Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage (More info?)

Maxtor has 200 and 300 GB drives that hang off a home network router/switch,
providing shared storage for all PC's on a LAN. Additional storage or
printer can be attached to the drive (via USB) and be shared as well.

http://www.maxtor.com/_files/maxto [...] asheet.pdf

This sort of thing would be ideal for my 3-PC home network, for storing
critical data and sharing printer (without my main PC, with the shared
printers, being on all the time..)

What do you folks think about this? The 300 GB network drive is available
for $350, which is not that much more than external USB drives ...

Alternatively, I have a spare P-II 233 MHz PC with 256 MB RAM (Intel AL440LX
motherboard) that I can set up as a Win2000Pro system and attach the shared
drives off of that. However,the I/O susbsystem on that system is very very
slow ...

What do you suggest?
--
Aloke
----
to reply by e-mail remove 123 and change invalid to com

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage (More info?)

"Aloke Prasad" <aprasad123@columbus.rr.invalid> wrote in message
news:5V6Sd.6810$kI.6283@fe2.columbus.rr.com...
> Maxtor has 200 and 300 GB drives that hang off a home network router/switch,
> providing shared storage for all PC's on a LAN. Additional storage or printer
> can be attached to the drive (via USB) and be shared as well.
>
> http://www.maxtor.com/_files/maxto [...] asheet.pdf
>
> This sort of thing would be ideal for my 3-PC home network, for storing
> critical data and sharing printer (without my main PC, with the shared
> printers, being on all the time..)
>
> What do you folks think about this? The 300 GB network drive is available for
> $350, which is not that much more than external USB drives ...
>
> Alternatively, I have a spare P-II 233 MHz PC with 256 MB RAM (Intel AL440LX
> motherboard) that I can set up as a Win2000Pro system and attach the shared
> drives off of that. However,the I/O susbsystem on that system is very very
> slow ...

That doesnt really matter much for the sort of network storage
you want. The speed will be mostly dominated by the lan speed.

> What do you suggest?

I normally give dinosaurs the bums rush myself,
so the lan capable storage has some advantages.

Dont like maxtor drives much tho.

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage (More info?)

"Rod Speed" <rod_speed@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:37sdapF5gcse5U1@individual.net...
>
> "Aloke Prasad" <aprasad123@columbus.rr.invalid> wrote in message
> news:5V6Sd.6810$kI.6283@fe2.columbus.rr.com...
>> Maxtor has 200 and 300 GB drives that hang off a home network
>> router/switch, providing shared storage for all PC's on a LAN.
>> Additional storage or printer can be attached to the drive (via USB) and
>> be shared as well.
>>
>> http://www.maxtor.com/_files/maxto [...] asheet.pdf
>>
>> This sort of thing would be ideal for my 3-PC home network, for storing
>> critical data and sharing printer (without my main PC, with the shared
>> printers, being on all the time..)
>>
>> What do you folks think about this? The 300 GB network drive is
>> available for $350, which is not that much more than external USB drives
>> ...
>>
>> Alternatively, I have a spare P-II 233 MHz PC with 256 MB RAM (Intel
>> AL440LX motherboard) that I can set up as a Win2000Pro system and attach
>> the shared drives off of that. However,the I/O susbsystem on that system
>> is very very slow ...
>
> That doesnt really matter much for the sort of network storage
> you want. The speed will be mostly dominated by the lan speed.
>
>> What do you suggest?
>
> I normally give dinosaurs the bums rush myself,
> so the lan capable storage has some advantages.
>
> Dont like maxtor drives much tho.

I have been using a 250 GB external USB2 drive by Maxtor. So far, so good.
I'm tempted to get the networked storage drive ..

Anyone else making such drives? I see Linksys offering some routers with
USB ports for shared storage. To me, a drive with the NOS built in (Maxtor
uses Samba) is a more flexible approach.
--
Aloke
----
to reply by e-mail remove 123 and change invalid to com

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage (More info?)

