Introduction; Smb; Ftp; Dhcp - Icy Box IB-NAS901 User Manual

Introduction

NAS is short for "Network attached Storage", which is used to name a specialized device
that offers mass storage towards a data network. SOHO NAS like the ICY BOX IB-
NAS901 are small devices that simply share data from HDDs to an Ethernet. There are
many approaches; some are using custom shaped methods in offering the storage space
to the network participants. This approach needs special software to be installed on the
network clients and in most cases is limited to one particular operating system.
The ICY BOX IB-NAS901 has chosen to offer the HDD space in the way common
operating systems are expecting it. This means it uses the same principles (protocols) to
offer HDD-Storage as common file servers are doing it but with less noise, lower power
consumption and in a much simpler way. The main advantage is that, that special
software is unnecessary to access the storage provided.

SMB

The SMB server implemented in the ICY BOX IB-NAS901 offers storage in a way regular
Windows shares are doing it (commonly known as SMB or CIFS protocol). Even Operating
systems like MAC OS and Linux are capable of using this kind of network storage access.

FTP

The FTP protocol is one of the oldest ways for file transfer in the internet. It is fast and
could easily be used to access the HDD even via the internet. A huge set of different
software clients exists even for exotic operating systems using this simple but fast
protocol. Most internet access routers used in small offices and at home offer a
mechanism called port forwarding (virtual server, etc.) which could be easily used to
expose the ICY BOX IB-NAS901's storage to the internet. The FTP protocol offers access
control based on user.

DHCP

If your network does not provide a DHCP server for auto configuring the IP settings of
the client, the IB-NAS901 has a built in DHCP server to be activated. This server then
distributes the IP-Addresses among the network participants.

More than a NAS

The ICY BOX IB-NAS901 is not only an easy to use network storage device. It is a truly
double functional HDD box. It offers a complete USB 2.0 HDD access chipset, offering
greater flexibility. Users have the option of using it as a NAS where a network connection
is available or connect it via the much faster USB 2.0 Interface in the same way they do
it with a conventional external hard drive. This dual-functional design provides a
maximum of flexibility to access the data on the ICY BOX anytime anywhere.
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