NAS Vs USB Drive on AEBS?

[spiritlevel]

Please can someone tell me what the advantages are of a proper NAS (like a ReadyNas Duo) connected to an AEBS as opposed to a simple USB drive?

I want to store my itunes library on this networked drive so it is accessible to a couple of Macs and my ATV1 as well as non-itunes movies that I can stream to my JailBroken ATV1 via XBMC.

Obviously the simple USB drive is much cheaper so I would like to fully understand the advantages of something like the ReadyNas duo to see if the extra cost is worth it for me.

thanks

 

[gabicava83]

Higher level of redundancy.

I.e a NAS drive has some kind of RAID (many different types) that can tolerate a drive failure or several depending on your RAID.

USB single unit drive = none

Plus many other features......

Please can someone tell me what the advantages are of a proper NAS (like a ReadyNas Duo) connected to an AEBS as opposed to a simple USB drive?

I want to store my itunes library on this networked drive so it is accessible to a couple of Macs and my ATV1 as well as non-itunes movies that I can stream to my JailBroken ATV1 via XBMC.

Obviously the simple USB drive is much cheaper so I would like to fully understand the advantages of something like the ReadyNas duo to see if the extra cost is worth it for me.

thanks

 

[spiritlevel]

It's those many other features that I would like to know more about please...

I already have a 2 drive enclosure with raid 0, 1 and JBOD - so what would something like the NetGear NAS give me on top of that?

And are there any restrictions on what can be streamed or shared on a standard USB drive compared to a proper NAS like the NetGear?

thanks

 

[spiritlevel]

OK so I've hooked my 2TB raid enclosure up to my AEBS via the usb port and this seems to work well (if a little slow accessing files compared to connecting the disk directly to my laptop)

It seems that the AEBS turns any external disk into a NAS right?

In which case there's probably no point in me spending more bucks on a dedicated NAS

 

[dongmin]

A proper NAS (that supports gigabit ethernet and other goodies) will be multiple times faster than an AEBS. I find file transfers via AirDisk torturously slow.

 

[spiritlevel]

Ahh - OK thanks

Well the NAS I have been looking at is the Synology DS211J

So you're saying that if I were to connect that by ethernet to one of my AEBS Gigabit LAN ports, it would be much faster?

(I don't have a separate ethernet switch)

Or...is what you're saying only valid if the entire network is wired? (gigabit ethernet)

What I am after is the fastest way of having a networked disk that can be shared over wifi.

 

[Transporteur]

Ahh - OK thanks

Well the NAS I have been looking at is the Synology DS211J

So you're saying that if I were to connect that by ethernet to one of my AEBS Gigabit LAN ports, it would be much faster?

Well, if you access your data via wireless LAN, the dedicated NAS unit won't be any faster than the USB drive.

If you go wired the DS211J will be faster than a USB drive, though.

 

[spiritlevel]

I see. Unfortunately wired isn't really an option as I will be connecting to the disk via either a laptop (which could be anywhere in the house) or an ATV which is in a place that is difficult to run a wire to.

Looks like I'll be sticking with the AEBS/USB disk solution.

Thanks again for your help.