What is a NAS device? We all know we can connect a USB External Hard Drive to our computer and immediately create additional storage for data or backup, but when it comes to efficient data management, there is perhaps a better way… to use Network Attached Storage or NAS for short.
What is the speed of the network adapter available on a NAS device? There are many varieties of NAS devices, depending on if you build it yourself or purchase it. The speed is usually 1GB Ethernet connection but it can be changed to multiple Gb, 10Gb, fiber optic by adding a PCIe network card(s.
What is the capacity range? Depending on the type and volume of content you plan to store, there's a choice of capacities available all the way up to huge multiple TB (Terabyte) versions. A 160GB capacity for example would be enough storage for around 40,000 average audio tracks or up to 200 hours of video content. If you'll be using your NAS device to store masses of content, including High Definition content, or indeed backing up multiple user's PCs, you'll need a bigger capacity.
Is there any fault tolerance (such as RAID0 built into a NAS device? If set up correctly RAID 50 is fairly stable, RAID 10 has been touted as on of the best set ups because more drives can fail at one time with having data loss.
Are management features available? Network attached storage (NAS) appliances and gateways must be configured and managed using NAS management software that allows administrators to allocate space, manage RAID and storage behaviors, perform routine maintenance, and other tasks. Management software ideally provides interoperability with a variety of NAS devices from different vendors and can automate many of the routine management tasks that would otherwise demand manual attention. The product snapshots in this chapter highlight key specifications for a cross section of major NAS management software products.
Speculation on why a user would want to use a NAS. The answer lies in Network Attached Storage. Instead of connecting directly to an individual desktop or laptop computer, a NAS server connects to your wireless router. This effectively allows multiple users from multiple computers to access and share the content and files stored on it. Just one copy of your files, in one accessible place.
Sources sited Google.
