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Ideas needed - How to move my storage forward?


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I need more space and will buy a 1TB external drive ASAP.

 

The drive will store all music for my Squeezebox, as well as video and pics to serve to a PS3.

 

I currently use a modest old laptop as a server with a USB harddrive plugged in, and the laptop runs the relevant server software for the clients.

 

Which will be the best option, moving forward?

 

1) Laptop running server software with 1TB USB HD.

 

2) Laptop running server software with 1TB Firewire HD.

 

3) Laptop running server software and 1 gigabit NAS connected to router.

 

4) NAS running server software and connected to router via gigabit ethernet port.

 

5) Any other suggestions.

 

 

 

Thanks in advance

 

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Hi darren - Here are my thoughts on your options.

 

Option 4 is definitely the way to go for your specific setup. It allows you to cut out a lot of software and hardware and access music straight from the source. Down the road if you want to connect the laptop of even use the music on another PC in a different type of high-e d setup you can always connect to the NS via IP if needed.

 

Options 1 and 2 are virtually the same and limit your options as well as require a laptop to serve the files and the laptop needs upkeep itself.

 

Option 3 is the second best choice but getting a NAS device without the capability to serve files to your SB by itself is less than ideal.

 

 

 

Founder of Audiophile Style | My Audio Systems AudiophileStyleStickerWhite2.0.png AudiophileStyleStickerWhite7.1.4.png

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Thank you.

 

What I worry about with a NAS is that the processor power appears small, but I assume this is deceiving as the OS is much lighter than XP Pro on the laptop.

 

I need to be running two server softwares and I don't have Linux knowledge or a big budget, as I'll be back at Uni after the summer.

 

Perhaps a DLNA certified NAS with SlimServer pre-installed will serve both the PS3 and the Squeezebox out of the box?

 

Prices vary wildly. What does the extra cost bring to the table?

 

This is entry-level, for example - is it ok?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Buffalo-LinkStation-Network-Attached-Storage/dp/B000ZNUZAM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1217277620&sr=8-2

 

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I wouldn't worry too much about the processing power in a NAS box. My NAS has an Intel processor that would be considered very weak by PC standards, but in terms of NAS it is fabulous.

 

To run apps off a NAS device you don't need any Linux knowledge if you purchase a common unit. Some will allow you to customize them any way you want, but devices like the QNAP allow configuration of everything via the web interface.

 

A great choice would be a NAs with slimserver already running or one that allows you to install it easily via the web gui.

 

The extra cost are always device specific. For example my NAS supports iSCSI which I am sure raised the cost considerably.

 

The Buffalo unit you linked to likely won't be able to run the slimserver software unless you've been able to read about it in the slimserver forums and are able to "hack" into it.

 

Founder of Audiophile Style | My Audio Systems AudiophileStyleStickerWhite2.0.png AudiophileStyleStickerWhite7.1.4.png

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