Entered CNET Catalog: 08/15/2003
SKU: 0745883556946
Manufacturer: Linksys Inc.
Manufacturer description
Now you can quickly and easily add 120 gigabytes of storage space onto your network with the EtherFast Network Attached Storage from Linksys. This stand-alone network appliance features two hard drive bays - one with a 120GB drive in it, and the other available so you can add an additional up to 120GB IDE hard drive as your storage needs grow. Installation of the Network Attached Storage is simple - just plug it directly into your 10/100 network, and it's instantly available. Or connect it to a Gigabit network! It can serve as your network's DHCP server, and also has a built-in Print Server so you can add a network printer without burdening a PC with spooling chores. The Network Attached Storage features built-in disk utilities, accessible through your web browser. You can run a self-test, and scan or defrag the disk(s). If you've installed a second disk drive, you can back up one drive to the other, either manually or on a schedule. For even more flexibility and utility, the Network Attached Storage can be set up to be accessible directly from the Internet - uploading and downloading files either via a web browser or by FTP. Files can be available publicly, or create password-protected accounts for your authorized users. You can even use it as an Internet print server, saving fax machine phone charges and using the internal hard drive space to spool and print high-resolution color pages from anywhere in the world. The EtherFast Network Attached Storage is a fast, powerful, flexible and economical addition to your network.Product summary
The good: Easy setup; doubles as a print server; includes FTP server and DHCP server; supports Internet-attached storage and Internet-printing protocol; supports Gigabit Ethernet.
The bad: Lacks RAID; no USB port for print server; pricey.
The bottom line: The EFG120 offers the perfect feature set for some small businesses, but everyone else should turn to better-equipped competition.
Average user rating: from 12 users
2.0 stars
Editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 04/29/2004
Think of the Linksys EFG120 network-attached storage unit as an external hard drive for your entire network. Tailored for home offices and small businesses, the Linksys EFG120 is easy to set up and has a number of features that help you get work done both over your own network and via the Internet. It also includes an integrated FTP server, making it easy to read and write files to and from your network whether you're in Toledo or Timbuktu. An empty second bay on the EFG120 lets you add another drive to the unit so that you can schedule daily or weekly backups to protect your data and automate some of your work flow. The Linksys EFG120 network-attached storage unit also includes an integrated print server that lets you connect a printer to its parallel port, allowing you to print from any computer on your network. Despite these advanced features, the EFG120 lacks a USB interface for its print server and costs a pretty penny, compared to the competition. If you want to save some cash and get a USB print server to boot, consider our Editors' Choice, the Buffalo LinkStation.
Setup and ease of use
Basic setup for the Linksys EFG120 network-attached storage unit is a snap; just connect it to an Ethernet port on your network. The back of the EFG120 has only one Ethernet port, so there's no chance for confusion. An eight-page, foldout quick-installation pamphlet guides you through the process.
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| The EFG120's setup wizard automatically locates your EFG120 and displays its network settings. |
Once you've connected the hardware, you access the EFG120 from any computer on your network by simply inserting the accompanying CD. The CD automatically launches the Ethernet network-attached storage Setup Wizard, which automatically detects the EFG120. The wizard then lists the EFG120's current network settings and gives you the opportunity to change them to match those of your own network. Setup may or may not be easy from here on out, depending on your familiarity with your network. If you already have a DHCP server on your network, you need only click a radio button, and you're done. All other scenarios require you to type in IP address settings for the EFG120. The wizard gives you a few pointers, but if you're new to networking, you may need to refer to the user guide.
Features and security
The Linksys EFG120 network-attached storage unit comes with a single 120GB hard drive. An empty second drive bay on the EFG120 lets you increase the total capacity of the unit to meet your own individual storage needs. The memory expansion limit is dictated by the size of the drives you decide to load into the EFG120's two bays. You can schedule backups of the first drive to the second drive (if you install one) on a daily or weekly basis. The Linksys EFG120 lacks RAID support, however, which means that you can't configure it to automatically create backups on the fly by mirroring the disks. Nor can you stripe the two disks together to save a file that's larger than 120GB.
