NAS Questions. (noob)

[Aleks]

I really want to purchase a NAS and get into basic storage networking. I have a few questions.

 

1, How does it work if I move my computer outside of my house were the NAS is located. Will I have access to my games and other media? Will it be slower?

 

2, Is NAS speed faster than local storage?

 

3, How does a NAS generally work?

 

Thanks!

[Guest]

I really want to purchase a NAS and get into basic storage networking. I have a few questions.

 

1, How does it work if I move my computer outside of my house were the NAS is located. Will I have access to my games and other media? Will it be slower?

 

2, Is NAS speed faster than local storage?

 

3, How does a NAS generally work?

 

Thanks!

 

2. No

3. It's just an HDD connected to the internet.

[Aleks]

2. No

3. It's just an HDD connected to the internet.

For number 2, a lot of NAS's are advertising that I will get access to the files anywhere.

[Vitalius]

2. No

3. It's just an HDD connected to the internet.

 

wat

A NAS can be much faster than local storage. It just depends how the two are built. For new people and non-DIY solutions though, you are right. They will likely be slower.

wat

A NAS does not need to be connected to the internet to be a NAS. That is more descriptive of iSCSI than a NAS but even that doesn't need to be connected to the internet. Just a network.

For number 2, a lot of NAS's are advertising that I will get access to the files anywhere.

wat

 

I really want to purchase a NAS and get into basic storage networking. I have a few questions.

 

1, How does it work if I move my computer outside of my house were the NAS is located. Will I have access to my games and other media? Will it be slower?

 

2, Is NAS speed faster than local storage?

 

3, How does a NAS generally work?

 

Thanks!

1. It will almost certainly be slower. Depending on your home upload and your location's download speed. It will send the files through the internet from your home IP address to your local IP address.
2. It can be faster, yes, but that entirely depends on what you buy.
3. It runs an OS designed to share files. Your computer connects to that OS over a network via certain protocols. Either IP (internet protocol) for over the internet or CIFS (Common Internet File System) for local (usually, there are exceptions). 

   CIFS is for Windows usually. Macs use AFP and Linux machines use NFS. 

[Aleks]

 

 

wat

A NAS can be much faster than local storage. It just depends how the two are built. For new people and non-DIY solutions though, you are right. They will likely be slower.

wat

A NAS does not need to be connected to the internet to be a NAS. That is more descriptive of iSCSI than a NAS but even that doesn't need to be connected to the internet. Just a network.

wat

 

1. It will almost certainly be slower. Depending on your home upload and your location's download speed. It will send the files through the internet from your home IP address to your local IP address.
2. It can be faster, yes, but that entirely depends on what you buy.
3. It runs an OS designed to share files. Your computer connects to that OS over a network via certain protocols. Either IP (internet protocol) for over the internet or CIFS (Common Internet File System) for local (usually, there are exceptions). 

   CIFS is for Windows usually. Macs use AFP and Linux machines use NFS. 

 

Thanks for the feedback. So do you think I will even be able to connect to the NAS if I am say a mile away?

[Vitalius]

Thanks for the feedback. So do you think I will even be able to connect to the NAS if I am say a mile away?

wat

If you have internet, yes. If you don't, no. 

It's entirely based on your internet speed at that point and whether your NAS is configured correctly to connect over it.

[Aleks]

wat

If you have internet, yes. If you don't, no. 

It's entirely based on your internet speed at that point and whether your NAS is configured correctly to connect over it.

So being able to connect the server outside of my house doesn't rely on the wireless connection of my router? Does the NAS create its own connection? So confusing  

[Vitalius]

So being able to connect the server outside of my house doesn't rely on the wireless connection of my router? Does the NAS create its own connection? So confusing

... 

If you are wondering why I keep saying "wat" it's because I've never met someone who was so off-base it's crazy (off-base means mistaken).

No. The NAS does not use your WiFi connection to give you your files from more than a few hundred feet away. No consumer WiFi device will give you more than that. 

Your NAS would connect to the internet, then only allow you to access the files on it through your connection.

