Introduction

You may not realize it, but the SSD market is making the network attached storage market heat up. As more of us move from mechanical storage in our computers, the need for additional storage capacity rises. In desktops where several storage products can reside side-by-side the limited capacity from flash based storage isn't much of an issue, but in notebooks the issue becomes complicated.

For years, direct attached storage (DAS) played a double role. The technology mainly designed for portable storage became the add-on, quick fix for main storage drives that filled with data. Two years ago, the buzzword was connected devices and now it's difficult to buy any piece of technology that isn't connected. When manufacturers talk about connected they mean two things, the internet and storage devices designed to distribute content. With DAS, if you want to connect your connected devices you need your computer on and configured for another client connection. There are two inconveniences in that, the first is the massive power draw your desktop uses and the second is running downstairs to turn your computer on when you just want to watch a damn movie upstairs in your bedroom. The solution to all of these problems and more is a low power device that can hold large amounts of data and do so in a manner that keeps your data safe. The solution is NAS.

Network attached storage products have grown up and are now more than just black boxes for storing your important documents. With new high capacity HDDs you can store all your documents, pictures, movies and music and play the content back on just about any device with a network connection. This includes your cell phone and tablet while you're on the go.

GIGABYTE is a company we all know and trust. They produce some of the very best motherboards and video cards on the market, products we've all purchased in the past. The NAS market is one filled with several companies, none of which you've heard of unless you take a deep dive into the market before spending your hard earned dollar. Although not as public as GIGABYTE's other ventures, GIGABYTE has produced server and high performance computing components for several years. Now the company is using that knowledge to bring a network attached storage product to the consumer and small business segment.