NAS with a USB interface?
Hi Folks, I've got an odd requirement that would be satisfied if I could find a NAS device that supported TCP/IP connections over a regular Ethernet port while also offering a USB connection to make the NAS appear as a USB external disk. So multiple computers on the Ethernet side would load up files on the NAS which would be available to a USB-connected computer where it could pull the files off. I've googled a bit and it seems that many people think this won't work, but I'm looking at a QNAP NAS that looks like it might. https://files.qnap.com/news/pressresource/datasheet/TS-x51A_P8_(EN)_51000-02... Any thoughts/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. If I can pull this off I'll be the hero at work. Regards, Lew
On Mon, 28 Aug 2023 18:59:31 -0700 Lew Wolfgang <wolfgang@sweet-haven.com> wrote:
Hi Folks,
I've got an odd requirement that would be satisfied if I could find a NAS device that supported TCP/IP connections over a regular Ethernet port while also offering a USB connection to make the NAS appear as a USB external disk.
So multiple computers on the Ethernet side would load up files on the NAS which would be available to a USB-connected computer where it could pull the files off. I've googled a bit and it seems that many people think this won't work, but I'm looking at a QNAP NAS that looks like it might.
https://files.qnap.com/news/pressresource/datasheet/TS-x51A_P8_(EN)_51000-02...
Any thoughts/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. If I can pull this off I'll be the hero at work.
That spec mentions that the USB port uses software that is only supported for Windows 8.1/10 and MacOS 10.8 or later. Dunno if that matters? You could also obviously convert an Ethernet connection to USB using an adapter?
Regards, Lew
On 2023-08-28 21:59, Lew Wolfgang wrote:
Hi Folks,
I've got an odd requirement that would be satisfied if I could find a NAS device that supported TCP/IP connections over a regular Ethernet port while also offering a USB connection to make the NAS appear as a USB external disk.
So multiple computers on the Ethernet side would load up files on the NAS which would be available to a USB-connected computer where it could pull the files off. I've googled a bit and it seems that many people think this won't work, but I'm looking at a QNAP NAS that looks like it might.
AFAIK, when an "storage device" is connected via USB, it becomes dedicated exclusively to that machine over USB; ie, the network side would stop working till usb is disconnected (an then the local OS would have to do a mount). However, there is the MTP protocol used on smartphones. The computer connects to the phone storage via USB at the same time the phone uses it, so this is what you want. A NAS that does MTP as phones do. I have no idea if they exist. However, notice that you can not do all filesystem operations. No access to a portion of a file (seek) and write a sector or two. It is basically full file copy, read or write. -- Cheers / Saludos, Carlos E. R. (from openSUSE 15.5 (Laicolasse))
On 8/29/23 05:48, Carlos E. R. wrote:
On 2023-08-28 21:59, Lew Wolfgang wrote:
Hi Folks,
I've got an odd requirement that would be satisfied if I could find a NAS device that supported TCP/IP connections over a regular Ethernet port while also offering a USB connection to make the NAS appear as a USB external disk.
So multiple computers on the Ethernet side would load up files on the NAS which would be available to a USB-connected computer where it could pull the files off. I've googled a bit and it seems that many people think this won't work, but I'm looking at a QNAP NAS that looks like it might.
AFAIK, when an "storage device" is connected via USB, it becomes dedicated exclusively to that machine over USB; ie, the network side would stop working till usb is disconnected (an then the local OS would have to do a mount).
However, there is the MTP protocol used on smartphones. The computer connects to the phone storage via USB at the same time the phone uses it, so this is what you want. A NAS that does MTP as phones do.
I have no idea if they exist.
However, notice that you can not do all filesystem operations. No access to a portion of a file (seek) and write a sector or two. It is basically full file copy, read or write.
