Advice sought > Convert 2 USB HDD for Home Network Use

[lestatar]

Happy New Year to all!

Looking for some advice and guidance and experience from the kindly folks here. Just starting my research and figured this is the best place to start.

Simple enough project and one I am pretty sure many folks will need to do at some point or already have.

I have 2 Seagate 500GB USB HDDs. They are currently connected to 1 of my wired PCs and fully shared. I want to find the best, cheapest and non-destructive way to connect these 2 drives as standard network devices so I don't have to have them connected to a PC. I basically want to convert these 2 drives into the poor man's NAS.

I am aware of several USB network appliances out there that have wildly varying reviews. Frankly, I am surprised that my searches so far have turned up only a few solutions - there are either not many of these types of devices out there [hard to believe] or I am not searching correctly [very possible].

I have done some reading about devices from Addonics, Hitachi Simple Net and Pogo. The Hitachi is actually almost exactly what I envisioned I would need, but I have come across several reviews that conclude that it is not quite ready for prime time use.

I have a ton of data, everything from mp3 to pics to videos and documents. My data, like yours, is very valuable. I will eventually invest in a full blown NAS device at some point, but right now seek a low cost alternative that is safe and does not require time consuming [and unnecessary, IMO] reformats and data copying.

Here are my requirements and relevant specs:

- a single device to support both existing USB HDDs; I have come across a Linksys or Belkin device which would work perfectly, but neither supports more than 1 USB HDD as far as I can tell;

- wireless not necessary, but a plus if possible;

- standard 10/100 transfer speeds adequate at a minimum;

- do not need empty NAS enclosures as the Seagates are self-contained;

- I am absolutely not interested in solutions which allow me to share my files on the web and require me to sign up for subscription services [so the Pogo may be out of contention right off the bat from what I understand]. My data is my own - why is it necessary to add a potential security hole/unwanted outside monitoring capability? wacko.gif

- absolutely must keep existing data, with no formats and conversions to other file systems [both drives are currently NTFS and must stay that way];

- full read/write capability once connected;

- ability to watch movies and listen to mp3s without hiccups.

That's basically it. Am I asking/expecting too much? Is there such a beast out there that meets all these criteria [which I feel are pretty standard]? I am not looking for any kind of RAID capability at this point.

I very much appreciate any advice/suggestions/experience/feedback you folks may have had. thumbup.gif

cheers,
-lestatar

[Salmon Trout]

The Newlink HD-LANUSB04 maybe? (4 port)

[Computer_Commando]

http://www.tripplite.com/en/products/model.cfm?txtSeriesID=518&txtModelID=3913

[lestatar]

guys, thanks a million for the pic/link!  You guys are unbelievably fast!  I posted same message on BleepingComputer yesterday with 0 replies thus far...

These do look promising and appear to be pretty much what I envisioned I would need.

Have you [or anyone else] had any experience with these devices?

One additional requirement I am seeking is reliability.  IMO, whatever solution I get must have reliability on the same order as a good NIC card or good router.  Otherwise, what the *censored* good is it?

Thanks again and I am hoping for more feedback from folks, especially people who may have done this exact same thing.

cheers,
-lestatar

[Computer_Commando]

I have no experience with these devices and they seem a bit pricey.  They seem to meet your requirements, but you would have to ask others that are already using them.  Newegg only has 3 reviews:  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817421002&cm_re=usb_server-_-17-421-002-_-Product

[Salmon Trout]

I haven't any experience either, but I suspect you are going to get the convenience of NAS drives allied to the slow speed of USB.

[lestatar]

Folks, thanks again for your quick and helpful responses.

I did read the NewEgg reviews.  Seems those folks using the TrippLite are not purposing it for what I am looking for so no real world feedback there.

And I do understand that I am basically looking at setting up a poor man's NAS, networked  but limited to USB speed.  This is fine.

Obviously, I am trying to avoid "wasting" 2 excellent Seagate USB drives.  Again, I am a bit surprised that there are not many more solutions for this kind of thing.  USB externals properly shared are terrific but forces the host PC to always be on.  This has been OK thus far, but I want to avoid "burning" out my USB ports [though I am not sure this is still or ever was a real issue].  Am really looking for the best solution so I can make the next logical, incremental step with my home LAN.

As I mentioned, the Hitachi SimpleNet would appear to be the ideal solution, and it is priced just right.  But a few reviews have mentioned heat issues with the adapters and this is obviously a potential problem.  The Newlink USB server seems like the same idea, priced twice as much but adding 2 more USB ports].

Still hoping for responses from folks with real world experience with any of these though.

Also, I would very much welcome any other suggestions from people here so I can accomplish the same thing - I am certainly open to consider other viable options.

cheers and thanks again,
-lestatar

[patio]

Until USB3 kicks in it's a shame you're gonna take that performance hit.
Burt best of luck...

[lestatar]

Totally agree on the performance hit.  But historically, mass market adoption will be several years down the road.  No chance that USB 3.0 will have an immediate widespread impact.

Crap.  Maybe I should forget this whole half-baked idea, keep things the status quo, wait until I grab a nice fat NAS and keep using these 2 Seagates as USB storage...

Nah....Still want to investigate the possiblities!

cheers,
-lestatar

[Salmon Trout]

I want to avoid "burning" out my USB ports [though I am not sure this is still or ever was a real issue].

