External Hard drive to a net gear router

AmyBeth

Distinguished
Oct 16, 2011
4
0
18,510
Hi, I need help finding an external hard drive that will work with a NETGEAR N600 router, I would like at least a 1TB , running three comps window vista and looking to get a new laptop,

Please help, net gear support page , has all tiny hard drives, also, if Netgear is not compatiable, I am open to a new router

Thanks :hello:
 

Paperdoc

Polypheme
Ambassador
My guess is you are looking for a Network Attached Server or NAS. On the Newegg website you'll find many under the heading Networking Storage.

I do not have one or use one. My understanding is that these boxes have a modest processor, RAM, etc and some basic OS, and they attach to your network anywhere, but likely on a router port. You then can access them as a shared network resource. They come with varied numbers of empty slots in which to mount standard desktop HDD's, usually SATA 3.0 Gb/s units. Many have some built-in form of RAID available, but you may not want to use that.

An NAS is just a standard device on any network. It does NOT have to be specially compatible with your particular router - it should work with any.
 

AmyBeth

Distinguished
Oct 16, 2011
4
0
18,510
Hi All, When I called Netgear they gave me a list that are compatiable with the router I have, and I went ahead and purchased something off the list, I got a Seagate GOFLEX Home and they store called it an external hard drive, but Paperdoc they are calling it a network storage system, so I guess I miss called it when I said an external hard drive, but because it was an ethernet connection and not a USB it worked. THanks for all the answer.
 

Paperdoc

Polypheme
Ambassador
The Goflex Home is an NAS device. It connects to your Ethernet network, often at a router port. It consists of a base that is the server part, plus one Seagate HDD mounted in a special case that fits into the base. That way you can change the HDD part if you need to - for example, as Seagate suggests, you could buy and install a larger HDD later to increase your available space. And "install" is really simple with this design! I note the base / server part also has a USB port so you can plug into it a common USB-connected external HDD and it can become part of the NAS's storage capacity. Neat design.