"Aloke Prasad" <aprasad123@columbus.rr.invalid> wrote in message
news:4G8Sd.6881$kI.119@fe2.columbus.rr.com...
>
> "Rod Speed" <rod_speed@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:37sdapF5gcse5U1@individual.net...
>>
>> "Aloke Prasad" <aprasad123@columbus.rr.invalid> wrote in message
>> news:5V6Sd.6810$kI.6283@fe2.columbus.rr.com...
>>> Maxtor has 200 and 300 GB drives that hang off a home network router/switch,
>>> providing shared storage for all PC's on a LAN. Additional storage or
>>> printer can be attached to the drive (via USB) and be shared as well.
>>>
>>> http://www.maxtor.com/_files/maxto [...] asheet.pdf
>>>
>>> This sort of thing would be ideal for my 3-PC home network, for storing
>>> critical data and sharing printer (without my main PC, with the shared
>>> printers, being on all the time..)
>>>
>>> What do you folks think about this? The 300 GB network drive is available
>>> for $350, which is not that much more than external USB drives ...
>>>
>>> Alternatively, I have a spare P-II 233 MHz PC with 256 MB RAM (Intel AL440LX
>>> motherboard) that I can set up as a Win2000Pro system and attach the shared
>>> drives off of that. However,the I/O susbsystem on that system is very very
>>> slow ...
>>
>> That doesnt really matter much for the sort of network storage
>> you want. The speed will be mostly dominated by the lan speed.
>>
>>> What do you suggest?
>>
>> I normally give dinosaurs the bums rush myself,
>> so the lan capable storage has some advantages.
>>
>> Dont like maxtor drives much tho.
>
> I have been using a 250 GB external USB2 drive by Maxtor. So far, so good.
> I'm tempted to get the networked storage drive ..

> Anyone else making such drives?

There are a few non hard drive manufacturers offering similar devices.

> I see Linksys offering some routers with USB ports for shared storage.

> To me, a drive with the NOS built in (Maxtor uses Samba) is a more flexible
> approach.

Sure, definitely the way to go in my opinion.

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage (More info?)

"Rod Speed" <rod_speed@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:37slt6F59u065U1@individual.net...
>
> "Aloke Prasad" <aprasad123@columbus.rr.invalid> wrote in message
> news:4G8Sd.6881$kI.119@fe2.columbus.rr.com...

>> To me, a drive with the NOS built in (Maxtor uses Samba) is a more
>> flexible approach.
>
> Sure, definitely the way to go in my opinion.

Will Ghost 2003 be able to access this type of device as a destination for
images of my PC's drives?
--
Aloke
----
to reply by e-mail remove 123 and change invalid to com

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage (More info?)

Aloke Prasad <aprasad123@columbus.rr.invalid> wrote in message
news:5QaSd.43377$XY5.22114@fe2.columbus.rr.com...
> Rod Speed <rod_speed@yahoo.com> wrote
>> Aloke Prasad <aprasad123@columbus.rr.invalid> wrote

>>> To me, a drive with the NOS built in (Maxtor uses Samba) is a more flexible
>>> approach.

>> Sure, definitely the way to go in my opinion.

> Will Ghost 2003 be able to access this type of device as a destination for
> images of my PC's drives?

Should be fine. Ghost 2003 can be a bit tricky to setup if the
NIC in the system ghost is running on isnt in its standard set
of NICs, but once it can see the lan, it doesnt have any problem
with the drives on the lan, at least with any Win network.

Havent tried it much with non Win lans, but I'd be surprised if it was a
problem.

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage (More info?)

On Sun, 20 Feb 2005 21:01:53 GMT, "Aloke Prasad"
<aprasad123@columbus.rr.invalid> wrote:

>Maxtor has 200 and 300 GB drives that hang off a home network router/switch,
>providing shared storage for all PC's on a LAN. Additional storage or
>printer can be attached to the drive (via USB) and be shared as well.
>
>http://www.maxtor.com/_files/maxtor/en_us/documentation/data_sheets/mss_datasheet.pdf
>
>This sort of thing would be ideal for my 3-PC home network, for storing
>critical data and sharing printer (without my main PC, with the shared
>printers, being on all the time..)
>
>What do you folks think about this? The 300 GB network drive is available
>for $350, which is not that much more than external USB drives ...
>
>Alternatively, I have a spare P-II 233 MHz PC with 256 MB RAM (Intel AL440LX
>motherboard) that I can set up as a Win2000Pro system and attach the shared
>drives off of that. However,the I/O susbsystem on that system is very very
>slow ...
>
>What do you suggest?

I have to disagree with the other comments in this thread. I prefer
using a separate old system as a server rather than a small NAS unit
for file storage and backup. After trying the NAS device and not being
completely pleased with risking my data on a single drive, I set up an
older system use as a server. I think it is a better alternative.

