IOGEAR’s ShareStation costs $80 and allows you to share USB devices. Smart, huh? You can share just about any USB-based device across multiple computers that are connected to the same network. IOGEAR cautions that “Users may not achieve optimum audio/video streaming performance when connecting to the USB Net ShareStation through a wireless Ethernet router,” if you were to share, say, a USB hard drive, but it looks like most other devices that don’t require lightning-quick reflexes should do just fine — printers, scanners, and whatnot. You can plug the device into a 4-port USB 2.0 hub, too, and do a little four-way sharing. Very nice. → Read More
Drobo phone home Most of you have probably heard of Drobo, the data storage robot/system from Data Robotics. We’ve done a review of the original Drobo here on CrunchGear, but recently Drobo was updated with a little brother named DroboShare, which painlessly converts Drobo into a Network Attached Storage device. I’ve had one hanging out with me for several weeks now, and I’ve formed an opinion: It’s sweet. Big HDDaddy Let’s have a brief overview of the Drobo just in case you haven’t read up on it. Essentially, it’s a completely self-contained system that takes whatever hard drives you give it (up to 4) and makes the data pretty much indestructible. If you have two drives in it, it will mirror the data one to the other, and if you have three or more it will stripe the data across them with parity. It’s aware of the organization of the data and when things change, it reshuffles the blocks to make sure they’re both safe and accessible. The downside, of course, is that you lose actual space to put things in; two 500 gig drives, for instance, will result in a total of 500 gigs of useable space. Drives are so cheap these days that that’s hardly an issue, but no one likes their gigabytes per dollar to be messed with too much. → Read More
[photopress:IMG_1386.JPG,full,pp_image] Setting up a home storage server has long been fraught with peril. I’ve in fact had a terabyte and a half of storage space lying in NAS blocks in the past year and never stored more than a few movies on any of these devices. There just wasn’t a good, sane way to keep things updated without going through arcane web interfaces or maintaining a network disk connection that — in the end — would always fail. That said, meet the Lacie Ethernet Disk Mini. It’s not a brand new device but I’m here to talk more about the on-board software than anything else. This is because the HipServ firmware that resides on this particular drive is probably one of the best examples of a home server that could actually be used and installed by anyone who actually lives in a house and does not have a Master’s in Information Systems. [photopress:itunes.jpg,thumb,pp_image][photopress:admin.jpg,thumb,pp_image][photopress:lacie.jpg,thumb,pp_image][photopress:login.jpg,thumb,pp_image] → Read More
Drobo, our favorite storage robot, now has a sidekick, the DroboShare. Couldn’t you have come up with a fancier name then that? Well, whatever. If you have a Drobo and need to share that content with others in your LAN then the DroboShare is the ideal accruement. It works with all operating systems including Home Media Centers and is the first NAS to support all major file systems, such as NTFS, HFS+, EXT3, and FAT32. The system currently supports up to 8TB today, but can easily accommodate 32TB when the time comes. It’s available now for $199. Product Page → Read More
This home-networking thing is really taking off. With the popularity of BitTorrent, and the average consumer realizing they can rip DVDs they own, home-based network attached storage is going to be a huge market. And Intel know it, that’s why its launching the SS4200 family of affordable, easy-to-use NAS systems. The systems can contain up to 4 SATA drives and attach to the network via Gigabit Ethernet. Any computers on the network can then mount the share, and everyone can use it for storage, taking the load off all the laptops the pesky kids have. Pricing will depend on exactly how much storage you need, but this is the first Intel NAS aimed at the home user, and we highly doubt it’ll be the last. ss4200 series [Product Page] → Read More
Hewlett Packard’s MediaSmart Home Server, pictured here, made a brief blip on the internet radar recently when it showed up and quickly disappeared from various online stores (it’s still up on Amazon, however). It’ll apparently be available to ship on September 15th and there will be two models available, a 500GB version for $599 and a 1TB version for $749. Each will have an AMD Sempron processor running at 1.8GHZ. Other hardware partners include Fujitsu-Siemens, Gateway, Iomega, Lacie, and Medion so we might expect to see a wider variety of systems becoming available in the not-too-distant future. See our previous Windows Home Server post for a brief overview of what it can do. Amazon leaks price, date of first Windows Home Server box [ComputerWorld] via ActiveWin.com → Read More
So if you were shopping for a network-attached storage drive and were on the fence about which to get, Buffalo’s added a little sumthin’ sumthin’ to tip you in their favor: Web access to your digital files. Now you’ll be able to access all your files stored on either the 1, 2 or 3TB TeraStation Live NAS devices from any Web browser. The device includes its own dynamic DNS server so users simply log onto www.buffaloNAS.com, enter their user name and instantly have access to all of their files. Additionally, they can access their device by going to www.buffaloNAS.com/theirusername. Because there is no need to download software, set-up is a breeze. Web Access uses UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) and requires no firewall configuration for seamless communication between the TeraStation Live and any web browser. That sounds like a good time to me. Perfect for letting your friends and family have at your digital media. Remember: Sharing is caring. BUFFALO TECHNOLOGY ADDS EASY REMOTE ACCESS TO ITS TERASTATION LIVE NAS DEVICE → Read More
