As promised, this week we start the first in an occasional service covering the setup, configuration and usage of a Networked Storage device (NAS) in your home or small business environment.

Whether it be for local file storage, for local backup, to act as media server, to act as an email server and more, a NAS can provide you with amazing levels of functionality and resiliance for much less than the cost of a dedicated PC or Mac server.

In this episode I take a look at selecting a NAS and the initial setup and configuration in a home enviroment. The episode is based on the Synology DS216+II, an inexpensive, yet very capable Network Attached Storage device.

As well as the initial setup and configuration, I also demonstrate accessing the NAS using DS Finder - an iOS app that allows you to access the NAS locally over across the internet.