Ethernet External Hard Drive Enclosure

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Hey guys, I've got a question for y'all!

I'm looking for an external hard drive enclosure that connects to my computer via Ethernet. However, I don't want a NAS. I don't need to use it to access the hard drive when I'm not home, I just want the ethernet connection to get the fastest possible speeds from it. Do these exist?

Regards.
 

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Moved. Not just anything belongs in "Anything Goes". Please read forum descriptions prior to posting.
 
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LOL, that is called a NAS.... You are using network protocols to transfer data thus it is a network area storage!
 

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LOL, that is called a NAS.... You are using network protocols to transfer data thus it is a network area storage!

Exactly. Just because you don't want remote access to it over the Internet, doesn't make it any less a NAS.

What kinds of things do you intend to use it for? Perhaps that will help us make a recommendation.
 
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Network overhead may not do anything to increase your speeds -vs- a USB, eSATA or FW400/800 connection. What types of peripheral connections do you have on your computer, and what type of connection does your computer use to access your network?
 
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Moved. Not just anything belongs in "Anything Goes". Please read forum descriptions prior to posting.

"Other Apple systems and peripherals discussion." Because what I was posting about/looking for is not an Apple system or peripheral, I didn't know where to post it. Sorry :)

Exactly. Just because you don't want remote access to it over the Internet, doesn't make it any less a NAS.

What kinds of things do you intend to use it for? Perhaps that will help us make a recommendation.

Network overhead may not do anything to increase your speeds -vs- a USB, eSATA or FW400/800 connection. What types of peripheral connections do you have on your computer, and what type of connection does your computer use to access your network?

Hey guys, thanks for your help. Well I just want an external hard drive, but I only have USB 2.0, Ethernet and FW800. I can use either ethernet or wireless for my internet. I want a connection speed that can my hard drive and/or SSD can max out to, instead of being limited to 60MB/s or 100MB/s.

Any solutions out there that are over ethernet that are relatively expensive? As I understand in, NAS is an actual computer than serves data like a webserver. I am in correct?

Thanks!
 
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Yes, that is what a NAS is but in order for you to plug a device to a network and have it serve fire up a network connection it will have to have some sort of operating system so what you are asking for is still considered a NAS.

That being said, you will have faster speeds via USB or firewire.
 
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Yes, that is what a NAS is but in order for you to plug a device to a network and have it serve fire up a network connection it will have to have some sort of operating system so what you are asking for is still considered a NAS.

That being said, you will have faster speeds via USB or firewire.

Alright understood. But why will I not be able to achieve faster speeds from a NAS?
 
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Alright understood. But why will I not be able to achieve faster speeds from a NAS?

You will... If you set up a Gigabit (wired) connection you can transfer data over twice as fast as USB 2.0. So, if that is what you are looking for then go for it. However, remember that it won't be as "portable" as a USB drive. ;)
 

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Hey guys, thanks for your help. Well I just want an external hard drive, but I only have USB 2.0, Ethernet and FW800. I can use either ethernet or wireless for my internet. I want a connection speed that can my hard drive and/or SSD can max out to, instead of being limited to 60MB/s or 100MB/s.

Any solutions out there that are over ethernet that are relatively expensive? As I understand in, NAS is an actual computer than serves data like a webserver. I am in correct?

Thanks!

I think you're confused a bit about the differences between port types and that's perfectly understandable, especially considering that a bus like Firewire actually uses network protocols.

Ethernet is the physical layer of modern networking standards. To act as an Ethernet host, a drive must have be able to run a network protocol and thus it has to have some kind of operating system. NAS devices are kind of like mini servers. They can do a variety of different things as you mentioned, but the simplest NAS devices simply offer the ability to share a hard drive of some sort on a network at the maximum speeds the network is able to provide. Gigabit Ethernet is supposed to be able to operate at 1000 Megabits Per Second (keep in mind that there are 8 bits in a Byte, so in ideal conditions, that's 125MB/s). Of course with overhead on the network, you're likely not going to get those kinds of transfer rates. And if your network doesn't support Gigabit Ethernet, it's likely running at 100MB, which has a theoretical maximum transfer rate of 12.5MB/s. And again, that's in absolutely ideal conditions.

