Noob @ networking, how do I accomplish this

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Operaghost

[H]ard|Gawd
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Jun 4, 2004
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I want to have all this set up so that I may access/share files between the following:

Win 7 Desktop, Win 7 Laptop, Win 10 Laptop (ordered today Dell G7!), WD Mypassport Ultra 2TB External Drive attached via USB to my router TP-Link Archer C2300.

I was thinking of setting up the computers in a Homegroup, until I read that it was removed from Windows 10.

So what is the best way for me to configure my simple home network so that I can transfer/share files as described above?

Oh, I also have a Canon Wifi printer I want to share
 
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Thats why I bought an external HDD that can connect to my router, so it's always accessible
 
Operaghost said:
Thats why I bought an external HDD that can connect to my router, so it's always accessible
Click to expand...

Router file hosting is typically slow and prone to security issues (you have your files sitting on your edge device). The option only exists because it's a cheap marketing bullet-point to put on the box.

A NAS is the right solution. Next-best would be to host the files on one of your desktops.
 
So is a NAS always on? Or is it wake on connection?

I don't want to have a desktop PC on 24/7 as that would use a lot of electricity
 
Operaghost said:
So is a NAS always on? Or is it wake on connection?

I don't want to have a desktop PC on 24/7 as that would use a lot of electricity
Click to expand...

A NAS is really no different than your external WD drive. I am running a dual drive WD enclosure that connects via cat6 and has a front end.

There are many NAS options out there, so I won't recommend any. But it's basically an external hard drive enclosure that you connect via a network cable.
 
i have nver been satifieds with home oriented nas.
always to slow

I build a small files server with window 7 filesharing works perfect for bot my windows 7 and 10 machines
transfer speed around 115MB/s over 1 Gbit from a raid5 array (software)
 
SvenBent said:
i have nver been satifieds with home oriented nas.
always to slow

I build a small files server with window 7 filesharing works perfect for bot my windows 7 and 10 machines
transfer speed around 115MB/s over 1 Gbit from a raid5 array (software)
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say I transfer at those rates, but a solid 80mb/s seems normal to my WD enclosure NAS on a gigabit LAN.

He doesn't really want to run a system all the time, so I understand that.

For me, the NAS is awesome because it's cross platform and is just a file host and it doesn't have to worry about Windows and it's sharing woes.
 
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