Which term refers to a storage device that is connected to a network and provides centralized storage for a LAN?

Which term refers to a storage device that is connected to a network and provides centralized storage for a LAN?

• A. NAS
• B. SATA
• C. RAID controller
• D. USB hub

Answer: (A)

Providing centralized storage that other devices on a LAN can access over the network is what a network-attached storage device does. A NAS sits on the network, typically connected via Ethernet, and serves files to multiple clients with its own lightweight operating system and shared folders. This setup makes it easy to store, back up, and share data across all computers and devices on the LAN without tying storage directly to any one machine. SATA is just a local interface for connecting drives inside a computer, not networked storage. A RAID controller manages multiple drives for redundancy or performance, but it doesn’t inherently expose storage to the network. A USB hub simply increases the number of USB ports on a single device and does not provide networked storage.

Providing centralized storage that other devices on a LAN can access over the network is what a network-attached storage device does. A NAS sits on the network, typically connected via Ethernet, and serves files to multiple clients with its own lightweight operating system and shared folders. This setup makes it easy to store, back up, and share data across all computers and devices on the LAN without tying storage directly to any one machine.

SATA is just a local interface for connecting drives inside a computer, not networked storage. A RAID controller manages multiple drives for redundancy or performance, but it doesn’t inherently expose storage to the network. A USB hub simply increases the number of USB ports on a single device and does not provide networked storage.