Looking for external HDD/file server.

**ming** · April 1st, 2007

Hi all,

My mate is looking for an external HDD/file server type device where he can stick a HD on to his home network. I know there are NAS and ethernet HDDs, but there was one device I saw about 1 or 2 years ago which was just an enclosure for HDDs, with wifi and also has the ability to run file sharing apps (if I remember correctly).
I was wondering if you guys could point out where I can find such products. I think ethernet and file sharing capability (such as BT) is what my mate is looking for in these products.

Thanks

**LeeJend** · April 1st, 2007

Was this it?

http://www.ehomeupgrade.com/entry/420/asus_wl-hdd_2
About 2 years ago, wireless, supports FTP, etc.

I researched this last year and it's ugly.
-Multiple vendors, they all seem to use Linux based control software so the HD's need to be formatted other than FAT/NTFS.
-Some formats were actually proprietary (unreadable by any other hardware).
-All I saw had complaints about ease of use.
-There was an after market in shareware firmware upgrades for many of the devices.

Not the clean "home use" product lines you'd expect. It appears the wireless router guys scabbed a HD onto a product or the HD guys scabbed a wireless access point onto their product. Nobody did a clean, ground up approach except for the enterprise guys who charge $500-1000 plus for terabyte type storage centers.

**Geffy** · April 1st, 2007

I recently got a Synology DS-106e which I have been very pleased with. It doesnt have built in wireless though. Got it from scan.co.uk

**ming** · April 1st, 2007

Originally Posted by LeeJend

Was this it?

http://www.ehomeupgrade.com/entry/420/asus_wl-hdd_2
About 2 years ago, wireless, supports FTP, etc.

Yeah, that's what I saw as well... But not sure if that supports p2p apps like BT.

**LeeJend** · April 2nd, 2007

I don't think anything available, short of a barebones PC will support P2P/BT. I was pleasantly surpried it would support FTP.

On the other hand there is a Linksys product, NSLU or something like that, that has pretty sad firmware off the shelf but the hackers have been at it big time and there might be an aftermarket firmware with BT built in. Google some of the support sites on it.

**ming** · April 2nd, 2007

Originally Posted by LeeJend

I don't think anything available, short of a barebones PC will support P2P/BT. I was pleasantly surpried it would support FTP.

On the other hand there is a Linksys product, NSLU or something like that, that has pretty sad firmware off the shelf but the hackers have been at it big time and there might be an aftermarket firmware with BT built in. Google some of the support sites on it.

cool... will do.

thanx

**Geffy** · April 2nd, 2007

http://www.thecus.com/products_over.php?cid=1&pid=24

only single drive but supports downloading from Bittorrent. Also the synology I mentioned I bought recently can be modded by the NSLU stuff as well, so you could ipkg a bittorrent client on to it. It has a Windows only Download Redirector which might do BT but I don't know.

**ming** · April 2nd, 2007

Originally Posted by Geffy

http://www.thecus.com/products_over.php?cid=1&pid=24

only single drive but supports downloading from Bittorrent. Also the synology I mentioned I bought recently can be modded by the NSLU stuff as well, so you could ipkg a bittorrent client on to it. It has a Windows only Download Redirector which might do BT but I don't know.

nice find.... thanx

Oh, I did come across that Synology one. It is just an enclosure, right?

**Geffy** · April 2nd, 2007

Originally Posted by ming

nice find.... thanx

Oh, I did come across that Synology one. It is just an enclosure, right?

Yep, just an enclosure. The DS-106e is SATA and the 106j is IDE. I'd recommend going with the SATA one if you can.

April 1st, 2007	Top \| #1
ming OSNN Advanced Joined: June 2003 Location: UK Posts: 4,252 Reputation: 1160 Power: 159	Looking for external HDD/file server. Hi all, My mate is looking for an external HDD/file server type device where he can stick a HD on to his home network. I know there are NAS and ethernet HDDs, but there was one device I saw about 1 or 2 years ago which was just an enclosure for HDDs, with wifi and also has the ability to run file sharing apps (if I remember correctly). I was wondering if you guys could point out where I can find such products. I think ethernet and file sharing capability (such as BT) is what my mate is looking for in these products. Thanks Curent system: Intel Quad Core 9450 \| 4GB RAM \| WD Raptor 36GB \| nVidia 8800GT 512mb

April 1st, 2007	Top \| #2
LeeJend OSNN Veteran Addict Joined: January 2003 Location: Fort Worth, TX Posts: 5,255 Reputation: 3386 Power: 196	Re: Looking for external HDD/file server. Was this it? http://www.ehomeupgrade.com/entry/420/asus_wl-hdd_2 About 2 years ago, wireless, supports FTP, etc. I researched this last year and it's ugly. -Multiple vendors, they all seem to use Linux based control software so the HD's need to be formatted other than FAT/NTFS. -Some formats were actually proprietary (unreadable by any other hardware). -All I saw had complaints about ease of use. -There was an after market in shareware firmware upgrades for many of the devices. Not the clean "home use" product lines you'd expect. It appears the wireless router guys scabbed a HD onto a product or the HD guys scabbed a wireless access point onto their product. Nobody did a clean, ground up approach except for the enterprise guys who charge $500-1000 plus for terabyte type storage centers. Thought for the new millenium: In a world without walls and fences, who needs Windows and Gates? - Open Office - Firefox - Thunderbird - Gimp -Ubuntu - Red Hat -

