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Network Attached Storage

aliases:

  • NAS

A dedicated hardware device that provides general storage for an entire network. Usually made with a Linux-based OS that's access via a webpage using an IP address or a domain.

NASs are made to fill a file-server role. They (should) have automatic backup capabilities. File system operations are done using an application protocol, like SMB or FTP.

Most NAS devices also support some sort of RAID for redundancy. The only drawback of NAS devices is that they share bandwidth with other devices on the network. Adding a NAS to a full network could drown it in traffic and result in unacceptable delays for users, applications, and other services.

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