[Eko P]

Hello

I'm not a experienced XBMC user so I am asking for advice from intermediate users.

I have a Windows 7 (U) Frodo 12.2 with a 1TB External hard drive connected by USB. I have few other PC's with XBMC and would like to connect it to my main PC that has all my media. I think I can do PC sharing but the main PC has to be on.

This is where I need advice :

If I get regular hard drive and want to connect it by the home network PC sharing does the main PC have to be always on ?

I was looking into these Cloud external hard drives

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Central+3TB+...b=overview

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/3TB+My+Book+...b=overview

These hard drives connect by Ethernet LAN. So my other question is if I get this and have other xbmc laptops can I connect it by wifi and start xbmc & see all my media ?

Also if I have xbmc on another PC few miles away how can I connect to the External hard drive & Stream my media through xbmc ?

my main thing is to get a cloud online hard drive because I dont want my main PC always to be on so I can still browse the media through xbmc.

So example all my XBMC will be connected to M Drive to view all TV shows, Movies.

I apologies If its kind of confusing and I am willing to give a more clearer understanding after users reply.

Thank you.

[PatK]

External storage is no better than the drive inside, and for the most part these boxes are hot (drives don't like a lot of heat) and limited warranty. What you really should be looking at is a NAS (networked accessible storage) or some sort of server configuration. http://reviews.cnet.com/best-network-attached-storage/ although something like a Drobo or JOBD might be sufficient, you would have to leave your system up for that.

Once you start collecting files, storage gets used up on a regular basis, and sooner or later you need more... a nice NAS set-up with 2-4 drives might do you now, but later on down the road you'll have to add another box etc.. Check out the rest of this forum for tips on various server and NAS set-ups. Here's another link http://www.pcmag.com/reviews/nas

[z31fanatic]

I have the 2TB version of the WD MyBook Live and I am very happy with it. Just connect it to your router and point all your XBMCs to it and you'll be good.

As far as accessing the Drive from outside your network to use with XBMC, I don't think that's possible.
Though, you can access everything on the drive from any computer and from anywhere with WD's WD2GO app or website.

[teaguecl]

This is where I need advice :

If I get regular hard drive and want to connect it by the home network PC sharing does the main PC have to be always on ?

A "regular hard drive" isn't very informative. A normal, internal hard drive must be plugged into a PC, so yes the PC must be on. A typical external hard drive connects to your PC via USB, so once again the PC must be on. The "cloud" drives you point out have their own ethernet port, so those would be accessible even when your PC was turned off.

These hard drives connect by Ethernet LAN. So my other question is if I get this and have other xbmc laptops can I connect it by wifi and start xbmc & see all my media ?

Yes, any device connected to your wifi network will be able to access the "cloud" external drive. Remember that most wifi (really All wifi, but I'm being polite) cannot stream very high bitrate content. Test your wifi speed with the content you intend to stream before committing to a wifi solution

Also if I have xbmc on another PC few miles away how can I connect to the External hard drive & Stream my media through xbmc ?

This is a networking issue. There are a few ways to do it, all of which are too detailed to go into here. Look into Virtual Private Networks (VPN) and/or port forwarding on your router. Pay attention to security whenever you open one of your devices to the internet! Any server on a publicly addressable IP will get hit by hacker attempts hundreds of times per day.



The drives you linked to are kind of a new breed: external hard drives with a ethernet port. They are great for the same thing normal external HDD's are good for: being physically portable, and as a redundant backup. They are inappropriate (IMHO) for permanent media storage. If you think of them as a single-drive, non-upgradeable NAS then it's easy to imagine the limitations.
If you're OK with mucking with external hard drives, then these cloud drives will work for you - they will let you turn your PC off.
When you get tired of wrangling a dozen drives and uncontrolled semi-duplication of data, come back and ask us about NAS's

[Eko P]

Thank you for the feedback guys.

I have the 2TB version of the WD MyBook Live and I am very happy with it. Just connect it to your router and point all your XBMCs to it and you'll be good.

I've always gone with WD external HD's because they always work great but the MyBook only has a ethernet port access not even a USB but the Seagate has both...

Also I looked around and does anyone have this Pogoplug media sharing device ?
http://www.jr.com/pogoplug/pe/PGG_POGOB01/

Its basically hook up your external HD and it turns into a cloud drive. Not sure if it will be a network drive or just have the HD on their website.

Also has anyone used a Wireless USB Printer & Device server ? the guy at frys outlet informed me this will also do the job ?

Here is the link : http://hawkingtech.com/products/view/1/455.html

I'm not that skillful in NAS's yet so ill take one of these and in few months start learning that.

Thank you for the support guys.

[z31fanatic]

My brother has a Pogo Plug and he told me that it works but it's painfully slow.

[nickr]

I am suspicious about these "ethernet" connected drives. The web page for the first one doesn't specify what protocols it supports. One assumes SMB. Why they can't say is a worry. People deserve proper specs when they buy something.

Like those routers that double as a NAS, you are likely to have a VERY low power processor. Couple that with an inferior ethernet chipset and you may find that they perform poorly under the sort of load that a few media PCs will place it under.

I don't know, but I would look for a review from someone using it for sustained network transfers, preferably actually using xbmc or similar, before buying. Newegg is often good for user reviews. I wouldn't rely entirely on them, but they may give some idea.

[aesalazar]

I use to use devices like them years ago when they first came out for work when we did emergency response work and we have to throw together a remote office quickly. They did their job and made it easy to get a network up and running. Assuming not much has changed, nick is right - they have weak processors. If you are looking for gigabit transfers back and forth to them you will be disappointed.

But if you want a simple device you can plug in and go and you are ok with its limitation - go for it, its a low risk investment. Again, like rick said, read user reviews. Besides newegg Amazon is great for them as well. I did a quick search of the model number and got these each with lots of reviews:

http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Central-Et...B00ARB5FLQ
http://www.amazon.com/Personal-Cloud-Sto...WDBACG0030

Good luck.

Ernie

[Eko P]

I am suspicious about these "ethernet" connected drives. The web page for the first one doesn't specify what protocols it supports. One assumes SMB. Why they can't say is a worry. People deserve proper specs when they buy something.

Like those routers that double as a NAS, you are likely to have a VERY low power processor. Couple that with an inferior ethernet chipset and you may find that they perform poorly under the sort of load that a few media PCs will place it under.

I don't know, but I would look for a review from someone using it for sustained network transfers, preferably actually using xbmc or similar, before buying. Newegg is often good for user reviews. I wouldn't rely entirely on them, but they may give some idea.

I ended up getting the wd mybooklive. I actually asked whats the best way to setup if have private folders.

http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=171480

Didn't find the answer exactly so ended up doing this.

> Made a user and private folder share on the wd hdd nas site.
> Under my computer - networking the private drive is visible but can't access yet.
> map network drive, gave a letter add username/password and it shows up under my computer.

I've ran few tests - sourced it with xbmc and plays fine. Have great Internet speed that can play 15-20gb files. Not sure if map network drive is better then nfs, smb, or upnp as didn't get the best answer. Did read the wiki page for networking - sharing which made me more confused but anyways think i'm good for now. Also cannot stress to beginners for these ethernet nas hdd - backup backup backup backup backup. These hdd are always on so never have all your data just here...