On Thu, Mar 21, 2013 at 1:22 PM, C. Beck <usabecker@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Wed, Mar 20, 2013 at 10:51 AM, J <dreadpiratejeff@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On Wed, Mar 20, 2013 at 11:27 AM, C. Beck <usabecker@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> On Wed, Mar 20, 2013 at 9:32 AM, Paul <pfrederick1@yahoo.com> wrote:
> <...>
>>>>
>>>> I'm basically doing this, just without the specialized computer:
>>>>
>>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network-attached_storage
>>>>
>>>
>>> So do you do this without a NAS server installed on its own machine?
>>> Or maybe I'm just missing what you mean by "specialized computer"...
>>
>> I think he means this:
>> "NAS is often manufactured as a computer appliance – a specialized
>> computer built from the ground up for storing and serving files –
>> rather than simply a general purpose computer being used for the
>> role.[nb 1]"
>>
>> Meaning he's using his own hardware rather than having bought a NAS
>> appliance off the shelf (like a Buffalo Terastation or similar)
>
> Alright. Thanks for the explanation, that makes sense. I was hoping
> there might be some magic to run a NAS server from a separate
> partition but "installed" like you would, for instance, an ssh
> client/server. This probably makes no sense. My computer knowledge
> really starts to break down when I get to the point of how software
> interacts with hardware and how sofware is stacked/layered on top of
> the kernel. I really need to find some time to read up on all of that
> one day.
There's really no magic. I have a "NAS" that is just a cheap Shuttle
PC I built that does nothing but provide file storage via NFS and
CIFS. It houses my music, movies and photography and also serves as
my BIP server (IRC Proxy). but in this case, if you have a linux box
and share files via NFS, that's "technically" a NAS.
That said, a NAS is typically a dedicated system that shares the
files. I think the distinction here is "Your personal computer that
happens to have NFS shares" vs "A machine you bought that does nothing
but share files" OR "A machine you built specifically to serve as a
full time file server". You can have multi-purposes servers, like my
Shuttle box that does both file service and IRC Proxy. The "Dedicated
Machine" as I mentioned above are specific items like the Buffalo
Terastation or the NetGear ReadyNAS. Those are essentially micro-ITX
or embedded systems with disks attached that are mostly plug and play
devices. You plug them into your network and they are generally ready
to go with minor configuration, if any at all.
At the VERY basic level, you could even consider a wifi router that
shares files via USB as a NAS, however, the overhead of reading and
writing potentially large files via USB on a small embedded router
board that likely as very little RAM and a very low-power processor
means they make really poor choices or NAS services.
Also, to hopefully clear up the nomenclature a bit:
Server - the machine that provides services (e-mail, web, IRC, proxy,
filtering, FTP, NFS/CIFS, Database, etc).
Service - the thing being served (the actual email server program, the
actual IRC proxy software, the FTP server program etc). The confusing
part is that this is also commonly referred to as a "server" so
context is everything.
Hence, you can have a server that provides multiple services (or only
one if dedicated hardware is required, such as large database systems,
etc).
To make things confusing, you can have a machine that provides email
services AND web services, and refer to that same machine as your
e-mail server or your web server, depending on context. Heh, isn't it
fun? ;-)
Also, NAS means "Network Attached Storage" which is simply some sort
of storage that is network accessible, as opposed to storage attached
directly to your computer like an onboard or USB hard disk. As I
mentioned above, it generally means something dedicated to providing
storage services, as opposed to something that is more general purpose
but also happens to provide storage.
Finally, if you'd like something to play with:
5 free or open NAS servers
http://www.linuxplanet.com/linuxplanet/reports/7153/1
http://www.openfiler.com/community/download/
http://www.turnkeylinux.org/fileserver
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