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Linksys Instant GigaDrive20GB Network Drive, Print Server, DHCP Server, 10/100 Autosensing Network Interface.
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Unfortunately, I wasn't able to test the Instant GigaDrive against a network shared SCSI drive or RAID Array. However, the benchmarks against other IDE Drives are very impressive. There was a fair amount of consistency between the results of the two separate benchmark utilities. The unit appears to be much faster than a shared drive of the same drive type when downloading from it. However, uploading to the drive appeared somewhat slower. What really confused me is the fact that the drive seemed to perform much better during tests when other systems where placing large loads upon it. My only theory for explaining this is that multiple loads on the unit prevent it from spinning down. I'm only guessing though.
Aside from the multiple access testing (bottom of the page), I used one system as a 'BASE' for the single connection benchmarks. The system specs are as follows:
SiSoft Sandra Network Drive Benchmark:
As you can see, the GigaDrive performed MUCH faster at 'read' tests than similar shared PC drives. However, it was considerably slower at write tests (writes to it). I'm very happy with the results. Networks drives are normally downloaded from much more than they are uploaded to. DU Meter Tests:
DU Meter Results Breakdown:
Again, the GigaDrive does much faster when files are downloaded from it compared similar shared PC drives. However, it also was once again slower when files were uploaded to it (not by much though). Multiple Access Test:
DU Meter Results Breakdown:
I have to say I'm somehow confused by the results. The Instant GigaDrive seems to perform better when three systems are using it at the same time. Considering that normal network transfer rates are much slower than even the slowest hard drive, the increased usage may have kept the RPM level up on the drive and provided better performance. I'd have to say that you should take this with a grain of salt. I ran this test three times and received the same results. But, I have no idea if this is an accurate representation, or how to explain why the results appear as they do. I do like the testing results that I've seen. In my experience downloads from a network drive are much more frequent than uploads, and this unit performed much better at file downloads than similar Hard Drives shared in local PC's. Let's move on and take a look at how this unit can also be used as a Print Server.
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