NAS OS 4.3 New Features

NAS OS 4.3 improves the way you access your NAS OS device using a web browser with an enhanced Filebrowser app. You can now directly access your apps using the App Button in the top left corner of the page instead of defaulting to an “App Home screen”. In addition, a new Remote Access function has been added to your new or existing Seagate Access account.

Review the details below to learn more.

Filebrowser app for NAS OS

• The Filebrowser has been updated and is now the default landing page when logging into the NAS OS user interface.
• Compatible web browsers now support dragging and dropping folders from Windows Explorer or Mac Finder using the 1.2.7.2 Filebrowser app and later.
• Filebrowser now also includes Advanced Settings to provide a more personalized experiencer.

App Button

• With the introduction of the App Button all your installed apps are always available using this button in the top left corner of the page.

Seagate Access

• Use your Seagate Access account to remotely access your NAS OS 4.3 device.
• Sign into https://nas.seagate.com using your Seagate Access account
• Any NAS OS device which has been added to your Seagate Access account will be listed here
• Manage your device or access your files from any computer connected to the internet

NAS OS 4.2 New Features

NAS OS 4.2 has new features for enhanced data access, sharing and security. Review the list below to learn more.

Filebrowser app for NAS OS

• Browse files anywhere: Use the Filebrowser app to access your files via a web browser.
• Easy USB ingest: Copy files stored on USB devices with Filebrowser ingest.
• Share using web links: Share files and folders via secure web links in the Filebrowser.

Backup Manager

• Support for more cloud services: Back up files stored on your Seagate network storage to new cloud services.
• Restore from the cloud: Restore backups saved to your cloud storage.
• Back up your cloud storage: Back up files and folders stored on your cloud storage to your Seagate network storage.

Security in Device Manager

• New Security tab: Manage DDOS filtering, Block and White lists, and SSL certificate upload.

iSCSI Targets and LUNs

• iSCSI enhancements: Use the new iSCSI setup to create multiple targets and LUNs or, a SimplyiSCSI volume.

NAS OS Web Board

• New look: Check out NAS OS’s new, modern interface.

Features added for NAS OS 4

Below is a list of the new features available when updating from NAS OS 3 to NAS 4.

Apps

The Home page for NAS OS 4 presents apps from Seagate and third party developers.  The administrator can add new apps to a Seagate NAS OS device using the App Manager.

Core NAS OS 3 features have been divided into default apps for NAS OS 4:

• Backup Manager: Formerly the Backup setting for NAS OS 3. Launch Backup Manager to create and manage backup jobs.
• Device Manager: Formerly the NAS OS 3 interface. Launch Device Manager to change the settings, add users, create shares, and much more.
• Download Manager: Formerly the Download setting for NAS OS 3. Launch Download Manager to create and manage download jobs.
• File Browser: Formerly the File Browser setting for NAS OS 3. File Browser is a web-based file viewer. Launch it to view files stored on your NAS device. File Browser requires Java.

Sdrive: remote access

Sdrive gives users remote access to data stored on their NAS OS 4 devices. The Sdrive service is available on your NAS OS 4 network storage with separate apps available for:

• Desktop:
  • Windows® 7 and higher
  • Mac® OS 10.7 and higher
• Mobile:
  • iOS® 6.1.2 and higher
  • Android® 4.0 and higher

Upon launching the desktop app for the first time, users can create a Seagate Access account and link it to any Seagate NAS OS 4 device.

Network discovery

Configuring new NAS OS 4 devices is now easier using a web-based network discovery tool. Once the new NAS OS 4 device is connected to the network, the administrator can launch a browser and enter the URL: http://discover.seagate.com.

Volume encryption

Protect new volumes from unauthorized access using NAS OS 4 encryption. The administrator can choose the level of encryption: a password or a file key to unlock the volume. The file key is stored on a USB key or thumb drive.

To prevent access to a volume’s shares across a network, the administrator can lock an encrypted volume. Further, data is safe in case the hard drives are moved to a different enclosure. The encrypted volumes will prompt the user for the password or file key when first using the hard drives in the foreign enclosure. This can become important if hard drives are stolen or moved without permission.

Internet protocol version 6 (IPv6)

Administrators now have the option to add IPv6 addresses to NAS OS 4 devices.

Jumbo frames

A frame is a packet of data that carries hardware identifiers for network devices such as a source server, a destination NAS, and a router. The router uses frame data to facilitate communication between computers and network devices. Also known as an Ethernet frame, a frame’s size is generally limited to 1500 bytes. Such a limitation in frame size can have a negative impact upon network devices.

Most modern Gigabit Ethernet routers and switches support jumbo frames, which are frames larger than 1500 bytes. Enabling jumbo frames on your router can improve performance among devices on the network, including your NAS OS 4 network storage.