Thanks Carlos and Dave. I don't think this will work. The NAS is a filesystem device, which is what the network sees, but it would have to look like a block device to mimic a USB disk drive. This must be what the MTP protocol does? I can't use Windows here for the same reason I can't use TCP/IP to connect to the NAS, so I may be out of luck. Regards, Lew
On 2023-08-29 11:28, Lew Wolfgang wrote:
On 8/29/23 05:48, Carlos E. R. wrote:
On 2023-08-28 21:59, Lew Wolfgang wrote:
Hi Folks,
I've got an odd requirement that would be satisfied if I could find a NAS device that supported TCP/IP connections over a regular Ethernet port while also offering a USB connection to make the NAS appear as a USB external disk.
So multiple computers on the Ethernet side would load up files on the NAS which would be available to a USB-connected computer where it could pull the files off. I've googled a bit and it seems that many people think this won't work, but I'm looking at a QNAP NAS that looks like it might.
AFAIK, when an "storage device" is connected via USB, it becomes dedicated exclusively to that machine over USB; ie, the network side would stop working till usb is disconnected (an then the local OS would have to do a mount).
However, there is the MTP protocol used on smartphones. The computer connects to the phone storage via USB at the same time the phone uses it, so this is what you want. A NAS that does MTP as phones do.
I have no idea if they exist.
However, notice that you can not do all filesystem operations. No access to a portion of a file (seek) and write a sector or two. It is basically full file copy, read or write.
Thanks Carlos and Dave. I don't think this will work. The NAS is a filesystem device, which is what the network sees, but it would have to look like a block device to mimic a USB disk drive. This must be what the MTP protocol does? I can't use Windows here for the same reason I can't use TCP/IP to connect to the NAS, so I may be out of luck.
MTP needs support on the computer, it presents a filesystem of sorts. In Linux, via fuse. It can support the computer accessing via USB at the same as others access it with other protocols. You just have to check that the NAS you buy supports MTP. On Linux I use it via Thunar on XFCE. I suppose Dolphin and Nautilus all support it. -- Cheers / Saludos, Carlos E. R. (from openSUSE 15.5 (Laicolasse))
On Tue, 29 Aug 2023 08:28:11 -0700 Lew Wolfgang <wolfgang@sweet-haven.com> wrote:
On 8/29/23 05:48, Carlos E. R. wrote:
On 2023-08-28 21:59, Lew Wolfgang wrote:
Hi Folks,
I've got an odd requirement that would be satisfied if I could find a NAS device that supported TCP/IP connections over a regular Ethernet port while also offering a USB connection to make the NAS appear as a USB external disk.
So multiple computers on the Ethernet side would load up files on the NAS which would be available to a USB-connected computer where it could pull the files off. I've googled a bit and it seems that many people think this won't work, but I'm looking at a QNAP NAS that looks like it might.
AFAIK, when an "storage device" is connected via USB, it becomes dedicated exclusively to that machine over USB; ie, the network side would stop working till usb is disconnected (an then the local OS would have to do a mount).
However, there is the MTP protocol used on smartphones. The computer connects to the phone storage via USB at the same time the phone uses it, so this is what you want. A NAS that does MTP as phones do.
I have no idea if they exist.
However, notice that you can not do all filesystem operations. No access to a portion of a file (seek) and write a sector or two. It is basically full file copy, read or write.
Thanks Carlos and Dave. I don't think this will work. The NAS is a filesystem device, which is what the network sees, but it would have to look like a block device to mimic a USB disk drive. This must be what the MTP protocol does?
Not according to wikipedia: "That means that the MTP client (computer) does not see an array of byte blocks that makes up a data structure that makes up a file system, but instead speaks in terms of files and folders to the MTP device." A phone is not just "a storage device"! Linux can use a variety of programs to connect to an MTP-capable device. See e.g. https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Media_Transfer_Protocol But I don't think that's what the NAS uses.
I can't use Windows here for the same reason I can't use TCP/IP to connect to the NAS, so I may be out of luck.
Maybe we need to know more about those reasons to suggest any other possibilities.
