However, as I had to find the Icybox 4220 again today I did some research how to find it with Linux and someone on http://www.ubuntuusers.de gave me the answer 3 minutes after my question was posted (!!!).

You should install the programm "nmap" and then run the following code:
nmap -sP xxx.xxx.x.*
This will show you all devices (servers, nas, computers) in your network.

In this case Raidsonic offers a tool on the cd, to find the Icybox NAS, when connected to a network. Unfortunately this tools is for Windows only. I tried to use it via Wine. The application started but did not find anything. So I had to start Windows to find the IP that my DHCP server had assigned to the Icybox. Once I have found this IP address I could access the web interface, which is available in several languages (e.g. English, German).

I would like to find a tool, or a way to allocate the IP of the Icybox 4220 without having to start Windows. I am sure there is an easy way, so I will do some research in the next few days. If someone has a solutions for Ubuntu/Linux, please let me know, preferably in the comments (UPDATE: I found a way to allocate servers, computers and NAS devices in your network under Linux).

My set up of the Icybox is a Raid1. This means that two 500GB hard discs are mirrored: files saved to the Icybox are copied to both hard discs, which protects files during a hard disk crash. However, it can not protect data from human mistakes. Therefore you will need an additional back up process.

Setting up the raid1 is fairly easy. Go to "Maintenance" -> "RAID Settings" and follow the instructions their. Establishing the raid takes a few minutes. You should not interrupt this process. Well, and that's it, basically. You should then create a "Share", where you can save your files.

To connect from my notebook to the Icybox via LAN and WLAN I am using NFS. The process to connect is very straight forward, but as a Linux beginner I had to do some research.

If you just want to use your desktop to access NFS shares (e.g. for accessing the Icybox) you need to install "nfs-common" and "portmap", if you want to share files or directories on your computer via NFS, then you also need to install "nfs-kernel-server". Just go to Synaptic an install the packages you need (This paragraph was added thanks to a comment by Simon).

Let's assume the share is called "xyz", the IP address of the Icybox is "192.168.2.???" and we call the share "icybox1". To mount the Icybox on Ubuntu you will have todo the following:

• Open the terminal
• Change to the directory "media": cd /media
• Make a directory for the share on the icybox: sudo mkdir icybox1
• Mount the share with the following code: sudo mount 192.168.2.???:/mnt/md1/icybox1 /media/icybox1

Now you should be available to access your share on the icybox.

However, it is quite annoying, when you have to mount the share each time by hand. So I decided to include the share in the "fstab", then the Icybox share is available automatically when I am at home and connected to my home network.

For this you will have to add a line to /etc/fstab for each share:


• 192.168.2.???:/mnt/md1/icybox1 /media/icybox1 nfs rw,rsize=8192,wsize=8192 0 0

That's it. You will now have to mount your share:


• sudo mount -a

Now you should have a folder on your desktop to access your share using NFS.

• Open the 2 screws at the bottom of the Icybox 4220. There are actually 4 screws, two of which are holding the interior of the box to the exterior case, the two other are in a little plastic bag together with other screws, which are used to fix the hard disks in the case.
• Pull the interior case from the exterior case.
• First connect the cables to the first hard disk, then fix the hard disk with the little screws from the plastic bag and connect the cables (SATA, electricity).
  Tip from my side: connect the cables first and then fix the screws. I fixed the screws first, but I just couldn't connect the cables any more. So I had to unscrew the hard disks again.
• Fix the sensor for the temperature on top of the first hard disk with the tape from the little plastic bag.
• Install the second hard disk, just like the first hard disk.
• Once done just put the interior case back into the exterior housing and fix the 4 little screws on the bottom.
• That's it. You can now start your Icybox IB-NAS4220-B for the first time.

I think this is enough for today. Tomorrow we will talk about the first steps using the Icybox 4220.

Buy your own Raidsonic Icy Box IB-NAS4220-B Raid/Dual SATA, Gigabit at Amazon.

• Gigabit ethernet
• Dual nas supports 2 harddisks (RAID 0, 1, Span, JBOD)
• 2 USB-Hosts (for USB sticks, external hard disks or a print server)
• Samba for Windows networks, NFS (for Linux, Unix), FTP (to access your files via internet), DHCP (automatic network configuration)
• etc.

This is just to mention the most important characteristics. For more details just download the Icybox 4220 datasheet as PDF.

As harddisks from Samsung seem to cause problems with the Icybox 4220 NAS I orderd 2 WesternDigital WD Caviar SE16 500GB SATA II 16MB. I hope those will do just fine. I will configure a Raid1 for better data security and those hard disks will be backed up to a external USB hard disk every week or so. This gives me space for 500GB of data, the second disk will contain an exact copy of the first hard disk.

While not ensuring perfect security, this will be enough data security for me. Togehter with the Icybox I have also received a Western Digital Passport portable hard disk with 250GB, which should do well for transportation purposes and additional backups.

As the time around Christmas is fairly busy and we will get some visitors within the next days I will probably have to wait until the new year to get the Raidsonic NAS up and running. I will give some updates about the product as soon as I had the time to go more into details.

My first impressions:

• The Icybox 4220 is smaller than expected and the product pictures make you think.
• The built quality looks really good: no plastics, all metal.
• It is fairly nice looking. Not really important for a tool like a NAS, but when on your desk the good look won't hurt, right? .
• It comes along with a good hand book in really good German. Not comparable with some other products, where you just can not understand anything. There actually some good explanations, even on basics like the advantages and disadvantages of different RAID levels, etc.

Interesting links regarding the Icybox 4220

• A forum with a lot of information and a lot of posts (in German): http://www.planet3dnow.de/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=319399
• A wiki about the Icybox NAS 4220 with information about hardware compatibility: http://en.nas-4220.org/

I will keep you updated about my progress. I hope my version will not cause any trouble and the two hard disks will work fine with my Raidsonic Icybox IB-NAS4220-B.