WD introduces Sentinel DS5100 and DS6100 storage plus servers

Western Digital has announced a new pair of ultra-compact Intel-based Windows servers. The WD Sentinel DS5100 and DS6100 are aimed at small businesses and come pre-populated with WD Enterprise-Class hard drives and marketed at an affordable price – starting from £1,599.00 (Ex VAT) for the WD Sentinel DS5100 4 TB network storage plus server. WD says these new servers come complete and fully configured with automatic backup and restore software suitable for up to 25 users and 50 computers and are an excellent choice as a first server for your small business. Unlike NAS systems the Sentinel Windows servers can run line-of-business applications on their network storage platform.

WD’s strapline for these new ultra-compact servers is “Proven. Reliable. Affordable”. Succinctly summing up the key qualities of these two new members of the Sentinel family, WD describes the devices as being “Designed for storage plus server capabilities, WD Sentinel S-Series is ideal for small businesses looking for an ultra-compact unified storage solution with an integrated iSCSI SAN, NAS and server-based backup technology. Featuring enterprise-class hard drives, an Intel Xeon dual core processor and Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials operating system, it provides secure access to data and line-of-business applications, even when working remotely”.

Sentinel DS5100 front and back views

Below I have put together a comparison table showing exactly what is offered by both these storage plus server products. You can see the base model of the Sentinel DS5100 comes equipped with 4TB of storage (2 x 2TB drives) with two bays free. The CPU behind it is a 2.3GHz dual-core Intel Xeon E3-1220LV2 backed by 8GB of RAM. Though the Sentinel DS6100 looks exactly the same outwardly it boasts both a faster CPU and greater storage capacities. The DS6100 uses a 2.5GHz quad-core Intel Xeon E3-1265LV2 backed by 16GB of RAM in its base configuration. The DS6100 also offers a greater base capacity of 8TB (4 x 2TB drives) which can be expanded to 16TB.

WD Sentinel DS5100 and Sentinel DS6100 side by side

“No other vendor offers a comparable network storage plus server in an equally small form factor. With a small footprint and quiet fan, an S-series appliance can be deployed anywhere,” says WD. Also both the WD Sentinel DS5100 and DS6100 have a dedicated 2.5-inch Windows boot drives for maximum reliability.

WD says that five preconfigured versions of these servers are available from today through select VARs, resellers, and distributors. Prices start from £1,599 ex VAT. The new WD Sentinel DS5100 and DS6100 will be showcased by WD at VMWorld in Barcelona, 14-17 October, booth S99.