Can I plug this into the back of a router and have network storage? How about a 'smart' router? I was thinking of using a smart router to control access to this storage.

Question

Can I plug this into the back of a router and have network storage?  How about a 'smart' router?  I was thinking of using a smart router to control access to this storage.

Accepted Answer

Thanks for all the info.
1) I'm not worried about router bandwidth, as many of the current 'smart' routers can provide 450 Mbps at 2.4 GHz and up to 1300 Mbps on the 5 GHz band.

2) I'm looking at using a smart router....ASUS rt-ac68r, NetGear R7000, LinkSys EA6900.... and a unit such as this, plus ethernet-capable drives (WD My Book) instead of a NAS unit.  Initial cost is about the same for 8TB.  The advantage with the router is that I don't have to match drives, so if there is a fail, I just replace one and re-sync/backup with another.  My goal is to consolidate the portable HDDs/flash drives and provide storage for our 3 computers...PCs and an iPad.  Any suggestions?

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