[tiroshii]

Okay here's the story. I want to set up a personal NAS server to store my Music/Films etc.

However, I'm reluctant to attach it to my house network for two reasons:

1. I don't want the system in the living room (next to the router)
2. I don't want it accessible by other members of the household (Student house)

Therefore I decided to link it up to an old router I found in a box of cables.

Works fine, however. Can't connect to both routers at the same time - still need main house router for internet! Can I link my router (Netgear DG834G) to the main household router (Belkin F5D7633-4) to get both internet and my own NAS while still allowing normal access to the house router? Or is there an easier way to do the whole thing?

Edited by tiroshii, 29 November 2010 - 07:43 PM.

[Advertisements]

Please ignore this reply - extra info no longer needed

Edited by tiroshii, 29 November 2010 - 07:45 PM.

[tiroshii]

Please ignore this reply - extra info no longer needed

Edited by tiroshii, 29 November 2010 - 07:45 PM.

[Spyderturbo007]

You'll need to disable the DHCP server on one of the routers and use one of the standard ports (i.e. 1 -4) as opposed to the WAN or uplink port on that router. Basically, you'll be making a bridge out of the router which will allow you to move the router and keep the NAS out of the living room. If I'm reading this right, you'll want to do that with the Netgear DG834G since that is the router you're adding.

As for access by other members, that's going to be a little harder because of it still being on the same network. What NAS are you using? Hopefully it allows you to control user access.

[tiroshii]

Well in hind sight it's not a major issue if they can access it - none of them will be looking for it on the network - or I guess even know how to do so so it may be okay. But I'd rather have it in my own room...

It's a Icy Box IB-NAS3221 and yes the Netgear router is the one in my room an the new one added to the network.

Not really sure what you mean by 'You'll need to disable the DHCP server on one of the routers and use one of the standard ports (i.e. 1 -4) as opposed to the WAN or uplink port on that router.'

I'm wanting to connect them via wireless.

[Spyderturbo007]

Ah, now I see what you are doing. Sorry for the confusion.

I assumed you had a way to wire them together, so you can basically ignore my previous post. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like this is possible with your setup since only the Belkin supports WDS and neither are compatible with the DD-WRT hack.

So for this to work wirelessly, you would need additional hardware.

[tiroshii]

What would this hardware be?

Is there no way for me to run it as a separate network and then connect to both simultaneously?

[tiroshii]

Does my NAS offer user rights? So I can read/write to it and others can't?

I found this one (Icy Box IB-NAS4220-B) which said it does this.

Would something like this be a better option (could attach to main network (guess I could compromise) but not allow the others to use my files?


OR, could I attach a NAS to the network via wireless - thus not needing to place it in the living room?

Edited by tiroshii, 30 November 2010 - 09:54 AM.

[Spyderturbo007]

You would need a wireless bridge such as this D-Link DAP-1522. Basically it connects to the existing wireless network and translates that signal to the wired clients. This one allows you to connect up to 4 devices. There are options if you just want to connect one device, but for a couple dollars more it might be worth it in the future.

You would move the NAS to wherever you want it, connect it via a CAT 5e cable to the bridge and then the bridge connects to the network. The only thing you have to verify is that you have a wireless signal from the Belkin where you want to place the bridge. Other than that, it's pretty straight forward.

I'm downloading the manual for your NAS now. Once I get a chance to look through it, I'll be able to answer your question about access rights.

Edited by Spyderturbo007, 30 November 2010 - 10:17 AM.

[Spyderturbo007]

Well, that went quicker than I thought.

According to page #39 of the user manual, the NAS does support permissions via users and groups. This means you can set access rights for the NAS. That would keep your friends / room mates out of your stuff. It also allows read / write access restrictions. So for example, if you wanted your friends to be able to read the music folder but not write or edit, you could do that as well. That way they could stream music to their PC's and you don't have to worry about them deleting your entire music library.

You can also give them a folder of their own on the NAS if you want for them to store their files while keeping them out of your stuff. I see that it also supports user level quota management. That way if you did create a folder for them to use, you can set a maximum quota that's specific to the user. So for example, if you have a 1TB RAID Array and wanted to limit their storage space to 500MB, you just set the quota for their login information. That way they aren't filling up your NAS and you run out of space.

I've never heard of that NAS, but by skimming the manual, it looks pretty nice. Can I ask what you paid for the system? I use a Synology DS-209+ that has very similar features and I love it.

Edited by Spyderturbo007, 30 November 2010 - 10:29 AM.

[tiroshii]

That's great. So I can have the NAS in my room on my desk and linked to the router. I don't mind them seeing my films/music it was accidental deletion etc that I was worried about really, and didn't want it physically in the public area to prevent tampering.

I paid around 100 GBP (but if your system is better for a good price it's not too late to swap mine!)

Thanks a lot for your help!!

[tiroshii]

Just had a thought. Not sure what it's called but I've seen devices like the D-Link DAP-1522 you mentioned which link a regular removable drive to a wireless network. Would it not be easier and cheaper to get a regular HDD stack (like this) and attach one of these linking systems?

Or is the NAS system much more suitable by allowing extra features etc?

[Spyderturbo007]

If you can afford the NAS system, it's well worth the money and will run circles around a standard USB HDD enclosure like the one you linked too. Also, keep in mind that the example you provided will not handle RAID, nor access control. The IcyBox you linked to, only handles JBOD, so there is no redundancy as provided with a RAID 1 configuration.

I'm not sure what the current conversion rate is these days, but here is the DS209 that I bought.

A friend just picked up a DS210j and loves it so far. I set it up for him a couple weeks ago and it's very nice. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles that the DS209 has, but it's still a very solid box.

Here is a nice comparison of the two.

[tiroshii]

Yes have seen them but a little more than I was hoping to spend. I think the D-Link system will work well though! Thanks.

It's a shame they don't make NAS with wireless connectivity included...

[dsenette]

technically, if you just chained the routers together, and had the NAS plugged into the one that's in the remote location (your room i guess) then it would be on a different subnet and it wouldn't advertise to the network created by the main router. you'd still be able to get on the internet (because your router would be routing to the other router which routes to the internet....route route route). if the room mates KNEW about the NAS, they could still find it, but it won't show up in "network neighborhood" (or at least shouldn't) by default.

[tiroshii]

technically, if you just chained the routers together, and had the NAS plugged into the one that's in the remote location (your room i guess) then it would be on a different subnet and it wouldn't advertise to the network created by the main router. you'd still be able to get on the internet (because your router would be routing to the other router which routes to the internet....route route route). if the room mates KNEW about the NAS, they could still find it, but it won't show up in "network neighborhood" (or at least shouldn't) by default.

If I was to do this would I not need to attach the routers via cable?