External Hard Drive connected to a network - USB 2 or 1 GBit Ethernet?

[Yogendranath P]

I want to add storage on my home network. My new Linksys WRT610 N Router has a usb storage option,where i can plug in the usb , and also ethernet 1 Gbit option where i can attach the storage as NAS. I was wondering which one is fastest at file transfers. USB conncted or NAS connected ? Please help me in buying a External hard drive.

[dlga1171]

The gigabit option will be your fastest "connection". 1000 Mbps vs 480 Mbps (usb2). Keep in mind most external hard drives still come with 100 Mbps interfaces so dbl chk the interface speed when you are shopping. Also since you will be connecting to the router directly and not thru a system, find a drive that has the most caching and best rotational speeds for your budget.