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| A second drive bay on the EFG120 lets you increase the unit's storage capacity. |
You can connect a printer to a parallel port on the EFG120's rear panel. If you have a USB printer, you're out of luck--no USB port here. (You should consider the Buffalo LinkStation instead. It lacks a few of the EFG120's advanced features, such as an FTP server and Gigabit Ethernet, but is considerably cheaper.)
The Linksys EFG120 is designed to provide access to data and to your printer either via your own local network or via the Internet. The EFG120 unit can act as an FTP server, and it supports Internet-attached storage and Internet-printing protocols, making it easy to access your office data and printer when you're on the road. Sending documents to your printer instead of your fax machine when you're on the road can help reduce your phone bill.
Performance
We tested the Linksys EFG120 network-attached storage unit on a small Ethernet network with multiple PCs. As expected, accessing files residing on the EFG120 was as fast as accessing the same files on a local hard drive. You might experience a very slight delay if several people attempt to access data on the EFG120 simultaneously, but this is true of your local hard drive as well if you share it with multiple users. The Linksys EFG120 is equipped with a Gigabit Ethernet port, which helps keep it in pace with fast networks.
The Linksys EFG120 network-attached storage unit can also function as a DHCP server for your network, improving the general performance of your network by freeing up resources on the system you currently use for DHCP services. For example, if you use a single system for DHCP and Web services, you can dedicate that system for Web services and rely on the EFG120 to handle DHCP requests. The same thing applies to the EFG120's print server, which can free up resources from the system you're currently using to share your printer. Printer sharing can be a very resource-intensive service, so transferring the task from a workstation to the Linksys EFG120 network-attached storage unit can help pep up the computer you use to share your printer.
Service and support
The Linksys EFG120 network-attached storage unit comes with a reasonably long, two-year warranty--one year more than you get with the less expensive and less capable Buffalo LinkStation. Toll-free, 24/7 phone support is also part of the support package, and it's good for the lifetime of the product. When we called to test the response time of the Linksys support staff and the agents' knowledge of the product, we were greeted by a tech-support rep in less than 10 minutes, and the technician seemed very familiar with the unit's features. The Linksys Web site has lots of useful resources, including FAQs, troubleshooting tips, how-tos, and detailed white papers, as well as drivers, firmware updates, and a downloadable user guide for the EFG120.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 12 user reviews
Lots of useful features!
Pros: Anonomous or password-protected FTP , HTML-based file links , simple HD changing/replacement , automatic backup redundancy with optional second HD , easy web interface
Cons: not a true raid system (in some ways though that's better IMHO) , a bit of fan noise
Review: I own an EFG120 AND a Buffalo Terrastation. I prefer the EFG120 for my uses because I have a publically accessed FTP HTML interface that I use the EFG120 for. It's GREAT for that purpose. If you want super-great NAS redundancy for enterprise, then the Terrastation's RAID options make it a winner. The thing about the EFG120 though is it allows anonomous FTP access on the normal port which the Bufflo I have doesn't. The web interface I can make available to the public is a very cool thing for those out there that can't figure out how to use FTP (quite a few non-tech folks out there really still). Others here seem to not like the EFG120 for some reason. Personally I have had it for over a two years and LOVE IT!
User Rating:
0.5 stars
out of 12 user reviews
Be afraid, be VERY afraid!
Pros: They pale in comparison to the Cons
Cons: Eats data, "backup" disk does NOT work when you need it.
Review: "Sneaker net" is preferable to this ticking time bomb. I can't believe they are still selling it! I begged them 2 years ago to pull it from the market. I had 4 of these and 3 of them crashed and ALL of the data on them was irretrievable. Their tech support staff insisted that I contact the hard drive manufacturer and could not explain why the backup had failed as well. Thank god I pulled the last one out of production before it melted down as well. We took one of the dead EFG120's out back and did an 'Office Space' on it with an old baseball bat. If you have one of these destroy it NOW! If you don't have one, be happy! Buy something else, anything else!
User Rating:
2.5 stars
out of 12 user reviews
Linksys online support terminated my support request when they couldn't help me
Pros: Device works well once it is set up.
