[TriLUG] Network Attached Storage Recommendation

[matt at noway2.thruhere.net]

At work, we have some Windows servers that are used for common shared
drive access via mapped drive syncing.  This has proven itself to be
problematic in terms of reliability.  For example, someone will make a
change to a file only to find later that it didn't really update when
someone else tries to access it, yet gave no indication of an error.

I was discussing this situation with a fellow employee who is in the IT
department and he suggested getting an NAS instead of relying on Windows
servers.

I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for a decent NAS device
that is reliable, moderately priced, and would appeal to someone who
strongly prefers Linux or BSD over Windows.  It would be used primarily as
shared storage and backup rather than rapid file access.  Most of the
machines in the dept are Windows based with centralized Active Directory
Authentication and support for this would be a bonus.