Convert external USB drive to NAS?

[Wanabe]

Hey all,

I was wondering if anyone knew of a way to convert an external USB drive into a Network Attached Storage device. I've seen USB to Ethernet converters and so I could potentially connect my USB drive to say a network router. But, clearly I would need to assign an IP, etc. to the hard drive device.

Just wondering if anyone has seen this done or know if it can be.

Thanks,
Wanabe

[glc]

It's easier to simply connect it to a computer through USB and share it.