boot it, let it grab an IP address, then aim a
web browser from a device connected to the same network at
https://readycloud.netgear.com/.

Although you will be prompted to set up a ReadyNAS Remote account during setup,
you don't have to do so to get set up. To skip the nagging entirely, just aim
your browser at https://ipaddress. This lets you do everything you need to do
to get set up without an internet connection or registering with NETGEAR."

I think that means you can point your web browser directly at the device
and set it up just as easily. But with no external registration, you won't
have the publicly accessible netgear site as a way-station for external access.

Based on that, my guess would be, registering with readycloud.netgear.com solves
the Dynamic DNS problem. It would presumably allow accessing the NAS from
the Internet. Each time your household networking gear powers up, and
acquires an IP address from the ISP's DHCP, the NAS could connect to
readycloud.netgear.com and tell that server what IP address it is using.
(It's implicit from the public address the packets will have, when they
arrive at Netgear.) Then, if you're sitting in McDonalds using the Wifi,
you connect via https protocol to the netgear site, and when you log in,
the netgear server already has the new DNS address from when your home
powered up and connected.

If you weren't using the NAS from McDonalds, then you can just as likely
set it up locally, and not bother with the registration process.

Purely a guess, as no site I've visited so far, explained the protocol.

I don't know if any data storage is actually "cloud based" or not,
or whether it's simply a means of "discovering" where your home
network has moved to.

Paul

 

[Desk Rabbit]

I just took delivery of on of these. I am confused about how to set it up.
It comes with a CD which has no manual or detailed documentation. There
is a brief "installation Guide" leaflet. It tells me how to connect it
up and switch on, then get to an internet set up page.
Then it tells me I will have to select one of 2 modes: "readycloud" or
"offline". There is nothing to tell me what these are i.e. what's their
difference. I found a 200+ page manual from the netgear site but it
nowhere mentions these modes (I searched the pdf carefully).

Can any of you knowledgeable people help me?
Meantime the little black box sits on my desk just willing me to switch
it on!!!

TIA
FRank

The correct answer is of course to buy from a local independent computer
store who would be more than willing to research what you want, advise
you and install or give you installation assistance.

Of course it will cost more than an online or hyperstore purchase but it
least it will function instead of just being an expensive paperweight

 

[Zaidy036]

I just took delivery of on of these. I am confused about how to set it up.
It comes with a CD which has no manual or detailed documentation. There
is a brief "installation Guide" leaflet. It tells me how to connect it
up and switch on, then get to an internet set up page.
Then it tells me I will have to select one of 2 modes: "readycloud" or
"offline". There is nothing to tell me what these are i.e. what's their
difference. I found a 200+ page manual from the netgear site but it
nowhere mentions these modes (I searched the pdf carefully).

Can any of you knowledgeable people help me?
Meantime the little black box sits on my desk just willing me to switch
it on!!!

TIA
FRank

..... Do the following for tests and then move it to a room at the other
end of the house.
If it is ReadyNAS DUO version 2
1. Connect to power, I suggest with a UPS.
2. Connect to router using Ethernet cable and turn it on.
3. Access NAS using http://192.168.0.40/admin/ in browser
4. Install disks, add password, add shares.

ReadyCloud (RC) is for accessing when off-site using iPad or laptop and
can be "turned on" at any time.

If it is a version 1 then you should install RIADar on desktop.