Entered CNET Catalog: 07/21/2004
SKU: 0747464109114
Manufacturer: Buffalo Technology (USA), Inc.
Manufacturer description
The LinkStation Network Storage Center from Buffalo Technology offers an easy and economic solution to add 250 GigaBytes of network-attached storage via wired or wireless connections. Quick and simple installation allows you to instantly store and share your music, videos, images and other files via a web browser from both PCs and Macs. Offering a built-in print server, the LinkStation simplifies network printing, and with two USB 2.0 ports, additional hard drives can be added for extra space or backups instantly. Simple setup and maintenance, versatile usage, and a compact design make the LinkStation the "must have" solution for storing and sharing files on your home or small office network.Product summary
The good: Easy setup; backup scheduling; print server; two USB 2.0 ports; crossover switch; compact design; integrated power supply.
The bad: Has problems with Asian characters; lacks RAID support; lacks IPP support; lacks DHCP server.
The bottom line: Buffalo's LinkStation is the best low-cost solution for adding storage and a print server to a home or small-business network.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39out of 39 user reviews
Has been an amazing... paperweight!
Pros: Printing without an external print server. 250gigs of storage for file and photo sharing, regardless of platform. Hadn't heard of Buffalo prior, but read good reviews. Easy set-up, appeared easy to back up---never had the chance.
Cons: Purchased by a non-profit over a year ago ($200), but the seal was just broken. After 2 weeks of blissful operation, it became the most expensive paperweight in the history of mankind. On hold with Tech Support for 18 mins. Apathetic at best.
Placing an order for a Linksys NAS as we speak.
out of 39 user reviews
Great start...poor staying power
Pros: Easy install and print server configuration. Security and shares easily set-up/maintained by web-based application.
Cons: Looks like a block, sounds like a leaf-blower. Performance and hardware deteriorated wuickly.
out of 39 user reviews
Do not buy - horrendously bad product
Pros: It plugs-in and turns-on
Cons: Everything: usage, non-existent or useless helps, file system, everything
The only good points: it plugs-in and turns, after that, everything sucks.
- USAGE: s_u_c_k_s.
- FILE SYSTEMS: Linux based stuff that is well-known to have problems
- USER INTERFACE (WEB-BASED): A piece of c_r_a_p
- HELPS: Either non-existent or totally useless. For example, maybe there's an input field that says "Enter the Widget Name." Ok, well, you might wonder what's a widget? So you go to the online help and it says, "This is where you enter the widget name." Ok, well, what the useless, maybe the User Guide will explain? Nope, it just says enter the widget name too. Well, TELL ME WHAT THE <@!#> IS A WIDGET! In other words, you're on your own using this piece of junk and forget getting help from the online help, the user guide, or Buffalo's FAQ's.
- AUTOMATED BACKUPS: absolutely totally s_u_c_k, and completely undocumented.
- ABSOLUTELY NO FLEXIBILITY: There's a freakin 'info' folder, built-in, THAT YOU CANNOT GET RID OF, AT ALL. IT IS WASTED DISK SPACE. It contains the Navigator installation software, and the User Guide -- IT WAS OUT OF DATE THE DAY I GOT THIS THING -- THE CD THAT CAME WITH THE DRIVE HAD NEWER VERSIONS OF BOTH THE SOFTWARE AND USER GUIDE AND THE STUFF ON THE DRIVE WAS TOTALLY OUT-OF-DATE -- BUT CAN YOU GET RID OF OR UPDATE IT? NO, NO, NO.
Everything about this product sucks
out of 39 user reviews
Linkstation failed
Pros: Easy to set up
Cons: Noisy, unreliable
out of 39 user reviews
Dose what it says
Pros: Easy set up, simple interface
Cons: bad help and tech support, drive not swappable
I found out to late that my cat though it was the best place in the world to nap. Needless to say cat hair will cause this system to over heat.
I wish I had backed it up as I lost the whole drive. I was planning to get another one but now a days I can get other NASs that I can swap out the drive if it fails (or gets clogged with cat hair). I just could not spend $200 the second time. I went out and got a 300GB drive for $70 and a NAS case that did every thing but print share for another $70. I now have the printer shaired for my router.