I picked up a Promise PATA RAID card and installed it in the old
system with a couple of inexpensive disks in RAID 1. I also added a
DVD writer and use that to make a backup of critical data for off-site
storage. Neither RAID 1 nor an optical backup drive are available with
the little NAS device. I have an LCD monitor with two inputs, so I
don't need a separate monitor for the server. I have my old HP
LaserJet hooked up to the parallel port and it is available to all the
systems on the network. To complete the package, I have an old IBM
keyboard with a built-in TrackPoint to use with the server so no desk
space is required and no troublesome KVM switch is required.

I had one disk fail on the server after using it for about three weeks
(it was a Maxtor, after all). I exchanged the defective drive and
restored the mirrored pair with no hassle at all, and I used the
system with one drive while waiting for the replacement. If this
happened to the NAS device, I would have been without the network
storage while waiting for the replacement, and may have lost data if I
did not frequently back up.

However, my spare system was somewhat higher spec than yours: Celeron
"Tualatin" 1.2 GHz, 512 MB RAM, Intel 815 main board. I also had the
pair of identical Maxtor drives available, as well as a hard drive
cooler that fits in two 5 1/4 bays and has an 80 mm fan that blows
directly on the drives (left over from a RAID 0 experiment a while
back). So my only extra costs were the RAID card and the DVD writer.
But if you're paying $350 for the NAS device, and you have a
serviceable older system, then that $350 will cover the most of the
cost of a setting up a simple server with the added protection of RAID
1 and off-site backup.
- -
Gary L.
Reply to the newsgroup only

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage (More info?)

"Gary L." <nospam@sbcglobal.net> wrote in message
news:ihsi11p3jsbm8mbi4igj9feo0cgld7abon@4ax.com...
> On Sun, 20 Feb 2005 21:01:53 GMT, "Aloke Prasad"
> <aprasad123@columbus.rr.invalid> wrote:
>
>>Maxtor has 200 and 300 GB drives that hang off a home network
>>router/switch,
>>providing shared storage for all PC's on a LAN. Additional storage or
>>printer can be attached to the drive (via USB) and be shared as well.
>>
>>http://www.maxtor.com/_files/maxtor/en_us/documentation/data_sheets/mss_datasheet.pdf
>>

>>Alternatively, I have a spare P-II 233 MHz PC with 256 MB RAM (Intel
>>AL440LX
>>motherboard) that I can set up as a Win2000Pro system and attach the
>>shared
>>drives off of that. However,the I/O susbsystem on that system is very
>>very
>>slow ...
>>
>>What do you suggest?
>
> I have to disagree with the other comments in this thread. I prefer
> using a separate old system as a server rather than a small NAS unit
> for file storage and backup. After trying the NAS device and not being
> completely pleased with risking my data on a single drive, I set up an
> older system use as a server. I think it is a better alternative.
>
> I picked up a Promise PATA RAID card and installed it in the old
> system with a couple of inexpensive disks in RAID 1. I also added a
> DVD writer and use that to make a backup of critical data for off-site
> storage. Neither RAID 1 nor an optical backup drive are available with
> the little NAS device. I have an LCD monitor with two inputs, so I
> don't need a separate monitor for the server. I have my old HP
> LaserJet hooked up to the parallel port and it is available to all the
> systems on the network. To complete the package, I have an old IBM
> keyboard with a built-in TrackPoint to use with the server so no desk
> space is required and no troublesome KVM switch is required.
>
> I had one disk fail on the server after using it for about three weeks
> (it was a Maxtor, after all). I exchanged the defective drive and
> restored the mirrored pair with no hassle at all, and I used the
> system with one drive while waiting for the replacement. If this
> happened to the NAS device, I would have been without the network
> storage while waiting for the replacement, and may have lost data if I
> did not frequently back up.
>
> However, my spare system was somewhat higher spec than yours: Celeron
> "Tualatin" 1.2 GHz, 512 MB RAM, Intel 815 main board. I also had the
> pair of identical Maxtor drives available, as well as a hard drive
> cooler that fits in two 5 1/4 bays and has an 80 mm fan that blows
> directly on the drives (left over from a RAID 0 experiment a while
> back). So my only extra costs were the RAID card and the DVD writer.
> But if you're paying $350 for the NAS device, and you have a
> serviceable older system, then that $350 will cover the most of the
> cost of a setting up a simple server with the added protection of RAID
> 1 and off-site backup.

Which NAS device did you try?

