Wireless Router With Storage?

[mikeschmeee]

Hello,

I was wondering if you more experienced members are able to help me with what I have in mind...

I would like to shared a fairly large hard drive (500GB or greater) wirelessly. It will mainly have music on the drive. Most of the files that are shared are on my desktop PC and I would like to have it all shared over my home network without having to turn on my PC when I only want to listen to a few songs.

I got to thinking perhaps there are some new N network routers which have such a built in feature or by connecting an external hard drive via USB?

Any suggestions/advice is greatly appreciated.

Thank you
Mike

 

[Celegorm]

It's pretty easy to set up. A good router to use would be the linksys WRT610N. It's a little pricy, but it's wireless N, and gigabit. It has the ability to have a USB hard drive plugged into it for storage.

Otherwise, a NAS drive would be perfect too. It's the exact same concept, but it plugs into a hard-wire network connection.

Both options are good, and will do what you want.

 

[PvilleStang]

Google Storage Router...

 

[jameson]

You can try the following routers
Belkin's N+
Linksys WRT350N
ASUS WL-500W

 

[mikeschmeee]

Wow, thanks for the very quick response!
Are there any good D-Link routers? I've had the same D-Link for many years and its been treating me well so I would like to stay within that brand but if not Linksys will do.

 

[Celegorm]

Recent D-link routers are not so good IMO. I love the features and layout of the firmware, but they have flaky connections.

I do have a D-link NAS enclosure that works great though. Very easy setup and reliable. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822155009

 

[mikeschmeee]

Yea, I was looking at the same D-Link network storage enclosure but I do not have a Ethernet slot available as all four are taken up by others in my home network.
So I guess a new router will have to do. I've been looking at the Linksys WRT610N but some reviews say its horrible others say its superior. I just want something reliable.
Anyone here with some hands on experience with this router? Some positive reinforcement would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks guys!

 

[Celegorm]

I have worked with 2 of the 610's. They are pretty reliable. As for not having the Ethernet port open, you could invest in a network switch to add more ports. They can be pretty cheap.

I don't mean to keep throwing out more and more options to you, just trying to show that you have a vast variety of things you can do to accomplish what you want.

 

[mikeschmeee]

That's right! I completely forgot about a switch! In fact, I use two at work.
Thanks for the reminder, I may just do that.
And the more options you throw at me, the better! I can explore my options to see which one is the best for me.

Thanks for all the help.

 

[aspencer]

When you say switch, what would be the configuration of this setup?

Would you have USB devices plugged into a switch, which then plugs via ethernet into the router?