But before the cat this thing ran like a champ. No problems always booted up. Shaired out my printer. No problems. FTP was great for sharing songs and pictures with friends and family. I did buy one for my parents to help them with their work and for ease of use on their wirless network. They too are very happy with it. It should last longer too as they have no cats.
I will say Buffalos help and tech support suck. They were no help and the manuals and help on their website was some of the worst I have delt with.
out of 39 user reviews
There are better backup values
Pros: Live US tech support, easy plugin, tidy case
Cons: Slow backup/restore, corrupted restores, no "0 1" option
1. Backups of system file/folder structures from NTFS formatted WinXP machine to the Buffalo and then restored to the NTFS WinXP machine produced corrupted restores in every case. The corruptions showed themselves in the same way each time. Varied, yet similar, backups were used - each time they showed the same corruptions. In no instance did restores to the WinXP NTFS machine, of the same backups and whether they had been stored on NTFS formatted internal HDs on the same or a networked machine, or on 2 NTFS formatted USB2 external HDs), have the same or any corruptions when restored.
2. All backups from the WinXP NTFS system to the Buffalo, and all restores vice versa, took 4 to 5 times longer than the same backups/restores going from/to NTFS formatted systems/drives (as mentioned in number 1 above, internal/external HDs, USB2 or network transfers of saved/restored backups.) The slowness was the same whether a singular file, or a folder structure was being backed up or restored.
3. Called to ask tech support how to "0 1, secure" wipe/clean this drive - no solution was available. Engineers were to be called and asked the solution, still no call back after week or more. This is probably not a problem to those who do not store sensitive data, and who will never need to wipe their drive before sending it in for repair/replacement or to resell it.
4. Endless waiting for Tech Support during the day, then have to leave message and there were no call backs on the message more times than not. Tech Support in the middle of the night answered and were very polite, well skilled, articulate and helpful (for those who can work in the middle of the night.) It was GREAT to hear tech support voices answering from within the US.
5. I found it far easier/quicker to plugin and setup USB2 external HD for network backup/file sharing than to piddle with IP address setup (whether hub hookup or hookup to network card directly.) The latter wasn't difficult (to hub, though to card took more user savvy), but it wasn't necessary with the external HD. Just plug in the HD, share the drive, done.
The above are the most important problems I had with this drive, rendering it completely useless to me. Others have already mentioned other very important problems that I saw/experienced.
This product gets a 2 due to all of the issues. i.e. it works...but there are far better solutions.
out of 39 user reviews
Slow device clumsy interface makes this device not ready for primetime
Pros: Quick setup, quiet, convenient form factor
Cons: Incredibly slow interface, slow data transfer
What you can expect is a quick setup that gets you running instantly. What you can't expect are fast data transfer speeds and an intuitive web interface for advanced setup options.
We trouble-shooted a whole office network for 2 days only to come to the conclusion that the LinkStation was simple not able to copy a large amount of file and big files (2000 plus files and some files over 100MB) faster that at 1 MB speeds. Considering that the device is supposed to run flawlessly on a 100Mbit Network, we saw speeds nowhere near that fast.
An honest tech support person at Buffalo told me straight up not to expect great speed from this device - thanks for getting that info to me AFTER buying it. That was the same guy who told me that their US operations has no idea what changes had been applied to a recent firmware update. He hung up on me after keeping me on hold for 10 minutes to "check something".
If you are even semi-serious about backing up multiple devices, use an old computer, but some drives in it and feel safe. If you don't need to back up large files and have the patience to deal with a clumsy and slow web interface, go right ahead.
out of 39 user reviews
Lots of wireless, flexible storage, noisy fan
Pros: Solid wireless network connectivity, relatively simple to install and configure
Cons: Loud fan, backup software weak
The fan is too loud to have running in a bedroom and I needed to have a much more useful backup software program to make the most use of it.
out of 39 user reviews
Limited to storing digital media and backups only at home, only from Windows
Pros: Hardware, power consumption, tech support
Cons: Linux support, corportate application, security, rebate not received
I bought LinkStation expecting it to replace my company's aging UNIX NFS+Samba file server. It completely failed in this application. In the end I gave up on the Linkstation, and still use the old file server.
"Linux/UNIX support" means NFS, but LinkStation is merely a Samba server. Newer Linux/UNIX versions can mount Samba shares, so with effort, it is possible to mount the LinkStation on UNIX. But what good is a UNIX file server without NFS? Even Buffalo tech support says that UNIX is not supported.
