Network attached storage

[Patconroy088]

I have a 1TB omega drive sitting on my home wifi net. Are there any iPad apps that can help me access it? Thanks

 

[iVan]

FileBrowser is what I use with my NAS. You can watch movies, pictures and many types of documents with it. You can also use it to access and change stuff on your computer. Great app!

 

[RAC]

FileBrowser is what I use with my NAS. You can watch movies, pictures and many types of documents with it. You can also use it to access and change stuff on your computer. Great app!

Another vote for FileBrowser, it works very well with my Western Digital 1TB NAS. I also use iSSH to issue Linux commands, many NAS devices are Linux based and WD for one allows you to turn SSH on.

I have found this combination very useful in overcoming many of the self imposed file management limitations of the iPad.

 

[Hasty]

Thanks for that Ivan hadn't heard of Filebrowser.
Normally just use Splashtop which gives me access to all my external drives but for a few pennies this might be simpler to use.

"self imposed file management limitations"
I suspect Apple tried to keep the system as simple as possible and never imagined what people would try to do with their tablets

 

[iVan]

You're welcome, Hasty.
Apple should heed to this. Never underestimate the ingenuity of the plebe that wants something changed...

 

[CraigPollard85]

Hey guys,

Apologies for highjacking the thread, but it seems a bit pointless to create another one with the same name.
You all seem fairly familar with the NAS solutions available for the iPad so im wondering if you can offer any advise on a NAS adapter

***i had posted a link to one here but my post count is not high enough yet***

I already have a sizeable external hard drive so it makes more sense to make this network enabled rather than cough up for a seperate NAS solution. Would you envisage any problems using such a solution? Is it worth giving it a try or opting for something like the iomega straight away?

Many Thanks..... Craig

 

[RAC]

I already have a sizeable external hard drive so it makes more sense to make this network enabled rather than cough up for a seperate NAS solution. Would you envisage any problems using such a solution? Is it worth giving it a try or opting for something like the iomega straight away?

Many Thanks..... Craig

I can't say for sure but I would think that as long as it is accessible on the network and one or more file shares are set up, FileBrowser should find it.

How do you plan to make your existing external driver available? The most obvious way would be to connect it to a computer and set up one or more file shares.

The main advantage of NAS is that there is no need to have a computer running. The Western Digital NAS that I have claims to have low power usage when on standby, it certainly stays very cool.

Being directly connected via Ethernet also makes it reasonably fast.

The WD NAS has web tools to manage it (set up file shares, bulk copying, users etc) from the iPad.

I also use iSSH to run a few basic Linux commands to do things that FileBrowser doesn't, such as check directory size, available space etc without starting up my notebook.

By the way, FileBrowser doesn't only let you find files, it has quite good tools for viewing photos etc. I can access my 80 GB of photos very nicely.

 

[RAC]

Apple should heed to this.

Apple should take heed.

Assuming that they see the iPad as a cloud computing device (I am not sure that the thinking is quite that well focussed), using something like FileBrowser to access your own files on local network storage seems to fit.

I suspect that they are mainly focussed on making revenue from cloud services such as MobileMe however.

They may see the light and build such functionality into iOS eventually. Typical of the wicked ways of the computing world, a third party application that fills a gap, could be incorporated into the OS, reducing the market for the original developer. Sometimes the mainstream computer company will simply acquire the minnow.

Such things ave happened regularly over the years with both Apple and Microsoft (e.g. Internet Explorer).

PS. One option for Apple could be to enter the NAS market. The Mac Mini might be a good starting point. They would need to add some web management tools (hardly a major exercise), larger storage and ensure that standby power consumption is low.

 

[CraigPollard85]

Hi RAC,

here is the link to the device I mentioned earlier (I have a high enough post count now to post links ;o)

[ame=http://www.amazon.co.uk/NAS-adapter-USB-storage-100Mbps/dp/B002U9JKC8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1293749995&sr=1-1]NAS adapter for USB 2.0 storage 10/100Mbps: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics[/ame]


As you see, it is a fairly simple and cheap method to connect any USB device to a network (external hard drives, printers etc).

Craig

 

[RAC]

Hi RAC,

here is the link to the device I mentioned earlier (I have a high enough post count now to post links ;o)

NAS adapter for USB 2.0 storage 10/100Mbps: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics


As you see, it is a fairly simple and cheap method to connect any USB device to a network (external hard drives, printers etc).

Craig

Hi Craig,

This looks like it should work (I am quite confident that it will), but you won't really know until you try it.

It has an onboard, browser based management tool that you can run from the iPad, essential if you want to reduce or even eliminate Mac/PC usage.

It allows you to manage SMB, FTP and users, the basics. Just which iPad apps can access these you will have experiment with. It seems to me that FileBrowser should readily access any SMB shares and GoodReader seems to work with FTP.

There are some default SMB shares and hopefully you can also create your own.

As I have mentioned, FileBrowser seems to be quite good for displaying many file types in it's own right.

I am guessing that it has embedded Linux but it is not clear whether SSH (scripting) is exposed. This won't concern you if you are not into that sort of thing, but it can be handy to fill any gaps in the onboard tools. For exmple, to create subdirectories in file shares without having start up your Mac/PC.

A "real" NAS gives you faster file access, RAID, more advanced tools etc but this device could be a good place to start.

Another option might be an NAS HDD housing that will accept your bare hard drive. That would take USB out of the picture but would not be for you if you don't like messing around with hardware.

Good luck.

 

[iVan]

You can plug other drives directly to the Western Digital Worldbook Edition NAS via USB.

 

[RAC]

You can plug other drives directly to the Western Digital Worldbook Edition NAS via USB.

I meant to say that you could buy the NAS "converter" for now and still keep the old USB drive, plugged into the USB port, if you update to a full NAS later. It's useful for initial file transfers and possibly for backups as well.