Searching for a bargain NAS and own a Mac Mini? You really couldn’t ask for more with the Lindy Mini NAS. Aside from looking like the Mac Mini’s illegitimate brother, the Mini NAS has space for full-size 3.5-inch drives and comes with a built-in FTP server, Samba support, and 10/100 Ethernet. Oh noes! No gigabit! Not a networking guru? Who cares. Use a USB cable to easily connect to the Mini NAS. You can cop this hot piece of NAS for about $132. Lindy’s Mini NAS enclosure hearts your Mac mini [Engadget] → Read More
Windows Home Server software is heading to its OEM partners today, according to a post on the WHS team’s blog. → Read More
Need more storage? Buy a larger hard drive. Need A LOT more storage? Pick up the new 3TB TeraStation Live (HS-DH3.0TGL/R5) or the 3TB TeraStation Pro II (TS-H3.0TGL/R5) from Buffalo Technology. The network attached storage drives were announced and released today, stamped with a company claim of being the “industry’s fastest single NAS devices in its class on the market today, delivering a high-speed processor for ultra-fast data transfer rates of up to 38MB/s which is comparable to a USB 2.0 hard drive.” For the unfamiliar, the TeraStation Live (already available in 1TB and 2TB versions) is more for media sharing than simple file storage with its abilities to be used as an iTunes server and now can save pictures and video directly from cameras. The TeraStation Pro II (also in 1TB and 2TB versions) is aimed at SMB and SOHO customers with improved power management and security features. With an estimated street price of $2,499, they certainly aren’t for everyone. In fact, while I get the SMB demand for the Pro II, I can’t imagine the market for the consumer-friendly 3TB Live NAS drive is a big one, but you know, maybe it’s a “if you build it, they will come” kinda thing. BUFFALO ANNOUNCES THE FIRST 3TB NAS OF ITS KIND [press release] → Read More
In an effort to make your life all the more easy, Belkin has come up with the Network USB Hub. The hub plugs into your home network (router, access point, what have you) and then you can plug up to four USB devices into the hub. From then on, you’ll be able to access those devices from any computer on the network. Since it’s compatible with the still unfinished 802.11n, it’s conceivable to stick the hub and a bunch of external drives, printers, scanners, etc. in a closet, so as not to clutter your desk. I know mine is pretty filthy, thanks in part to a bunch of external drives I have strewn about. This wunderhub will be available in June for around $130. And since external hard drives are fairly cheap nowadays (don’t believe what Microsoft has to say), you can start building a data library that rivals even Alexandria. Belkin 802.11n hub to link up USB add-ons remotely [The Register] Thanks Liam! → Read More
I would absolutely love one of these to keep my, ah, “home movie” collection on. Jack In The Box MZK-NAS02 is essentially a NAS with two SATA bays plus a dedicated Bit Torrent client built-in. Using a web-based interface, you can control the Bit Torrent and NAS functions easily, allowing you to pirate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from any location in the world. Jack is capable of RAID 0 or 1 arrays and supports hot-swapping drives. Have a speedy internet connection in your home office? Take advantage of it by using Jack’s Gigabit Ethernet connection or add your own media via the SD/MCC card slot on the front of the device. Now before you clean your saliva up, pick your tongue up off the floor etc., we should warn you that Jack In The Box is currently Japan only and there is no official US release date in sight. The expected cost for the device is around $333 and no word yet on if you’ll be able to easily import it. Jack In The Box: BitTorrent-Enabled Network Storage Guaranteed To Spook RIAA [Gizmodo] → Read More
Illegal downloading just got a good bit easier, L.A. Boy Scouts Be Damned. Software maker BitTorrent has signed a deal that will enable it to pre-install its software on electronic devices. The first companies to go along with this are Asustek Computer, Planex Communication and QNAP Systems. If all goes according to plan, and the RIAA and MPAA don’t intervene some time soon, BitTorrent will be available on wireless routers, media servers and network attached storage (NAS) devices pretty soon. While I understand the worth of something like this, it’s being touted as a “PC-less downloading solution.” But how are you going to access your NAS without a PC? In Brief: BitTorrent inks deals to embed software in products [InfoWorld] → Read More
devices, Evergreen of Japan has made a NAS with a Mac Mini form factor. The white and silver Mac Mini stylings will enclose an IDE or SATA hard drive – desktop, not laptop – and will have USB 2.0 in addition to ethernet connectivity. This actually looks pretty great for a home NAS that you want to blend in with the rest of your components, especially a certain small computer from Apple. Evergreen NAS Mini [Akihabara News] → Read More
HP’s entering in the low-end NAS market with its Media Vault, a 300 or 500GB RAID affair. The unit will have gigabit Ethernet, 1.2TB of maximum storage, three USB ports (to achieve that maximum), and a NASA-like front design. The back, however, looks like the back of a Dell PC. Which is great if you’re looking for uniformity in PC-asses, but boring otherwise. Speaking of NAS, the D-Link and Maxtor Shared Storage are two solid choices for storage you can access from anywhere in your Bat Cave. HP Media Vault — NAS we go again [Engadget] → Read More
The DNS-323 is D-Link’s newest network attached storage (NAS) targeted towards the home and small business audience. It has a gigabit ethernet connection, something that’s very important for a NAS, and two SATA hard drive slots for storage. The DNS-323 can support RAID 1 for mirror your data, protecting your precious videos and iTunes music from being lost, something our own John B has firsthand experience with. The NAS also has UPnP for easy detection on your Windows workstation, an FTP server so you can access your files anywhere, and is available now for $229.99. Compared to other NAS devices, this price is actually quite low, but features are still pretty great. We’d definitely recommend it if you were in the market for a NAS. Press Release [eHomeUpgrade] → Read More