I too am uncomfortable with the lack of access to the NAS data without a
functioning network setup (say my router/switch went on the blink .. I would
be without access to the NAs until I reconfigured my system. I wish the NAS
device could function like a simple external USB drive when needed (through
a physical switch on the drive, maybe?)

How does NAS handle dynamic IP's handed out by the DHCP server on the
router/switch? There doesn't seem to be any way to assign fixed IP address
to it.

My P-II 233 has a REALLY slow disk I/O. I will have to buy the RAID card
and the identical drives and the DVD burner to duplicate your setup. I have
a lic. Win2000 Pro. Cost wise, the NAS will be about 1/2 the cost..

I have an external USB Maxtor drive that I use for Ghost imaging as backup.
I suppose I could do that to the RAID server ...

What's with the scares about Maxtor? Are they really that bad? Maybe I
should transfer the archived Ghost images on it to DVD !!!!
--
Aloke
----
to reply by e-mail remove 123 and change invalid to com

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage (More info?)

Aloke Prasad wrote:
> Maxtor has 200 and 300 GB drives that hang off a home network router/switch,
> providing shared storage for all PC's on a LAN. Additional storage or
> printer can be attached to the drive (via USB) and be shared as well.
>
> http://www.maxtor.com/_files/maxto [...] asheet.pdf
>
> This sort of thing would be ideal for my 3-PC home network, for storing
> critical data and sharing printer (without my main PC, with the shared
> printers, being on all the time..)
>
> What do you folks think about this? The 300 GB network drive is available
> for $350, which is not that much more than external USB drives ...
>
> Alternatively, I have a spare P-II 233 MHz PC with 256 MB RAM (Intel AL440LX
> motherboard) that I can set up as a Win2000Pro system and attach the shared
> drives off of that. However,the I/O susbsystem on that system is very very
> slow ...
>
> What do you suggest?

These Maxtor devices look pretty good - what about the noise? Are they
quiet? That's the main downside (IMHO) to setting up a PC-server setup.

It would also be nice for it to have a giga-enet.

Stan

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage (More info?)

"No Spam" <nospam@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:111k05084dmi4c3@corp.supernews.com...
> Aloke Prasad wrote:
>> Maxtor has 200 and 300 GB drives that hang off a home network
>> router/switch, providing shared storage for all PC's on a LAN.
>> Additional storage or printer can be attached to the drive (via USB) and
>> be shared as well.
>>
>> http://www.maxtor.com/_files/maxto [...] asheet.pdf
>>
>> This sort of thing would be ideal for my 3-PC home network, for storing
>> critical data and sharing printer (without my main PC, with the shared
>> printers, being on all the time..)
>>
>> What do you folks think about this? The 300 GB network drive is
>> available for $350, which is not that much more than external USB drives
>> ...
>>
>> Alternatively, I have a spare P-II 233 MHz PC with 256 MB RAM (Intel
>> AL440LX motherboard) that I can set up as a Win2000Pro system and attach
>> the shared drives off of that. However,the I/O susbsystem on that system
>> is very very slow ...
>>
>> What do you suggest?
>
> These Maxtor devices look pretty good - what about the noise? Are they
> quiet? That's the main downside (IMHO) to setting up a PC-server setup.
>
> It would also be nice for it to have a giga-enet.

The external USB2 drive is very quiet. No reason to expect the Shared
Storage to be any worse (It's probably just a drive with some added NIC and
electronics for SAMBA software).

At 100 Mbit/s bandwidth, the data rate off the platters probably becomes the
bottleneck ...

--
Aloke
----
to reply by e-mail remove 123 and change invalid to com

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage (More info?)

On Mon, 21 Feb 2005 11:49:58 GMT, "Aloke Prasad"
<aprasad123@columbus.rr.invalid> wrote:

>> I have to disagree with the other comments in this thread. I prefer
>> using a separate old system as a server rather than a small NAS unit
>> for file storage and backup. After trying the NAS device and not being
>> completely pleased with risking my data on a single drive, I set up an
>> older system use as a server. I think it is a better alternative.
>>
>> I picked up a Promise PATA RAID card and installed it in the old
>> system with a couple of inexpensive disks in RAID 1. I also added a
>> DVD writer and use that to make a backup of critical data for off-site
>> storage. Neither RAID 1 nor an optical backup drive are available with
>> the little NAS device.

[snip]

>Which NAS device did you try?