Like other users, I did not get my rebate. I'll skip the details, but it is wise to assume that Buffalo rebate = no rebate.
The NTP time server was an unexpected extra, but it did not work and just wasted my time.
Use Simply Safe Backup instead of the awful backup program included with LinkStation.
Buffalo tech support was fine. The hardware is good, and power consumption very low.
After spending a lot of time and money on the LinkStation, I have only been able to use it as a Windows backup, an application that would have been much easier and cheaper with an extra internal disk.
out of 39 user reviews
Very good overall. Works equally well with Mac or PC
Pros: Pretty fast, compact and quiet
Cons: Print server slow and no multi-function support
out of 39 user reviews
Great network storage but no logging of ftp activity
Pros: Cost efficent network drive
Cons: No logging of FTP activity, no admin account for network access, This requires alwas logging into the web page management and change the read/write rights.
Once you enter the NTP server IP address it will time sync only once. It will not resysc at the specifed intervals you set. The time will creep. Firware change is need to make unit perform the NTP time sync at the times it is suppose to.
out of 39 user reviews
GOOD HD but BAD USB printer
Pros: Easy hook-up
Cons: Bait-n-switch USB printer port operations
out of 39 user reviews
Customer Non-Support
Pros: Appearance, Form Factor, Network Accessibility. Works as a file server - slowly
Cons: Slow, Tech Support polite but ill-informed
Why the USB port on the front? Slow throughput. Why must you re-format a disk to use as a backup? No Firewire connectivity. Might have bought unit anyway but resent the 'deliberate' concealment/lies.
out of 39 user reviews
BIG BIG Multifunction Printer Issue
Pros: Fast, Cost Effective, Quiet
Cons: Wont work with ************ Printers!!
After putzing around with this for like an hour and on hold with tech support for an hour, I came to find that this unit DOES NOT work with ************ printers! HOW COULD THIS NOT BE?? The Majority of most users have a multifuntion printer! I can't believe that this function doesn't work as it was one of the main reasons for my purchase! No where on the box or any of the literature does it say this, so you must fiddle around in frustration to try and get it to work! SO, if you have just a regular printer (laser/inkjet) then this is a great product. But ************ printer people beware!! This one will get ya!
Also..web interface is slow and I still haven't found out how to update the firmware. No where is it found in the literature.
out of 39 user reviews
Watch your power!
Pros: Easy to add to network
Cons: SLOW print server - Horrible documentation
Hello?
Could be my fault, but why were all my other components OK? I have 3 PC's with printers and wireles routers and a bunch of other stuff that were fine. All plugged into the same type of power guardian strip.
Now I am looking for a replacement and not considering this unit.
out of 39 user reviews
Easy to set up and works great.
Pros: FTP server, ease of setup
Cons: USB on the front of the unit.
out of 39 user reviews
Great idea, flawed implementation
Pros: lots of storage, print server
Cons: slow, slow print server, drops off network
1) The device writes file time/date stamps incorrectly. On mine, everything is stamped with some date in Jan 2002. I spoke with Buffalo about this shortly after I purchased the unit, and they said that they were working on a software fix, but it's been months now, and they haven't issued any updated drivers. This is a real bummer, and I’m surprised that this wasn’t noted in the CNet review. I wouldn’t recommend the product until this is fixed.
2) The LinkStation does have a print server, but printing on my Epson CX5200 via the print server is too slow to be usable. I gave up and plugged it back into my PC directly.
3) The printer sharing doesn’t support multifunction devices, so when I want to scan something, I have to plug the printer back into the PC directly anyhow. Bummer.
4) Since the unit only offers 100Mbps Ethernet (not Gigabit), it's slow with large files. In particular, iTunes _hates_ this drive, and bogs horribly when reading the iTunes library from the LinkStation.
out of 39 user reviews
Great form factor and concept; Software needs work
Pros: Inexpensive NAS Solution
Cons: Difficult to setup
Not for the novice to intermediate computer user.
It is okay if you want to use as a mini FTP site.
I would return it but I was able to back up my data once on it and I know I would never be able to "wipe" it clean.
I would not buy again even if the device had a cable select button because it has been nothing but a headache.
