Posted 09/26/08 at 11:00:00 AM by Michael Brown

A network-attached storage (NAS) device is the Robin to a LAN’s Batman. The two should be inseparable, and for good reason. A NAS box gives you a guaranteed way to store all of your files and stream your media. Running a NAS box also means that you don’t have to boot your power-leeching desktop rig every time you want to access your files from another device.

But you don’t have to go out and purchase a NAS device. You can build a superior alternative using spare parts left over after upgrading your PC.

Guess what? We'll show you how after the jump.

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nas, how_to, michael brown, nas boxes, network-attached storage, freenas

Posted 09/03/08 at 03:08:40 PM by David Murphy

Based on the name alone, one would expect Qnap’s TS-209 Pro II NAS box to offer more features than its predecessors—particularly our leader in this storage category, Qnap’s TS-109 Pro. And while the former does allow for increased capacity, it does not provide significant improvements in performance or offer more features than the TS-109 Pro, which has been out for more than a year.

Check out our full review after the jump!

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storage, networking, hardware, qnap, reviews, web exclusive, nas boxes

Posted 07/14/08 at 05:50:09 PM by David Murphy

Is bigger always better? Not necessarily. Qnap’s TS-409 Pro is packed with the same features as the company’s TS-109 Pro (http://tinyurl.com/yomys5) but includes twice as much memory and supports four hard drives rather than just one. And it rocks, but only if we compare it to similarly sized foes, such Buffalo’s four-drive TeraStation Live.

But how does it stack up to single-drive NAS boxes? Find out after the jump.

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storage, networking, hardware, qnap, reviews, nas boxes, ts-409 pro

Posted 01/15/08 at 06:30:30 PM by David Murphy

Our little hearts were ablaze with excitement when we busted open the chunky Buffalo TeraStation Live. And with good reason; on paper, the four-drive NAS device looked like it was going to be an easy winner–its two terabytes of total storage in a RAID-5 configuration made us smile.

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nas, hardware, buffalo tech, terastation, reviews, nas boxes

Posted 11/12/07 at 07:54:32 PM by David Murphy

We’ll get the bad news out of the way first. QNAP’s TS-109 Pro NAS device is more an enclosure than a NAS box–the storage part of the equation is BYO. Thankfully, NAS devices’ speeds are primarily determined by the connection and the interface of the device itself–purchase a decent hard drive, you’ll be sticking it into one of the fastest NAS boxes we’ve tested.

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esata, nas, network attached storage, hardware, consumer electronics, qnap, reviews, nas boxes

Posted 11/09/07 at 03:27:44 PM by David Murphy

Installing the OWC NASPerform to a computer via a network is a confusing mix of simple and complicated. The installer program itself is a welcome relief from the typically agonizing process of having to play with IP address and configuration screens. But that doesn’t mean OWC has spared you from a headache: You have to not only type in a 20-digit device ID just to connect the NAS box to your rig but also input a “write key,” which is printed on a label on the enclosure, if you want more than read-only access. So much for simply dragging and dropping files or controlling users via a handy web interface!

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nas, network attached storage, hardware, consumer electronics, owc, reviews, nas boxes

Posted 11/09/07 at 01:26:40 PM by David Murphy

The 2TB LaCie Ethernet Big Disk is appropriately named, we suppose. Other potential monikers: the LaCie Ethernet Big Headache, the LaCie Ethernet Sucks at Networking, or perhaps even the LaCie Ethernet Where Did My Drive Go. We jest, but there’s truth to our ramblings–the LaCie Ethernet Big Disk is horrific as a network-attached storage device, mainly due to our frequent failures to get Windows to even see the drive.

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nas, terabyte, hardware, consumer electronics, LaCie, reviews, nas boxes

Posted 09/12/07 at 04:14:06 PM by Dave Murphy

When we first got the Myshare into the Lab, we were a bit taken aback by its simplicity. There’s no fancy software to accompany the 500GB device; it’s actually two 250GB drives striped using RAID 0. If you want to access the Myshare, you have to go through Windows Explorer, just as you would with any other network drive.

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storage, nas, RAID, hardware, hammer, reviews, nas boxes