I tried a Tritton device which was a piece of junk. In a recent review
of home and small business NAS devices in PC Magazine, another Tritton
device was rated "poor" for set-up and with good reason: Zero
documentation and zero support: no web site and no phone number! I did
get it to work but it took over an hour of fiddling with IP addresses
and figuring out the limitations on the directory structure by trial
and error. The one I bought was super-cheap at Fry's. Even though it
was working properly, I didn't trust it and there didn't seem to be
any warranty in case of failure. So it went back to Fry's.

After I returned the Tritton I looked at other products. The Buffalo
product seemed to be the best and I almost bought that. But instead I
set up the server using a spare desktop system for the reasons
previously stated.

>I too am uncomfortable with the lack of access to the NAS data without a
>functioning network setup (say my router/switch went on the blink .. I would
>be without access to the NAs until I reconfigured my system. I wish the NAS
>device could function like a simple external USB drive when needed (through
>a physical switch on the drive, maybe?)

There are some devices that will work either as NAS or as an external
USB drive. My concern is disk failure rather than network failure. You
can easily replace a bad router or cable for minimal cost and down
time. But if the NAS is used to store important data, then it needs
backup or else you risk losing data.

I think that NAS is fine for sharing entertainment media (music and
video), but perhaps not the best choice for important data files that
require regular back-up.

>How does NAS handle dynamic IP's handed out by the DHCP server on the
>router/switch? There doesn't seem to be any way to assign fixed IP address
>to it.

You can set it up to use DHCP from a broadband router, or simply set a
fixed IP address within the range of your network (probably
192.168.1.x). The latter is best so that the IP address never changes.
Setup is through a web page interface similar to a broadband router
setup.

>My P-II 233 has a REALLY slow disk I/O. I will have to buy the RAID card
>and the identical drives and the DVD burner to duplicate your setup. I have
>a lic. Win2000 Pro. Cost wise, the NAS will be about 1/2 the cost..

As other have pointed out, the network speed will be the limiting
factor so the slow disk I/O doesn't matter. With my 100 Mbps network,
even the 4200 rpm drive in my old ThinkPad 600 (P II-300, 440ZX chip
set) is not maxed out. Your P II with an add-in RAID card will not be
a limiting factor.

As for cost: You can get a 200 GB Seagate or Western Digital drive for
about $120 at Newegg. Two of those, plus about $100 for the RAID card
plus about $100 for a cheapie DVD burner and you have the whole set-up
for about $440.

>I have an external USB Maxtor drive that I use for Ghost imaging as backup.
>I suppose I could do that to the RAID server ...

All you need to back up is the data. No need to image the drive. You
will not have any applications installed on the server (except maybe
Nero for DVD burning and/or a backup program) and you can do a clean
OS install of Win2000 Pro in about 45 minutes if necessary. I have
both the OS and the data on the RAID array, so if a disk fails I have
almost no down time. For backups, just keep all you data in a
directory, and copy that directory to the backup media (DVD or
external drive) at regular intervals.

>What's with the scares about Maxtor? Are they really that bad? Maybe I
>should transfer the archived Ghost images on it to DVD !!!!

It's just my opinion, but I have had a number of Maxtor drives fail
and very few failures with the other brands I've used (IBM/Hitachi,
WD, and Seagate). But personal anecdotes are not convincing evidence
that Maxtor drives are less reliable than other brands, so I wouldn't
claim that this is reliable evidence that should guide anyone else.
- -
Gary L.
Reply to the newsgroup only

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage (More info?)

"Gary L." <nospam@sbcglobal.net> wrote in message
news:542k1159q8g7ai5ea74uraqfacotou1cav@4ax.com...
> On Mon, 21 Feb 2005 11:49:58 GMT, "Aloke Prasad"

> As for cost: You can get a 200 GB Seagate or Western Digital drive for
> about $120 at Newegg. Two of those, plus about $100 for the RAID card
> plus about $100 for a cheapie DVD burner and you have the whole set-up
> for about $440.

Actually, the RAID card is cheaper ($40 !)

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProd [...] 027&depa=0

Thanks for your suggestions. My experience with disk hardware failures has
been pretty good. It's a toss-up at this point .. The Shared storage will
basically have home videos, digital camera pictures and a few odds and ends.
If I back that up regularly from a connected workstation, that should be
good enough. NAS has the advantage of simplicity..

I looked at the Maxtor's installation guide. Seems to be straightforward..

Choices choices..
--
Aloke
----
to reply by e-mail remove 123 and change invalid to com