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andytseng · (This post was last modified: 2015-07-30, 21:46 by andytseng.)

I think this is a pretty noob question, and I asked in an old thread that probably got overlooked, but...

I've been running Kodi for some time on a dedicated HTPC that has a small SSD for the OS and programs, and a larger HDD that has all my media. I recently upgraded my router to an Asus RT-AC68U (from a Linksys WRT54GL).

Now that I have a router that has USB ports, can I just buy any usb 3.0-enabled HDD enclosure, move my HDD into that, and plug that into my router to have my media accessible to my HTPC and other computers on the network?

i.e. something as simple as this Rosewill enclosure: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6817182347

Is there anything else I need to watch out for when making the transition from an internal HDD, to a network-shared external HDD? Like, will my network speeds be fast enough to keep up with whatever process? My HTPC is wired in, so I'm not too worried about that.

Thanks for your time!

DJ_Izumi · 2015-07-30, 23:11

The AC68U itself is certainly fast enough to transmit any file you have to the clients as needed. However it would still be dependent on the adapters of the clients. On ethernet, you're good. Wireless AC, you're good. 5ghz Wireless N, you're good. 2.4ghz Wireless N, could have some issues with high bitrate files. Wireless G or below, you'd need fairly low bitrate content or it'll crap out.

shabuboy · (This post was last modified: 2015-07-31, 00:50 by shabuboy.)

in a few words, from previous post...

network is only as fast as slowest device in the path

Check this out, wish it showed wireless...
https://askleo.com/what-determines-the-t...e-network/

andytseng · 2015-07-31, 02:55

Thanks for the info!

Just realized that my link to that product doesn't seem to be working...
Rosewill RX307-PU3-35B - 3.5” Hard Drive Enclosure - SATA III, USB 3.0, Energy Saving, UASP, Black Aluminum & ABS Plastic
Just checking, because it seems like most people are buying some sort of NAS or specialized product like a MyCloud or something.

Should be okay as far as the wireless network goes... My oldest device is a first-gen iPad, and even that has Wireless N

shabuboy · (This post was last modified: 2015-07-31, 03:49 by shabuboy.)

Well, if you add the hard drive to your router, you will pretty much have a NAS, enable via router, but nevertheless, it is a NAS (network attached storage).
See this http://www.cnet.com/how-to/digital-stora...as-server/

Sorry for all the links, they just explain it a lot better than I could.

Now, lots of people including myself, wouldn't get a router to be a NAS, nothing wrong with it though. It is just a mental state of getting a router to be a router, a NAS to be a NAS, etc etc. Similar to the thinking of... you do not buy a Porsche to tow a boat, you buy a truck for it.

andytseng · (This post was last modified: 2015-07-31, 09:03 by andytseng.)

(2015-07-31, 03:46)shabuboy Wrote: Well, if you add the hard drive to your router, you will pretty much have a NAS, enable via router, but nevertheless, it is a NAS (network attached storage).
See this http://www.cnet.com/how-to/digital-stora...as-server/

Sorry for all the links, they just explain it a lot better than I could.

Now, lots of people including myself, wouldn't get a router to be a NAS, nothing wrong with it though. It is just a mental state of getting a router to be a router, a NAS to be a NAS, etc etc. Similar to the thinking of... you do not buy a Porsche to tow a boat, you buy a truck for it.

NP about the links!

When I searched the forums, I saw that most people feel the way you do about NAS. For me, I'm not too concerned about needing data redundancy... Most of what I keep on there is just entertainment and replaceable. I make backups of my laptop on there, but if that gets borked, I still have the version on my laptop. I'm only up s***'s creek if both go down.

And frankly, I just don't want to spend much money on this stuff. I basically have a Civic and want to get every last mile out of it.

Thanks again for all the info! It is greatly appreciated.

**Tinwarble** · 2015-07-31, 17:32

(2015-07-31, 03:46)shabuboy Wrote: you do not buy a Porsche to tow a boat, you buy a truck for it.

What size boat? What model of Porsche?

Maybe someone has a small boat and they get a Porsche Cayenne because they want to go fishing and drive a Porsche. Wink

shabuboy · (This post was last modified: 2015-07-31, 21:45 by shabuboy.)

(2015-07-31, 17:32)Tinwarble Wrote:
(2015-07-31, 03:46)shabuboy Wrote: you do not buy a Porsche to tow a boat, you buy a truck for it.

What size boat? What model of Porsche?

Maybe someone has a small boat and they get a Porsche Cayenne because they want to go fishing and drive a Porsche.

You got me there! Rofl

I forgot Porsche now makes an SUV...

teki4u · 2015-08-02, 17:54

Just make sure the enclosure comes with power adapter. and check if your router support nfs apart of smb (samba). So you can use both. Though would also be great if the router reads ext4 file system.
My "NAS" is a 3tb HGST in a Pluggable enclosure attached to an Asus Chromebox with Ubuntu server installed. Changed file system from NTFS to EXT4 of my hdd and running nfs server + samba server on Chromebox (2 of many other server software I run) and is working great. I can access to it thru my windows machines no problem. Everything is wired and I don't have 20gb+ very heavy movies so my mixed 100mbps/1gbps network is just fine.
Router is TP-link Archer C7 with gargoyle firmware.

Namoi · 2015-08-02, 20:45

In my opinion, going this way is great for media storage as you don't have to deal with raid (even if most NAS can be used without raid) and It is almost plug and play.
Another, IMHO, great thing is that the hdd(s) can be moved easly if needed and still remains just an hdd enclosure.
I was always balancing between NAS and DAS and i think this solution is the best for this kind of use.
Again just my opinion.

andytseng · (This post was last modified: 2015-08-05, 11:17 by andytseng.)

Well, I got my enclosure (with its own power adapter) today and moved my HD into it. Plugged it into my router and it showed up under Network > RT-AC68W.
I mapped the network folders to E:\ and F:\ on my Kodi HTPC and added the new sources. Everything seems to be working okay so far. And now I'm able to access all these files without leaving the HTPC on!

Edit: Also, working on getting to my library over NFS. Struggling a bit, but there's a lot of threads to get through on this topic.

We'll see if I run into any problems down the line.

Namoi · 2015-08-05, 09:25

Could you report if the hdd goes to idle ? There is no obvious reason it won't though.

andytseng · 2015-08-05, 12:26

To get the HDD to go idle, I tinkered around with a few of the settings on my router, and I'm not completely sure which one did it.

I have a WD20EARS HDD in a Rosewill enclosure attached to an RT-AC68W on AsusWRT-Merlin 378.55.

In the settings, I set the spin down time to 10 minutes, and disabled any services that could potentially keep it active like iTunes Server, DLNA Server (should be able to leave this on, I think). I left the Samba Share and NFS Exports on. In the log, the HDD actually spun down after 5 minutes, so I don't know if that's something in the HDD that's overriding the 10 minute setting.

Also, finally able to get NFS running and have my library synced up through that now. Seems to be working fine.

For any other noobs like me, I originally connected the library sources through a mapped network drive. But when I restarted the PC, the connection wasn't established, and Kodi wasn't able to access the files until I woke up the connection manually. I'm sure there is a fix for that, but it seemed that most people preferred accessing the library through NFS anyway, so I set that up.

Namoi · 2015-08-05, 13:53

Thanks for the report.
I think the five minutes spin down time are build in the hdd firware itself for western red. Well mine spin down after five.
I just wantedvto know if it was also the same while pluged on the router and it seems so.