The Easy Way To Handle Data In A Home Network
What sounds simple and uncomplicated in theory can actually turn into something of a logistics problem in practice. What is to be done with all the data you collect over time? Hard drives with storage capacities of one terabyte are no longer exotic rarities and at a price of just over 10 cents per gigabyte, they are also more than affordable than ever. Even better, 1.5 TB drives are already shipping in quantity from Seagate.
The Problem: Many Computers And One Set Of Data
But even when you equip your computer with lots of storage capacity, this immediately brings you to the next problem. If there are several computers, and maybe even a home theater PC (HTPC) on the network, you want to be able to access all data at all times. This means that the computer on which the data is stored should also be switched on. For example, if you want to watch the film recording of last year’s summer holiday in the living room, or view the pictures of last year’s birthday celebration on the laptop. But with a power consumption of 100 watts or more, PCs put unnecessary stress on the environment, the power grid, and your wallet. There’s no need to have every computer in the house running 24/7. Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices are data storage units connected directly to the network, which makes them usually more economical in this respect.
Security Is Important
If you only save important data to a single disk in the computer, this can result in catastrophic loss sooner or later. Hard drives are not infallible, and a defect can result in the irretrievable loss of all of your data. Backup is absolutely essential when it comes to important information, and it is best to create a data backup on an external medium which can then be stored away from the computer in a safe place. This means that important files can still be retrieved even if the computer is damaged by theft or a natural disaster.
The use of DVDs as a backup medium for home use is ideal in view of the restoration options should the worst case scenario occur. But there’s something far more convenient about an automated process that doesn’t involve swapping in 4.7GB discs every few minutes, which is why we’re looking at using Maxtor’s Shared Storage II.
