What is Network Attached Storage?

Network attached storage also called a "NAS Device" is a computer data storage device connected to a computer network providing data access to a network of client machines.

NAS hardware is similar to the traditional file server. However, it differs considerably on the software side. The operating system and other software on the NAS unit provides only the functionality of a data storage device. Use of NAS devices for normal day to day operations is not recommended. Many vendors also purposely make it hard to develop or install any third-party software on their NAS device by using closed source operating systems. NAS units also usually have a web interface as opposed to keyboard/video/mouse.