Buffalo LinkStation Pro Shared Network Storage LS-400GL

Advantages: Solid, feature packed, easy to use
Disadvantages: Not as fast as direct attached storage, plus a little noisy.

...I have been using my Buffalo (called 'Bertie'!) for over 4 months now, and it has worked very well indeed. Bertie is connected to my gigabit switch and is accessed by 4 other computers, and it also hosts a file sharing site too. The drive sits in a Windows environment, and is very easy to connect up. After a 15 second boot process, you access the features of the drive through a browser. All the usual tools for network drives are there, plus some seriously useful user permissions, and trashcan tools. It has hot swappable drives too (I bought a spare just in case), but this sold beast I feel will never breakdown. It's not the quietest drive in the world, but this is a minor annoyance. The actual data transfer over the network is not as fast as directly attached storage, but the benefits of using a network far out weigh this. When I need... Read review

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Advantages: external, fast, networked
Disadvantages: noisy fan

...If you need extra storage and you have a router then buy this - don't hesitate. I needed extra hard drive space particularly for back up and archiving a huge collection of photos (about 250,000 of them). The joy of this system is that you plug it into your router, although it will also work with usb if you don't use a router, and just map a drive in Windows Explorer. you install a small bit of software (if needed) to find it then just access it as normal. You can set up directories, sharing permissions and everything else via web browser. The added benefit is that anybody on your network can have access to shared files and private files. Only one thing I can say against it. The fan is quite noisy when it runs although most of the time it sits quietly in stanby mode. The noise is actually greater than the cooling fans running inside... Read review

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Advantages: Quiet, fast, small, easy to set up, easy to use
Disadvantages: Err.......

...the average hardback book. A little heavier, but I think that's forgiveable. A quick read of the very basic printed manual, and the device was plugged in. It's important to realise at this stage that the link station is Network Attached Storage, and not just an external hard disk. It needs to be connected to a router, and it needs to be connected by an ethernet cable. Fortunately Buffalo have thought to provide one. Even better, it's a flat one, so will happily run under your carpet if so required. Both Euro and GB type wall plugs are included, as is a CD with software on it. It looks ok as well, although that's fairly subjective really. I wouldn't mind it sitting on the bookcase in full view, but my wife would. Setup Without any intervention at all, it picked up it's IP address from the router, installed itself on the network, and sat... Read review

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