Gibbs takes a look at a new QNAP NAS devices but his 2Wire DSL gateway doesn't help

23.09.2011
"Currently 2Wire does not support Universal Plug and Play (UPnP). 2Wire customizes all gateway products and software to meet the requirements of our ISP partners. If supporting UPNP became a requirement, 2Wire will include the functionality to the system. UPNP allows the OS to control the firewall configuration that could have an adverse effect on any systems running behind a firewall that is being controlled by malicious software operating on a LAN-based computer."

Tell me, who writes this stuff? The above is quoted from 's so-called that you get to by clicking on the Help link on the management interface of a 2Wire 2701HG-B Gateway as supplied by AT&T. Yes, I know it's an old model (really slow with some horrible user interface bugs), but these devices are still out there by the thousands so they are, unfortunately, relevant.

TIPS:

What is so annoying about this "explanation" (other than the text being written by someone who was obviously semi-literate) is they don't just come out and say "no"; they beat about the bush, push the issue in the direction of the ISP, and then imply it's a bad idea altogether. Really? Shame on you, 2Wire.

Anyway, I stumbled across this nonsense while setting up a new toy, er, product here in the , a .

The QNAP TS-1079 Pro is a network-attached storage (NAS) device with 10 SATA drive bays that can provide up to 30TB of storage in an office-friendly package. I say "office friendly" because its noise emission is rated at a reasonable 30db in the configuration I have, which is with 10 1TB drives.