Network attached storage has become more and more popular these days. So many products are available that the possibilities seem limitless. With the release of Vista this subject will be shrouded in mystery. Microsoft has made several changes that once fully implemented spell the death of SAMBA Server. A myriad of set top boxes running embedded Linux and SAMBA make up a vast majority of these NAS devices.

My personal experience is growing daily regarding NAS and the conflict it is having with Vista. Here I will share my issue and issues that others face regarding this subject. Please keep in mind that my opinion plays a part in this and as you will see my opinion is leaning away from Microsoft more and more. I will include links and quotes if at all possible. I will also interject what I believe is actually happening as what I would call my pet theory. Also note that my pet theory is based on some decent information and it isn’t a world domination theory.

Let me tell you about my home network for a moment so you can have an idea about what NAS devices are how they are expected to operate and what NAS devices are not! In this room I am currently looking at two AMD systems and both are similar. One is ATI video and 4400+ processor and the other has a G-Force video card and a 3700+ processor. Each system has 2 GB of RAM and both have digital monitors. There are also three other systems here next to me. One is a Core2 (not mine it is my daughters system) Duo, one is a G-5 MAC and the last one is an old SMP P-III system that is my Linux web/ ftp/ SAMBA server running Linux Mandriva (this system has been down as I have adapted to using a NAS device).

Now for the NAS device and the actual network attaching all of these wired systems (there are also other wireless systems here but at the moment not relevant to this article). I wanted a faster LAN that could replace my aging Linksys BEFSR41 based network and if possible I wanted to replace my server with a NAS. My old Linux server is massive and I was hoping to do something smaller. After a trip to the store I decided to go a different way.

My volume storage is done on a Western Digital 500GB My Book. It is a simple USB 2.0 external 500GB drive with a disco sort of activity light. I felt that this was more than enough for me and the few other users here at home and if necessary I could always add more storage. The cool part is the new Linksys WRT350N wireless N router with NAS link. It set me back 200 beans but when I account for the 10/100/100 router, the wireless N and the link I was sold. I have been using this setup for two months now and was quite happy.

Enter MS Vista and lovely Aero Glass. Regardless of the expense it for me was time to upgrade since the N-Force drivers arrived the other day and my RAID would be happy. Since the upgrade I have been in a world of “Shock n’ awe” and I can see that XP was Microsoft’s true masterpiece. I happen to be personally conflicted here since I don’t really see any benefit in any way to using Vista though it does look pretty. You might say, “Get to the point Alpha!” and all I can say is please bear with me for a while longer.

The upgrade went fairly smooth (I have also done a clean install and have the same issue) and all of my drivers are working. Vista scored me at a 5 and since I have a 939 system that is to be expected. I figured out what everything did and didn’t do fairly quickly. I lost better than 50% of the applications I commonly use. I lost a number of games as well but that is along the lines of what I expected to happen so to me it was not that bad all things considered. My WAN (have cable) worked like always and my peers showed up like always.

I decided it was time to load some software that I stored on my NAS and this one desire alone lead to this post. My Linksys and the partitions on the external drive both showed up in Vista’s NETWORK, once clicked on I was greeted by the UNC and authenticated to find an empty partition. I fussed about and repeated this search many times. Empty, empty, empty the search was in vain. From my other systems (all) I could see the nearly 200GB of assorted files and folders.

I searched the internet and was not pleased about what I had learned. Vista will NOT index systems that are not directly attached to the mother ship. Vista expects to find storage solutions that are attached, NTFS and running Microsoft software. Should any NAS be running SAMBA (type of file sharing solution from a UNIX world), Vista will refuse to index it even if you were able to MAP the share directly. In order to MAP the partition it was necessary for me to edit the computers security policies as per several articles I read (links coming later).

Ultimately I was able to MAP to the NAS however I am still unable to see the contents of the NAS from Vista’s ‘NETWORK’ now I contacted Linksys and alerted one of their R&D folks that this SAMBA issue was real. They expect to release firmware to upgrade the SAMBA version. The Indexing issue is yet another matter that will not go away. Yet again there is an expected DRM issue to look at. The tech asked me what I thought about the issue…

Several days ago I saw Bill Gates declare his intention during the WOW is NOW thing. He mentioned another product and a ‘vision’ of how that product would unify EVERTHING. Windows Home Server running in every network. Companies like HP, Sony and ASUS will keep my files safe from my wife’s files and at the same time will prevent protected content from existing in too many places. Here is the video (look who the sponsor is)...

http://news.com.com/1606-2-6147894.html

The HP looks like this…

The MICROSOFT system may look like this…


Naturally corporations exist to satisfy the financial interests of their stock holders. What I see here is Microsoft intends to push Linux and SAMBA out of the game in the most direct of ways with both hardware and software. If that is not enough, Microsoft intends to eliminate anything to be deemed as ‘piracy’ or ‘infringement’ by telling you what is fair through DRM, AACS and TPM (Trusted Platform Module). They are hurting a segment of the hardware sector by forcing users of embedded Linux to look for other options.

Now for a bunch of links to collaborate my effort here:
http://www.builderau.com.au/blogs/ [...] =339270746
http://www.linux-watch.com/news/NS4434907782.html
http://help.lockergnome.com/vista/ [...] 27347.html
http://shellrevealed.com/forums/thread/6094.aspx
http://forums.sonos.com/archive/index.php?t-5418.html
http://forum1.netgear.com/showthread.php?t=3094

I could inject more of my disdain for the Redmond people but since Aero Glass, Dream Scene and 3D Flip seem to have many speechless; who notices that content protection, media protection, AACS and the like are all methods used by a select few to achieve complete market dominance and drive the cost of computers back up. The Redmond people use phraseology like, “content distribution” to replace file sharing. When I decide to play an MP3 on this PC or the one near my TV I am not “distributing” or even “sharing” digital content. I in fact would be listening to my music… Thank you very much.

Tonight I will put an image that I backed up of my system back and wash my hands of Vista for a while more. I do think that those that hack will have to break all of the DRM and Play For Sure features (I use that term loosely) before I can be “FREE” in my own home to waste all the time I want by listening, watching, reading, typing, etc. I look forward to your comments.

Warm Regards,
Alpha_Magnum