connecting a NAS directly to a Mac ?

[macaron95]

Hi

I am still hesitating before buying a RAID enclosure

but some friends advised me to get a NAS instead, which is more flexible in terms of RAID settings and could work 24/7 and go to sleep automatically


I was wondering if it is possible to connect a NAS directly to my iMac or by using the ethernet port of an Airport Express ?

thanks

 

[brentsg]

NAS (network attached storage) connects to a network. A DAS (direct-attached storage) connects to your computer.

If you want it directly to the iMac then you'll want thunderbolt or similar, depending on what you have.

 

[Mikael H]

Hi

I am still hesitating before buying a RAID enclosure

but some friends advised me to get a NAS instead, which is more flexible in terms of RAID settings and could work 24/7 and go to sleep automatically


I was wondering if it is possible to connect a NAS directly to my iMac or by using the ethernet port of an Airport Express ?

thanks

Do you primarily intend to use it to store data on with speed taking second place, then a NAS will do fine. You'll need to connect to it via network, though; that's pretty much the definition of a NAS.
If your primary concern is speed, get a direct attached enclosure.

Speed here is a bit of a relative term: If you want to store film or music on your disk solution and enjoy it from your computer, or make regular TimeMachine backups, a NAS is a nice and cheap way to go, and will most likely do just fine.

If you want to use it as a work area for RAW photo, music or video editing, you'll be way better off with a direct attached enclosure; especially if you were planning on transmitting data between your computer and the storage via an Airport Express.