WD MyCloud NAS for SMBs Without Surprising Specs

Following the introduction of MyCloud last month, WD is continuing its re-branding of the My Book Live series with the introduction of a more prosumer-centric devices, the MyCloud EX4.

While the first MyCloud devices was aimed at consumers, the EX4 is designed for SMBs and professional users. It keeps the exact same My Cloud software platform as its predecessor but adds few functionalities to meet the hardware changes. While the first MyCloud was pretty locked-down on the hardware side, the new model allows a bit more of customization.

The all-metal enclosure can contain up to four removable HDDs, in RAID-0, -1, -5, -10 or JBOD, that can be changed without using tools. Inside we find a 2Ghz ARM processor, 512MB of RAM and a 3,400rpm fan. On the back, there are two USB 3.0, two 2 power and two GbE ports. A LED screen on the front panel shows health and network information. The NAS can be bought diskless or with 8, 12 and 16TB capacity. The company says that the product is designed with its RED HDDs specs in mind but will be compatible with other competitor drives.

With the introduction of a second MyCloud devices, WD is looking to streamline the experience across all of its NAS line of products, a single software platform, a proactively controlled appstore that should run on all MyCloud devices and a single app to control and access all of NAS, and third-party cloud services.

On the hardware side, WD is still catching-up. The first MyCloud device was late in the game of personal cloud and this solution already has some fierce competition at Synology with the DS411, at Seagate with the BusinessStorage 4-bayNAS and with the NetgearReadyNas 300 Series also compatible with third party app, among others.

But the company is focusing around the MyCloud brand and software, trying to simplify the setup process. In a market where the hardware is pretty much the same for every manufacturers, the winning factor is now essentially the software and its simplicity.

My Cloud EX4 is available with a two-year warranty at $380 (€339) for the drive-less unit, $800 (€800) for 8TB, $950 (€899) for 12TB and $1,150 (€1,099) for 16TB. The My Cloud mobile app is available for download from the App Store and Google Play.