Network Storage / HDD solution

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Starplay

267 posts

Ultimate Geek

#71622 14-Nov-2010 03:19

Im wanting to setup a system whereby I can have all of our computers/devices linked to the router (wirelessly and by ethernet) for internet from the modem and also for a central storage location.

Is there anyway to hook-up something like an external HDD or similar to my router that can be seen by all of the devices as a drive that each user can put files onto and can be accessed by others.

e.g Simply have an extra drive in My Computer or a link straight to the external network storage that a user can copy and paste into/save to. Then any other person can access this device in the same way?

Is this possible / is there a better way of doing this?

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Sheldon
120 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 28

Lifetime subscriber

#404382 14-Nov-2010 07:23

You want

http://www.google.com/search?q=network+attached+storage

External drives that have an Ethernet interface, some have a web interface for organization and external access.

Sheldon Lendrum
@SheldonLendrum
http://www.inboxdesign.co.nz/

UFF Speedtest

Starplay

267 posts

Ultimate Geek

#404484 14-Nov-2010 14:47

sheldonlendrum: You want

External drives that have an Ethernet interface.

Awesome... Thanks for that... so just bascially any external HDD with an ethernet port to conect to my router... Will it just come up as another drive?.. What about routers that have a USB port... Wouls a USB external HDD do the same thing? (Id rather an ethernet one... but am just curious).

Thanks for all of your help

webwat

2036 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 145

Trusted

#404839 15-Nov-2010 13:20

i saw one in a shop for $300 last week, but apparently requires special software. you probably want to check that it has some security options...

Time to find a new industry!

khull

1245 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 133

#404844 15-Nov-2010 13:26

I have a Drobo. Amazing for what it does. It is not the fastest device out there but certainly the most flexible when it comes to data protection and expansion.

http://www.drobo.com

Awesome... Thanks for that... so just bascially any external HDD with an ethernet port to conect to my router...

Kind of, a NAS will actually perform more tasks than that, such as allowing remote access, bittorrent clients, user management and control

Will it just come up as another drive?.. What about routers that have a USB port... Wouls a USB external HDD do the same thing? (Id rather an ethernet one... but am just curious).

Thanks for all of your help

Depends on your router. Some routers only allow printers to be plugged into the USB port. but most will automatically mount the drive. If you do so you will need to ensure the format is the readable on your computer.

ashtonaut

631 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 120

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#406002 17-Nov-2010 17:58

I've got one of these:

http://wdc.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=587

and would highly recommend it. Happy to answer any questions you have, setup is painless and it appears as a network drive in My Computer.

nakedmolerat

4631 posts

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Lifetime subscriber

#406027 17-Nov-2010 18:58

I highly recommend Thecus NAS

Samsung

Shop now on Samsung phones, tablets, TVs and more (affiliate link).

cldlr76

289 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 6

#406857 19-Nov-2010 17:59

Not sure how much you are looking at spending, but something like this would do the trick...

Currently $698 at the Harvey Norman at Wairau Park.

This would give you heaps of potential storage with 4 drive bays a 4 USB ports.

Starplay

267 posts

Ultimate Geek

#406873 19-Nov-2010 18:59

ashtonaut: I've got one of these:

http://wdc.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=587

and would highly recommend it. Happy to answer any questions you have, setup is painless and it appears as a network drive in My Computer.

Awesome looks exactly like what I want... Will let you know if I get one...

ashtonaut

631 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 120

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#406899 19-Nov-2010 19:52

Like I said, if you have any questions before you buy just let me know. For the price it's a pretty capable little unit.

Starplay

267 posts

Ultimate Geek

#407031 20-Nov-2010 10:47

ashtonaut: Like I said, if you have any questions before you buy just let me know. For the price it's a pretty capable little unit.

What is the speed like? - Do files write and read reaonably fast?

ashtonaut

631 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 120

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#407046 20-Nov-2010 11:56

There's a bit of chat on various forums about the drive being 'slow'. Relative to other, more expensive NAS units, it is. A couple of thngs to note:

- There was an older version of this unit ('blue ring') that had terrible speeds, the current version ('white light') is better.
- When plugged directly into my laptop (GbE), I get approx 15MB/s transfer speed. This is about as fast as the unit goes.
- When I use the device through my router (100Mb/s Ethernet) with a wired laptop connection, the device maxes out the connection (i.e. approx 10MB/s).
- Furthermore, I normally access the device via wireless G, which is slower still (approx 3MB/s). Even if you had wireless N I think this would still be the bottleneck.

In short, unless you have a fully gigabit Ethernet wired network, you won't notice the device being the bottleneck when it comes to speed.

Quic Broadband

Move to New Zealand's best fibre broadband service (affiliate link). Free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE. Note that to use Quic Broadband you must be comfortable with configuring your own router.

fahrenheit

757 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 33

#407064 20-Nov-2010 13:30

Head parking on WD green drives is a bit of a concern.

Also, remote access (MioNet) is a premium service and its apparently rubbish. This is a feature that you shouldn't have to pay an ongoing subscription for.

Fortunately there is a bit of support for WD NAS hackery out there, so if warranties aren't all that important to you, you can get a lot more bang for your buck.

Of course those WD drives aren't easy to open, but if you want to risk the head parking every 8 seconds, then don't go putting anything precious on it.

ashtonaut

631 posts

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#407072 20-Nov-2010 14:06

No idea what the head parking issue is all about.

Mionet is rubbish, and is not required. I access the device remotely without any WD software and without any hacking using FTP. All it takes is a bit of port forwarding on your router. Same with device setup, there's no need to run the WD Discovery software.

LookingUp

439 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 88

#407079 20-Nov-2010 14:44

Very happy with my Synology DS209. Got a couple of 2TB WD Green drives in it in simple non-RAID config giving a full 4TB of storage, and it works well. It's used as straight backup for:

A desktop ~ 500GB of docs, downloads and media
A VuDuo satellite box with up to 2TB of media
A laptop ~ 120GB of doc, downloads and media

I've got the media backed up into the DS209 special media folders, so the DS209 will server them back to the VuDuo or a networked BluRay player through DLNA.

My thinking is that RAID isn't needed, as this is backup for main drives, and the chance of failure of both main and backup drives would have to be relatively low (fingers crossed).

I use a series of simple RoboCopy scripts to mirror folders from the various sources to the appropriate folders on the DS209, and run that daily as a scheduled Windows task.

Bought cheapest from:
http://www.rc711.com/shop/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=ds209&x=0&y=0

Ordered Thurs, delivered the following Tues complete with a free gift.

Brilliant!

Things are LookingUp.... A photo from my back yard :-)

fahrenheit

757 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 33

#407090 20-Nov-2010 15:06

ashtonaut: No idea what the head parking issue is all about.

http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=51401

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