On Tue, 29 Aug 2023 17:30:10 +0100 Dave Howorth <dave@howorth.org.uk> wrote:
On Tue, 29 Aug 2023 08:28:11 -0700 Lew Wolfgang <wolfgang@sweet-haven.com> wrote:
On 8/29/23 05:48, Carlos E. R. wrote:
On 2023-08-28 21:59, Lew Wolfgang wrote:
Hi Folks,
I've got an odd requirement that would be satisfied if I could find a NAS device that supported TCP/IP connections over a regular Ethernet port while also offering a USB connection to make the NAS appear as a USB external disk.
So multiple computers on the Ethernet side would load up files on the NAS which would be available to a USB-connected computer where it could pull the files off. I've googled a bit and it seems that many people think this won't work, but I'm looking at a QNAP NAS that looks like it might.
AFAIK, when an "storage device" is connected via USB, it becomes dedicated exclusively to that machine over USB; ie, the network side would stop working till usb is disconnected (an then the local OS would have to do a mount).
However, there is the MTP protocol used on smartphones. The computer connects to the phone storage via USB at the same time the phone uses it, so this is what you want. A NAS that does MTP as phones do.
I have no idea if they exist.
However, notice that you can not do all filesystem operations. No access to a portion of a file (seek) and write a sector or two. It is basically full file copy, read or write.
Thanks Carlos and Dave. I don't think this will work. The NAS is a filesystem device, which is what the network sees, but it would have to look like a block device to mimic a USB disk drive. This must be what the MTP protocol does?
Not according to wikipedia: "That means that the MTP client (computer) does not see an array of byte blocks that makes up a data structure that makes up a file system, but instead speaks in terms of files and folders to the MTP device."
A phone is not just "a storage device"!
Linux can use a variety of programs to connect to an MTP-capable device. See e.g. https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Media_Transfer_Protocol
But I don't think that's what the NAS uses.
I can't use Windows here for the same reason I can't use TCP/IP to connect to the NAS, so I may be out of luck.
Maybe we need to know more about those reasons to suggest any other possibilities.
A quick google suggests a TRENDnet TN-200 or similar might be a possibility https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/nas/nas-reviews/trendnet-tn-200-2-bay-nas-me...
On 8/29/23 09:39, Dave Howorth wrote:
On Tue, 29 Aug 2023 17:30:10 +0100 Dave Howorth <dave@howorth.org.uk> wrote:
On Tue, 29 Aug 2023 08:28:11 -0700 Lew Wolfgang <wolfgang@sweet-haven.com> wrote:
On 2023-08-28 21:59, Lew Wolfgang wrote:
Hi Folks,
I've got an odd requirement that would be satisfied if I could find a NAS device that supported TCP/IP connections over a regular Ethernet port while also offering a USB connection to make the NAS appear as a USB external disk.
So multiple computers on the Ethernet side would load up files on the NAS which would be available to a USB-connected computer where it could pull the files off. I've googled a bit and it seems that many people think this won't work, but I'm looking at a QNAP NAS that looks like it might. AFAIK, when an "storage device" is connected via USB, it becomes dedicated exclusively to that machine over USB; ie, the network side would stop working till usb is disconnected (an then the local OS would have to do a mount).
However, there is the MTP protocol used on smartphones. The computer connects to the phone storage via USB at the same time the phone uses it, so this is what you want. A NAS that does MTP as phones do.
I have no idea if they exist.
However, notice that you can not do all filesystem operations. No access to a portion of a file (seek) and write a sector or two. It is basically full file copy, read or write. Thanks Carlos and Dave. I don't think this will work. The NAS is a filesystem device, which is what the network sees, but it would have to look
On 8/29/23 05:48, Carlos E. R. wrote: like a block device to mimic a USB disk drive. This must be what the MTP protocol does? Not according to wikipedia: "That means that the MTP client (computer) does not see an array of byte blocks that makes up a data structure that makes up a file system, but instead speaks in terms of files and folders to the MTP device."
A phone is not just "a storage device"!
