61

6

6.

Share a Storage Device Attached

to the Router

This chapter describes how to access and manage a storage device attached to your router.

ReadySHARE lets you access and share a USB storage device connected to the router. (If your

storage device uses special drivers, it is not compatible.)

Note:

The USB ports on the router can be used only to connect USB

storage devices like flash drives or hard drives or a printer. Do not

connect computers, USB modems, CD drives, or DVD drives to the

router USB port.

This chapter contains the following sections:

•

USB Device Requirements

•

Connect a USB Device to the Router

•

Access an Storage Device Connected to the Router

•

Map a USB Device to a Windows Network Drive

•

Back Up Windows Computers with ReadySHARE Vault

•

Back Up Mac Computers with Time Machine

•

Control Access to a Storage Device

•

Use FTP Within the Network

•

View or Change Network Folders on a Device

•

Add a Network Folder on a Storage Device

•

Edit a Network Folder on a Storage Device

•

Use the Router as a ReadyDLNA Media Server

•

Approve USB Devices

•

Safely Remove a USB Device

For more information about ReadySHARE features, visit

www.netgear.com/readyshare

.

Share a Storage Device Attached to the Router

62

N600 WiFi Dual Band Gigabit Router

USB Device Requirements

The router works with most USB-compliant external flash and hard drives. For the most

up-to-date list of USB devices that the router supports, visit

.

Some USB external hard drives and flash drives require you to load the drivers onto the

computer before the computer can access the USB device. Such USB devices do not work

with the router.

The router supports the following file system types for full read/write access:

•

FAT16

•

FAT32

•

NTFS

•

NTFS with compression format enabled

•

Ext2

•

Ext3

•

Ext4

•

HFS

•

HFS+

Connect a USB Device to the Router

ReadySHARE lets you access and share a USB device connected to the router USB port. (If

your USB device uses special drivers, it is not compatible.)

Figure 6. The USB port is on the back of the router



To connect a USB device:

1.

Connect your USB storage device to the router USB port.

2.

If your USB device uses a power supply, connect it.

Share a Storage Device Attached to the Router

63

N600 WiFi Dual Band Gigabit Router

You must use the power supply when you connect the USB device to the router.

When you connect the USB device to the router USB port, it might take up to two minutes

before it is ready for sharing. By default, the USB device is available to all computers on

your local area network (LAN).

Access an Storage Device Connected to the Router

From a computer or device on the network, you can access a storage device that is

connected to the router.



To access the device from a Mac:

1.

Connect a USB storage device to the appropriate router USB port.

If your storage device uses a power supply, you must use it when you connect the device

to the router.

When you connect the storage device to the router’s port, it might take up to two minutes

before it is ready for sharing. By default, the device is available to all computers on your

local area network (LAN)

2.

On a Mac that is connected to the network, launch Finder and select

Go > Connect to

Server

.

The Connect to Server screen displays.

3.

In the

Server Address

field, enter

smb://readyshare

.

4.

When prompted, select the

Guest

radio button.

If you set up access control on the router and you allowed your Mac to access the

network, select the

Registered User

radio button and enter

admin

for the name and

password

for the password. For more information about access control, see

Allow or

Block Access to Your Network

on page

51.

5.

Click the

Connect

button.

A screen automatically opens and displays the files and folders on the device.



To access the device from a Windows computer:

1.

Connect a USB storage device to the router USB port.

If your storage device uses a power supply, you must use it when you connect the device

to the router.

When you connect the storage device to the router’s port, it might take up to two minutes

before it is ready for sharing. By default, the device is available to all computers on your

local area network (LAN).

2.

Launch a web browser from a computer that is connected to the network.

3.

In the address field of the browser, enter

\\readyshare

.

Share a Storage Device Attached to the Router

64

N600 WiFi Dual Band Gigabit Router

Windows file manager automatically opens and displays the files and folders on the

device.

Map a USB Device to a Windows Network Drive



To map the USB device to a Windows network drive:

1.

Visit

www.netgear.com/readyshare.

2.

In the ReadySHARE USB Storage Access pane, click the

PC Utility

link.

The

readyshareconnect.exe

file is downloaded to your computer.

3.

Launch

readyshareconnect.exe

.

4.

Select the drive letter to map to the network folder.

5.

To connect to the device as a different user, select the

Connect using different

credentials

check box and do the following:

a.

Type the user name and password.

b.

Click the

OK

button.

6.

Click the

Finish

button.

The device is mapped to the drive letter that you specified.

Back Up Windows Computers with ReadySHARE Vault

Your router comes with free backup software for all the Windows computers in your home.

Connect a USB hard disk drive (HDD) to the router for centralized, continuous, and automatic

backup.

The following operating systems support ReadySHARE Vault:

•

Windows XP SP3

•

Windows 7

Share a Storage Device Attached to the Router

65

N600 WiFi Dual Band Gigabit Router

•

Windows 8

•

Windows 8.1



To back up your Windows computer:

1.

Connect a USB HDD to the router USB port.

2.

Download ReadySHARE Vault from

www.netgear.com/readyshare

and install it on each

Windows computer.

3.

Launch ReadySHARE Vault.

4.

Use the dashboard or the

Backup

tab to set up and run your backup.

Back Up Mac Computers with Time Machine

You can use Time Machine to back up your Mac computers onto a USB hard drive that is

connected to the router USB port. You can access the connected storage device from your

Mac with a wired or wireless connection to your router.

Set Up a USB Hard Drive on a Mac

NETGEAR recommends that you use a new USB HDD or format your old USB disk to do the

Time Machine backup for the first time. Use a blank partition to prevent some issues during

backup using Time Machine. The router supports GUID or MBR partitions.



To format your USB hard disk drive and specify partitions:

1.

Physically connect the USB hard drive to your Mac.

2.

On your Mac, go to

Spotlight

(or the magnifying glass) at the top right of the screen and

search for

Disk Utility

.

3.

To format your USB device, open the Disk Utility, click the

Erase

tab, and click the

Erase

button.

4.

Click the

Partition

tab.

5.

Click

Partition Layout

and set the number of partitions that you want to use.

6.

Click the

Options

button.

The Partition options display.

7.

Select the

GUID Partition Table

or

Master Boot Record

radio button.

8.

For the format, select

Mac OS Extended (Journaled)

.

9.

Click the

OK

button.

10.

Click the

Apply

button.

Your settings are saved.