D-Link Systems Inc., a provider of end-to-end networking solutions for consumers and business, announced Tuesday that the company is shipping the 4-Bay Network Storage Enclosure, a secure solution for storing and accessing documents across the network and over the Internet, offering tool-less drive installation, OLED (organic light-emitting diode) display and Gigabit connectivity along with scalable features for easy expansion.

The new D-Link 4-Bay Network Storage Enclosure (DNS-343) is designed to enhance file sharing, secure important data, offering unparalleled backup and recovery features for small-to-medium business (SMB). The DNS-343 can operate in a variety of drive configurations including standard, JBOD (Just a Bunch of Disks), RAID 0, 1, and 5 to offer customers flexibility when configuring their data safeguard strategy.

The 4-Bay Network Storage Enclosure rounds out the D-Link line of network storage devices that include 2-, 4-, 8-, and 15-bay solutions.

With its tool-less installation, the DNS-343 is designed to accommodate up to four SATA drives that can be inserted without any tools or attaching cables. In addition, this Network Storage Enclosure is a scalable solution, allowing users to start with one SATA hard disk drive (HDD) and add three more to accommodate growth.

D-Link is a provider of connectivity for small, medium and large enterprise business networking. The company is involved in designing, developing and manufacturing of networking, broadband, digital electronics, voice, data and video communications solutions for the digital home, small office/home office (SOHO), small to medium business (SMB), and workgroup to enterprise environments. D-Link has its US headquarters located in Fountain Valley, California.

"This Network Storage Enclosure represents the next-generation of storage performance and protection, offering an extremely powerful, yet easy-to-use solution for storing and sharing digital media across the office network," said AJ Wang, chief technology officer of D-Link. "It addresses the growing market need to store an ever-increasing amount of data, while offering built-in protection to keep valuable data, photos, videos and other important files intact."

The 4-Bay Network Storage Enclosure OLED displays information, such as IP address, hard drive statistics, temperature, RAID status, and server status (FTP and UpnP).

The DNS-343 provides a variety of data protection options to help avoid data loss due to hard drive failure. It offers simplified management software, allowing users to create schedules and rules including real-time full or incremental backups and storage quotas for specific user groups. Using the included Memeo backup software, users can safeguard data on to the DNS-343 to create a failsafe protection solution from accidental data loss on the PC.

The D-Link Network Storage Enclosure also features a USB (universal serial bus) port that can act as a print server port, allowing a USB printer to be added to the network without the need for a dedicated computer. The USB port can also support an Uninterruptible Universal Power Supply (UPS) monitor that supports smart signaling over a USB connection. In the event of a power outage, the UPS monitor would safely shut the unit down, and then automatically power back up when power resumes.

For flexible usage, the DNS-343 includes features such as a built-in FTP server to access files over the Internet and a UPnP Media Server to stream digital content to compatible media players.

The D-Link DNS-343 is available through D-Link's network of retail outlets, value-added resellers (VARs), solution providers and distributors, or at the company's online store, for the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) of US$ 519.99.