Akasa integral P2 LAN 3.5"

Software

Before installing the drive, or in case you actually have the software CD lying around - make note of the ID and Key, as you will need it when using the Ethernet connection to gain read and write access to the drive.


The CD actually just opens an Internet explorer, or in my case a Firefox window where the language can be chosen. Upon picking the language of your choice you are presented with manuals for the different Integral! hard drive enclosures. The LAN variant also has a link to the software.


I opened up the CD and went straight into the folder of the Integral! P2 LAN case. There I had the option of choosing one of two installers. The first I chose, is the pure XiMeta installer. Turns out the chip used in the enclosure is the XiMeta NDAS 2011 chip. The chip has the following features:

Networks connection

• Supports 10/100 MBit/s
• Share the storage in the network
• Supports PC and digital electronics(non PC)
• Highest performance(over 10 MByte/sec)
• Use as local disk drive
• No need to setup IP address or network configuration
• Safe from Internet hacking

After the installer was finished, the above screen appeared. This is the reason you need the afore mentioned ID and Key to the drive.


After installing the first installer, I tried out the second one as well. This time the installer finished without any notifications. After a reboot, I was given the option to register a drive with the software.


The wizard to add a new drive is quite straight forward. After entering a desired name for the hard drive, the user is prompted to enter the ID and the Key found on the drive or the corresponding CD. The ID is used to acquire read access, while the key is needed to gain writing rights.


Once the information is entered, the software looks for the enclosure on the network and automatically maps a drive on the PC. So the drive appears as a normal hard drive to the end user in Windows. Entering the ID and key is only required once, after that the enclosure is registered in Windows and any operation like changing RAID or access to it, can be performed.