Introduction
Contents
The WD My Cloud 3 TB is a network hard disk drive, also know as NAS (Network Attached Storage). It must be connected to your router through a Gigabit Ethernet port, and it supports the installation of a second drive through a USB 3.0 port that is available. Some of its highlights include media streaming, remote internet access, DLNA, and more. Let’s test it and see how it performs.
In the early ages of local networks, if you needed a storage unit (usually a hard disk drive) to be accessible by all computers in the network, you have to set up one of them as a file server. However, some time ago, NAS (Network Attached Storage) units became popular, since they do the role of a file server, without the necessity to mantain a PC always turned on. As nowadays most homes have several devices capable of accessing files (not only PCs, but also tablets, smartphones, video game consoles, smart TVs, and a myriad of similar devices such as Apple TV and Chromecast), having such a device is becoming a very good option – if not essential – even for home users.
NAS boxes targeted to professional use support two or more internal hard disk drives, with RAID support. Being a product for home or small office use, the My Cloud 3 TB supports only one internal unit.
The My Cloud is available in 2 TB, 3 TB, 4 TB, and 6 TB capacity; we tested the 3 TB model. The box of the product is shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1: box
Figure 2 unveils the WD My Cloud 3 TB unit. It resembles as a book, with only a status LED in the front. The top has some ventilation openings.
Figure 2: the My Cloud 3 TB
Figure 3 reveals the accessories that come in the box: manuals, power adapter, and an Ethernet cable.
Figure 3: accessories
Let’s take a closer look at the product.