Linux can use a variety of programs to connect to an MTP-capable device. See e.g. https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Media_Transfer_Protocol
But I don't think that's what the NAS uses.
I can't use Windows here for the same reason I can't use TCP/IP to connect to the NAS, so I may be out of luck. Maybe we need to know more about those reasons to suggest any other possibilities. A quick google suggests a TRENDnet TN-200 or similar might be a possibility https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/nas/nas-reviews/trendnet-tn-200-2-bay-nas-me...
That's interesting. It sounds like it might be a MTP client, where it mounts phones/cameras. I think we'd need a device that serves a MTP filesystem. Kind of like it acting like a smartphone. Regards, Lew
On Tue, 29 Aug 2023 10:17:05 -0700 Lew Wolfgang <wolfgang@sweet-haven.com> wrote:
On 8/29/23 09:39, Dave Howorth wrote:
On Tue, 29 Aug 2023 17:30:10 +0100 Dave Howorth <dave@howorth.org.uk> wrote:
On Tue, 29 Aug 2023 08:28:11 -0700 Lew Wolfgang <wolfgang@sweet-haven.com> wrote:
On 2023-08-28 21:59, Lew Wolfgang wrote:
Hi Folks,
I've got an odd requirement that would be satisfied if I could find a NAS device that supported TCP/IP connections over a regular Ethernet port while also offering a USB connection to make the NAS appear as a USB external disk.
So multiple computers on the Ethernet side would load up files on the NAS which would be available to a USB-connected computer where it could pull the files off. I've googled a bit and it seems that many people think this won't work, but I'm looking at a QNAP NAS that looks like it might. AFAIK, when an "storage device" is connected via USB, it becomes dedicated exclusively to that machine over USB; ie, the network side would stop working till usb is disconnected (an then the local OS would have to do a mount).
However, there is the MTP protocol used on smartphones. The computer connects to the phone storage via USB at the same time the phone uses it, so this is what you want. A NAS that does MTP as phones do.
I have no idea if they exist.
However, notice that you can not do all filesystem operations. No access to a portion of a file (seek) and write a sector or two. It is basically full file copy, read or write. Thanks Carlos and Dave. I don't think this will work. The NAS is a filesystem device, which is what the network sees, but it would have to look
On 8/29/23 05:48, Carlos E. R. wrote: like a block device to mimic a USB disk drive. This must be what the MTP protocol does? Not according to wikipedia: "That means that the MTP client (computer) does not see an array of byte blocks that makes up a data structure that makes up a file system, but instead speaks in terms of files and folders to the MTP device."
A phone is not just "a storage device"!
Linux can use a variety of programs to connect to an MTP-capable device. See e.g. https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Media_Transfer_Protocol
But I don't think that's what the NAS uses.
I can't use Windows here for the same reason I can't use TCP/IP to connect to the NAS, so I may be out of luck. Maybe we need to know more about those reasons to suggest any other possibilities. A quick google suggests a TRENDnet TN-200 or similar might be a possibility https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/nas/nas-reviews/trendnet-tn-200-2-bay-nas-me...
That's interesting. It sounds like it might be a MTP client, where it mounts phones/cameras. I think we'd need a device that serves a MTP filesystem. Kind of like it acting like a smartphone.
The computer is the MTP client or initiator; a phone/camera is an MTP device or responder. But MTP is bidirectional, you can write to the device as well as read from it. Thanks for the clarification of your position BTW.
On 8/29/23 09:30, Dave Howorth wrote:
I can't use Windows here for the same reason I can't use TCP/IP to connect to the NAS, so I may be out of luck. Maybe we need to know more about those reasons to suggest any other possibilities.
It has to do with replacement of a "sneaker net" where organizational policy disallows direct IP connection between different accreditation domains. Finding a technological solution would have been half of the battle, getting it approved might be a bigger task. Regards, Lew
participants (3)
-
Carlos E. R. -
Dave Howorth -
Lew Wolfgang