NASLite Network Attached Storage

I am just about ready to buy NASLite for a 4x250gb set up. I need storage via Samba (SMB). My friend said, why use NASLite, just use a free Linux distribution instead- 'same thing' he said.

So, i ask, why use NASLite instead of a Linux distro?

jganovsky,

Naslite does not contain all the stuff these other distros do, its LITE.
its small in size and does the job its designed to do server files. plus it works on min hardware specs. the whole OS is about 4MB. or you can use the free floppie disk version. try this out first if you want and then try a distro see how you feel.

Naslite is designed with storage in mind and not email and gfx apps. etc and resources being used that i have no need of.

its ultra fast and worth the money..

Eden

A Linux distribution is a general purpose OS while NASLite is task-specific. If you are interested in task-specific optimized NAS server, and the NASLite functionality and approach match your needs, then the argument is clear.

Simple answer.

PAINLESS setup and it WORKS, 'right out of the box'.

I had my NASLite box up and running in less than 2 hours, counting the time I spent assembling the machine.

On a LINUX server I just finished, it took me almost 4 days to get everything to function JUST LIKE a NASLite server.

Obivously, there is more to the story than that.

The NASLite server has 4 200Gb Maxtor HDs and a bootable SCSI CD-ROM. Quick, painless, and it just works!

The Ubuntu Server has an SCSI RAID 5 array, and 7 CD/DVD-ROMs.

I tried FreeNAS...
(Problems with software RAID, and it wouldn't even boot completely on my machine)

Tried Ubuntu Server 5.1...
(couldn't get it configured correctly to function like NASLite)

I installed SMEServer 7...
(absmally slow performance and complicated setup)

I wanted to use DamnSmallLinux, but trying to add in the needed components to support the Software RAID 5 broke my spirit, plus it was a little flakey about finding the SCSI HD's in a full hard drive install, although it found them flawlessly in a LIVE setup.

Not even going to go into what a disaster and the time wasted trying to set up a SUSE 10 Server.

Installed Ubuntu Server 6.06, added the packages I needed to support Samba, FTP, and SSH. I skipped the HTTP server because I don't use that service on the NASLite except for looking at the specs anyway. Got the Ubuntu Server setup and working, configured to function EXACTLY like the NASLite server. If NASLite supported Software RAID, and SCSI, I would have never used anything else to start with.

Just my 2 cents...

DaveJ45