Discovering More Ways to Share on Your Windows Network
Date: Oct 31, 2008 By
Eric Geier.
Article is provided courtesy of
Que.
Discover three must-have accessories for your network if you want to seriously share files, printers, and media. Find out how to improve the mundane file and printer sharing methods offered free by Windows, in order to make them more convenient and dependable. See how easy it is to share those digital photos you have stored away on your computer with everyone.
In the previous part of this article series, we discovered how you could improve your network (and pocketbook) with VoIP and Wi-Fi phones, keep an eye on employees using network cameras, and display your digital photos and video in digital photo frames.
Now it’s time to uncover accessories you can use on your network to make sharing files, printers, and media easier—and more exciting!
Network Storage Drives
Network storage drives, technically called Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices, provide a central place to store your files and gives you 24/7 access, rather than having to rely on computers to be up and running to access shared files. This is because they connect directly to your network via an ethernet or wireless connection. If you have multiple computers on your network, you’ll probably find these drives to be helpful. Save time in troubleshooting sharing issues between your computers, gain backup capabilities for all your PCs, and get the convenience of remotely accessing your files when away.
When looking through the shelves or browsing online, you’ll see two different types of NAS devices. The more common type is network storage enclosures, which typically come without drives or storage space. Figure 1 shows an example of this type. Depending upon the included features, you can insert your own (SATA or IDE) hard drives into the drive bays, connect USB drives, or slide in media cards such as SD and Memory Stick. Also available are network storage drives, which are basically the same type of device but are already loaded with a drive. These products can be useful for consumers, but occasionally are not as customizable or as easy to upgrade with more disk space than storage enclosures.
TRENDnet’s 2-Bay SATA I/II Network Storage Enclosure (TS-S402)
Similar to accessing shared folders on the computers of your network, the files and data contained on NAS devices are available on the Network or My Network Places window of Windows. However, most NAS devices offer two other ways to access your documents: through a web browser interface and via File Transfer Protocol (FTP) connections, either locally or over the Internet.
Another common feature among NAS devices is back-up capabilities. Either with software you install on your computers or via settings on the NAS drive, you can schedule periodic or real-time backups of your computers. That way, if a PC becomes infected or unusable, you still have your important files and documents.
Some NAS devices have a print server feature where you can plug a printer into its USB port and share it among all your computers. This type of functionally is built into Windows for printers that are attached to PCs; however, print servers don’t require any PC to be booted up in order to print. This is similar to the difference between sharing folders in Windows and using a NAS device. Standalone print servers cost between $50–$100, so you may want to keep your eye out for NAS devices with a built-in server.
When shopping around for NAS devices, you’ll find the simplest products around $50. You should find 1- and 2-bay enclosures (without drives) from $110–$170. NAS drives with 500GB storage run anywhere from $140–$200 and $270–$350 for 1TB drives. High-performance NAS devices for high user applications can run $500+, along with the Windows Home Server.
When you’re ready to look around, here are several NAS products to get you on a good start:
Print Servers
You can use a print server (see Figure 2) to connect your printer(s) directly to your network, so everyone in the home or office can print without having to purchase their own printers. As you may already be familiar with, Windows offers a printer sharing feature where you can share printers attached to your computers. However, using a print server eliminates the need for a host computer to be powered-on in order to print to the shared printer(s). If you’re looking to buy a new printer, keep in mind that some have built-in print servers.
Linksys Wireless-G PrintServer with Multifunction Printer Support (WPSM54G)
Print servers come in two flavors: wireless and wired. Wireless print servers have an antenna that receives the print jobs from your computers over the airwaves. Wired print servers plug into your router or other Ethernet port on your network. If you plan to locate the printer(s) right next to your router, then a wired print server may be the way to go. However, if the printer(s) are not going to be near a wired connection or you are not sure what is going to happen in the future, you may want to go with a wireless server.
When you’re searching for a print sever, keep an eye on the interface type: USB or parallel. Make sure you get a server with the same cable type of your printer(s). Additionally, if you have a multifunction (faxer, scanner, and copier)printer, you need to make sure the server supports multifunction printers, along with your particular manufacturer and model.
Some print server producers also throw in some extras, such as a 4-port switch on the server. This provides several more Ethernet ports into which you can plug computers and other devices for network access. Wireless print servers with a switch could even save you money. For instance, if you have computers or other network devices (NAS, cameras, gaming systems, etc.) near the print server that are loaded with only wired network adapters, you could plug them into the print server and not have to purchase wireless adapters.
Another feature you may see in select servers is printing over the Wide Area Network (WAN), which in layman’s terms means you can send print jobs to your printer over the Internet. You could be surfing at a Wi-Fi hotspot in New York City, in a hotel in Europe, or anywhere in the world and print documents to your printer. When you return to home base, you’ll have your documents awaiting review, or your assistants can take care of it before you arrive.
When browsing the Web, you should be able to find the simplest print servers (wired connection with a single printer port) for $50 or less. Wireless print servers typically start around $70, with multi-port servers costing up to $100. Here are several print servers you may want to check out:
Network Media Players
Network media players (see Figure 3) give you the ability to stream media—music, video, photos, news, and more—from the computers on your network and the Internet to your TV or other display. You can listen to your favorite MP3s or Internet radio station, flip through your digital photos, watch Internet TV, and more—all from the comfort of your couch. Though these media players are marketed mostly towards families for entertainment, they can also be useful in the business world—for example, to entertain or inform guests in the lobby.
D-Link MediaLounge PC-on-TV Media Player (DPG-1200)
Because these media players already communicate with your computers, some manufacturers offer a remote desktop feature so you can see and control your PCs just as if you were sitting in front of them, using the player’s remote. Additionally, some players have digital video recording (DVR) functionality. For example, if you have a TV tuner card in your Windows Vista PC, you can pause, record, and rewind your TV. Most media players come with access to special online programming where you can watch live and on-demand shows and movies. Select media players sport card readers so you can insert and video the media on SD, Memory Stick, and other removable-media.
You can pick up a standard media player for around $180, and up to $300 for more feature-packed players. The following product links give you a head start on your search for a network media player:
The first installment of this two-part article series discussed ways to enhance your network with voice and video gadgets. We found ways to help you save money on your phone bill with VoIP and Wi-Fi phones, improve your surveillance system with network or IP cameras, and share your digital content in the home or office with digital photo frames. In this article, we discovered how much better life can be by sharing your files with NAS devices, printers with print servers, and the digital media from your computers on your TV with network media players.
I leave you with a few tips to help you on your journey of buying accessories and gadgets for your network:
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