Anyone recommend a NAS enclosure?

[#1]

I've got a cheap one already, but it is painfully slow  - it's doing a backup of my /home at the moment at 3MB/s  :'(.
I'd like something modestly priced, moderately quick, and that will work on a linux network. That rules out a number of otherwise good boxes that need Windows software to set them up. I'd also consider a USB drive, but a NAS is just easier to leave in place once it is set up.
My original idea was to use the NAS as the main file server so I can access stuff equally from either the desktop or the lappy, but this one is just too slow, so it is only used for backup.

[#2]

What about something like this http://www.aria.co.uk/SuperSpecials/Other+products/Gladiator+Proteus+Atom+Green+PC+-+No+Operating+Sy...
and put something like FreeNAS on it ?

[#3]

I was wondering how long it would be before someone suggested FreeNAS! Something like that would be tempting, and is about the right price, but it is another PC-size box to find room for. Need to go and look for small Atom PCs perhaps...
Oh, and the backup is still going, except it is down to 1.6MB/s.

[#4]

I've used Buffalo LinkStations for several years - they are relatively cheap and Linux compatible as they are effectively Linux servers. Also compatible with Windows of course.

[#5]

i'm sure i have one that you can have if we can make the necessary arrangements.  it's at a friend's place "resting" at present.  pm me.

[#6]

Most kind. PM sent.

[#7]

Morning all.
I was thinking of buying some NAS storage to allow me to backup our home XP PC over Ethernet and my son's newly acquired Windows 7 laptop over wireless. I'd be looking to use the backup software I already have installed on the PC (Paragon Free Backup & Recovery) plus  Windows 7 Backup.
All the devices I've looked at seem to come packed with features that I don't really want and require you to install additional software which  I don't really want to do. What I'd like to be able to do is plug the NAS in to our router and be able see this as an additional drive for both computers without installing any new software.
Is this possible and can anyone recommend a "simple NAS" to do this.
I was looking at the Western Digital My Book World Edition but this seems to require the installation of "WD Anywhere Access" which I don't really want to do.
Thanks - Bob

[#8]

Since you have a laptop and a desktop, why can't you keep a backup of the laptop on the desktop (and vice versa).
Because the laptop is portable, it can use wired ethernet.
Cost = nothing

[#9]

Hmm, I have to confess that I hadn't thought of that 
I don' tthink the PC has enough free disk space though plus I'd really like the flexibility of being able to back up either machine without having to switch the other one on. I'm not averse to spending a few quid, I just don't like installing loads of software that I don't really need.
Bob

[#10]

I back-up my desktop over wireless to a wired attached "NAS" - it can take many hours on occasion.
Even though the backup software doesn't copy unchanged files or portions of files which haven't changed it can take hours.
I got my "NAS" off of ebay - it basically consists of a standard SATA drive with a card sitting on it wrapped in a box.
The card has a simple Linux OS (like many routers have) which allows several standard servers to run - Windows, FTP, web, NFS...
I think someone had taken two products - a "NAS" enclosure and a disk drive and sold it to me.
The instructions were half in Chinese and it came from Hong Kong.

[#11]

So are they not really suitable for doing backups? If I do a full backup of our PC to a USB drive, the image is about 35GB and takes about 2 hours.
Why  are NAS drives so slow?
Bob

[#12]

It is down to a combination of factors, but the controller in the box has a lot to do with it. You can spend loads of money and get some fast ones. There is a good comparison site here. We have recently bought a QNAP box at work, which seems pretty good.
It will also depend on the speed of your local network, how the drives are configured (e.g. you'll get more speed from a striped RAID array) etc.
My existing box took a single drive, and has a particularly slow controller, but it was the cheapest solution I could find at the time!
For ease of setup you need a box that doesn't rely on Windows software, and does everything through its web interface. You will have to do the research on each box to find out which is which, as they don't always make it clear.  It does seem a little counter-intuitive that a NAS box which usually runs some sort of Linux should be dependent on Windows software to set it up, but it depends how the manufacturer has designed it and on their target market and programming skills.
I am now having a go with an Intel box courtesy of Artificer. It needs Windows software to set up the RAID array, but thankfully it was already set to 1+0, which is what I wanted anyway. Hopefully I can do everything else with the web interface.

Edit:fixed link

[#13]

It depends on the backup software too.
Wireless is very slow - 54Mbit = 25Mbit = 3MBytes / second absolute maximum.
100Mbit wired Ethernet can probably achieve 80Mbit = 10MBytes / second maximum
If you have some clever software that doesn't just transmit a byte for byte copy of your data, then much faster speeds are achievable.
Example - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rsync

[#14]

Thanks guys, some food for thought. I'll need to digest the information and think what to do next.
Bob

[#15]

I'm considering something similar to Bob for the same reasons, plus want to share files without having to have both PC and, in my case Netbook, powered up.
I've been looking at a Belkin Network USB hub. Seems to do what is needed, but haven't found any OPEX as yet. Advantage is that it plugs directly into a free port on the router, and has four USB ports so in theory I can plug in a printer for sharing, a USB hard drive and possibly swap out flash drives as and when needed.
Has anyone any experience or comments on this suggestion?