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What are the differences between USB drives and Network storage drives? Which is the best hard drive for you?
On the most elemental level, the USB drive simply plugs into a USB 2.0 port on your computer, laptop or server and allows you to back up data directly to the device. This is often called a direct attached storage device. On the other hand a NAS system or drive plugs into your computer or router and can be seen as additional storage by all computers on the network, thus the name Network attached storage.
When it comes to data transfer speeds there are some significant differences between each type of drive and system. USB 2.0 systems average about a 60 - 80 mb/s data transfer rate. This depends on the true connection speed and whether you are in a read mode, write mode or a read/write mode. NAS drives can transfer data up to 1 GB minute. Most of these drives have a 10/100/1000 Mb Ethernet interface allowing for rapid transfer of data across the network. These speeds will of course slow down if you are using a wireless connection.
If you or your business has already invested into a file server then it may be best to attach a USB drive or system directly to the server. Using the fireproof USB from ioSafe will quickly give you extra redundancy and fire and waterproof protection. Another option would be to purchase fire resistant internal hard drives and simply install them inside your existing server or USB storage array.
Another option that offers the most data redundancy and protection would be to bundle a DROBO NAS system or Netgear ReadyNAS. These complete systems start at price points that are very attractive and offer the most bang for the buck when it comes to the small business budget.
For businesses that are looking for common sense answers to seemingly difficult storage questions, let the experts offer you some advice...ask questions, ask for options!
