People nowadays tend to have more than one computer inside their households to meet their computing demands. The times a whole family was sharing a single computer are long since gone, and as the IT gear is getting cheaper and cheaper, users have once again taken personal computing literally.

Keeping data on the personal computer is not much of a good idea if the files are not confidential. A central data repository has become a critical necessity, and the best implementation of a file server can be achieved using a Network Attached Storage device

Norco's DS-520G network-attached storage device is more than a family link. Sporting a 1GHz ULV (ultra low voltage) mobile Celeron CPU and dual gigabit Ethernet ports, the DS-520G can be used both as a dedicated NAS device or even as a home server appliance. The DS-520 model ships completely stripped down (no hard-disks), and supports up to five 3.5-inch disk drives or solid-state drives, but it also features a 2.5-inch internal slot that can accommodate a notebook hard disk.

The NAS server is built on a Marvell 88xs6081 SATA chip, an 8-port controller that is fully compatible with SATA-II 3Gbps speeds and a 133MHz PCI-X interface. The device is listed like a SCSI controller on the operating system, and that means there's no need to install additional drivers.

The Norco DS-520G also comes with three eSATA ports and four USB 2.0 connectors. The technical specifications claim that the 520G NAS can pair its hard-disk drives in RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, and JBOD arrays. The device supports a VGA monitor, as well as a standard PS/2 keyboard that are vital during the initial setup process.

The Norco DS-520G Home Server Appliance is available immediately for an estimative retail price of $599. The hard disks are not included in the package.