LAS VEGAS, March 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- (PMA BOOTH NO. R260) -- WD® (NYSE: WDC), the world's leader in external storage solutions, today announced that WD ShareSpace™ network storage systems now offer 8 TB (terabytes) of capacity, up to 30 percent faster transfer speeds, and DLNA(1) media streaming capabilities. Combined with its ease-of-use and small footprint, WD ShareSpace is now a more compelling solution for small offices and digital media enthusiasts who want to store, protect and share massive amounts of content.

Responding to small-business customers' needs for increased shared storage, WD incorporated its industry-first 2 terabyte WD Caviar® Green™ drive into WD ShareSpace's flexible four-bay design, creating a massive 8 TBs of storage in a small footprint.

The included WD Anywhere Backup™ software provides automatic and continuous protection for the valuable data from every PC and Mac on the network.

To speed up both backup and storage, WD improved WD ShareSpace's read and write speeds up to 30 percent for large media files. Current WD ShareSpace owners may download the new firmware update (http://www.wdc.com/en/products/wdsharespace/) to experience these performance improvements.  

Twenty-six percent of broadband households worldwide find it very appealing to be able to play PC-stored content on their TV, and the majority of consumers buying network storage cite as important the ability to serve content to other devices (58 percent), according to a recent Parks Associates studies (Aug. 2008).  

To meet the needs of digital media enthusiasts, WD added a DLNA Certified media server to the WD ShareSpace system, making it easy to stream music, photos and videos to popular DLNA-Certified devices including Windows® Vista® PCs, Playstation®3, and Xbox 360®. The previously included iTunes® Music Server lets anyone on the network stream the music collection on WD ShareSpace to any PC or Mac running iTunes.

"With its huge capacity and small footprint, WD ShareSpace has become a popular choice among small business owners. By doubling capacity and increasing transfer speeds, the new 8 TB WD ShareSpace offers more value to small business users," said Jim Welsh, senior vice president and general manager of WD's branded products and consumer electronics groups.  "Digital media enthusiasts, on the other hand, will really appreciate the new streaming support which lets them easily stream to PCs, Macs and game consoles. With the new WD ShareSpace, we have made important improvements for all our customers." 

Price and Availability
The new 8 TB capacity will be available this week at WD's online store (www.shopwd.com ). WD ShareSpace network storage systems also are offered in capacities of 2 TB and 4 TB. MSRP for the WD ShareSpace storage system with 8 TB is $1,699.99 USD.

Features
The new high-speed network storage systems feature:

• A small-footprint, 4-bay storage system that takes up very little space and provides plenty of storage to go around;

• GigE connectivity with data transfer rates up to one gigabit per second when used in a GigE network; 

• RAID 0/1/5 capabilities for data protection and speed;

• E-mail alert system that monitors drive and system health and sends you an e-mail if a problem is detected;

• UPnP/DLNA 1.5 Certified Media Server;

• iTunes server for centralized shared music;

• Microsoft Active Directory® directory service support;

• Plug a USB drive into the front-mounted USB 2.0 port and push a button to transfer automatically all the data on the drive to the WD ShareSpace system;

• Automatic and continuous(2) network backup software including licenses to back up 3 computers;

• WD's unique MioNet remote Web access service (for PC and Mac) that lets users access the drive from anywhere;

• Download manager that supports scheduled downloads through FTP and HTTP;

• Windows Vista® operating system ready;

• Built-in FTP server;

• 3 USB 2.0 ports;

• Equipped with WD drives using WD GreenPower technology, this system, with its efficient cooling architecture and power saving mode, consumes up to 33 percent less power(3) and is reliably cool and quiet; and,

• 3-year limited warranty.

About WD
WD, one of the storage industry's pioneers and long-time leaders, provides products and services for people and organizations that collect, manage and use digital information. The company produces reliable, high-performance hard drives that keep users' data accessible and secure from loss. WD applies its storage expertise to consumer products for external, portable and shared storage applications.

WD was founded in 1970. The company's storage products are marketed to leading systems manufacturers, selected resellers and retailers under the Western Digital® and WD brand names. Visit the Investor section of the company's Web site (www.westerndigital.com) to access a variety of financial and investor information.

Western Digital, WD, the WD logo, My book and MioNet are registered trademarks; WD ShareSpace, My Passport, GreenPower,  and WD Anywhere Backup are trademarks of Western Digital Technologies, Inc. in the US and other countries. Other marks may be mentioned herein that belong to other companies. All other brand and product names mentioned herein are the property of their respective companies. One gigabyte (GB) = 1 billion bytes. One terabyte (TB) = one trillion bytes. Total accessible capacity varies depending on operating environment and RAID configuration.  RAID 0 (striped) accesses the full capacity of the drives.  RAID 5 accesses three-fourths of the total capacity for data protection.  RAID 1 (mirrored) accesses half of the total capacity for additional data protection. As used for transfer rate or interface, megabyte per second (MB/s) = one million bytes per second, and gigabit per second (Gb/s) = one billion bits per second.

1. To allow streaming for music, photos and movies to any DLNA Certified multimedia device such as Playstation(R)3 and Xbox 360(R).

2. Users can select specific files or folders for backup during the set-up process. From then on changes or additions made to those files or folders will be immediately and automatically backed up on the WD ShareSpace device.

3. Tests based on comparison between a 1 TB dual-drive system using 7200 RPM drives and a 1 TB dual-drive system using WD's GreenPower drives.