Difference between NAS and multibay RAID enclosure?

[naviworks]

NAS is good (except price), but if only data redundancy is the requirement, then a multibay HDD enclosure with a RAID card connected to the router wont suffice?

or am i missing something?

 

[GeorgeO]

Your point is absolutely correct-if it is only or backup an external drive will do the trick adequately and you dont need a NAS. I am not sure about the RAID card-I dont know enough to comment-but yes, either RAID is an option or another is keeping a back up disk in your system and back data there.

 

[yrk1969]

NAS is good (except price), but if only data redundancy is the requirement, then a multibay HDD enclosure with a RAID card connected to the router wont suffice?

or am i missing something?

NAS would imply available directly via LAN using some NFS protocol, so it will be standalone (will not require a running PC).

For HDD enclosure, I think the only way to connect it to the router directly (if thats what you meant) would be by having a USB (eSATA? don't know?) port on the router. Will that USB port on the router allow you access all the HDDs in the enclosure? Single USB HDD connected, yes, mutliple HDDs I am not sure.
If its eSATA then it would have to be with port-multiplier feature, I am not sure such routers exists.

 

[GeorgeO]

Not possible to connect it to a router only to a PC. How can a bare drive connect to router? What you can do is to connect the drive using USB to a player and in case the player shows up on the network(like my Popcorn Hour does), back up the data through the network through the player. All media players are not as powerful as the PCH though. Alternately use the drive connected to a PC and connect the PC to your player.

 

[yrk1969]

Not possible to connect it to a router only to a PC. How can a bare drive connect to router? What you can do is to connect the drive using USB to a player and in case the player shows up on the network(like my Popcorn Hour does), back up the data through the network through the player. All media players are not as powerful as the PCH though. Alternately use the drive connected to a PC and connect the PC to your player.

There are routers which allow you to connet USB drives directly to the router, e.g.:

Amazon.com: NETGEAR RangeMax Wireless-N300 Gigabit Router with USB WNR3500L: Electronics

"ReadyShare Easily Shares External USB Storage
A built-in USB port and NETGEAR's ReadyShare technology lets you easily connect a USB storage device and share it with anyone the network. This is great for consolidating all your digital media such as music and photos in one place so everyone on the network can access them. "

Its another question whether it will work with a HDD enclosure with multiple drives.

 

[gobble]

There are routers which allow you to connet USB drives directly to the router, e.g.:

Amazon.com: NETGEAR RangeMax Wireless-N300 Gigabit Router with USB WNR3500L: Electronics

"ReadyShare Easily Shares External USB Storage
A built-in USB port and NETGEAR's ReadyShare technology lets you easily connect a USB storage device and share it with anyone the network. This is great for consolidating all your digital media such as music and photos in one place so everyone on the network can access them. "

Its another question whether it will work with a HDD enclosure with multiple drives.

My NG3700 has the feature too. but I would like to caution exposing your entire NAS/HDD data over wireless permanently with a RAID Box. All your data could be snooped if there exists a security flaw.

Best to use that feature on a as needed basis with a portable hdd.

--G

 

[GeorgeO]

I dont see where the link defines a USB drive as an external HDD-it says USB storage device.

I stand by my earlier statement

There are routers which allow you to connet USB drives directly to the router, e.g.:

Amazon.com: NETGEAR RangeMax Wireless-N300 Gigabit Router with USB WNR3500L: Electronics

"ReadyShare Easily Shares External USB Storage
A built-in USB port and NETGEAR's ReadyShare technology lets you easily connect a USB storage device and share it with anyone the network. This is great for consolidating all your digital media such as music and photos in one place so everyone on the network can access them. "

Its another question whether it will work with a HDD enclosure with multiple drives.

 

[yrk1969]

I dont see where the link defines a USB drive as an external HDD-it says USB storage device.

I stand by my earlier statement

GerogeO, for USB I think it does not matter whether the actual storage is a USB pendrive (flash based) or a HDD.

Here'es from Netgear's faq:

"What can I do with ReadyShare USB Storage Access?

In your home today, you connect multiple PCs and other devices to the network. Many of the same files now need to be routinely accessed by multiple PCs, gaming consoles and other devices connected to the network. Most consumers buy external hard drives to store the content besides the desktop hard drives. But now you can simply plug in your USB external hard drive to the USB port of the router instead of connecting to each and every computer when required. Any device in the network can now read/write simultaneously from the USB hard drive connected to the WNDR3700 at a much higher speed than any competing router in its category. "

 

[naviworks]

Its another question whether it will work with a HDD enclosure with multiple drives.

this is what exactly i wanted to know yrk.....

now a days many routers are coming with this USB port option, like this belkin product in which it clearly states "Supports external USB hard drives formatted in FAT 16/32 and NTFS file systems"

i wanted to connect something like this to the usb port of the router and access it wirelessly by my laptop, PCH-200, sqeezbox (am yet to buy ) etc

is it possible???

 

[yrk1969]

this is what exactly i wanted to know yrk.....

now a days many routers are coming with this USB port option, like this belkin product in which it clearly states "Supports external USB hard drives formatted in FAT 16/32 and NTFS file systems"

i wanted to connect something like this to the usb port of the router and access it wirelessly by my laptop, PCH-200, sqeezbox (am yet to buy ) etc

is it possible???

Don't know.

Netgear seems to have 2TB size limit. So what happens if we have 5x2TB HDDs in towerraid? Will the router be able to read a 10TB volume? I doubt it will work but only a definate answer from manufacturer or testing can tell.

I was debating the same question of NAS vs HDD ensclosure a couple of months back. I finally ended up putting all my HDDs in my desktop and sharing from it.

My suggestion would be just put in more money for a NAS, since you don't seem to have a desktop.

 

[GeorgeO]

Ok I stand corrected. I know for example that some DVD players and some flat panel TVs allow for a pen drive to be used. I seriously doubt if a HDD can be used since handling that amount of data will require some computing power, but I could be wrong.