External HDD On a Printer Server

[paulh53]

Hi Peeps
Is it possible to connect a USB2 external hard drive to a USB2 print server? And expect it to work?
I would like all the computers on my home network to access my external USB2 hard drive without having the computer switched on that the external hard drive is presently connected to,
I am thinking of buying the "Maplin" printer server for sharing my printer across my network, And was wondering if my external hard drive could be accessed in the same way?
If not Then your suggestions on how to achieve this would be greatly appreciated

 

[Igorian]

Not really.

I would suggest something like this is more appropriate.

 

[paulh53]

That looks really useful

Thanks Igorian

 

[eggplant]

I've seen these before, but never used one, only used "real" NAS.
Im dubious about these units, how do they cope with security? I cant see how if its a standalone unit it could authenticate NTFS permissions? or does it just allow anyone access to anyting (assuming local security of course)
Im not going to buy one, just interested generally.

 

[Igorian]

All the administration, groups, users and shares are handled by the firmware. You access and configure it via a web browser.