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1s1k52 wrote:ok stupid question # (infinity symbol placed here) Are all drives raid capable ? what if the rpm are different speeds ? Is it as easy as formatting the drives and placing them inside? thats a rather large price tag, at least the ones i saw 174.00 and up to not be lazy! lol

Generally speaking, to do various RAID levels, expect to use the same make and model of drive. Some raid software will allow disparate drive types to be put into a RAID array, but you do end up wasting more space than normal.

RAID setup generally involves putting the drives in, booting into what will be a local-network website (in this case) and then formatting the drives into a specific RAID configuration before you can use the storage.

For long term storage, I tend to buy fairly large drives that have slower rotational speeds. I believe they tend toward less heat and fewer RPM-based failures. I don't care about speed, as long as it's fast enough to stream across network.

It's not really an "internet" connection. It's a connection designed for use on your local network. Yes, you could pipe it through to the internet.
NAS = Network Attached Storage

So instead of plugging it in when you want to use it, it's always on your network. You can map a drive to it.
It's typically faster and more expensive than USB storage.

I missed the ethernet requirement. Yea, you're looking for a "NAS" enclosure that supports your drive types. If you have multiple drives of the same type, you can do RAID arrays.

Another alternative is to replace your router with one that supports a USB connection for storage. This may be less expensive than buying the NAS enclosure.
The NAS will be faster than your USB enclosure in most cases.
Last, if you do get a NAS, you can get one that allows you to chain your existing USB drives - effectively putting it all on the network for you.

Yes, they make enclosures of this type... Actually most external drives are exactly that - a hard drive and an enclosure.
Make sure you buy the right enclosure for your drive type - EIDE, SATA, SAS, etc.