Access point, storage and portable backup in one device? Sounds too good to be true.
This drive from ASUS breaks the mould for portable hard drives. Similar to the sorts of network-attached storage devices businesses often use, the HL-WDD connects via Ethernet or 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi. This makes it simple to share files via a network to a large number of users.
The WL-HDD can also act as a wireless access point, sharing Internet access and running a DHCP server, and includes a USB port. Once a memory key is inserted, the WL-HDD will copy the contents to the drive’s first partition.
No hard disk is supplied, so you’ll have to fit a 2.5in model. Street prices range from around $160 for a 20GB drive to $400 for an 80GB model.
The drive supports both WPA and 128-bit WEP, as well as password-based user authentication for directory access and MAG-based filtering. The device allows you to create SMB (Windows file sharing) shares with read and write privileges from directories on the hard disk.
Unfortunately, these privileges can’t be assigned on a per-user basis. An FTP server is also included. As the ASUS WL-HDD 2.5 uses SMB and FTP for access, it provides complete cross-platform compatibility.
The unit is compact (15.5 x 9 x 2.8cm, HWD) and portable, although the USB port is positioned so close to the power connector that it makes it hard to fit some keys. Wider USB keys (in this instance, an old Sony USM128) don’t fit into the port with the power connected.
Transfers over Ethernet were fast, but wireless transfers under-performed. A TOOMB test file took 53 seconds to copy over Ethernet, and one minute and 30 seconds to transfer over 802.11g at a range of one metre. The time blew out to 12 minutes at 10m from an ASUS A3N notebook (relying on an integrated Intel 2200B/G Wi-Fi chipset), through a glass partition and two 30cm-thick concrete walls. A 10MB test file took 18 seconds to transfer from a USB 2.0 memory key, while the lOOMB test file took two minutes and 52 seconds.
The drive does a good job of serving files to a wireless network and doubling as an access point. Used with a wired Ethernet connection, the speed and features are satisfactory, though weaknesses in Wi-Fi performance hold it back.

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