I spent nearly six years running a dual-socket decade-old Xeon server as my primary NAS. Recently, I moved to an off-the-shelf Ugreen NAS and started comparing the two. The thing is, they really can't be compared, and I realized I've spent way more money on that old Lenovo than I originally thought.

If you've ever used a mesh Wi-Fi system, you've probably noticed that the satellite nodes usually have a spare Ethernet port. It is tempting to use that port to attach a NAS. After all, it seems like a good way to get your NAS connected without running a cable across the floor or through a wall.

If you've been on the fence with whether to buy a NAS (network-attached storage) or not—let me show you a different way. ORICO's latest 9948RC3 PRO DAS (direct-attached storage) system offers great transfer speeds, RAID, and more, all without a pesky network connection or custom operating system to deal with, and I actually really enjoyed using it.

A NAS is one of the cheapest and most convenient ways to keep your data backed up. It’s also fairly reliable, but while HDDs and SSDs can last for years, they will fail eventually. When they do, you could lose everything stored on them, so here are some cheap ways to back up your NAS before that happens.