Cons: Backup only from disk1 to disk2, TERRIBLE support
Review: I wanted to get the latest firmware for this device and when using online support from Linksys, I was disconnected after he couldn't help me. Look at this chat log... I couldn't believe it when I just saw..."Jesse M(16399) Has Disconnected"
....................
Jason: I have a linksys efg120 ver.2 and want to install the latest firmware. From what I understand the latest shipping firmware is V2.5R23
This is not what is available on the linksys website
Jason: Current firmware V2.5R18... I'm hoping for increased backup functionality. Currently I'm only able to backup from disk 1 to disk 2 and want to backup to network shares as well like the nslu2
Jesse M(16399): There are no features as such for the efg120 for that. Sorry but we do not have the copy for the r23 firmware.
Jason: what?
Jesse M(16399): Yes, we cannot send you a copy of that firmware unless your concern can only be resolved by updating the firmware for the device.
Jason: if r23 is currently shipping, why can I not download it? And why wouldn't it be available to linksys tech support
Jesse M(16399): We can only send out the firmware if the problem would be resolved by such firmware.
Jason: that makes no sense at all to me. What is the problem with r23 then?
Jesse M(16399): Where did you get such information that we are shipping r23 firmware?
Jason: So you contradict yourself you said that you "do not have the copy for the r23 firmware", now you say that you won't give it to me unless it will fix my problems?
Jason: It is online on multiple websites saying that the efg120 that they received had r23 installed.
Jesse M(16399): We do have them, we just cannot give out such firmware as they need to be requested.
Jason: Why does the efg120 not give the ability to backup to shared drives such as the lesser nslu2 device?
Jesse M(16399) Has Disconnected
....................
Jason: I have a linksys efg120 ver.2 and want to install the latest firmware. From what I understand the latest shipping firmware is V2.5R23
This is not what is available on the linksys website
Jason: Current firmware V2.5R18... I'm hoping for increased backup functionality. Currently I'm only able to backup from disk 1 to disk 2 and want to backup to network shares as well like the nslu2
Jesse M(16399): There are no features as such for the efg120 for that. Sorry but we do not have the copy for the r23 firmware.
Jason: what?
Jesse M(16399): Yes, we cannot send you a copy of that firmware unless your concern can only be resolved by updating the firmware for the device.
Jason: if r23 is currently shipping, why can I not download it? And why wouldn't it be available to linksys tech support
Jesse M(16399): We can only send out the firmware if the problem would be resolved by such firmware.
Jason: that makes no sense at all to me. What is the problem with r23 then?
Jesse M(16399): Where did you get such information that we are shipping r23 firmware?
Jason: So you contradict yourself you said that you "do not have the copy for the r23 firmware", now you say that you won't give it to me unless it will fix my problems?
Jason: It is online on multiple websites saying that the efg120 that they received had r23 installed.
Jesse M(16399): We do have them, we just cannot give out such firmware as they need to be requested.
Jason: Why does the efg120 not give the ability to backup to shared drives such as the lesser nslu2 device?
Jesse M(16399) Has Disconnected
User Rating:
1.0 stars
out of 12 user reviews
Avoid like the plague
Pros: Would be great if it did what is advertized
Cons: Poor web setup/config page, un-reliable.
Review: I read the online reviews of this product before purchasing. They were mixed so I thought I'd give it a chance. BIG mistake. The product does not opperate as advertised. It's very unrelaiable even in the simplest network enviromment. Less than 30 days after purchase, I lost all my data, the product would not even recognize it's own firmware version. Suffice to say I was lucky to be able to return it for a full refund.
I purchased a Maxtor 200GB network attached storage instead and it seems to work fine.
PS: Linksys tech support is abysmal!!!
I purchased a Maxtor 200GB network attached storage instead and it seems to work fine.
PS: Linksys tech support is abysmal!!!
