Buffalo LinkStation 210 - Reviews

(3.7)

53 reviews

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For Buffalo LinkStation 210, 53 customer reviews collected from 2 e-commerce sites, and the average score is 3.7.

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2.11.2017

These single drive 3Tb NAS units are now about half the cost of the two drive (2x 3Tb) NAS unit.Of course they suffer from all the usual Buffalo issues reported elsewhere (like almost impossible to use software, obscure settings, lack of customer support and virtually brain-dead 'management' software), however two single drive units mean a MUCH MORE RELIABLE (and flexible) system than a single 2 drive unit.A pair of these, with one backing up the other, delivers true redundancy, rather than just doubling the chance of failure (since the 2 drive unit is twice as likley to fail as a 1 drive unit).Compared to a 2 drive unit :-1) When one drive fails, you find out immediately (rather than when you launch the 'Manager'app. once a month = or, more likley, when the second drive in the 2 drive unit also fails)[to make sure you do find out fast, I recommend using one as your 'media server' whilst the other is where you PC 'saves' your movies / music / photos to]2) After a failure, you can just plug whatever new single drive replacement you like into you LAN (rather than having to find an 'identical' hard drive to the remaining 'good' drive in a 2 drive unit)3) If the controller fails in one, no problem (if the controller fails in a 2 drive NAS, you can forget about your data (the NAS has :-) )Now the minus point :-1) You do need to find decent auto-back-up software (which will keep the two units 'in step')[UPDATE as expected, the built-in 'Backup' function is just as useless as all the other built-oin software == you can't type in the IP/share name of the destination, you have to select from an always empty (no matter how many times you click 'refresh') list.On the other hand, FreeFile Sync on a PC is quite capable of performing 'Mirror' back-ups from one mapped drive Buffalo to another mapped drive Buffalo .. although this does consume double the Ethernet bandwidth (not a problem on Gbit LAN)]2) You REALLLY need to turn off all the 'bells and whistles' and just use these as a Private 'shared' drives ("SMB") on your Gbit LAN = it's the 'clever' bits that go wrong (and trash your data). In particular ANYTHING that allows (direct) access from the Internet (such as the 'Torrent' options). Fact is, the software can't be trusted (it has probelms with even the most basic of functions such as DHCP after power-fail == see my Updates below)3) By default, it enables DLNA on the default 'share' and on a 'new' folder'. It is posisble to disable DLNA 'globally' (which I did), however once you have set up a folder it appears to be impossible to disable DLNA on that folder (instead of DLNA - which only works if the files are already in the 'right' format - I suggest setting up the NAS as a 'mapped drive' in Windows, then using PLEX Server (or similar) on your PC to 'serve' files from the NAS share ..)4) By default it sets Tokyo time zone and uses a default NTP time-server, which, if you set your Router firewall correctly, it won't be able to reach. ALWAYS set it to 'Local time' (and select your correct time zone) otherwise you will run into all sorts of problems with 'older' V's 'newer' files ESPECIALLY if you try to 'sync' the Linkstation backup with something else on ypur LAN (like yout PC) !!A more few points worth noting:-If you want to avoid drive failures, put this somewhere it can keep cool (and not where carpet dust and pet hairs can get in as air circulates from the ventalation holes on the bottom out of those on the top - thess single drive units don't have a fan and blocking the air-vents will soon lead to overheating) ) and where it can be left alone (so NOT the edge of your work desk from where it will soon be taking a fatal leap onto the floor ..)Don't play with any of the 'power-save' settings .. just leave it to run 'always on' and you will get many years of service out of it == nothing (except overheating) kills a drive faster than constant cycling (power-on, off, on, off, on ...) ..this is why laptop drives only last a year or two[I've a NAS that's still running after about 6 years == it's kept in my always cold study, on a bookshelf (NOT above the radiator :-) ) placed where it won't get moved or pushed onto the floor, and it's never turned off]I note that the Buffalo comes with a 2 year warrenty, howeverI suspect that the drives in these units are from the cheapest possible source and likley only come with a 1 year Manufacturers Warranty ... so you should EXPECT a drive to fail .. and plan accordingly ..Remember that a back-up NAS should be used for back-ups = if you use a NAS as your primary Media Server, then, unless you have copies of everything on it elsewhere, you need a second NAS unit as a back-up to the first :-)When I transferred my photo collection (150,000 images +) from a RAID on my PC to this unit, I achieved a transfer speed of over 45Mbytes/s, up to 40% of the Gbit bandwidth.This means a back-up utility running on a PC can read from one Buffalo (at 30-45Mbytes/s) and write to the other (at the same speed) and still only use 80% of the Gbit bandwdith ... (good luck getting Windows to do that :-) )NOTE the Ethernet setting 'allow large packets' can significantly improve LAN efficiency, however this has to be set on both Buffalo NAS (in Advanced, Nertwok settings) as well as your PC Nertwork (in Device Manager)UPDATE - DO NOT change the NAS ethernet packet frame size from 1500 = EVERY other setting causes random problems with data transfers ('Drive no longer available' and the panic-inducing 'Delayed Write failure') and Windows backup application lock-ups when trying to access the 'mapped share' or 'enumercate' the directories(surprise surprise ..)UPDATE 2. Following an unexpected power-cut, I thought I had lost my 'archive' unit as it was no longer visible at it's fixed IP address on the private sub-net I had set up to stop my kids (and their friends) fining and trashing my photos (and classical music collection). But then I found it == despite having been set to a FIXED IP on a FIXED sub-net, when it powered-ip again it had found my LAN and DHCP'd a new IP addess on my 'public' LAN !! Using the 'mamager' app on my PC, I eventually managed to reset it back (but see Update 4 as well)So +++ points for recovering from a power failure with no data loss, - - - - points for ignoring my static IP settings ..UPDATE 3. Following another power-cut I noticed that the 'red led' had come on for both my single drive units. After a moment of panic (red led == drive failed ???) I realised that it was telling me that there was a software update waiting, so maybe the above IP issue is now 'fixed'. However I don't want to risk loosing all my data, so I won't be 'updating' anytime soon ...UPDATE 4. I have twop units - one on a private sub-net, one on my 'public' subnet. The 'public' unit managed to 'loose' it's IP addres - odd, givin that my Rounter is MAC address locked so issues a fixed IP to the unit, but that didn't stop it going random 169.254.x.x address. AMAZING the management app. on my PC found it (but what this says for security is another matter ..) !So I made it 'renew' and it got the right address. SO, I thought, why bother having my Router issue the address ? Why not just turn off DHCP on the Linkstation and type in the fixed IP ? Good idea == pity the P.O.S. 'mamangement' software says 'Address already in use' and refuses to accept it !!!So when the Lonkstation gets 192.168.0.2 via DHCP and you try to set it to 192.168.0.2, the brain-dead 'management' utility rejects the setting with 'Address in use' .. this is all you need to know about the software 'programmers' who, I can only assume, put this together as some sort of 'grade school science project' ..

