A customer needs to connect a dedicated file sharing storage device to an existing LAN infrastructure at an affordable cost. Which type of storage solution meets these requirements?

A NAS device connects directly to an existing LAN via standard Ethernet, requires no specialized host bus adapters or dedicated storage network, and provides shared file-level storage at a lower cost than SAN. It is purpose-built for file sharing workloads and integrates seamlessly into standard LAN environments. This makes it the most cost-effective and straightforward solution for the described requirement.

A VLS (Virtual Library System) is a disk-based backup target that emulates tape libraries and is not designed for general file sharing.

A SAN (Storage Area Network) provides block-level storage over a dedicated high-speed network, requiring specialized HBAs and Fibre Channel or iSCSI infrastructure, making it significantly more expensive than NAS.

DAS (Direct Attached Storage) connects directly to a single server and is not accessible to other devices on the LAN, making shared file access impossible.