How to create a network available drive
I want to do something pretty basic, but I wanted to get advice on the right way. I already have a home ethernet and wifi network. I want to set up a seperate hard drive which acts as both a Time Machine back up and also a place to store files which would be shared on the network. Right now, the shared files are on my computer, which means that my computer has to be on to access. Also, there can be privelages issues. I want the hard drive plugged into the network, but not attached to my computer (partly because I want it hidden in the basement for security).
So can anyone tell me exactly what I need to do this? I want it wired with ethernet, so do I just get a network drive, that is, a drive with ethernet, and plug it in on the network and all the computers see that, or do I need to set up some kind of server thing? Can I back and share files with one single network drive or does it need to be two physical drives or one drive partitioned?
If anyone has some basic advice or a link to a site that explains it (Home network for dummies type of thing) that would be much appreciated.
Cheers,
David
iMac, OS X Mountain Lion