network storage

The cloud may be the future of all things storage, but the present is more complicated: it can be expensive, potentially insecure, and you're left trusting a third party with all your data.

That's what inspired The Transporter, a Kickstarter project started by former employees of Drobo. Transporter aims for something more secure and distributed, while still being sharable. The concept largely works like Dropbox, with a Transporter folder that lives on your desktop and syncs with files stored on the physical Transporter drive (which resides someplace you designate). You can easily give others access to specific folders, … Read more

Editors' note: This post is part of an ongoing series, for the other parts, check out the related stories. This post was updated on March 29, 2013, to add more information on backing up.

One of a storage device's most important roles, if not the most important, is to keep the information stored on it safe, especially from hardware failure. Redundancy and backup are the two popular types of data protection. They are not the same, however, and it's important to understand the differences between the two.

In a nutshell, redundancy in consumer-grade digital storage means using … Read more

Editors' note: This post is part of an ongoing series. For the other parts, check out the related stories.

Now that you have some ideas about internal storage vs. memory after reading Part 1, here in Part 2 I'll talk about the two main types of external storage devices: direct-attached storage (DAS) and network-attached storage (NAS).

DAS and NAS share a few things in common. They both use one or more internal drives (hard drives or SSDs) on the inside, and they utilize the same methods to combine drives' storage space (when multiple drives are used). But before we … Read more

LaCie today announced the availability of its latest network attached storage (NAS) server, the CloudBox.

Originally, the storage vendor announced this device more than a year ago, suggesting it'd be a unique network storage server that offers 100GB of local storage and a matching 100GB of online storage, with the two being synced over the Internet. The final device shipping today, however, appears to be quite traditional.

The CloudBox is now available in either 1TB, 2TB, or 3TB capacities and doesn't seem to come with any online storage. Instead it works by itself as a personal cloud server … Read more

Generally, for network storage needs, I would recommend getting a dedicated NAS server, such as the Synology DiskStation DS1511+. However, if your needs are limited to casual usage, such as sharing documents and streaming music and photos, then a router with built-in network storage capability -- one that comes with internal storage or can host an external storage device and shares that with the rest of the network -- fits the bill better.

While much inferior to a NAS server in terms of features and especially performance, some routers actually have more to offer, in terms of storage, than one might expect and may just be what you need. In any case, getting a router of this type plus an external hard drive is a lot cheaper than a dedicated NAS server.

Following is a list of five top routers with built-in support for network storage that I've reviewed in recent years. … Read more

The Pogoplug is a small box that plugs into your home router, then makes external storage devices (hard drives, flash drives) available to your PCs, mobile devices, and people on the Web you want to share with.

For a limited time, Buy.com has the Pogoplug Mobile for $29.99 shipped. You can also get the Pogoplug Classic for $29.95 shipped.

Just to clarify, what Buy.com calls the Pogoplug Mobile is now known simply as the Pogoplug. It differs from the Classic in that it offers just one USB port for plugging in external storage -- but also … Read more

In a nutshell, a network-attached storage server is an external storage device, like an external hard drive, but instead of plugging it directly into a computer, via a USB or a Thunderbolt port, you plug it into a switch or a router, via a network cable. The main benefit of a NAS server is that its storage is available to the entire network, meaning all computers on the network can access the same storage space at the same time.

In reality, an advanced NAS server can do much more than that, such as streaming its contents to network media players, hosting Internet-based services such as personal clouds, acting as a centralized server for a business, and even being a video recorder for your TV programs or surveillance cameras, and all at the same time. Think of it as a real server, minus a mouse, keyboard, and a monitor. Instead, you control it via a Web interface.

Advanced NAS servers are generally not for novices, but they don't require years of training, either. In fact, if you are comfortable with computers and the Internet, and have an interest, you can easily figure one out after having invested some time, of course. And you really want to figure it out since the return is huge.

Following is a list of the five best NAS servers that I have reviewed in recent years. This list is sorted based on the amount of drive bays and review dates and updated on a regular basis as more servers are reviewed.… Read more

Synology announced today its first eight-bay DiskStation NAS server, the DS1812+.

This is one of the first, if not the first, consumer-friendly NAS server on the market that offers eight native hard drive bays. This means that when populated with all 4TB hard drives, the server can offer up to 32TB of storage space.

Most computers have just about 1TB of storage space, which is enough (and then some) for most users. The DS1812+, by itself, can host 32 times that much, more TBs than you can count with your fingers and toes.… Read more

CES has always been the biggest show for consumer electronics. It's unlikely that anyone can actually visit all of the exhibition booths and demos, and see every single new product. I know I can't.

So it's helpful to have some ideas of what you can expect at the show. If networking and storage are among your interests, here are a few of my educated guesses on what will be showcased at the show.… Read more