Network drives

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bhoywonder
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Network drives

Postby bhoywonder » 16 Jun 2017, 09:00

Sorry for the (even more) boring (than usual) thread, but does anyone know anything about network drives? I want to buy something around 1-2 terrabytes (I think) that will serve files for my Sonos music system, and that I can use to back up files from my (Mac) laptop and, ideally, iPad.

Does anybody know anything about these things, and, if so, could you tell me what to buy?

I don't have much money, if that helps.

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bhoywonder
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Re: Network drives

Postby bhoywonder » 13 Jul 2017, 12:53

I'll take that as a no then...

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JQW
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Re: Network drives

Postby JQW » 13 Jul 2017, 21:46

I've not used one of these drives, at least a recent one.

Essentially they present themselves as a network mountable drive, usually using a protocol called SMB, which has been around in some form or other for decades. It's fairly straightforward to map a PC or Mac to them. An iPad is another matter, and the features will depend on bundled apps.

Current models have extra features, such as the ability to play audio or video media remotely, cloud back-up, and disk mirroring, amongst others. It's these extra features that add cost, and you may not necessarily want them.
The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt. - Bertrand Russell

Hugh
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Re: Network drives

Postby Hugh » 14 Jul 2017, 22:06

I have a Synology NAS. It can house 2 hard drives of up to 6TB each which can be set to mirror each other so that if one drive failed you still have all your files on the other. I only have 1 4 TB drive in mine which I guess is asking for trouble.

I use it to stream music to 2 different hifi systems and it works really well. I also use it to stream video to the telly, but not so much. as Jethro says, a NAS can do lots of other stuff if you want it to, but I don't. You can access the files on your NAS from anywhere with a wifi signal but I haven't been able to work out how to do that and I don't really need it anyway.


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