11. Network Attached Storage

This is another form of external storage, but in this case the device is one or more hard disks within a case that has an additional network card. In effect it acts as an extra drive on the network.

This means any computer on the network can make use of the storage space it provides. It can also be used for backing up data on the network.

The common name for this device is 'Network Attached Storage' or NAS for short.

A NAS in the home can be used as a 'media server' where films and music are streamed over the network or even connected to the television by a WiFi link.

NOTE: do not confuse a NAS with a network file server. A file server has an operating system all of its own that handles logging in, authentication, quotas and so on. A NAS is simply a network- connected hard disk array.