LinkStation 250GB Network Storage Center
1 Excellent choice
I bought this hard drive a few months ago and it was the one of
the few compact external drives with the 250GB capacity.
The initial set up and file sharing is not quite intuitive
but the telephone support line is EXCELLENT and walked me
through every step. They even helped me configure my own
laptop better. It was an excellent choice!
2 LinkStation 250 met all my expectations
I wanted an NAS for my home wireless network which is an XP environment. My needs are much more basic then some of the other reviewers, so I am not as critical (perhaps aware) of the shortcomings they mention. I had it set up and the drives mapped within 15 minutes of taking off the shrink wrap.
I really like that live, english speaking tech support answers the phone 24/7 and provides easy to understand answers to questions. I am using this unit primarily to centrally locate music and video files and to provide redundant backup of sensitive files and information.
The price point and functionality are outstanding. I definately would recommend this product to someone looking to implement a low cost, simple solution. A definate "nice to have" unit.
3 Useless in a Windows domain
I was attracted to the Linkstation due to its very reasonable price, compact size, and large capacity. Even though the documentation was a little spotty and the various install procedures are a poorly integrated process of install wizard and web browser, it actually was pretty easy for me to set up. I was thrilled to discover I didn't need to load any special clients on the Windows machines accessing the server, which some the PC Magazine review led me to believe. You don't have to install any special client at all; only the initial setup needs that for discovery and configuration. After that, all configuration happens through a pretty intuitive web interface.
Despite that, I returned this product two days later.
My problem was I wanted to use this to supplement the storage in my Windows 2003 AD domain at home. (Okay, I'm a geek; I admit it!) What I was hoping for was the ability to administer the security on the Linkstation just using the default security UI in Windows explorer. You can't do that, and in fact, you can't do it AT ALL in Windows 2003. It says it's only been tested in Windows 2000 domains, but I've online others claiming that doesn't work so well either. I didn't expect it to support advanced features like shadow copy, virtual storage, or multiple file systems, but I did hope for a modicum of NTFS security emulation. If you want to set *any* NTFS file/folder/share permissions with this thing, forget it.
Someone else here mentioned the fact that it only accepts 8 character passwords. Since that conflicts with my company's password policy at the office, it means I have to use two passwords. (If you can keep the same password, you can use something called passthrough security and don't have to re-enter it.) It's also not very secure.
I second the reviewer here who claims it was sluggish. But spottily sluggish. Most of the time, it performed very well. But every so often, frequently during the initial connection period, it could take 5-10 seconds to bring up a file, which is a disturbingly long time. It would also happen at random other times.
It's too bad, because I could really use something like this at home, and it has a lot going for it, price and ease of use being the main ones. But for anyone who cares about security or getting this to work in a Windows AD domain environment will have to look elsewhere. I'm also disappointed its lack of compatibility with Windows 2000/2003 wasn't more clearly indicated so I could have avoided purchasing it in the first place.
4 LinkStation + DriveStation = less than perfect
First thing you need to do when you get a LinkStation is go to Buffalo's web site and get the latest version of the manual. It's has more information than what comes on the included CD-ROM, but even then there's still lots left uncovered. Strike one star.
Installation wasn't exactly per the documentation, but easy enough if you know a bit about what you're doing. Total set-up time was 10-15 minutes. Map the drive and you're ready to go.
Performance over WiFi g is only fair. If you're thinking of streaming video from this thing think again - 720 x 480 video is choppy.
Even so, I liked it well enough that I ordered Buffalo's 250 GB DriveStation to attach to the LinkStation. That's when the fun began.
The documentation for the DriveStation is even sparser than for the LinkStation. I tried setting the DriveStation up as a backup drive, but the LinkStation wouldn't recognize it. At the suggestion of Tech Support I updated the firmware, to no avail, then about 10 minutes into the second call the tech had me set a DriveStation switch to "Manual" from the default of "Auto" (an undocumented feature). That solves the recognition problem, but it also means the LinkStation no longer controls the power-up/down of the DriveStation. Too bad. You also have to format the DriveStation's disk, so in total the set-up time was several hours. Drop another star.
The news got worse. If you're using the DriveStation for backup (as opposed to additional storage) then you can't use the LinkStation's "Sleep/WakeUp" feature. You can set a time for an automatic backup to begin, but you can't have the units turn themselves off or on. The embedded backup app isn't smart enough to know what's been changed and what hasn't, so it copies everything on the LinkStation's drive to the DriveStation. It takes well over an hour to backup 20 Gb in this mode (that's less than 10% of the drive's total capacity) . Oh, and you can't write files to the LinkStation when a backup is in progress. Hmmm, how about using an intelligent backup app like SmartSync to do scheduled backups to the DriveStation instead of using the LinkStation's backup utility? Works fine if you don't mind the 1 Gb/hour transfer rate over your wireless network. Drop yet another star.
About the only good news with the DriveStation is that I had to call Tech Support three times. Always got an answer within the first three rings (even on Friday night and Saturday) and the folks knew what they were talking about each time, in a dialect I could readily understand - American English. An unexpected experience these days. Add a star.
These products have some nice features, but regrettably key features are compromised according to how you decide to use the products. A few changes to some of the embedded utilities and they'd be first-rate solutions.
5 Must have SOHO network storage device
Easy to setup, easy to administer... an easy to setup a back up.. tHIS IS A MUST HAVE FOR ANYONE LOOKING FOR NETWORK STORAGE AND DOES NOT HAVE A SERVER.
Only one complaint.... Password can only be 8 spaces long. Hopefully this will be changed in a future rev. Buffalo Tech seems to have some problems allowing long passwords...
I am sure they will come around, I tried several products and this is the easiest most full featured I have seen.
6 Nice features but security and reliability are problems
I actually have the 120GB Linkstation.
I have had problems with the networking part of the linkstation. It seems to take my Windows 2000 and XP machines up to 3 minutes to begin talking to the Linkstation. Very annoying.
Also, the linkstation only accepts 8 char. passwords. That's also a problem for me. It would be acceptable if it would ignore the characters after 8 but it doesn't. That forces me to enter my password every time I connect.
Initially, I could not get the device to work with security enabled. I had to download a firmware upgrade.
It seems the people that use the default settings with no security have had pretty good luck with the machine.
7 Easy, easy, easy.
This was one of the better purchases I have made. I did a lot of digging around and price comparisons for similar products, and went with this one. I don't regret it. I just plugged it in and spent a few minutes changing the security settings, and was off. I definitely recommend this one.
8 Solid
Did a lot of research...finally ordered one...haven't looked back...rock solid...set up without a hitch...quiet....just what I hoped for.
