WD®, a Western Digital company (NASDAQ:  WDC) and world leader in digital storage solutions, today expanded its small-  and medium-sized (SMB) storage solution portfolio with the introduction of the new WD Sentinel™ DS5100 and WD Sentinel DS6100 (S-series)  ultra-compact network storage plus servers.  The WD Sentinel S-series feature high-performance Intel® Xeon® processors and  are pre-installed with Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials. All WD Sentinel  network storage products feature WD enterprise-class hard drives and these  4-bay WD Sentinel S-series desktop appliances offer up to 16 TB of raw storage.  Additionally, unlike traditional NAS systems, the WD Sentinel S-series allow  small businesses to run line-of-business applications on their network storage  platform. 

  “WD  is using enterprise-class components to build a new family of network  appliances for small businesses,” said  Bill Evans, general manager of WD’s business storage solutions group. “The WD Sentinel S-series network appliances  are engineered with Intel Xeon processors,
pre-populated with WD Se® datacenter  3.5-inch hard drives for rapid deployment, and feature dedicated 2.5-inch boot  drives for maximum reliability. 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.”   

Proven Components from  Intel, Microsoft, and WD

Built by WD, powered by an Intel Xeon processor and running Windows Server 2012 R2  Essentials, the WD Sentinel S-series is based on proven technologies from  industry leaders. Unlike competitors’ proprietary operating systems, the  S-series is a fully configured native Windows Server on which customers can  deploy thousands of Windows applications.

“Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials gives  customers the benefit of built-in, groundbreaking, low-cost storage  technologies, and WD’s Sentinel S-series hardware helps small businesses take  advantage of these technologies,” said Jamie Hamilton, Director of Marketing,  OEM
Division at Microsoft Corp. “We are pleased to work with WD to tackle the  small business, first-server opportunity. WD’s hardware engineering expertise,  previous success with network storage products based on Windows Storage Server,  and leadership in offering an R2 version of Windows Server 2012 Essentials puts  WD in a good position to serve this industry.”

Reliable Enterprise Grade Components    

The WD Sentinel S-series include WD 3.5-inch  datacenter-class hard drives for enhanced data security.  Businesses gain enterprise-class reliability  with dual dedicated boot drives (optional on WD Sentinel DS5100), dual gigabit  Ethernet ports, and dual external DC-in power
adapter ports. This engineered  redundancy, along with a bezel lock for physical security, all add to the reliability  of this ultra-compact network storage plus server that can be deployed  virtually anywhere.Affordable First Server for Any  Small Business

The WD Sentinel S-series  is a complete, fully-configured solution with automatic backup and restore software  for up to 25 users and 50 computers, all at a very affordable price that starts  at $2,560 U.S. MSRP.  By combining a  single solution for both storage and server
requirements, the S-series  appliances are a great solution for any small business looking for their first  server.

“Finally, a network storage vendor has  delivered a low-cost, turn-key solution that meets my customers’  requirements—with no assembly required,” said Kevin Royalty, Microsoft MVP and  Managing Partner of Total Care Computer Consulting in Centerville, Ohio. “Small  business
customers want a packaged solution with balanced disk, processor,  memory, and operating system that is engineered and tested as a unit. The  DS5100 and DS6100 appliances are ideal as a ‘first server’ due to the  high-performance Intel Xeon processor, Windows Server,
high-capacity  enterprise-class disk storage, and tiny footprint.”

Availability

WD Sentinel S-series  appliances are available today at CDW, PC Connection, and Insight, and through  select VARs, resellers, and distributors worldwide. The WD Sentinel DS5100 is pre-populated  in capacities of 4 or 8 TB. The WD Sentinel DS6100 is available with capacities  of 8, 12, or 16 TB.

Pricing

Five models of WD Sentinel S-series  appliances are available. Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Prices (MSRP) start  at $2,560.00 USD for the WD Sentinel DS5100 4 TB network storage plus server.  WD Guardian™ Services, which offer flexible, affordable and hassle-free 
technical support, are available for periods of one or more years.