Maximum Storage Capacityīefore you buy your own network-attached storage server, test the storage capacity you need and what type of hard drives you want to use with it.

Finally, tests have shown that a minimum of 2 GB will be necessary if you plan on frequently using your network-attached storage as a media player in HD or 4K quality. In comparison, if you want to use your network-attached storage as a multimedia center to play HD content, you’ll need at least 1 GB of RAM. On the other hand, you are advised to have up to 8 GB of RAM memory for office use. In that sense, don’t worry too much about this criterion if you only need it to retain your data backups. We’re in the Information Management Age.” – Chris HardwickĪgain, the amount of RAM you need will depend on the use you’ll make of your network-attached storage server. “We’re not in the Information Age anymore. Nowadays, mid-range products generally feature Intel Celeron processors, in comparison to professional models that use Intel i3 or Xeon. However, you shouldn’t settle for less than a quad-core processor for office use. In our opinion, a dual-core processor at 1 GHz should prove more than adequate if your network-attached storage is planned for use in a family environment. In addition, we strongly encourage you to consider the applications that each system features, to handle mail servers, file transfer protocol (FTP), and back-ups, etc. You can even manage some of them from a smartphone, such as QNAP, Asustor, or Synology. That being said, you also have access to a series of free systems such as FreeNAS, NASlite, or Openfiler.Īll of these systems tend to be quite easy to use. Large manufacturers have developed their own Linux-based operating systems, such as Synology DiskStation Manager, Qnap QTS, or WD My Cloud. Network-attached storage devices, unfortunately, don’t work with Windows. Network-Attached Storage Operating System We’re confident that this information will guide you during your decision-making process, and that you’ll be fully satisfied when you test your new purchase.

In the following section, we’ve tested these criteria to help you get the best network-attached storage. Shopping Criteria for Network-Attached StorageĪs you know, there are a number of critical factors that you will need to take into consideration when you’re shopping for a network-attached storage server best fitted for your needs.

Purchasing network-attached storage and the required hard drives is a fair investment if you don’t have them.

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