How to use a USB hard drive as a NAS device

Any external USB drive can be used as a network storage appliance. There are several advantages with regards to sharing on multiple computer workstations but there are many sacrifices in access speeds for reading and writing data that can make the USB drive difficult to use. Reading and writing speeds averaged between 10 - 13 Mbps. Patience is the key.

Linksys makes the NSLU2 which runs Linux. There are two USB 2.0 ports, and a wired ethernet port so that you can run two devices on your network. Simply load the installation CD and you'll be up and running in a matter of minutes.

The NSLU2 comes standard with a one-year warranty AND the Linksys Web site is full of support material, drivers, updates, and firmware.

My office used this Linksys device with our ioSafe fireproof USB external drive and had some great success for backing up data. We have since upgraded to a NAS appliance and no longer have the need for the Linksys device.