[SOLVED] External hard drive enclosure connected to router via esata

[Colin_52]

Hi

Will this work? my external had enclosure has 2 ports on it. 1x usb 3, and 1x esata 3. the usb 3 port is not great, i know the esata works great. what i want is for the hdd to be connected to my network then for media players to access the content via ethernet using then shared folders / smb.
I have 2 options, get the hdd connected to a router via esata, or buy a 4 bay NAS enclosure which is by far the most expensive option, as I would need one with 4 gb ethernet ports.
If I connected the hdd to a router with esata capabilities would it be accessible to the media players on thensame network?

I set up my network many years ago and got it slighty wrong, but it workes fine. I had a media player that the hdd enclosure connected to it via esata, the media player was connected to my router via ethernet and 3 more android media players located in different rooms were connected to the same router via ethernet and it could connect to the content on the hdd enclosure through the media player.
Some time later I realise that what I should have gone with was a NAS....... cut a long story short, my media player that the hdd enclosure is connected to, broke and my new one doesn't have esata connections, just usb 3.0 and ethernet/wifi.
Help is much appreciated

thanks

 

[USAFRet]

Why would a NAS box need 4x ethernet ports?

 

[Alabalcho]

I don't think there're routers with SATA interface, nor that there're consumer NASes with 4 Ethernet ports.

But there're plenty of routers with USB interface, and for light streaming they will be OK.

 

[Colin_52]

I would want a NAS with 4 ethernets (QNAP TS-453A) as I have 4 media players that could be playing content (Blu-rays/4k) simultaneously and I would prefer them all to have their own supply. 2 linksey routers have esata, WRT1900AC or WRX32X AC3200. The cheaper option for now will be a new router, so if my external hdd enclosure can connect via esata to the router I'm assuming it will be connected as it is now, but without my old media box? I'm no tech expert but the logic matches up?

 

[USAFRet]

I have a TS-453a, and it does have 4x ethernet ports.
But you wouldn't hook an individual "media player" to an individual port. They don't need their own "supply".

If that NAS were talking to different networks or subnets, sure. That is when you use the other ethernet ports.
In your use case, they'd all be on the same subnet, going through the same gigabit devices.

 

[Colin_52]

Thaks for your help,
My thinking was each port would provide 1gb/s of speed to each cable, i guess im worng lol.
So whats the best way to connect up a NAS? NAS -->router (USB3 or Ethernet)
media players to router or NAS via ethernet?

Also, back to the esata connection to my external hardrive, will it be discoverable on the network?

All I want is my movies on SSD which can be accessed throughout the house via ethernet. My router and hardrive are next to each other in a cupboard

 

[USAFRet]

That is exactly what I do with my NAS (among other things).

Router, and then all the PC's, incl the NAS, connected to that router (various switches in between as needed)
A single Cat5e from the router to the NAS.

As a performance test:
Movies out to 3x systems. 2 movies to one of those systems, so 4x actual movie streams.
Music to 2 others
Accepting a full drive backup from 2 systems
All at the same time, with nary a burp anywhere.

Treat the NAS just like its own PC. Which it is.

eSATA or USB drive connected to a router? I've never tried it. But heard spotty results. Routers don't have a lot of brain for those type things.
If it works, it would be discoverable. If it works.

 

[Colin_52]

you're a star!!! I'll keep my router then and get a replacement 4bay NAS with 2x ethernet ports.
currently I have 3 media players connected to a switch, 1 ethernet from router to switch.

Whilst I have you're attention, would It have less restrictions/latencies (think thats right, trying to sound smart now) if I ran each individual ethernet to the router from the media players rather than going through a gb switch? I have cat 6A cable through out

 

[USAFRet]

A switch will have zero impact.
My main PC goes through two switches before the router, and there is no difference than if it were connected directly to the router.

 

[Colin_52]

I do have another question.. If the internet is down, will the NAS still work for internal streaming/transfer? The reason i ask is for some reason when my internet is down my network goes with it. This was also part of the reason I want a direct connection, or is this a setting within the router?
At the moment I'm connected through smb not nfc, not sure if this makes a diffrence

 

[USAFRet]

That would depend on why the "internet is down".
If it is a router issue, then any traffic that goes through the router, internal or external, would be affected.

If it is outboard of your house, then the NAS connectivity should work. That portion of the router is basically just another switch.

 

[Colin_52]

Just a little update for anyone that might be in the same situation as me..

I bought a WRT1900ACS as it was a cheaper alternative to a NAS drive and hard drive, hooked it up to my external hard drive tower,,, cut a long a story short, only certain external hard drives will be found by the router....mine didn't lol.. I did hook up a 1tb usb hard drive and it worked fine