The average home has multiple computers and all kinds of digital photos, mp3’s, and documents that are about as organized as a bucket of slop. If you don’t get a central location to store and protect it – you are stones throw away from pissing away money and memories.

This post of part of The Smorgasbord Tech Reviews series!

Yesterday I talked about getting a wireless USB hub so you could setup some network storage away from your computer or laptop. Seemed like a pretty good idea – right? I have learned that can be both good and bad. Let’s say that your house has a mixed network of Windows and Linux – maybe even Mac? Now what? If you formatted your external drives yourself you have to figure out what common format all the external hard drives need to be for all computers to be able to seamlessly access them. Will you go NTFS? That’s kinda buggy in Linux. What about Fat32? Kind of wastes a bit of space there and not the most efficient for modern Windows machines. And since I don’t own a mac – I have no idea what format is best for that. Linux format?

That was problem #1. Problem #2 is that external drives are SINGLE drives. What does that mean? Well if you have 4 drives, and one fails – then you have three! The data on the failed drive is GONE! You are screwed (unless you were backing it up to yet another external drive). Oh – did I mention problem #3? With external drives they have to be connected to at least one computer on the network, and all the the other systems access the data THROUGH that computer. If that PC is turned off, or down, or being repaired, or out of the house (laptop) – you can’t access any of the data unless you hook the drives up to another system.

Ok – enter Network Storage. What is “network storage”? It’s a piece of hardware that you can stick on your network “standalone” – either wired or wireless, and all computers on the network can access it WITHOUT it being attached to any of the systems (it’s independant). The (better) network storage drives are platform independant, meaning that they can be accessed by Windows, Linux, or Mac computers without worrying about format at all. The better ones have their own internal processor and memory as well. In addition (the better ones) also are redundant and hot-swappable. Meaning they have multiple drives in the box, but if one goes bad you don’t lose any data and can replace the bad drive (without even turning it off). If you purchased a network storage for your home you would be purchasing a professional piece of hardware designed to store AND protect your data. Tens, possibly hundreds of thousands of files that are not only memories, but possibly important documents and hard earned money spent (multimedia files).

So now you know why it’s so important that you have network storage in your home – let me introduce you to some different options that might be right for you, whether you’re looking for a “network hard drive”, or “network external hard drive” there are many options. Imagine having network attached storage in your home or small business for a reasonable price!

The first thing I have to show you is the Buffalo Linkstation series of network storage devices. These drives let you access files remotely using DNS. They also support RAID-1 so you can mirror drives and prevent data loss (like I said earlier). You also get automated backup software with this type of device. It’s listed as being able to be used with both Mac and PC- Linux isn’t listed, but that doesn’t mean it can’t. Check with the company. These drives have some pretty good reviews. I’ll list 3 different options in this line below.

Buffalo LS250GL LinkStation Pro 250 GB Shared Network Storage

1TB Linkstation Pro Duo Nas Gbe 2X 500GB Raid 0 1 Web Access

Linkstation 500 Gb

[EASYBAY]linkstation[/EASYBAY]

The HP MediaSmart server line kind of goes against what I said earlier (accessible from multiple platforms), but that’s because it’s designed fo the new Windows Home Server operating system. Connect it to your router and install the software and you’re ready to go. All Windows PC’s on the network have to install the software. Then every can backup their pc, store files, etc. You can also create a web site where people can access your files remotely and you can share you iTunes library.

HP EX470 MediaSmart Home Server (AMD Live/ 64 Bit Sempron Processor, 500 GB Hard Drive)

HP EX475 MediaSmart Home Server (AMD Live/ 64 Bit Sempron Processor, 1 TB Hard Drive)

[EASYBAY]hp mediasmart server[/EASYBAY]

The Netgear ReadyNAS is some serious business with 4 drive bays and four very fast drives. It’s plug and play ready baby, and it even has a nice digital screen on front of the unit telling you how much space is available. You’re going to pay some serious bucks for this one, as much as an entire computer maybe for the most expensive one, but it will probably outlast all the computers in your house. It’s a serious piece of hardware for people that are serious about preserving their digital data. You can get versions with 2 disks – 4 disks, or no disks (add your own).
Netgear RND4250 ReadyNAS NV+ 1 TB Desktop Network Storage (2x500GB)

Netgear RND4425 ReadyNAS NV+ 1 TB Desktop Network Storage (4x250GB)

Netgear RND4000-100NAS ReadyNAS NV+ 4-Bay Desktop Network Storage (No Disk)

[EASYBAY]netgear readynas[/EASYBAY]

The ZyXel NSA-220 is a cool option because basically it’s just a box that you can add your own drives to. It has two drive bays and can take up to 2TB of data. It takes SATA drives and has support for RAID-1. It has a gigabit ethernet port, and you can access files remotely with a built-in FTP server. That’s a cool feature.

[EASYBAY]ZyXel storage[/EASYBAY]

If you have a question or experience with your own network storage drive pros or cons – comment now!