So, you've joined the countless thousands of people who have built a home network, probably to get all the computers in your home onto the internet. While you're at it, you probably want all the machines on your network to have access to the file collection you've been building too. Things like videos, music, and all those pictures from the digital camera. Even that big mass of downloaded utilities and device drivers archive that is such a time saver when it comes time to reload a machine.

    Thanks to all the big name hard drive manufacturers, there is plenty of hard drive space to go around - with single drive capacities as high as 750 Gigabytes. These drives are even priced pretty competitively, so you won't be getting gouged to hard in the wallet to build a large storage library. With a single 750 Gigabyte drive, you'll probably have enough storage space to last the rest of your life. But will the drive itself last that long?

     At some point, you're probably going to want to think about a reliable back-up solution as well. Take it from someone who's been there - loosing every single file you've collected is....frustrating. And if some of those files happen to be projects from the office, the excuse "my hard drive crashed" sounds a whole lot like the grown-ups version of "The dog ate it..." and is likely to be as well received.

      Some of the names we have come to know from the networking hardware manufacturers have made devices (already in the retail market) that can handle network file sharing, with some limited backup capabilities. Doing a little homework on the various units available will be the only way to cut through all the market hype and figure out which unit is really right for you. As you can expect - the more expensive the unit, the more features it offers. One of the most important things to keep in mind is future expansion. From the single home user to the biggest corporations -- getting into the right unit now can save major hassles later.

     Meet, the ReadyNAS  NV+ from Infrant. As you've probably already figured out by its name, the ReadyNAS NV+ is a Network Attached Storage device -- NAS for short. The ReadyNAS is a stand alone product that needs very little in the way of administration. I say very little because the unit does need some initial setup and configuration work done before its ready to roll. But have no fear! The ReadyNAS has been designed with ease of use in mind. Everything is managed remotely by a computer on your network. The hard drives are hot-swappable and even the devices firmware can be updated. It's got status lights, a quiet cooling fan, and an awesome warranty to give you peace of mind.