Setup:
Nothing is easy with the setup although it initially looked promising. After I rebooted it would not backup anymore.
Still have issues with backups and with mapping a share to the LinkStation.
Could not get to work with my existing network devices because of my existing router, my existing switch, and this device’s auto-sensing ports (automatically senses cross cable and straight cable). The LinkStation I purchased does not have a cable select button even though the documentation shows it. I was told to by phone support buy a hub, which also did not work. Ended up buying a new router (auto-sensing ports but works?).
I ended up useing a static IP and a hosts entry to map to the share.
Included software:
Poorly designed. I am now looking for other software to use.
No valuable error messages. Many errors are not displayed the software just shuts down or continues to run in the background. When there are error messages, they are non descriptive and sometimes are “wingdings”.
Documentation:
Lacking especially troubleshooting.
The documentation provided is out of date with the device sold.
Manufacturer’s website has no substantive information. The device has nothing posted.
Phone Support:
Nice but not very helpful - recommended buying a hub to get their device to work in my environment. Tried it, did not work. Bought a new router to get it to work.
Email Support:
Quick Reply.
Offered basic troubleshooting advice
Were quick to offer RMA
out of 39 user reviews
Irresponsible support
Pros: What is advertised
Cons: Support of their product really is non-existant
out of 39 user reviews
"The LinkStation 250 surpassed my expectations"
Pros: 24/7 live support with minimal wait time. Very comprehensive online user guide. Works very well within my existing Network.
Cons: The printed User Guide supplied is not as helpful as it could be.
I would recommend this to anyone seeking an affordable NAS Solution.
out of 39 user reviews
a network appliance to store all your stuff
Pros: works as disk as well as printer server and can attach extra drives
Cons: extra drives must be formatted with its own utility
This way all my photos and music files can be viewed and used on all the different computers.
The Printer server is a bonus, as is the ability (not yet used) to attach extra disks.
For those who might whinge about the backup utility, remember that it is a limited utility and if you want more professional backup, you would have to add some other software. I'm happy to do my own backups as needed, and to use this disk for its primary intended usage of being a network attached storage device, rather than a network-attached backup device.
out of 39 user reviews
Excellent Product, easy to set up and works great
Pros: Quick and Easy setup, Fast Access, Simple Solution
Cons: Better Control of Sleep Times would be great, Ability to rename Printer would be nice too.
out of 39 user reviews
Backups don't work as advertised
Pros: good price, solid performance, no long waits for tech support
Cons: not so user friendly interface, back ups to USB drive don't work
The only way around this issue without buying a third party program is to reformat the USB drive ever one or 2 times you do a backup. Tedious.
And using a third party solution with this setup? Not good at all. You see, when a network drive like the Linkstation backups directly to the USB2 drive it takes about 3 hours for 78GB of data because there is no need for the data to be sent across the network. Once you start using third party software, however, your bandwidth gets bottlenecked by the ethernet connection (and it must travel back to the linkstation and on to the daisy chained USB2 drive so you are looking at maybe 1/8-1/12 the performance of USB2 speeds). The same 78 GB then takes a whopping 37 hours! (with data verification turned on). If you fill this thing up and need to backup it up you might as well leave for a weeks vacation because that will be how long your file server will be out of commission during backups.
One if you need to share files on a network then you are also going need to backup those file. The Linkstation is a great, inexpensive files server/print server. Its fails miserably in its backup functions.
out of 39 user reviews
Good ideas but too many problems
Pros: Simple unit
Cons: Backup exceeding slow. freezes too often. FTP does not work.
Needs to revamp the current firmware to correct these problems
Would not have bought this unit had I known of the above problems.
out of 39 user reviews
Lacks Documentation for Macs & Linix
Pros: Cost, Size, Printserver, Customer Support is in the USA!
Cons: NO Mac or Linix Documentation, Customer Support has no Linix or Mac Experience.
out of 39 user reviews
Very good Lan Drive system for the home/office.
Pros: Ease of setup and use. It offers two USB ports for connecting an additional HD and one printer. It is fast and network ready.
Cons: Not too many cons. I have noticed that the Web Admin page it offers for system setup fails to service client requests after a day. This is only annoying because the admin page is not something you access repeatedly.
out of 39 user reviews
Absolutely NO issues
Pros: Great product. Works out of the box... stays cool and quiet, relatively fast, best solution to network storage going.
