1. "A small office network is running short of file space.

Go online to compare the

costs of adding hard drives to an existing server versus purchasing a NAS. Assume

that the labor costs of installing drives to the existing server will take 2 hours at

$100 per hour. Which option is cheaper?"

Your lab should include an organized chart or list with a minimum of two hard

drives and two NAS systems to compare. Remember to include the labor costs as

specified in the text. Once the chart/list is complete, write a summary of the chart

specifying the cheapest solution and whether or not that solution is the best way to

go. Make sure you justify your answer. Please include a reference page with links

directly to the products you reviewed.

no Hard drive Cost NAS system Cost ($)

($)
1 Buying 2 Seagate $110 Synology 4 Bay NAS $499

Cost Barracuda 2TB DiskStation DS420+

Internal HDD (Diskless)

2 Installatio 2 hours $200 2 hours $200

n cost per

hour
3 Running monthly $100 $200

cost
Total $410 $999

For such an office to operate smoothly, there is a necessity to install a consistent data

storage solution.
From the table above, adding drives to an existing server is cheaper compared to

purchasing a NAS device. However, after installing the hard drive, there will be a need to

add more drives after a certain period. The reason being more files will be added hence

reducing disk space again.

Also, protecting files stored in a server needs third party software such as anti-virus, this

means there will be an additional cost to incur for the smooth running of all operations.

Even though adding hard drives to an existing server is cheaper, it is not the best way to

go NAS is better as indicated below.

NAS has can be connected throughout the network, hence numerous computers on the

network can access it easily.

Even though the cost of installing a NAS device is costly, it is preferable because of the

following reasons.

 More Storage Space

Using a NAS device enhance storage capacity to a local computer, hence increasing

the existing storage space for total productivity. It’s means nothing that computers

have inadequate storage space, which usually lowers productivity.

It is profitable to install a NAS storage device because the user doesn’t need to

acquire a definite amount of storage for a specific user. Through the use of the NAS

device, space is shared among users in a way that user will only use the amount of

space they require, thus liberating space for data-hungry users.

 Private Cloud Storage

 For an office keeping important data in a cloud-based storage system, there is distress

about who can access their data. In this case, such people have NAS covering them

because NAS will grant effective cloud-based storage without the risk of interfering.

 Automated Data Backup

Continuous data backup is essential to the stability of an institution, especially during

cases where their hard drives endure a crash. When using a NAS, one can configure

spontaneous backups which will mirror changes to file or document created locally on a

personal computer.

 Data Protection

In such accidents that damage our storage units, thus affecting the files stored in there.

luckily, when an institution is using a NAS device, it is not compromised by the faults of

local hardware, hence keeping data safe.

 Syn Collaboration

It is traumatic when you have to keep requesting a certain document via email to generate

your reports, it ends up duplicating similar copies of the same document. However, when

using a NAS, documents are stored at one central point hence can be easily accessed by

anyone in the organization.

Conclusion
Even though adding new disks to the existing server is cheap, a NAS device will still be the best

solution for the office.

Reference

Seagate Barracuda 2TB Internal HDD

 https://www.amazon.com/s?k=internal+hard+drive+2tb&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

Synology 4 Bay NAS DiskStation DS420+(Diskless)

https://www.newegg.com/synology-ds420/p/N82E16822108744?nm_mc=AFC-RAN-

COM&cm_mmc=AFC-RAN-COM&utm_medium=affiliates&utm_source=afc-

The+Wirecutter&AFFID=3249826&AFFNAME=The+Wirecutter&ACRID=1&ASUBI

D=AwEAAAAAAAAAAevF&ASID=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com

%2Fwirecutter%2Freviews%2Fbest-network-attached-storage

%2F&ranMID=44583&ranEAID=3249826&ranSiteID=7m8EnekPF5E-

iBXufNQmoqoqxDgVoA_UyA