NAS and server question

[Larry Shuman]

I am looking for information on NSA and server units. I have ZERO experience with this. At present I'm filling up a WD 6TB HD that's plugged into the computer. Also I have a 6TB internal that I save to. In a couple of weeks the 6TB external will be full and I'll replace with a WD 12TB unit . Also I'll change out the internal 6tb for 12TB. So what is a server? What does it do? Or just what does NAS do? How could either of these units help me? Or is what I've been doing is alright and I'll continue doing that. I've looked up NAS and server on the internet and its just confusing for me. Is there a more simple way of explaining it. Like NSA I just looked at and it said it could be accessed remotely. So how far away. Twenty miles, across the room etc. The internet is no help here.

 

[PhilcTx]

I assume you're referring to NAS units. Network Attached Storage. They're hardware boxes (actually small computers) that will contain multiple storage devices (hard disks, SSDs) in different configurations to provide mass storage capacity that can be accessed via a network. It's used for mass file storage and access or to store file/system backups.

A NAS will have a network interface than can be attached to your local home/business ethernet/wifi network. You can then access the files in the NAS via the network.

I've had a small Synology NAS with 2 HDDs we use for storing system backups. It's plugged into the ethernet hub on our home cable/wifi router.

Hopefully this helps some.

 

[DRwyoming]

Or just what does NAS do?

Network Attached Storage (NAS) is one or more disk drives that connects via your home or office network. That network in most cases is a WiFi or in some cases Ethernet network that is used to attach multiple computers. The big advantage of NAS is that whatever you have stored there (e.g. your photos) is accessible to any users with appropriate privileges connected to the network. For a home network that means you can access your photo library from multiple computers, maybe a workstation you use for most photo editing but also a laptop or tablet you also use. Basically if you can connect to the network that hosts the NAS you can access your photos.

If you don't need that kind of multiple computer access you can also run external Direct Attached Storage(DAS) systems which can be as simple as an enclosure that hosts one or more hard drives and connects via a standard computer interface like USB. These enclosures often have some hardware inside that support things like a RAID controller that allows you to easily set up redundant sets of disk drives such that you retain all your images even if a single hard drive in the RAID array fails. The downside of a set of direct attached hard drives is that photos stored there aren't readily available to all computers on your home or office network.

Here's an example of a direct USB attached enclosure supporting up to 4 drives. These can typically be configured in one of several RAID modes (for simple redundancy Raid 1 or Raid 5 are good choices): https://www.adorama.com/qntr004.html

 

[MartyD]

A file server is a computer with storage that provides access to those applications and files to other users via network connections. In my business environment our servers are optimized to host our business databases and control access and read/write operations to large databases to many users as quickly as possible. In my home my Windows 10 PC acts as a server by sharing certain drives or directories with other users on my home network. It basically provides network accessible storage in my home.

NAS are simplified file servers that you can connect to your network to provide file storage to users connected to your network. They can offer RAID configurations with multiple drives and may provide remote access to stored files via the web. They are configured and managed via the network connection. They are basically simplifies file servers in a box.

I think when considering network storage or direct storage the questions that needs to be answered are who needs access to the files, from where, and how important is speed. I have my main working desktop computer that has several internal drives and several USB external storage and backup drives. The drives that I might need access to from a different computers on my home network are configured as shared drives and I can access the files I might need.

 

[Larry Shuman]

Thanks That make a good deal of sense. I think I'll just stick with my DAS. Its worked really well for over a decade.

 

[ruley74]

I'm not really into computers at all and we got a QNAP dual bay NAS last year, a little tooling about to set up for a novice but got it done. It's great, they have an app so i can access and download my photo's on my phone, you map it like a drive on the computer for easy access and you've got web access on computers outside your network.

Like others, i have it sitting next to WIFI router plugged in and part of my home network.