Custom NAS Devices

 A NAS is a device that stores data in a centralized location so it can be shared to other devices on your local network. It is designed specifically for storing and sharing data to multiple computers and users at the same time while providing large amounts of storage capacity along with performance and fault-tolerance. Think of it as cloud storage for your home or business that does not require a monthly fee to use.

Most computers and devices in the home or office are not fault-tolerant, meaning, if the hard drive fails all of your data is lost. With that in mind, the number one benefit of using a NAS is not having to store your data on your local hard drive, but to your fault-tolerant NAS. If your computer crashes you can pick up where you left off on another computer.

There is no monthly fee. You own the device.

Users can access stored files from anywhere on the network making it easy to collaborate with co-workers or share pictures between family members.

It can offer protection of your data from a failed hard drive or ransomware.

It is specifically designed for quick read and write speeds and concurrent access.

No syncing the data between devices. The data can appear on your computer as if it was on your local hard drive.

A NAS is typically restricted to your home or office network, but it can be setup to be accessed from anywhere over the internet.

Configuring your NAS to be a SMB/CIFS, NFS, FTP/Rsync, DNS, DHCP, or NTP server.

Starting a presentation on a desktop PC in your office and finishing it with your laptop in the office lounge or your bed.

Steaming videos and music to your phone or TV.

Celebrating a birthday or promotion and saving the pictures to a NAS where your friends, family, or colleagues can download them at their leisure without you having to text or email each person individually.

Backing up your devices to a central location.

Storing surveillance camera footage for retrieval and review.

 A NAS can provide just about any service that can be installed as a native app or served from a virtual machine or container. Most NAS operating systems provide default apps that can be installed in a matter of seconds.

Create your own media server with Plex or Jellyfin. Upload your DVDs and personal videos and stream them to your favorite device.

Filter ads and DNS with Pi-Hole. Pi-hole is a black hole for Internet advertisements.

Create your own Dropbox or Google Drive. Turn your NAS into a cloud device to share your data across the Internet without a monthly service fee.

Create your own NVR. Turn you NAS into a network video recorder to store your security camera footage.

Create your own development environment. Install virtual machines or containers to play with or develop your code.

Create your own VPN. Install Wireguard to create a virtual private network.

Many, many, more. There a too many things you can do with a NAS to list them here.