On 20/07/2020 18:52, Graeme wrote:

My router, supplied by Zen, is a Fritzbox 7530 and, looking at the
manual, appears to be capable of more than I use it for, which is just
as a router.

For example, I can apparently connect an external hard drive to the
router by USB, said drive then being visible and usable by anyone on our
home network.Â* That we be great for sharing the countless films, photos,
mp3s etc. we have accumulated.

Q1Â* Has anyone actually done this, and does it work well?

Yes, but not with that particular router.

It usually works, but "well" is harder to quantify. Some implementations
are not necessarily that quick.

You also need to consider the file system(s) supported on the drive.
Somemay use FAT43 for example, and hence limit max file sized to 4GB,
which can be a problem for films. Some may insist on a *nix FS which may
make access to the drive harder should you need to remove it etc.

q2Â* Recommended drive?Â* Thinking 1 or perhaps 2TB.Â* Any names to go for,
or avoid?Â* WD, Seagate, Toshiba, Verbatim etc.

If spinning rust, then WD or Segate, with SSD Samsung, Hyper-X, and
Kingston are usually reliable. (speed matters less - they will normally
be quicker than USB)


--
Cheers,

John.

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