Ethernet network storage - your recommendation?

[Napier]

I have a hardwired ethernet Windows p2p network through my house, including a very nice Linksys EFG80 hard drive that serves as our fileserver. I want to add another networked fileserver out in the barn, to serve as a backup (in case the house should burn up, heaven forbid).

Can you recommend a network fileserver?

The EFG80 is my standard for comparison. I like everything about it, except the price - I paid about $500 maybe a year ago. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great product. But if I am getting something just for backup, it’s pretty dear.

I saw something at Best Buy a month ago that was about $200, and that would be great (forget the brand). But I wondered what people have tried and liked.

BTW, if you want to point out that I can just add another disk drive to the EFG80 and have cheap automated backup, thanks, I’ve thought about it - but since it’s necessarily in the same location it’s not really complete insurance.

[astro]

You can get an entire XP PC with a 120 gig drive for around $ 500. Most file servers in the 100+ gig range are not going to be that cheap as the are designed for business and corporate network use.

This new Linksys product (around $80-100 online) would seem to be a good way to go. You can also get 120 gig USB 2.0 Western Digital external drives for around 100 on sale after rebate at Circuit City.

Easily Add Storage Space to Your Network
Now you can quickly and easily add gigabytes of storage space onto your network with the Network Storage Link from Linksys. This tiny network appliance connects USB 2.0 hard drives directly to your Ethernet network. You can connect up to two stand-alone USB disk drives of any size, and access them from anywhere on your network. You can even plug a USB flash disk into the Network Storage Link, for a convenient way of accessing your portable data files. The Network Storage Link can also be set up so that your storage devices are accessible from the Internet – files can be easily downloaded via your web browser. Your files can be available publicly, or create password-protected accounts for authorized users.

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