So , you just plunked down for some connection tie storage . 500 gilbert ? 2 TB ? Does n’t matter ! Even the most cavernous NAS is just a speechless brick — if you do n’t have a go at it what to do with it .
Getting a NAS set up as a unsubdivided Indian file contribution is mostly a nag - and - caper process . ( More on thathere . ) And in in the altogether form , it ’s a dead - simple conception : Here ’s a bunch of storage space that you’re able to partake in among your home computer , over the web . But with a little work , you may do so much more than that , convert your NAS from a envy purchase in the name of caution to a life-sustaining piece of your very figure existence .
https://gizmodo.com/how-to-choose-the-best-internet-storage-for-a-mac-pc-hom-5067201
Here are some of the best peak :
Choosing the Right Kind
So , you require in on the NAS natural process , but you do n’t know where to start — and more importantly , do n’t want to waste money if you do n’t have to . John Mahoneyled us throughthree eccentric of NAS :
• My DIY organisation was concocted using FreeNAS software and an older ThinkPad I had rest around . This was technically the cheap of the bunch .
• My router - based organisation was an AirPort Extreme with attached WD and LaCie USB drives , which was also “ recycling ” but cost a bite more .
• The dedicated NAS appliance I tested was a two - drive Synology DS207 + , $ 330 for the boxful but the parkway themselves are sold separately .
If you ’re translate this , you ’ve probably already got your NAS , sit there on your desk , power light indistinctly mocking you . So , sad , let ’s move on .
Remote Access
The easy way to access your NAS from outside of your home meshing is to set up an FTP server . dress up the NAS for outback FTP access is as easy as enabling the feature film in the twist ’s ascendancy software . Actually getting to the machine from outside your mesh is a bit hard .
FTP is an acronym you might recognize from elsewhere . In layman terms , it ’s the developer ’s way to access a entanglement server , rather than the user ’s . ( HTTP . ) It ’s a gross oversimplification , yeah , but here ’s the part that matter : FTP access permit you see files on a server as if they ’re in a networked folder . Accessing the FTP server from within your meshwork is as easy as typewrite your NAS ’s IP address into an FTP client ; doing so from outdoors takes a bit more work — specifically , you ’ll need to forward porthole 21 to the net address of your NAS . Instructionshere .
Once your ports are undecided , you ’ll be capable to access your files from an FTP node likeFilezilla , by entering the external address of your home connection , follow by port 21 . you’re able to see this IP address from a home base computer by visitingthis site .
Use Your NAS for Time Machine Backups
When Time Machine came around , it blew most other Mac backup utilities out of the park , at least in terms of ease of economic consumption . One trouble : The only internet attached storage equipment it work with , ostensibly , is Apple ’s Time Capsule . What if you have another NAS ?
Here ’s asimple guideto fob Time Machine into bring through stand-in to any NAS twist , disregardless of who made it .
https://gizmodo.com/how-to-use-time-machine-backups-on-windows-home-server-5312157
Console video streaming
A lot of NAS twist offer cyclosis to Xbox and PS3 devices , but what they do n’t do is convert your videos to be compatible with your console table . Before knock down your videos on your NAS for streaming to a cabinet , you ’ll need to make trusted they ’ve been converted to an appropriate format .
The Xbox 360 and PS3 now keep going a multitude of single file formats , so consult these guides ( Xbox , PS3 ) before win over any telecasting . If your files are n’t encode in the appropriate format , the safest stakes is to convince them to h.264 videos with an .mp4 file annexe . But you do n’t have to vex to much about the particular here — just download the free video conversion utilityHandbrake , which has video rebirth presets for the major cabinet .
Windows and Mac Compatibility
One of the great thing about web attached storage is that it operates through a web port , meaning that you do n’t need to concern about the literal format of your file system , since it ’s only seen by the NAS ’s OS , which pass data through to other devices on your mesh via unwashed web protocols . Most NASes let you connect just as easily from a Mac as from a PC , but when you ’re setting up your NAS , it ’s deserving checking into exactly which protocol your box will be sharing with .
well-nigh every NAS will share via SMB by default , which is great — if you run Windows . SMB sharing also works with Mac OS , but if you desire optimum carrying into action fly the coop Apple ’s OS , you ’ll need to trip a separate type of single file sharing , that can be run alongside SMB :
In a miscellaneous Mac / Windows surround , the master performance factor for Macs is support for Apple File Protocol for connecting meshwork part . AFP support is becoming more and more common in nicer NAS rigs , but it is still not a afford in the cheaper range – every NAS alive supports SMB / CIFS , the more Windows - friendly protocol , so PCs generally do n’t have a trouble . While Macs can connect to NAS using SMB - and also NFS Unix , which you may also run across - performance wise , OS X ’s SMB implementation is still tawdry compared to the apparently unlined AFP . ( SMB also includes mannerism such as filename length restriction that can confuse a Mac into conniption . )
run only AFP is no good unless you ’ve got a Mac - only home mesh . Running AFP parallel to SMB . though , will make channelize filing cabinet from your Mac to your NAS , or frailty versa , so much more bearable .
RAID
It ’s an acronym you credibly came across in your NAS ’s control panel , andhere ’s what it mean :
https://gizmodo.com/giz-explains-what-a-raid-hard-drive-array-is-and-why-5203952
RAID sounds like mistily scary , like something you to do a French village if you ’re a Viking or what you do on a Saturday nighttime if you ’re a lonely , sad person , but really it just stand for redundant regalia of sovereign disc . Which really just means a bundle of punishing drives acting like one superharddrive .
Right , so what ’s the spot of have your NAS turned into a “ superharddrive ? ” ( Note : This is only worth doing if your NAS has multiple hard drives inside ):
RAID 0 : This is the version of RAID that turns multiple hard ride into a single punishing drive , allowing for immobile reading material and writing , since multiple physical drives are doing the work of one . It ’s not really deserving your trouble in a NAS context , since your speed is most belike run low to be set by web bandwidth , not voiceless drive limitation . Plus , it ’s speculative : If one drive fails , the data point on both is basically useless .
RAID 1 : This is the RAID that ’s most utilitarian in a NAS , since it mirror data , rather than striping it . Any data written to a RAID 1 - configured NAS will actually be drop a line twice , to both drives in the regalia . You trim down your likely space in half , but conceive of it this agency : All your data is automatically backed up , all the clock time .
In finis , go RAID 1 or do n’t occupy about it . Chances are you ’re using your NAS for patronage anyway , so the add redundancy might palpate a act exuberant .
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