Updated March 24, 2023
Introduction to NAS Drive
A Network Attached Storage (NAS) device is a faster, less expensive storage device which is connected to a network that allows storage and retrieval of data from a central location for authorised network users and various clients. It is very easy to operate and provides Easy data backup, therefore it is continually accessible. It is Good at centralising data storage in a secure and reliable way.
What is a NAS Drive?
It is a storage type of device which is connected to the network which allows the data storage on the network and data retrieval from the network. The data is stored on a centralized system that has authorized users and only valid users can access the storage system. It supports the functionality of flexibility as the device can be scale-out which means the storing capacity of the NAS Drive can be increased as per the use.
It can be compared to the cloud as the data is stored on the network and has limited users to access the storage system and the service is less expensive which can be easily managed. It provides complete control on limited and valid users to access the storage system and the data retrieval time is also very less in NAS storage drives. When any user uses the NAS Drive the data is always accessible to the heterogeneous users and the user can access the NAS drive from anywhere. Every Drive requires a LAN which is used to store data and every LAN requires an independent IP address.
The major benefits of using it are its easy access, low cost, and high capacity. The other advantage of using the NAS then is the simple backup of data. When the user store any data the backup of data is created automatically and the user does not need to do anything. The NAS stores mostly unstructured data which includes videos, audios, text files, documents, and websites. They are most beneficial for small companies as they need a centralized storage system for their project and the NAS drives are the perfect device for them to store data. The NAS storage device is mostly used by those users who use shared data more often and work in a team that is located in different locations.
In the NAS device, the wireless router is used as the device are more used in a distributed working environment which has access to file system connected to the network. Small organizations use the NAS storage device as a private cloud that is deployed for their organization. Large organizations also use the NAS storage device as the capacity size of the NAS Drive is huge and it is capable of storing a huge chunk of data in it.
Where do we use NAS Drive?
For the NAS Drive, the HDD is selected as per the application requirement. The files shared on the network can be Microsoft word documents or spreadsheets which require periodic backup as the data is continuously alteration. As the HDD is selected as per application requirement if the user wants to store large media files it requires larger size capacity disks, powerful network connection as the data retrieval speed can depend on it.
The individual user also uses the NAS Drive to store their data like audio or video clips, or their documents which they can access from any remote location. As it has low cost it is easily affordable for the user and they can use to store data in NAS Drive. In small organizations, they are mostly used in case of any disaster recovery as the data is a very crucial part of their organization. It can also be operated in server mode as it can serve multimedia files, email, and database. They are mostly used because the data backup process is automated and the data retrieval process is not so time taking which means the user can access huge chunks of data without wasting any time.
Advantages of NAS Drive
When the user uses the NAS Drive it has several key benefits. Given below are some of the benefits:
- The key benefit is speed and convenience. When the user uses the hard drives for storing the data it always has some certain storage limit and data retrieval speed. It overcomes all the disadvantages of using hard drives. The speed of data retrieval is comparatively faster than hard drives. And the storage capacity can also be increased in NAS drive.
- By using it the users get remote access which increases the collaboration when the user working on the team project. The NAS Drive provides a benefit that the user can access files in a network system from multiple devices and multiple locations at the same time.
- The other benefit of using the NAS Drive is the easy setup of NAS Drive. The configuration setup of the NAS Drive is comparatively easy to the hard drive. And another benefit is the customization of storage settings in NAS Drive. The storage can be easily increased in NAS Drive which helps to store huge chunks of data.
- It provides the functionality of remote access which means the files sharing system can be accessed from any location and can be accessed by multiple users. It is used to store audio files, video, and documents which have easy access to the user.
Conclusion
The NAS Drive is the best alternative of the hard drive when there is a need for storing huge chunks of data. It covers all the disadvantage of using the hard drive and provide a better solution to the user to store data. The clustering of It helps the user to use the file-sharing system from remote locations and replacing it in place of a hard drive can be considered as a major step in terms of data storage.
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