Cons: Could be a little faster.
out of 39 user reviews
no firewire or usb connectivity
Pros: large storage, networkable, printer server
Cons: this device cannot be used without a network connection. you cannot use it as a plug and play usb or firewire hard drive.
out of 39 user reviews
Ok product, but not so good in a network
Pros: Some of the features on the latest version seem to be fairly useful. The product now offers an FTP server for access to the drive, has a built-in print server, and a USB port for rapid data downloads. The security features provide at least some measure of
Cons: The bad news is that this prouduct will NOT function in a Windows Domain. Despite the documentation (user manaual) that says it will work with WIN-NT and WIN-2000, it does not. I verified this directly with Buffalo Technologies technical support. It also
out of 39 user reviews
If you need a Mini-File server this is it
Pros: If you need extra disk storage and you don't want to spend the money on a File Server this may be the next best thing. This unit will allow you to backup and store that data just like a file server. After I used thier software that finds the device on you
Cons: This is a great product for me but here are a couple things they could add. Muliple Sleep and Awake times would be nice for the times I work early in the morning and after 4pm at night. Automatic disk checking times so the device would keep itself clean w
out of 39 user reviews
Way too easy to setup!
Pros: From opening the box to fully functional (including user restrictions) it took a whopping 10 minutes to set this drive up. Web interface is wonderfully done. Using auto backup feature even over VPN is flawless. GREAT VALUE!
Cons: Documentation is a little bit shaky, but anyone who can set up a basic router can set this drive up.
out of 39 user reviews
Tech Support is NON-EXISTENT!
Pros: Very easy to set up, given it's limited abilities. Decent for a small/home office using Windows, not Mac.
Cons: I bought this thing and had a problem with long file names from mac OS-X. Emailed tech support 3 weeks ago and have yet to recieve even an acknowledgement of my submission! If you buy this, you are on your own. And, if you're on Apple Macintosh OSX, th
out of 39 user reviews
Un ethical/moral company support
Pros:
Cons: Awful company support, I bought a new unit on ebay, was having problems and their support had me upgrade my firmware which caused the unit to fail, then they said the wouldnt honor the warranty because it was bought on ebay. Their tech support instruction
out of 39 user reviews
NAS for idiots
Pros: Although I've been using computers for a long time I'm new to the home network thing. I got this up and running on my newly set-up wireless network in no time.
Cons: The documentation isn't up to the price of the product.
out of 39 user reviews
Great features but international characters won't work!!!
Pros: Many: FTP, Sleep, backup, etc,etc.
Cons: Many international characters cannot be used in creating folders/files on the drive. If you wanna use this for music/video libraries and use international characters in the file/folder names, this product WILL get you stuck, unless the fix comes out. Be
out of 39 user reviews
Cheap and easy network storage; still some bugs to work out
Pros: - Easy, quick installation and administration. - Cheap - Printer sharing (USB only though, no parallel port).
Cons: - The device writes file time/date stamps incorrectly. On my drive, everything is stamped with some date in Jan 2002. I spoke with Buffalo about this, it's a known problem, and they are working on a software fix. This is a real bummer, and I'm surprised t
out of 39 user reviews
Outstanding from the start
Pros: Sets up and configures in minutes. I had it properly networked and configured to serve as NAS, my DVArchive server, and backup for my notebook in less than 25 minutes.
Cons: It ain't cheap, but you do get what you pay for and more with this puppy.
out of 39 user reviews
Good product horrible documentation
Pros: Once you get it set up it works quite well. Very quiet. Despite the horrible documentation I'm glad I bought it.
Cons: The install documentation is pathetic at best. Buffalo needs to focus on this weakness or else this product is only for network knowledgable people. Zero documentation on the ez-backup software which is also weak. Either plan on buying some decent backup
out of 39 user reviews
all in all best value available
Pros: As a joe average user, I felt the setup was fairly painless. You might have to unplug/replug it in a couple times (both power and net cable) to be found if using a linksys wrt54g router. After that it worked well. Speed is pretty good though certainly not
Cons: Poor documentation as noted before. Needs some expansion on post setup use, maintenance, etc. Needs sometimes to be reset (unplug/plug in) when adding any other device to your home network.
