I just bought a WD MyBook World Edition 2G external network drive for under 200$CDN. This is not a typical hard drive as it runs a small Linux OS and acts as its own server on the network. Users, permissions, folders, etc. are all set on the unit itself through a web interface. As a matter of fact, it's a small computer. It can even download from webiste or Torrent by itself (no usage for me BTW). It can also stream to iPod, Xbox, computer, etc. And with the fee Mionet account, it is even possible to access files from anywhere securely.

Apart the two megabyte storage, ease of use, and network access to files anytime without a desktop running, what I find most interesting with that unit is its small size and the fact that it can be hidden in a closet or on a shelf. I live in a though neigbourhood and I always fear a break-in. Having all my precious stuff (or backup of it) on a small hidden unit rather than a visible attractive desktop brings me some confort.

Now, using ZTree with that drive is bound only through network mapping. There is no way to use ZTree locally, and anyway, it's a Linux-based filesystem.

I am currently moving or reorganizing huge amount of data to the network drive (the disk already half full). What I found is that graft operations from that hard drive to istelf are fast, but move operations for files from it to it are MUCH slower. I just Alt-Move 700Meg/477 files from a dir to a subdir and it took more than two minutes. Not exactly fast. By comparison, moving 200Gig/21 AVI files took 3 seconds. It seems there is a network delay between each rename operation (which is what a move file from one unit to itself is).

Is there a way to improve ZTree operations on a network drive?