It has two 10-Gigabit Ethernet ports and can handle up to 500 users on its own

Nov 19, 2013 08:34 GMT  ·  By

Gigabit Ethernet is considered fast by most consumers, and it really is but, when it comes to servers and network storage, there are much greater heights, and Netgear has just surpassed all of them.

Apparently, it wasn't enough that its ReadyNAS 716 (RN716X) network-attached storage device had support for 10 Gigabit Ethernet.

No – instead, Netgear went further and installed two of those things, 10 GE ports, essentially making the ReadyNAS 716 the fastest NAS ever.

In fact, it can handle up to 500 users at the same time, which is more than most small businesses have working for them. Streaming multiple uncompressed Blu-ray files is possible too, because of the throughput. HD video is even easier, with 25 to 85 streams at once.

That said, the ReadyNAS 716 offers the highest performance thanks to 16 GB ECC memory (more than any NAS today according to the announcement) and uses ReadyCLOUD technology too (full file management from any browser, via cloud).

ReadyNAS 700 Series (RN716X) has six bays and is sold only diskless. So, if you, say, use 4 TB drives, that leads to 24 TB total. It's unclear if 5TB – 6TB drives are supported, but probably not yet.

"When performance matters and you need storage made easy, there's no better product on the market than the new ReadyNAS 716," said Matt Pahnke, senior product marketing manager for NETGEAR Storage.

"We designed ReadyNAS 716 to be the world's fastest desktop NAS, complete with unmatched data protection features and the ability to stream multiple HD 4K videos simultaneously. So whether you're streaming a business presentation to clients around the globe or a lecture across a college campus, the ReadyNAS 716 is the only NAS product that has you covered."

The MSRP (manufacturer suggested retail price) of the Netgear ReadyNAS 716 is $4,500 / €3,330, give or take. Obviously, with the HDDs you have to buy, the final cost will be much higher.