Is there any very easy way to turn a hard drive or computer into an NAS?

1

I saw projects like FreeNAS, but first of all I couldn't even find the download, and also it looks like I'll need to do a lot of Linux programming and headache to get it working. I need something that I can install and have ready to go in less than an hour, with minimal to n programming knowledge.

Frankly, I have a lot of things to do, mostly programming and design work (I work from home), so I don't have the time, energy, or mental strain to spend on configuring a complex system. Thus, I need something relatively straightforward to get me up and going in a short amount of time.

I need to have the NAS wirelessly mounted in Windows on my laptop. At the moment I am not too concerned about remote access - only in-home access.

superuser

Posted 2012-03-30T06:38:57.247

Reputation: 2 958

4FreeNAS is designed to not need any command line programming to set up, but there is a slight learning curve. It sounds like you want an of-the-shelf solution, such as a device from Drobo, Synology, or ReadyNAS - or possibly just install your OS of choice on a PC and set up network shares. – sblair – 2012-03-30T07:19:49.787

Answers

4

Share the drive in Windows over your home network. Right-click -> Properties -> Sharing -> Advanced Sharing. Nothing could possibly be simpler.

kotekzot

Posted 2012-03-30T06:38:57.247

Reputation: 849

wouldn't that be REALLY slow transfer? – superuser – 2012-03-30T09:39:50.267

2That would depend on your network and hardware. Obviously, wifi is going to be crap for speed, and 1Gbit eithernet will be great. There is nothing particularly slow about this method as compared to others. – kotekzot – 2012-03-30T09:57:44.837

1Yea, the only thing that separates a "NAS" from a regular server is that it's designed as a specialized appliance. That is: it's stripped of all other hardware and software features that a PC or general-purpose server might have. This means it's smaller, cheaper, consumes less energy, is quieter, and is simpler, requiring less maintenance/administration and being more reliable for running for long periods of time without rebooting. A regular PC can do the same things, but it'll be slower as a file server if someone is working on it, and it'll be wasteful to use a $2000~3000 PC purely as a NAS. – Lèse majesté – 2012-03-30T10:05:05.013

Who spends $2000-$3000 on PC? The best money can buy for a PC can be had for under $800 – superuser – 2012-03-30T14:04:17.690

1"Who spends $2000-$3000 on PC?" More nerds than you think. – Moab – 2012-03-30T16:26:27.833

well ok but they are not too intelligent. I wouldn't throw away my money like that to have the same equipment for 2x to 10x more cost. – superuser – 2012-06-09T02:39:53.263

We're all ears if you know how to get a $3000 PC for $300. – kotekzot – 2012-06-09T11:12:57.807

Asked: 2012-03-30T06:38:57.247

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Active: 2012-03-30T07:04:25.673