April 1st, 2007	Top \| #3
Geffy OSNN Veteran Addict Joined: March 2002 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 7,805 Reputation: 1490 Power: 213	Re: Looking for external HDD/file server. I recently got a Synology DS-106e which I have been very pleased with. It doesnt have built in wireless though. Got it from scan.co.uk  • blog • tumblog • lastfm • flickr • #rubyonrails • @twitter "I could be replaced with a very small shell script"

April 1st, 2007	Top \| #4
ming OSNN Advanced Joined: June 2003 Location: UK Posts: 4,252 Reputation: 1160 Power: 159	Re: Looking for external HDD/file server. Originally Posted by LeeJend Was this it? http://www.ehomeupgrade.com/entry/420/asus_wl-hdd_2 About 2 years ago, wireless, supports FTP, etc. Yeah, that's what I saw as well... But not sure if that supports p2p apps like BT. Curent system: Intel Quad Core 9450 \| 4GB RAM \| WD Raptor 36GB \| nVidia 8800GT 512mb

April 2nd, 2007	Top \| #5
LeeJend OSNN Veteran Addict Joined: January 2003 Location: Fort Worth, TX Posts: 5,255 Reputation: 3386 Power: 196	Re: Looking for external HDD/file server. I don't think anything available, short of a barebones PC will support P2P/BT. I was pleasantly surpried it would support FTP. On the other hand there is a Linksys product, NSLU or something like that, that has pretty sad firmware off the shelf but the hackers have been at it big time and there might be an aftermarket firmware with BT built in. Google some of the support sites on it. Thought for the new millenium: In a world without walls and fences, who needs Windows and Gates? - Open Office - Firefox - Thunderbird - Gimp -Ubuntu - Red Hat -

Latest News Posts

Latest Forum Posts

Latest Member Blogs

April 2nd, 2007	Top \| #6
ming OSNN Advanced Joined: June 2003 Location: UK Posts: 4,252 Reputation: 1160 Power: 159	Re: Looking for external HDD/file server. Originally Posted by LeeJend I don't think anything available, short of a barebones PC will support P2P/BT. I was pleasantly surpried it would support FTP. On the other hand there is a Linksys product, NSLU or something like that, that has pretty sad firmware off the shelf but the hackers have been at it big time and there might be an aftermarket firmware with BT built in. Google some of the support sites on it. cool... will do. thanx Curent system: Intel Quad Core 9450 \| 4GB RAM \| WD Raptor 36GB \| nVidia 8800GT 512mb

April 2nd, 2007	Top \| #7
Geffy OSNN Veteran Addict Joined: March 2002 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 7,805 Reputation: 1490 Power: 213	Re: Looking for external HDD/file server. http://www.thecus.com/products_over.php?cid=1&pid=24 only single drive but supports downloading from Bittorrent. Also the synology I mentioned I bought recently can be modded by the NSLU stuff as well, so you could ipkg a bittorrent client on to it. It has a Windows only Download Redirector which might do BT but I don't know.  • blog • tumblog • lastfm • flickr • #rubyonrails • @twitter "I could be replaced with a very small shell script"

April 2nd, 2007	Top \| #8
ming OSNN Advanced Joined: June 2003 Location: UK Posts: 4,252 Reputation: 1160 Power: 159	Re: Looking for external HDD/file server. Originally Posted by Geffy http://www.thecus.com/products_over.php?cid=1&pid=24 only single drive but supports downloading from Bittorrent. Also the synology I mentioned I bought recently can be modded by the NSLU stuff as well, so you could ipkg a bittorrent client on to it. It has a Windows only Download Redirector which might do BT but I don't know. nice find.... thanx Oh, I did come across that Synology one. It is just an enclosure, right? Curent system: Intel Quad Core 9450 \| 4GB RAM \| WD Raptor 36GB \| nVidia 8800GT 512mb

April 2nd, 2007	Top \| #9
Geffy OSNN Veteran Addict Joined: March 2002 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 7,805 Reputation: 1490 Power: 213	Re: Looking for external HDD/file server. Originally Posted by ming nice find.... thanx Oh, I did come across that Synology one. It is just an enclosure, right? Yep, just an enclosure. The DS-106e is SATA and the 106j is IDE. I'd recommend going with the SATA one if you can.  • blog • tumblog • lastfm • flickr • #rubyonrails • @twitter "I could be replaced with a very small shell script"

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Can't get through to my server from external but can if I'm internal	pokerblogger	Windows Desktop Systems	11	June 28th, 2006 6:50am
Which version for file/ftp server	lad_in_brum	Linux & BSD	2	May 26th, 2005 4:22pm
Ecc to Non Ecc in file server	canadian_divx	General Hardware	3	January 17th, 2005 11:26pm
Linux as a File Server for Home Network	Heeter	Linux & BSD	5	July 26th, 2003 8:33pm
Antec file server and radeon 8500...?	mavis	Graphics Cards	1	December 16th, 2001 6:56am