Olga Weis
Common problem – you need to connect an external USB hard drive to several computers in the network (Wi-Fi/Ethernet/LAN/TCP/IP). All computers need access to the contents of the disk, but you cannot attach the device to each of them.
How to share external hard drive over network? Let us have a look at some of the solutions!
With USB Network Gate you will be able to share any USB device on Windows 10 and below, Mac, Android and Linux:
These are the main advantages offered by the app:
The solution is compliant with USB specification v. 1.1 and 2.0.
Overall, USB 2.0 seems to be a good solution to share USB drive over network, but since you are limited by the cable’s length, it is unlikely you can use it for sharing data between multiple computers that are not located in proximity to each other.
This solution is quite convenient and requires no cables or additional hardware, but it is limited by the network availability, unlike Electronic Team, Inc. software solution – it allows you to share external hard drive over Ethernet, Internet and other networks. You are not restricted to the area covered by Wi-Fi signal.
All said and done, our take would be USB Network Gate. This seems to be the most convenient way to access remote USB external drive as it is not restricted to the network area and does not require additional equipment.
To share your external hard drive on Windows 10, take the following steps:
There are many scenarios where you share one external hard drive among several computers, but not rare are the cases when you need to connect several hard drives together and use them on a single computer. More hard drives, for example, let you save data from being lost as you can back up the information on a second external or internal hard disk. Also, you could store more photos and music if you had additional storage devices connected to your PC.
Basically, you have two options:
When it comes to an external hard drive, it's enough to use a USB or Firewire connection, external hard drives are very simple to install.
As for an internal hard disk, you can set it up as a separate storage device or connect it using the RAID technology. This method requires a motherboard with RAID support and allows using several hard drives together. Also, hard disks can be configured to mirror one another to duplicate and back up data.
First method:
The first one is connecting your device to a router via a USB port. All you need to do is plug the hard drive into the wall outlet and then connect the device to the router.
Second method:
If your hard drive has its own Ethernet port, you can connect the device to the network directly. Simply plug the hard drive into its power supply, connect the device to the router using an Ethernet cable, and you’re done. Now your hard drive will be available for remote connections over the network.
Third method:
Finally, if your hard drive does not support network connectivity or you are not able to connect it to the router, you can share a hard drive with the help of USB Network Gate. Just connect an external drive to your computer via USB and use USB Network Gate to remotely access your external drive.
If you are looking for a way to attach an external hard disk to the home router and use it as a part of your home network, here are several useful tips.
Portable hard drives can communicate with mobile phones, tablets, and WiFi-enabled laptops directly with built-in Wi-Fi support. So, you can buy a NAS (Network Attached Storage) device with a built-in network card or opt for a WiFi router with a USB port. This USB port can be used to connect the external hard disk so that it can be shared over the home network.
