Network Attached Storage

Normally, when you buy a new PC or laptop, storage or hard drive is of least importance. The focus is more on processor, display, Wi-Fi, on-board memory and so on. But, as you begin to use the Internet and start downloading images, video, and data from online emails and websites, you realize that the hard drive capacity is not sufficient. And at times slows down the communications.

While increasing the capacity of HDD certainly helps in storing more images, video, audio and data on your PC, it also runs the risk of losing everything when that sole HDD fails to operate for some reason. For that reason, many computer users today are deploying an additional backup hard drive.

With two or more PCs being used today in a typical household, CCL (News - Alert) Computers is recommending the use of Network Attached Storage or NAS. In its basic terms, NAS is a hard drive plugged into your network so that all members of a family can use the storage facility, explains CCL Computers writer Mathew Wade in a NAS Buying Guide that was posted on CCL Computers site.

Wade wrote that installing NAS software is as simple as installing software for your computer’s wireless printer. It does the same thing but with data. “Just like a wireless printer, you install a little software that says hello to it on your network and everyone on your home network now has access to this drive. Some models will even let you access files stored on it from the Internet which means you can access your documents from another location…Your own personal Cloud storage,” notes Wade.

Because NAS products can go from £39 (US $62) to over £15,000 (US $23,856), the company suggests coming up with the requirement first before buying the storage solution.  For that, the user should ask the following questions:

• Do I need a rock solid unit that will hold my data for life? 
• Do I need speed, capacity or both? 
• How many people or devices are going to access it?
• Wired or wireless?
• Do I need external Internet access to my NAS?

NAS systems are primarily served by RAID arrays. The buying guide then describes four different RAID units that can do different jobs for different price brackets.

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