Network Drive

[alanbjames]

After Christmas in the sales i wanna create a network drive that all 3 of us can access and save to at home at once.

What would be the best way of doing this?
Would getting a Wireless NAS drive do the job?

Also would more than one user be able to access the same file on the drive at the same time?

Thanks.

[jb66]

I just connected a NAS via ethernet to my hub and my TV mobile phones etc can all access it,

[alanbjames]

Thats exactly what im looking for.

The reason im not thinking cloud access is because i dont want the time od having to download and then reupload the files if edited.

[alanbjames]

Can anyone suggest a network drive that works the way i want and is easy to setup?

[Hom3r]

I have the WD My Book 2TB, it connects to my router, and can be accessed both internally & externally.

[ianch99]

Originally Posted by alanbjames

Can anyone suggest a network drive that works the way i want and is easy to setup?

You should be able to connect a USB drive to your ASUS router and share this on the LAN via the built-in (SMB) networking. Here's a video that covers this:

Set Up USB Storage on an Asus Router

This approach does allow you to access the same drive content from the internet i.e. when you are away from home if you are ok with this security-wise.

The concurrent file access is trickier: read access is no problem but cordinating write access to the same file is tricky when you are using direct filesystem access.

This approach does have the added benefits of making any media content available to streaming DNLA and/or iTunes clients if you need this.

[progers]

I have a Synology DS215, it takes two disk drives so you can connect up in RAID format for security. It plugs into your hub and is easy to set up. It comes with loads of free apps, eg Cloud Station which backs up your files as you change them, you can access it remotely if you wish too.

[alanbjames]

Originally Posted by ianch99

You should be able to connect a USB drive to your ASUS router and share this on the LAN via the built-in (SMB) networking. Here's a video that covers this:

Set Up USB Storage on an Asus Router

This approach does allow you to access the same drive content from the internet i.e. when you are away from home if you are ok with this security-wise.

The concurrent file access is trickier: read access is no problem but cordinating write access to the same file is tricky when you are using direct filesystem access.

This approach does have the added benefits of making any media content available to streaming DNLA and/or iTunes clients if you need this.

Would i be able to use an external 1TB drive?

[ianch99]

Originally Posted by alanbjames

Would i be able to use an external 1TB drive?

Should be fine. Came across this on google:

Plug-n-Share Disks Compatibility List

[alanbjames]

Ta i will give it a try later sometime.

[alanbjames]

I think a network drive is a better option.

I followed that video and setup the drive and network and i have tried two drives and get really bad read\write speeds.

It starts off around 1.1mb/s and drops to around 34k where it hangs and then jumps back up and falls and hangs, then jumps again. It took me almost 40mins to download 462mb from the USB drive to my PC.

[ianch99]

Originally Posted by alanbjames

I think a network drive is a better option.

I followed that video and setup the drive and network and i have tried two drives and get really bad read\write speeds.

It starts off around 1.1mb/s and drops to around 34k where it hangs and then jumps back up and falls and hangs, then jumps again. It took me almost 40mins to download 462mb from the USB drive to my PC.

Hi Alan, these speeds do seem low. Here's a TBB review of the N66u and the speeds they got with a USB HDD here:

http://www.thinkbroadband.com/hardwa...6u.html#backup

We tested the USB systems read/write performance by using a large (1 GigaByte) file and timing the operations. We have included the speeds reading and writing to the same device when connected to a PC.
File copy to USB stick connected to RT-N66U 26 Mbps (Mega bits per second)
File read from USB stick connected to RT-N66U 91 Mbps
File copy to USB connected to PC 33 Mbps
File read from USB stick connected to PC 125 Mbps
File copy to USB 2 HDD connected to RT-N66U 126 Mbps
File read from USB 2 HDD connected to RT-N66U 85 Mbps
File copy to USB 2 HDD connected to PC 240 Mbps
File read from USB 2 HDD connected to PC 235 Mbps
File read from routers WAN FTP server (USB HDD) 103 Mbps
File copy to routers WAN FTP server (USB HDD) 59.4 Mbps

The USB system on the RT-N66U seems pretty fast, but the difference between using a USB stick and a USB 2.0 hard drive reveals how important the choice of storage media is when using the RT-N66U as a media server.

To be fair, the router will always be a poor substiute for a dedicated NAS. The HP MicroServer N40L I have running Open Media Vault will deliver 800+Mbps over AFP/SMB network shares but this is much more costly to setup and maintain relative to what you have with the router.

[jb66]

http://www.ebuyer.com/620412-buffalo...-ls210d0301-eu

[progers]

http://www.trustedreviews.com/synology-ds215j-review

This is £129 from Amazon, you use your own disk drives, I have two 1Tb drives in RAID format for security. The backup software, cloud station backs up each file as you save it.

The Buffalo NAS backup software does a complete back up so you would need additional software if you want to back up as you go

[alanbjames]

I bit the bullet and got the synology ds615j with a 3TB WD Red NAS drive.

It was a bit of a pain in the rear after i setup it wouldnt accept my user or password which i looked at the forums and its a common issue. I had to do the reset and login using the standard admin and then change all my details manually.