Home users may not need to worry about large numbers of users these days it's the number of simultaneous devices that makes the difference. Additional layers of data security and serving files to a relatively large number of users is typically where businesses need to be careful about NAS storage. All of that is relatively simple for a NAS. Once you decide that you need to store files on a network drive, you then need to figure out what you mean to do with them, in order to determine what kind of NAS you need.įor example, a typical business scenario might be sharing access to Office files, like spreadsheets and Word documents, with your coworkers and perhaps backing up select office devices on a regular basis. Read on for a breakdown of the top NAS devices we've tested, followed by a detailed buying guide that will walk you through how to find the best one for your needs.īuying Guide: The Best NAS (Network Attached Storage) Devices for 2023 As its name implies, a NAS is high-capacity storage that connects to your home or office network so that you and other users you designate can access your files from mobile devices and PCs without plugging in to the drive. Instead, consider a good network-attached storage (NAS) device. There are ways to allow other users to share and access the files on your hard drive, but they can be challenging to set up and carry security risks. While you can certainly use an external hard drive for offloading and backing up files from your PC (and by extension, from your phone), if you disconnect the hard drive and leave it in your office, you won't be able to get to those files from another location, and neither will anyone else. In this age of high-resolution photos and near-constant video capture, the storage space in your PCs and mobile devices fills up faster than ever. Read our editorial mission (Opens in a new window) & see how we test (Opens in a new window). Since 1982, PCMag has tested and rated thousands of products to help you make better buying decisions.

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Home media servers