Those who want to try out networked storage on the cheap might keep an eye out for the NetDisk from Ximeta Technology.

The Irvine, Calif.-based start-up is using the Networld+Interop trade show here to launch a portable hard drive that plugs directly into an Ethernet network. The same drive also can be taken off the network and attached to a single PC as a USB 2.0 hard drive. The idea, says Ximeta President Edward Park, is to offer a portable drive that can be used by a whole work group in the office and then be taken home. Prices range from $269 for an 80GB drive to $399 for a 160GB drive.

Ximeta calls the concept a "Network Direct Attached Storage" device, further blurring the lines between storage that is connected to a PC or server and attached to a network.

While most networked storage uses speedy, but expensive fibre channel networks, the NetDisk can plug directly into an Ethernet switch. "We just opened the technology to everybody," Park boasted.

In theory, such a drive could even plug into a home network, creating the frightening prospect of a new buzzword: the Home Storage Area Network.

Although the NetDisk has a low price tag, it also has its drawbacks. The NetDisk doesn't use standard Internet protocols, meaning that any PC that wants to use the drive needs to install special software.

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