[Glorious1]

Seems like a lot of people use network-accessible storage, but I wonder if it would be easier and cheaper to simply get a multi-bay drive enclosure and hook it to the HTPC (in my case a Mac mini) with USB3. The enclosure could be formatted to look like a single drive or in various RAID configurations, and it could be backed up fairly easily (I have an old Drobo that could do that ).

This avoids the hassles of administering a NAS unit, and I think the enclosure would be cheaper than a NAS unit (I won't be building one). What do you see as a downside, or is there one?

[mayoman]

If you are streaming from the drive to other devices then attaching it to the HTPC will add to the HPTC overhead creating a potential bottleneck.

[Glorious1]

Thanks, good point, though I don't foresee streaming to other devices. I have a simple setup feeding one TV and receiver.

[SpecialSauce]

I like that my NAS drive is stored in a closet so there is less clutter on my desk. There really is no administration required for an NAS other than changing the default login/pass during installation, unless you want to setup remote access. I can move files to the drive while streaming movies/music and I don't need to have the computer on to access it. They aren't that expensive either (2TB ~$129).

[Glorious1]

There really is no administration required for an NAS other than changing the default login/pass during installation, unless you want to setup remote access. I can move files to the drive while streaming movies/music and I don't need to have the computer on to access it.

Guess I don't understand much about how they work. Sorry if these are dumb questions -

I imagine these things have lots of settings you might want to change from time to time. How can you control a NAS except by remote access? Otherwise you would have to hook a keyboard and screen up to it, wouldn't you?

How can you move files to the NAS without a computer on?