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Forum Discussion
USB HD attach to R6900v2
I believe I read (likely in the user manual) that there's a USB port to which I can connect an external HD.
What wasn't clear was maximum size for the HD. Also, I was surprised to see the drive formatting included Linux ext2 / ext3 / ext4 (I think).
I guess I could go with a 5Tb drive, formatted prior to the router to ext4. That would satisfy my plan.
Sound OK? Thx.
6 Replies
The Forum contains numerous posts describing "issues" with accessing drives connected to Nighthawk router USB ports.
It might be prudent to experiment with an existing USB storage device, such as a simple USB "stick" before investing in a 5 TB drive. (about $150 on Amazon)
Most of us have a drawer full of USB drives.
CrimpOn: there's a prudent idea. Thanks for it!
I guess I could go with a 5Tb drive, formatted prior to the router to ext4. That would satisfy my plan.
This KB article suggests that 4 TB might be the max partition size that will work:
- https://kb.netgear.com/24059/What-are-the-USB-drive-requirements-for-ReadySHARE-on-my-NETGEAR-router
There's not much in the forum about the max drive capacity, but there is one user who reported that a 5 TB drive was not detected:
- https://community.netgear.com/discussions/home-wifi-routers-nighthawk/connecting-hard-drive/1271761
The Forum contains numerous posts describing "issues" with accessing drives connected to Nighthawk router USB ports.
The router only supports SMB 1.0/CIFS for file explorer - which requires some adjustments to current Windows to work. AFAIK it is not supported at all in recent MacOS.
Guest access is another common issue - Windows has tightened up anonymous access. There are some settings to overcome that, but those are a bit harder to make than enabling the SMB 1.0 client.
One approach is to use FTP.
Helps Windows work with SMB1.0 supporing devices:
Whats your plan for it? Most local book of face's have used NAS/Servers/older pc's you can stick a ton of hard drives in for better performance and increased options (such as a media server, etc)
Most have used NAS/Servers/older pc's
I agree that adding a NAS (or sharing a folder on an always-on PC) is a better solution, and would eliminate the need to work around SMB 1.0 and guest access.
