TonidoPlug 2 Small Home Server Review

1. Introduction2. Packaging and Bundle3. TonidoPlug 2 Small Home Server4. User Interface5. Performance and Closing Thoughts6. View All Pages

The TonidoPlug 2 is a very useful, inexpensive and compact little device, however it is not without fault and we will discuss some of our concerns first.

The product does get warm, and after several hours of moderate activity it heats up considerably. We tested primarily with a solid state drive for this review, however with a mechanical drive in place the temperature rises even higher.

Currently the 3-position switch is not actually used for anything, which means you can't turn the device off without pulling out the power cable.

When we accessed the server from outside our home network, we couldn't initially see the files stored on the device, only those we had added to the synced files folder. The TonidoPlug 2 effectively has two IP addresses which gives admin/standard user access. Due to this configuration we couldn't get external network access to files via the standard user (it is the same log-in as well) even if the whole drive was set to share with everyone. We suspect this is a glitch that is caused by network settings, and will probably be ironed out in the future updates.

To be fair, this unit is designed as a home server and as such the audience will mostly want access within a home network. This is easy to do and it can mapped as a drive within Windows for easy, quick access.

The Tonido ‘cloud sync service' only offers 250MB data free of charge. It is clear the company really want you to buy the Tonido Pro service which costs $39 per year. That said, unless you really need 100GB then Google Drive offers 5GB of cloud storage for free. [Edit: Since writing the review the Tonido ‘Cloud Sync Service' now offers 2 GB data free of charge]

Negatives aside, I really did enjoy using the TonidoPlug 2. It is one of the fastest home server style devices I've ever tested. There is no noticeable delay in loading the user interface pages, even over a relatively slow internet connection. The device is nearly instant to log-on, although does take around a minute to boot-up and a bit longer for it to be recognised completely by the network.

Setting up this device was also really easy; it is basically ‘plug and play', and then a case of logging onto the Tonido website and just clicking on the device or entering the MAC address.

The user interface itself is well thought out and the location of all the items is intuitive. The applications that can be installed are currently limited, but we suspect this list will continue to grow as more developers start working with Tonido. There are already several developer forums offering third party apps and custom roms which really could unleash a lot of potential from this device.

Overall, our experience with the TonidoPlug 2 has been primarily positive. We didn't have any problems setting the device up and using it on a day to day basis.

In terms of price, the TonidoPlug 2 retails for around £89 (use Promo ‘Tonido' for further 10% discount) and as such does offer good value for money. It is worth considering the Silverstone DC01S , only a few pounds more expensive and incorporating an easier to use file system, although it does lack the built-in sync features.

Pros

• Small Home Server.
• Low power consumption.
• Good UI system.
• Easy to use.
• Features Apps.
• Can be accessed from mobiles.

Cons

• Need to buy a subscription for full sync functionality.
• Device gets warm.
• Google Drive – 5 GB free.
• Server system could be improved.

Kitguru Says: The TonidoPlug 2 is a nifty little device which will prove useful to a wide audience. It isn't without fault, but the pros outweigh the cons.

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