WD My Cloud EX2 Prosumer NAS

WD, a Western Digital expanded its prosumer personal cloud solutions with My Cloud EX2, a high-performance two-bay NAS system.

The My Cloud EX2 and My Cloud EX4 products are designed for creative professionals and prosumers that need to reliably save, share, backup, stream and manage large amounts of digital data.

“WD is committed to providing a comprehensive portfolio of personal cloud solutions as the need for digital storage continues to dramatically increase,” said Jim Welsh, EVP, WD branded products and WW sales. “With the My Cloud EX series of products, customers will be thrilled with the advanced features, high-performance and reliability that only WD can provide.”

Data Control and Protection
Several data management and security features allow customers to select their preferred methods for managing and protecting their movies, photos, music and digital files. Drive management options include RAID-0, RAID-1; JBOD and spanning modes, while data protection options include RAID-1, USB, cloud or LAN/WAN backup. The My Cloud EX2 comes preconfigured in RAID-1 mode to protect data right from the start and is configurable into other data protection modes. Customers can use their My Cloud EX2 to centralize and backup all of their computers and notebooks with WD SmartWare Pro software for PC users, and with the Apple Time Machine backup software for Mac users.

Capacity and Reliability
My Cloud EX2 provides several capacity options for customers to choose from, including a diskless enclosure allowing users to build their own NAS with the drives of their choice, as well as populated systems in 4TB, 6TB or 8TB capacities.

Additionally, customers can attach compatible USB 3.0 HDDs to the USB expansion ports on the My Cloud EX2 to expand their storage capacity.

The populated My Cloud EX2 features WD Red HDDs for reliability in the 24×7 NAS operating environment.

WD Red drives are powered by NASware 2.0 technology, improving drive reliability and protecting customer data in the event of a power loss or disruption.

Anytime, Anywhere Access
The WD My Cloud mobile and desktop app provides anytime, anywhere access to the family. WD My cloud mobile app users can view photos, stream video and share, save and manage files from anywhere on their iOS and Android devices. The mobile app makes file sharing and collaborating simple, allowing customers to email files, share files as a link, and print and open files with third party apps. The WD My Cloud mobile app integrates major public cloud services so that customers can transfer files from their Dropbox, SkyDrive and Google Drive public cloud accounts. With the WD My Cloud desktop app, navigating, controlling and sharing digital files from anywhere in the world is simple and intuitive.

Features   
My Cloud EX2 includes advanced data serving options including an integrated file server, FTP server, backup server and a P2P download server. Additionally, users can download and run a host of third party apps, including aMule, Icecast, Joomla!, phpBB, phpMyAdmin, Transmission, SqueezeCenter, and more.

Users can also stream videos and photos to connected TVs, media players, gaming consoles and other DLNA/UPnP devices with  the included Twonky 7.2 server, DLNA-certified 1.5 media server, and built-in iTunes server.

Prices
My Cloud EX2 is available at select U.S. retailers and online at the wdstore.com. MAP is $199.99 (€199) for the diskless My Cloud EX2, $369.99 (€339) for 4TB, $469.99 (€419) for 6TB and $569.99 (€539) for 8TB.

The WD My Cloud mobile app is available for download for free from the App Store and Google Play.

My Cloud EX2 comes with a two year limited warranty.

Compatibility
My Cloud EX2 is compatible with Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, OS X Mavericks, Mountain Lion, Lion, Snow Leopard, as well as DLNA/UPnP enabled devices.