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 12 user reviews
Works great! I have installed 12 of these
Pros: Very easy to work with
Cons: print server is clumsy
Review: I have installed 11 of these for clients (small businesses up to 10 seats) and 1 for myself. I have not had any issues people described here. They work great. Compared to the other devices I find them to be the best buy as it backs itself up and includes the drive bay to backup to. You can even get extra trays to rotate your backups. Print server needs some work, but I usually don't use it and just get network ready printers or use an external print server.
Updated
The units I have installed have not had any issues. My clients are still very satisfied
The units I have installed have not had any issues. My clients are still very satisfied
User Rating:
1.5 stars
out of 12 user reviews
Noisy, error, poor support
Pros: Might do the job - we'll never know
Cons: Way too noisy
Review: I you prefer silence don't think of putting this product in your office. The "standby after 10 minutes of idling" feature doesn't work. The webinterface all of a sudden can't be reached (page not found) though it is still accessible as a network drive. Support offered to call back, but didn't. We'll probably return the product just because of the noise level.
Updated
Gave support another try and got through rather quick this time. The reason that the EFG wasn't accessible from my browser (IE6) was that I changed the port for FTP access away from the default (80). When doing so one must add the port to the ip (e.g. http://192.168.1.77:1234) when accessing the web-interface.
The noise issue remains, though. We need to find a separate room for the EFG.
We still haven't tested everything, but for the moment I would like to raise my rating from poor to good. Don't see where to do it.
Gave support another try and got through rather quick this time. The reason that the EFG wasn't accessible from my browser (IE6) was that I changed the port for FTP access away from the default (80). When doing so one must add the port to the ip (e.g. http://192.168.1.77:1234) when accessing the web-interface.
The noise issue remains, though. We need to find a separate room for the EFG.
We still haven't tested everything, but for the moment I would like to raise my rating from poor to good. Don't see where to do it.
User Rating:
0.5 stars
out of 12 user reviews
MONEY DOWN THE DRAIN: GARBAGE, CRAP, UNDEPENDABLE, WASTE OF MONEY
Pros: It is good for SOHO when it works. Small files transfer fine except when the thing drops out of the network compleletely
Cons: So undependable its so not worth it. I can't believe this piece of crap went to market. Classic "shoot, aim, ready" marketing.
Review: CNET this product is "Abysmal"
I bought this garbage for my small office. It drops out constantly from the network. Forget about large file transfers. I keep hoping that linksys has a firmware fix for this thing. But alas everytime i go to their website -- nope! Would be nice to get this thing recalled so I could get my money back.
I guess I have to find a new NAS.
I bought this garbage for my small office. It drops out constantly from the network. Forget about large file transfers. I keep hoping that linksys has a firmware fix for this thing. But alas everytime i go to their website -- nope! Would be nice to get this thing recalled so I could get my money back.
I guess I have to find a new NAS.
User Rating:
2.0 stars
out of 12 user reviews
Still Far From Ready For Market
Pros: Convenient format, expandable, easy to configure and use, offers some level of user access control
Cons: Lack of reliability and quality control (had two units in the past two months, both of which have failed and had to be replaced), absolutely no credible tech support, non-existent technical documentation.
Review:
User Rating:
3.0 stars
out of 12 user reviews
OK As An Entry Level NAS
Pros: Storage capacity, simple configuration via browser. Can also be used as a FTP server and a print server (parallel port only).
Cons: There were problems with the shipping firmware (lost network connectivity on gigabit networks and drive initialization. However, Linksys has just recently delivered a firmware update that has fixed these issues.
Review:
User Rating:
0.5 stars
out of 12 user reviews
Loses settings if powered off
Pros: Nice case, compact.
Cons: Loud, very loud. When powered off it lost all settings and user accounts on the shared drives. CDW sent a replacement and it did the same thing.
Review:
User Rating:
1.5 stars
out of 12 user reviews
Better options out there
Pros: If you are familiar with other Linksys products, this interface will be a comfort
Cons: No RAID, High Price, would still recommend Pugservers over this.
Review:
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 12 user reviews
Not bad for entry NAS
Pros: Easy set-up, and a nice feature to add to a home network. Useful to store pictures and mp3's.
Cons: Needed to have new one shipped since original stopped working. A bit expensive.
Review:
