Right now I can only name the Synology EDS14 If you want it to be a true network storage you will need a device than can act as a server for file based operations for example a USB NAS adapter. It does not provide network capabilities ~ the hard drive would still be a Direct Attached Storage (DAS). It's purpose basically is to use a network cable instead of e.g. Some good brands in the NAS market (for home use) include Synology, QNAP, DLink, Seagate, WD (Western Digital) Lacie and Buffalo.Ī USB to RJ45 adapter is a pure passive device. In fact, many NAS devices will allow you to extend the storage via USB, so you could still make use of the the drive you bought.
Nas vs external hard drive connected router Pc#
So, what's left? You can get a decent NAS adapter such as the Synology EDS14, you could connect the hard drive to an existing PC and share it over the network that way (I know this isn't what you envisaged, but it'll work, and it won't cost you extra), or you can buy a separate NAS with built-in hard drive(s). PCs take time to connect to USB devices, and do not always do so gracefully, so the result is that you find yourself in a maelstrom of "detected USB device" and "USB device disconnected" messages, and very little oportunity to do actual useful work. However, since the hard drive/printer etc can only talk to one computer at a time, the switch will automatically connect it when required and disconnect when not in use.
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What they do is they emulate USB over network protocols, which works fine, provided that you establish the connection between exactly two devices and leave it there. There are NAS adapters (like the ones mentioned by Hovsep and Jan, or others you can find on eBay) which will do what you want, but they the good ones are not cheap (they typically cost more than the hard drive) or if cheap, they're no good (unreliable and *extremely* slow).Īs for USB hubs and switches, my limited experience (in the context of printers) has taught me one thing "never again".
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Nas vs external hard drive connected router full#
In other words, you can't get an adapter to simplyk "change from USB to RJ45", you need a full NAS instead. A NAS (Network Attached Storage) device is essentially a file server - a computer with a network interface, an operating system and access to a hard disk. Jeff, the issue is a bit more complex that you might imagine, in that USB drives and "network drives" are actually very different devices.