So say you are at a hotel in New York and your NAS is at home in Florida (just as an example). Your NAS will be connected to the internet. You will be on the internet. You will open a web browser and go to your NAS' web page and access the files there. In this case, the files are going through your internet connection at home to you at the hotel. It will most likely be terribly slow. 

At home though, your NAS will be connected to your local network. You will just access it by going to your computer then whichever drive it is or over the network (assuming you use Windows OS). It won't need to be connected to the internet then, and it will likely be quite a bit faster.

[Aleks]

... 

If you are wondering why I keep saying "wat" it's because I've never met someone who was so off-base it's crazy (off-base means mistaken).

No. The NAS does not use your WiFi connection to give you your files from more than a few hundred feet away. No consumer WiFi device will give you more than that. 

Your NAS would connect to the internet, then only allow you to access the files on it through your connection.

So say you are at a hotel in New York and your NAS is at home in Florida (just as an example). Your NAS will be connected to the internet. You will be on the internet. You will open a web browser and go to your NAS' web page and access the files there. In this case, the files are going through your internet connection at home to you at the hotel. It will most likely be terribly slow. 

At home though, your NAS will be connected to your local network. You will just access it by going to your computer then whichever drive it is or over the network (assuming you use Windows OS). It won't need to be connected to the internet then, and it will likely be quite a bit faster.

Yea I am new to the whole NAS thing. Really have no clue how it works. So am I even able to use a NAS for games and programs? Thanks for all the help man.

[Vitalius]

Yea I am new to the whole NAS thing. Really have no clue how it works. So am I even able to use a NAS for games and programs? Thanks for all the help man.

You're welcome bro. I love to help. 

I would think so, but I wouldn't do it. If you use Steam only for games, that might work, but it may be annoying from time to time. Speed wouldn't really be the issue. More like compatibility. I haven't tested it, I might one day. 

As for programs, it's the same thing really. You could, but I just wouldn't because most programs are small anyway so I see no purpose in it. Some programs (like stand alone video games) rely on files in the local directory (i.e. on your machine) and on registry settings (again, on your machine). 

You can try it, but I would test it first. I usually only use a NAS for media (movies, music, etc) and backups. Beyond that, I haven't tried much else.

[Createinator]

I really want to purchase a NAS and get into basic storage networking. I have a few questions.

 

1, How does it work if I move my computer outside of my house were the NAS is located. Will I have access to my games and other media? Will it be slower?

 

2, Is NAS speed faster than local storage?

 

3, How does a NAS generally work?

 

Thanks!

NAS or network attached storage is a device which lets you share Storage space throughout a network. It is connected to your LAN with an Ethernet or USB connection and provides backup and media server services to all attached devices in the network(TV, xbox etc.). You can setup a private cloud to enable access to stored files from outside your network. You will be able to access your Movies, Documents and Music but not games from outside the network. Transfer speeds will be limited to your Internet Connection's upload speed and your receiving device's download speed.

NAS speed is never faster than Local Storage Speeds as it is limited to HDD Read/ Write Speed passing through your Ethernet/ USB cable. NAS are good for watching movies over a network, sharing music libraries and backup in the background. If you need to move a lot of Data to and fro from your PC on a regular basis, consider buying a DAS with either USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt connection for a massive speed boost. Keep in mind that DAS or Direct Attached Storage cannot be shared over a network like a NAS.

NAS enclosure houses 1 or more HDD as it is or various RAID/ JBOD configurations. This enclosure has its own CPU, RAM and an operating system such as FreeNAS. It is connected to your LAN network through an Ethernet Cable and you can access its settings and content through any other PC on your network. Once it has been setup, it can backup all your PCs at a scheduled time, download torrents from the Internet, work as a media server by streaming music and movies to your connected TVs and Computers and can be used as a private cloud to access stored files over the internet from any device.

Hope it helps!

[SadTech]

wat

If you have internet, yes. If you don't, no. 

It's entirely based on your internet speed at that point and whether your NAS is configured correctly to connect over it.

 

This.. as long as you have internet you can connect to your home network no matter where you are in the WHOLE WORLD!.

 

NAS can be faster then your normal HDD speed.

 

NAS is really just a server... It is a bare bones server that is just for storing data through your network.