Everyone needs a home-server!

Most of us have more than one computer around the house. Some of us even have media players connected to our music system, streaming devices connected to our TVs, tablets, and etc. Now wouldn't it be awesome if there was one device in your house that you can use for keeping all your files? One device that will offer the best protection against losing your data, and offer permission options to control who can access what. Basic home-server that all your devices can easily access to for your multimedia and you and your wife can collect your pictures?

Ladies and gentleman it's not a luxury to have a basic home-server in your house these days, it's a must. There are ton of options to choose from and some of them are very easy to use and setup. Synology is one of the many manufacturers of network access storage (NAS) devices out there. Let's talk about how these magical devices work. These little boxes come with very stable Linux operating system and offer RAID for data redundancy. Plus USB port in the back can be connected to another external hard drive for additional backup options. Control panel via web browser let's you create folders with your choice of permission sets (called shares), and user accounts that can access the storage device. Built-in wizard let's you set one of these guys up in a matter of few minutes. For advanced users remote access via port forwarding, FTP server, and WebDAV support adds great ways to reach your files when your miles away from home. A recently added feature called cloud let's you keep your files inside your computer and offers sync between your devices, acting as a sync server. Model DS212 by Synology is a great choice for home / small business applications having just the right amount of features and processing power to handle around 10 users comfortably. These little guys can do other things as well: offering features like survelliance and mail server, support for Apple's AirPlay, apps for mobile phones to access your files and etc.

Most people claim this type of technology is in decline due to cloud storage. However when you have gigabytes of files and you need fast access to them, having them in your possesion is always a better choice. I don't trust my ISP to connect me to my files all the time and let's not forget Internet speed may not be good enough to watch those HD videos without constant buffering.

Did I now convince you to get a home-server?

Comments

[Alfred]

A Home Server makes it easy for folder sharing and media sharing capabilities. It helps in protecting files by automatically backing up datas of computers connected to it and with the help of internet streaming add-ins which allow to stream music or video collections in remote computers and mobile phones. As with any new technology, it takes time for Home Server adoption to grow. The market share for a home server is not large due to cloud adoption.