So, in short, you're not going to be able to get maximum throughput using an Ethernet interface.

Your other options are USB2 and Firewire 800. Of the two, Firewire 800 is going to be closest to being able to maximize the throughput of the drive. But that's a local bus - only the computer it's attached to will get those kinds of speeds.
 
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I think you're confused a bit about the differences between port types and that's perfectly understandable, especially considering that a bus like Firewire actually uses network protocols.

Ethernet is the physical layer of modern networking standards. To act as an Ethernet host, a drive must have be able to run a network protocol and thus it has to have some kind of operating system. NAS devices are kind of like mini servers. They can do a variety of different things as you mentioned, but the simplest NAS devices simply offer the ability to share a hard drive of some sort on a network at the maximum speeds the network is able to provide. Gigabit Ethernet is supposed to be able to operate at 1000 Megabits Per Second (keep in mind that there are 8 bits in a Byte, so in ideal conditions, that's 125MB/s). Of course with overhead on the network, you're likely not going to get those kinds of transfer rates. And if your network doesn't support Gigabit Ethernet, it's likely running at 100MB, which has a theoretical maximum transfer rate of 12.5MB/s. And again, that's in absolutely ideal conditions.

So, in short, you're not going to be able to get maximum throughput using an Ethernet interface.

Your other options are USB2 and Firewire 800. Of the two, Firewire 800 is going to be closest to being able to maximize the throughput of the drive. But that's a local bus - only the computer it's attached to will get those kinds of speeds.

Alright I think I understand now! So it looks like I actually want to go for a FW800 enclosure. However it seems they are rather expensive.
 
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No you won't get the max speed but it is still faster than USB. I have a server here at home that I can send files to much faster than a USB drive when I am wired to it. In fact, if I have a lot of data to transfer, this is the way I do it.
 

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Alright I think I understand now! So it looks like I actually want to go for a FW800 enclosure. However it seems they are rather expensive.

Expensive and often difficult to find, since Firewire really never gained much of a following outside of Apple devices. Your best bet is going to be Otherworldcomputing.com as they have a variety of different cases and features. NewEgg also sells them and you might be able to get a better price there.

I use a Firewire 400 case with a 2.5" 320GB Western Digital 7200rpm drive to do my Time Machine backups at work. It's pretty darned quick and the enclosure (I think it's made by Macally) wasn't terribly expensive - about $35 as I recall.
 
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Question, why do you need ultra fast speeds? If that device is going to be that active then what you need is a server of some sort.
 

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No you won't get the max speed but it is still faster than USB or Firewire.

Faster than USB? I can see that. But short of Fiberchannel, no Ethernet-based medium is going to be faster than FW800.
 
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True on FW, I meant to remove that. ;) Problem is you really can't find it anymore and it is pricey.
 
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Question, why do you need ultra fast speeds? If that device is going to be that active then what you need is a server of some sort.

Well, If I am transferring say 500GB of data, over 60MB/s that will take a long time. Even an increase of 40-50 MB/s cuts that time in half.

I've looked at OWC/Macsales, and their products look good, but are rather expensive. I have no problem spending that money to get a good enclosure, but I'd rather investigate other options first. I'll check newegg.
 

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I've looked at OWC/Macsales, and their products look good, but are rather expensive. I have no problem spending that money to get a good enclosure, but I'd rather investigate other options first. I'll check newegg.

I can help with that. What physical size drive are you looking to accommodate (a 2.5" laptop drive or a 3.5" desktop drive)?
 
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Faster than USB? I can see that. But short of Fiberchannel, no Ethernet-based medium is going to be faster than FW800.

CWA is correct. Your fastest options are FW800 or eSATA via an express34 card.
 
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I can help with that. What physical size drive are you looking to accommodate (a 2.5" laptop drive or a 3.5" desktop drive)?

Either is fine, actually. I basically need 2 solutions.

1 for mobility, so I can bring my important data with me.
1 for stationary, so I have my important data + backups and other stuff at home.

CWA is correct. Your fastest options are FW800 or eSATA via an express34 card.

No express card slot :)
 

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