Network and cloud backup

In addition to NAS OS and rsync-compatible servers, administrators now have the option to choose backup destination servers that use the following protocols:
 

• FTP
• SMB
• Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDav)
• NFS

NAS OS 4 also supports backup to cloud storage such as AmazonS3, Box and more.

Cloud sync

NAS OS 4 supports sync to Google Drive and Dropbox.

Web distributed authoring and versioning (WebDAV)

WebDAV is a standard for collaborative workflows and data sharing. You can give remote servers access to shares by enabling the WebDAV service on your NAS OS 4 device.

Distributed file system namespaces (DFS-N)

During the course of a day, a user may access multiple files stored on many shares connected to your local network (local area network or, LAN). To find all the shares and volumes spread about the network, a user can hunt through a long list of NAS devices and servers.

NAS OS 4 DFS-N allows administrators to add compatible shares to a single NAS OS 4 device. Accessing shares on a single device simplifies data management for the administrator and the user. Similar to creating a new share, the administrator adds remote shares to the Seagate NAS OS 4 device. The shares can come from any NAS OS device or server on the LAN.

NAS OS 4 DFS-N supports NAS OS shares and SMB volumes.

Simple network management protocol (SNMP)

NAS OS 4 supports SNMP, a standard Internet protocol for managing network devices such as printers, routers, servers, and computers. Enable the SNMP agent in Notifications to give an SNMP server access your NAS OS 4 device. Additionally, the administrator has the option to turn on SNMP traps so that the NAS OS 4 device contacts the SNMP server.

Administrators have the option to choose SNMP v1/v2 or v3.

Network recycle bin (NRB)

Deleting data on a share permanently removes all associated files. By enabling the NRB service, deleted files will be moved to the share’s recycle bin. This can be very helpful if a user accidentally removes data that a co-worker is using on a project. The data is easily recovered from the recycle bin rather than desperately searching through the last NAS backup.

NRB is compatible with shares that use the SMB protocol, which is also a service.

iSCSI logical unit number (LUN) export/import/clone

A logical unit number (LUN) is addressable data on an iSCSI target. Some versions of iSCSI management support multiple LUNs on a single target. While NAS OS gives the administrator the ability to create one or more iSCSI targets on a volume, each iSCSI target supports only one LUN.

However, NAS OS 4 gives administrators additional options to help create and manage iSCSI targets. Rather than creating new targets each time iSCSI is required, the administrator can export the LUN from an existing target and import the LUN’s data. Additionally, NAS OS 4 includes the option to clone an existing target.

Expand existing volumes beyond 16TB

NAS OS 3 prevented users from expanding an existing volume beyond 16TB. For example, a 14TB volume could not accept an additional 3TB for expansion. This limitation has been removed for NAS OS 4.

Network uninterruptible power supply (UPS)

Previous versions of NAS OS support connecting an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) to a NAS OS device via the power and USB connections. UPS management is performed on the USB connection. If the working environment experiences a loss of power, the UPS allows the NAS to save data before automatically shutting down.

NAS OS 4 gives the administrator greater flexibility in power management with network UPS. A single UPS can now be used as a backup power solution for multiple NAS OS 4 devices. For example, the first NAS is connected to the UPS via power and USB. This is the master NAS to the UPS and it acts as the UPS server on the network. NAS devices on the network access the UPS server and add their power connections to the UPS.

NAS OS 4 also supports connection to select UPS devices that have an Ethernet port and are SNMP compliant. 

Export/Import NAS OS 4 settings

NAS settings include the following:

• Shares
• Users
• Groups
• Services
• Network
• Power
• Monitoring
• Notifications

NAS OS 4 settings can be exported from one NAS OS 4 device and imported into another NAS OS 4 device. Exporting settings is also a great tool for:

• Backup: Essential metadata is kept safe in case a NAS fails.
• Cloning: Use the same settings on additional NAS OS devices.

Secure shell (SSH)

Administrators with advanced networking skills can log in to NAS OS 4 using secure shell (SSH), an encrypted protocol used for communication between devices. Using a command-line interface, the administrator can automate data management and backups as well as review the NAS’s settings. The administrator also has the right to access data stored on the NAS via SSH.

Process monitoring

The Monitoring page now features a list of processes with the following data:

• Application: The application using the process.
• Status: The process state (e.g. running, sleeping, disk sleeping)
• CPU Usage: The percent of the CPU being used for the process.
• Memory: The amount of RAM being used for the process.

Search

NAS OS 4 has a magnifying glass icon on the top right of the interface. Click on the magnifying glass to enable an empty field and enter a search term. Results are limited to NAS OS.

Event log

A bell icon on the top right of the interface provides instant access to NAS events. Click on the bell icon to see recent activity.