WD My Cloud Pro Series PR2100
ALL THAT POWER, AND NOTHING TO DO.
WITH THE MOST powerful processer of any NAS here, as well as 4TB of memory, USB 3.0 support, twin power ports for redundancy and link-aggregated twin Ethernet ports, the WD PR2100 seemingly has a lot to recommend it — especially with recent price drops. But the very limited suite of services and tools meant that we found ourselves hard-pressed to find a use for that power. WD’s My Cloud OS has the most anaemic list of apps of any of the major NAS operating systems. A Linux pro using SSH could make much more of it, but for regular users looking for a device that does more than basic file and media services, it doesn’t have much to offer for the price.
That said, it does do the basics very well. We really like the simplicity and accessibility of My Cloud OS, and partnered with WD’s very good mobile apps for setup, remote access and media streaming, it’s easily one of the most pleasant devices to set up. Installing drives is toolless and quick, and you can readily add extra storage by attaching it to one of the USB 3.0 ports. If the basics is all you want, the WD is a nice, but somewhat expensive solution.
If you want more than the basics, however, this may not be the best platform for you. The set of third-party tools includes a few gems — including, most significantly, Acronis True Home support for backup — as well as Plex and Transmission for BitTorrent downloading. But overall, the selection is weak, and it’s not widely supported by thirdparty developers. That leaves us with a NAS with powerful and welldesigned hardware but without premium apps to run on it. Basic media and file services generally don’t need this much power, and you’d be better off with a less expensive solution if that’s all you want.