NASLite
Encyclopedia
NASLite is a commercial Linux distribution
designed to turn conventional x86-based computer
s with PCI
interface into a simple network-attached storage
device. It fits onto a single 3½-inch High Density floppy disk
formatted to 1.72MB. NASLite boots from the floppy disk and runs in a 4MB RAM disk
allowing for full capacity of the hard disk drives to be used as storage. NASLite supports serving files to clients running Windows
, Linux
, Mac OS X
as well as others.
Other versions are available which support different networking protocols, or booting the operating system
from CD-ROM
, USB
Mass Storage device or hard disk drive.
All versions of NASLite and its variants contain GPL'd and proprietary components. The GPL'd components are available to the end user per the GPLv2.
interface. Other minimum requirements are a 486DX or Pentium CPU, 16 MB RAM, a PCI ethernet card, IDE
hard disk drive, and a floppy disk drive.
. Since file serving takes up very little processing speed as opposed to network speed or hard drive speed, it is able to run on comparatively old computers with little processing power. As it runs from a floppy disk, hypothetically all (usually four) IDE channels can be used for hard drives.
NASlite has three variants supporting different file serving protocols. These are Samba
to support serving to Microsoft Windows client machines, NFS to serve to Unix
based operating systems, or FTP
(Anonymous FTP only). It also supports remote administration via telnet
(though not SSH), and includes a web server
to display usage and error logs.
and directly accessing the hard drive(s), greatly increasing the usefulness of an older computer for serving large amounts of data.
Linux distribution
A Linux distribution is a member of the family of Unix-like operating systems built on top of the Linux kernel. Such distributions are operating systems including a large collection of software applications such as word processors, spreadsheets, media players, and database applications...
designed to turn conventional x86-based computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
s with PCI
Peripheral Component Interconnect
Conventional PCI is a computer bus for attaching hardware devices in a computer...
interface into a simple network-attached storage
Network-attached storage
Network-attached storage is file-level computer data storage connected to a computer network providing data access to heterogeneous clients. NAS not only operates as a file server, but is specialized for this task either by its hardware, software, or configuration of those elements...
device. It fits onto a single 3½-inch High Density floppy disk
Floppy disk
A floppy disk is a disk storage medium composed of a disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with fabric that removes dust particles...
formatted to 1.72MB. NASLite boots from the floppy disk and runs in a 4MB RAM disk
RAM disk
A RAM disk or RAM drive is a block of RAM that a computer's software is treating as if the memory were a disk drive...
allowing for full capacity of the hard disk drives to be used as storage. NASLite supports serving files to clients running Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
, Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
as well as others.
Other versions are available which support different networking protocols, or booting the operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
from CD-ROM
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
, USB
Universal Serial Bus
USB is an industry standard developed in the mid-1990s that defines the cables, connectors and protocols used in a bus for connection, communication and power supply between computers and electronic devices....
Mass Storage device or hard disk drive.
All versions of NASLite and its variants contain GPL'd and proprietary components. The GPL'd components are available to the end user per the GPLv2.
Minimum hardware requirements
NASLite runs well on obsolete hardware, but requires at least a computer with PCIPeripheral Component Interconnect
Conventional PCI is a computer bus for attaching hardware devices in a computer...
interface. Other minimum requirements are a 486DX or Pentium CPU, 16 MB RAM, a PCI ethernet card, IDE
AT Attachment
Parallel ATA , originally ATA, is an interface standard for the connection of storage devices such as hard disks, solid-state drives, floppy drives, and optical disc drives in computers. The standard is maintained by X3/INCITS committee...
hard disk drive, and a floppy disk drive.
Networking capabilities
NASLite turns its target machine into a simple file serverFile server
In computing, a file server is a computer attached to a network that has the primary purpose of providing a location for shared disk access, i.e. shared storage of computer files that can be accessed by the workstations that are attached to the computer network...
. Since file serving takes up very little processing speed as opposed to network speed or hard drive speed, it is able to run on comparatively old computers with little processing power. As it runs from a floppy disk, hypothetically all (usually four) IDE channels can be used for hard drives.
NASlite has three variants supporting different file serving protocols. These are Samba
Samba (software)
Samba is a free software re-implementation, originally developed by Andrew Tridgell, of the SMB/CIFS networking protocol. As of version 3, Samba provides file and print services for various Microsoft Windows clients and can integrate with a Windows Server domain, either as a Primary Domain...
to support serving to Microsoft Windows client machines, NFS to serve to Unix
Unix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
based operating systems, or FTP
File Transfer Protocol
File Transfer Protocol is a standard network protocol used to transfer files from one host to another host over a TCP-based network, such as the Internet. FTP is built on a client-server architecture and utilizes separate control and data connections between the client and server...
(Anonymous FTP only). It also supports remote administration via telnet
TELNET
Telnet is a network protocol used on the Internet or local area networks to provide a bidirectional interactive text-oriented communications facility using a virtual terminal connection...
(though not SSH), and includes a web server
Web server
Web server can refer to either the hardware or the software that helps to deliver content that can be accessed through the Internet....
to display usage and error logs.
Compatibility
Since it is based on Linux, NASLite (like other Linux distributions) supports new larger hard drives that often are not supported by older machines, by bypassing the BIOSBIOS
In IBM PC compatible computers, the basic input/output system , also known as the System BIOS or ROM BIOS , is a de facto standard defining a firmware interface....
and directly accessing the hard drive(s), greatly increasing the usefulness of an older computer for serving large amounts of data.
See also
- FreeNASFreeNASFreeNAS is a free network-attached storage server, supporting: CIFS , FTP, NFS, rsync, AFP protocols, iSCSI, S.M.A.R.T., local user authentication, and software RAID , with a web-based configuration interface. FreeNAS takes less than 64 MB once installed on CompactFlash, hard drive or USB flash...
- Open-E
- OpenfilerOpenfilerOpenfiler is an operating system that provides file-based network-attached storage and block-based storage area network. It was created by Xinit Systems, and is based on the rPath Linux distribution. It is free software licensed under the GNU General Public License version 2...
- NexentaStorNexentaStorNexentaStor is a proprietary derivative operating system built by the developers of the open-source Nexenta OpenSolaris-distribution that has been optimized for use virtualized server environments NAS and iSCSI and Fibre Channel applications built around the ZFS file system...
- Sun Open StorageSun Open StorageSun Open Storage is an open source computer data storage platform developed by Sun Microsystems. Based on industry-standard hardware and open source technologies from Sun Microsystems, Sun Open Storage offers an open storage architecture without vendor lock-in....