[CS-FSLUG] Network storage

[Nathan T.]

Tim Young wrote:
> For "not secure" information, I like the Buffalo Terastation or 
> linkstation devices. They are small, compact, quiet, and do not need 
> much electricity. I believe they run a chopped down Linux/samba 
> solution. Because of that, and not much in the way of user interface, 
> they do not have a lot of built-in file-level security 
> (ownership/permissions, etc). But for insecure data, they work very well.
>
> Not sure if that was the sort of thing you were looking for...
>
> - Tim Young

Tim,

I've been looking at some devices from Synology and QNap, they look 
interesting and I could handle the price tag. My only concern is how 
well they work with Windows Vista and Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. I haven't 
seen much regarding updated firmware for these two operating systems, 
and I don't know how well they would work with Linux at all. With the 
Nexstar LX I have (that is nothing more than a SMB and FTP box) the 
functionality in Windows seems the most intact, with Mac OS X it's 
noticeably broken, and with Ubuntu it's 90% broken with the intermittent 
moment of functionality. OS compatibility is absolutely important, and 
having the pleasure of once using FreeNAS for experimentation, I'm 
looking forward to the day when someone makes a small, open standard NAS 
that runs off that.

Let me know if you can offer more information specifically regarding 
compatibility with all three operating systems, and especially the use 
of a modern file system on the storage device rather than what I'm 
experiencing with the Nexstar LX (fat32) which barfs up half the files I 
try to put on it because of the file names.

Thanks Tim. I'm looking forward to getting more input on these devices, 
particularly if anyone has one they're particularly content with.