Hi, I want to host my own website from home but don't really want my main pc running 24/7. I have heard of these NAS boxes (Network Attached Storage) which are plugged straight into the network, so have an IP address and so are accessible over the net. Can i host a site from this? I know i will need IIS and .NET Framework installed to host (has asp) but not sure how to run it from a NAS! Is it even possible to install IIS or some other hosting software onto one of these? Any advice really welcome. Thanks H.I.T

Most likely if the NAS did not already come with the ability to host web sites then your only option would be to look for third party firmware or perhaps to look for instructinos on the internet to see if it is possible to install a linux distro to that box. Be aware that doing so will probably void your warranty. A 3rd party firmware will most likely replace all the functions of your current NAS with more configurable ones (which will be totally unsupported). And, going the route of a Linux distro would mean you would be responsible for configuring all aspects of your NAS from the the ground up. Not something I would recommend to the uninitiated. Michael J

I have a few nas boxes and they do offer an embedded linux or bsd os. Some offer a web server based on Apache. They do not support IIS or .NET. You would need a MS product on that nas. Might as well get hosted web service. "Best Practices", Event viewer, host file, perfmon, antivirus, anti-spyware, Live CD's, backups, are in my top 10