Seagate is going head first into the small business network attached storage market space with their launch of the new BlackArmor NAS. The new Seagate-branded NAS features four hot swap SATA drive bays with support for multiple RAID levels, including RAID 5 and RAID 10 support.

Available in 2TB, 4TB, 6TB, and 8TB configurations, the BlackArmor NAS offers two Gigabit Ethernet connections and Microsoft Active Directory support. Seagate claims that the BlackArmor NAS is designed for maximum uptime and protection that is backed with a three-year limited warranty from Seagate. There are also four USB ports for direct backup of USB drives, but the NAS will also act as a print-server and can interact with a UPS via USB.

The decision to include two Gigabit Ethernet ports is very interesting, as the company is pushing the use of the second of these ports to connect locally to a second NAS for backup or NAS to NAS replication. Of course, Seagate has a remote access solution that allows access to your NAS called Seagate Global Access.

The decision by Seagate to move into the small business NAS market space with what appears to be a very capable NAS offering could pay dividends for the company, but right now features and abilities of the NAS box, along with ease of use, have more to do with the acceptance of it than anything else. The playing field is crowded, but it could be an area that Seagate could do well in if they have the right small business NAS with the right features, as this is one market space that seems to be growing at a very strong pace at the moment.

You can find the product page here