We first looked at Western Digital’s personal cloud drive last year, and now the company has released a dual drive design. The duo can be seen as a beginner NAS device, with fairly simple software and configuration paired with user replaceable hard drives.
Installation of the Duo is relatively simple, and while it lacks the functionality of a fully featured NAS, it has enough to store, stream and remotely access commonly used files. The only major concern is that unlike most of the ‘real’ NAS devices on the market, WD has opted to not include a cooling fan, which means that the device gets a touch hot when running, and is reliant on being placed somewhere with decent airflow (no hiding it in a cupboard).
Thanks to last year’s spike in hard drive prices its also quite expensive, especially for the 6TB version. It would have been nice to see an option with one drive and the ability to add another down the track.
That said, as long as you keep it in a cool spot and don’t mind the price, this is a handy enough NAS for beginners.
