A tiny network-attached-storage (NAS) drive, the Buffalo LinkStation Mini is different from other NAS drives because it uses 2.5-inch hard drives instead of the larger 3.5-inch drives typically found in desktop PCs. Aside from its diminutive stature, the Mini is a rather run-of-the-mill NAS device that has decent features but is held back by an archaic interface—and a high price.
The Mini is about the size of three iPhones stacked on top of one another. Weighing just 1.1 pounds, it includes two 5,400rpm 500GB hard drives inside its fanless chassis. On the rear of the unit is a USB port that can be used for adding storage or as a print server for your network. The power switch can also be set to auto, which shuts the drives down after a period of inactivity.
By default, the Mini's hard drives are in a striped RAID Level 0 array, which allows the full capacity of both drives to be utilized. You also have the option of running it in a RAID Level 1 array, which copies all the data to both drives for redundancy. We like that both options are available, but there doesn't appear to be an easy way to access the drives, so if one fails, you're likely to have to crack the chassis open—not an ideal situation.
Setup was simple via the wizard on the included CD. Once you connect everything, the Mini receives an IP address from your router, and the drive should appear on your network right away. By default, it shows two folders: Share and Info. The Share folder is empty, but the Info folder contains the manual and the drive's software, dubbed NasNavigator 2.
Appearing as an icon on your desktop once detected, the drive also indicates its IP address, as well as details such as the gateway and subnet. Double-clicking the drive icon opens the folders on the drive; a convoluted process leads you to the Web admin portion of the software, which is where everything is controlled.
Once you get to the Web admin screen, you'll probably think you've traveled back in time a few years, since its look and feel are positively ancient. There's been a big push lately from manufacturers such as HP and LaCie to overhaul NAS drive interfaces to make them much more user friendly, as we saw with the Media Vault mv2120 and the Ethernet Disk mini – Home Edition, respectively, but apparently Buffalo isn't in that camp just yet.
By comparison, the Mini's browser-based interface looks like something you would use to configure your router five years ago, with tabs on the left side of the page—such as "group management" and "maintenance"—that open up options you can click on the right side of the page. You also get a handy "help" window that explains what all the boxes do, but most users don't want to wade through help menus and manuals to figure out how to use a product. They want it to be intuitive, and the Mini's interface is clearly not intuitive.
Despite its dated look and feel, the interface does offer a host of options that let you set up Web access, create users and groups, assign read-and-write privileges to folders, check the drives, and more. There's also a backup tab, but it only lets you back up the contents of the drive to a USB hard drive, rather than allowing networked machines back up their files to the Mini. Setting up Web access was thankfully quite simple, and involved just giving our portal a name to make it available from any computer on the Internet. The Buffalo software even automatically configured our firewall, which is a great touch.
One of the Mini's best features is its media-server capability. It can stream content to any PC or a Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) device such as a set-top media box. We were able to stream media to PCs on our network with no issues at all, but unfortunately, we did not have a DLNA box to test that functionality.
To test the Mini's network performance, we performed a 10GB file transfer both to and from the drive. Its times were on the low end of the scale at 23 minutes and 20 seconds to write the file, as well as 15 minutes and 16 seconds to read it. To Buffalo's credit, the Mini did score similar times as some other NAS devices with 7,200rpm drives we've tested.
Though we found a lot to like about the LinkStation Mini, it's frustrating that all its great features are buried within a cryptic interface. NAS technology is scary enough to the general public as it is, and old-school interfaces like this one don't help matters. But if you're made of sterner stuff, the Mini has a lot to offer, and if the high price is the only thing standing in your way, Buffalo sells a 500GB version at roughly half the cost.
author by : josh norem
No comments:
Post a Comment