If an external USB HDD is the type that has its own power supply "brick" or "wall wart" it does not take power from the USB socket that it is connected to.

[lestatar]

If an external USB HDD is the type that has its own power supply "brick" or "wall wart" it does not take power from the USB socket that it is connected to.

Hi Simon.  Yes of course you are right.  I meant potentially "burning" out the USB port from excessive throughput from basic file activities. 

Like I said, not sure this should even be a concern, but I thought I once read somewhere that this could happen [read it ages ago, admittedly].

Of course, I could just be getting too old for my own good...

cheers,
-lestatar

[Salmon Trout]

Hi Simon.  Yes of course you are right.  I meant potentially "burning" out the USB port from excessive throughput from basic file activities.

You would have the same chance of doing that as you would of melting the lenses of a pair of eyeglasses by looking through them too much.

Seriously, it's not a danger.

[lestatar]

Simon: 

Thanks!  I always felt that idea was more than a little hinky.  I must have been much more drunk than I thought when I imagined I actually read that somewhere...

Seriously, thanks for the definitive confirmation.

<of course, I will know exactly who to blame if it does happen to me...>

;-)

cheers,
-lestatar

[Salmon Trout]

I think it was a reasonable question to ask; I can imagine a scenario where you have a hard drive taking its power from a USB port, data transfers are going to make the the disk read/write heads move about, which takes power, so fewer transfers would mean less current drawn, so the combination of a greedy disk and a borderline power situation could damage the USB chipset, especially if it was problematic in some way, e.g. not cooled very well.

[lestatar]

You are my new best friend.  Totally appreciate your well-reasoned hypothetical situation which actually justifies my borderline-silly question [almost justifies anyway]...

Thanks for making me look less like a drunken sot!   

PS: you have any more thoughts/ideas/suggestions on my OP?

cheers!
-lestatar

[Salmon Trout]

PS: you have any more thoughts/ideas/suggestions on my OP?

Like I said, I have no actual practical experience of this sort of thing, but I can imagine that a 'poor man's NAS' with 1 TB of storage attached, even if it is a little slow, would certainly be useful in some ways. There are plenty of uses, e.g. backups, longer term storage, where the speed doesn't really matter (and of course if you wanted speed, USB isn't the way to go, whether attached directly to a PC or not). I would be inclined to give it a try. You sound like the kind of person who likes to get their sleeves rolled up and have a tinker with things, so it'll be a bit of fun at the very least, and not a heavy expenditure.

Or you could think of alternative uses for the USB drives, e.g. get a multimedia streamer, that is, a device with a USB socket and video and audio outputs that you plug into a TV and hi-fi, and put dozens and dozens of movies on the USB drive...

[patio]

How bout an E-SATA PCI card ? ?

[Salmon Trout]

How bout an E-SATA PCI card ? ?

The OP wants to know how to share 2 x USB hard drives that he already owns, over a home network, without leaving a PC switched on all the time.

[lestatar]

Like I said, I have no actual practical experience of this sort of thing, but I can imagine that a 'poor man's NAS' with 1 TB of storage attached, even if it is a little slow, would certainly be useful in some ways. There are plenty of uses, e.g. backups, longer term storage, where the speed doesn't really matter (and of course if you wanted speed, USB isn't the way to go, whether attached directly to a PC or not). I would be inclined to give it a try. You sound like the kind of person who likes to get their sleeves rolled up and have a tinker with things, so it'll be a bit of fun at the very least, and not a heavy expenditure.

Or you could think of alternative uses for the USB drives, e.g. get a multimedia streamer, that is, a device with a USB socket and video and audio outputs that you plug into a TV and hi-fi, and put dozens and dozens of movies on the USB drive...

SalmonTrout:  You hit the nail on the head.  This is exactly my line of thinking.  I am looking to extend the usability of my 2 very fine Seagates and not be forced to share them fully via a single PC.  This is OK, but I'd like to take the next step.

I think you [and the other nice folks here] have convinced me to give it a shot.  Will broaden my investigation, but may pull the trigger on either your Newlink suggestion or the Hitachi SimpleNet[after I try and grab hold of their tech support].
For sure the drives will retain their usefulness in many ways as you mention.  Perhaps what I am really after is a hybrid setup - repurpose 1 of the USB drives for streaming media to hifi and the other as part of my poor man's NAS.

<sigh> Too many choices in this respect I guess...Gotta make up my mind on what exactly I want the end result to be.

And yes, you are indeed right - I do indeed enjoy rolling my sleeves up and giving stuff a try.  Everything I know about PCs and tech from almost 20 years have come from simply trying things out.  I can't think of a better way to learn. 

Can't tell you how many times I botched things up by playing around too much with DoubleSpace though...  ;-)

cheers and thanks much again for your input.
-lestatar

[lestatar]

Been a while - hope all are well here at CH 

Apologies for digging up one of my old threads, but a friend recently linked me to a Woot deal that seemed relevant to my OP.  I missed out on the deal and have decided to wait and go with a full NAS solution at some point in the future anyway, but still was wondering if anyone had any experience with this particular device and/or to get people's thoughts on its efficacy as a possible interim solution for what I am trying to achieve, from a HW and included SW perspective.

http://www.woot.com/Blog/ViewEntry.aspx?Id=13237

Look forward to hearing some thoughts on this.

cheers,
-lestatar