When to Use Network-Attached Storage
When you need to store data there exist a great number of options, more than a few of which may be viable. Consumers have to sort through these in order to decide which is the right choice for their budget and storage demands. In addition to accessible storage, many buyers are going to want a device to store backup data as well, so a good storage device will not only be accessible but also stable.
A very popular method for home and SOHO backup is the external hard drive. While this device is very easy to use it lacks redundancy and multi-user support. Storing on a RAID array on a local workstation is very good for the workstation's user, but accessing it from other places on the network can be difficult, due to permissions, and slow, because it is not a dedicated file server. Additionally there are some limitations to this, for example how many accessing users an operating system will support. A dedicated file server works well under many circumstances but can be large, costly to build, and expensive to run.
One of the most powerful tools for data storage is a Network-Attached Storage (NAS) device. A NAS device is any product which connects to a network in order to provide file access to the network's systems. A NAS device generally has on-board hardware aside from the hard drives which control the file storage and distribution, it can even have its own operating system. NAS products range from things as basic as external hard drive enclosures which are attached to a router to large, multi-drive devices which house a controllable operating system, a switch, and other useful accessories.
NAS can be implemented in many different ways. The most popular choices are relatively simple single drive devices, like the Buffalo Technologies Gigabit LinkStation or the Linksys EtherFast. These two, and the many like them are easy to use and quick to set up, but their functionality is generally limited to data storage and backup. Some of these have built-in utilities for backup, scandisk, and defrag and other simple applications. On the other end of the consumer NAS spectrum are multi-drive device which have powerful functions and support RAID 5, like the Buffalo Technologies TeraStation Pro NAS 2GB and the Anthology Solutions Yellow Machine. In addition, it is possible to build your own NAS using a computer system (normally an old one due to lax requirements) and an operating system like FreeNAS or NASlite.