17.6.2019

I've just set the drive up and started a backup with the bundled Nova Backup software.After spending two days trying to get the WD My Cloud Home to do what I wanted, I gave up, principally because it didn't support the WD backup programme which i have used successfully with my old WD My Book Live (WD seem to have dumbed down the product). The WD drive went back. This Buffalo drive installed easily through the supplied software on the disk (also available from the Buffalo website). I got a bit mixed up with user names but eventually sorted it out.The website access and Buffalo software all seem to work well, and I am surprised by some of the other reviews on here.

2.6.2018

I got this to replace my dead 10 year old linkstation. Price was a deciding factor and the capacity was more than adequate for my needs. It came with all cables and plugs the set up instructions were rudimentary. There is an included CD for installing software but not sure why you would want to as it is simple plug and play. Type in the IP address assigned to it by your router in your browser and there you are at the user screen where you can set it up. There is an app for your smart phone to access the same screen. Then it is a question of setting up folders to drag and drop file to. It is almost silent in operation. Works perfectly as a NAS for Sonos ( which it what I use it for)

14.7.2018

Works flawlessly, good quality for the price.Has whatever you need as a home user, and you can even setup quiet times, since the hard drive can get noisy under heavy usage.Can use SMB, FTP, Media Server, and web acces via Android / iOS app.Gigabit Ethernet provides more than enough for streaming movies to my TV, and backing up my stuff at the same time.Has an USB port to which you can connect another hard drive, should you decide to move some stuff on / off it while you're away from home without keeping your main computer on.All it's shortcomings are due to the low price mostly: noisy drive at times, can't easily SSH/Telnet into it, can't install open NAS firmware,

25.1.2016

This is probably the best bit of kit I have purchased in a long time! - Now have all my collection of CDs & working on getting all my photos stored onto it with still heaps of storage space that I will never fill.. Can be operated via the remote from my smart TV so can pick any song/album I want without having to leave my chair - Excellent! The added bonus with the Buffalo Linkstation is that it works over Wi Fi with windows phones (where some others don't) which means you can stream your own music collection wherever in the world you are..!Also an Android app which works almost as well with my new phone after replacing the Windows one!..LOVE IT!

2.3.2017

This item replaced an earlier model which eventually gave up the ghost after five years use; a friend has explained that hard disc drives will eventually fail. Touch wood, two years or more on, this is always on and has never given me any trouble. In the past, I have found Buffalo's support service to be friendly and efficient - so when this eventually does die, I will buy another Buffalo.

22.1.2019

It's a very easy product to use providing you're on a mac, the PC installation is a nightmare, the steps are all outdated, after many hours of swearing I looked on the app store and found an app that solved everything, I wish that direction was in the box, would've solved hours of frustrating IP related jargon and pointless exercises

25.2.2018

Purchased to replace previous NAS in the home office.Transfer speeds much better, more responsive than the old one. Software is a bit clunky but for an easy backup (with freefilesync) and Twonky server it is great.HoweverIt is noisy. It is on the other side of my pc tower (which has 5 fans) and I can hear it above that noise.

23.1.2019

This would of got the five stars had it been a little quieter, it’s like a chug noise when not in use, you would expect some noise when in use, but when left, it’s like a rhythmic banging, only low, I have it on a cloth to dampen the noise, apart from that it’s a perfect little drive

10.6.2020

I’m a lady with more than average years under my belt, and I was so pleased that I managed to set this up without help from a man or a younger person! My music is now all stripped in WAV format and running direct to my Sonos. Go Granny!

7.12.2018

Definitely need to read the manual to get connected but once the setup is done the device is easy enough to use and access. Could do with some wireless connectivity but at the price I can't really have expected it to be available.

29.6.2017

in the past i thought i would never need a NAS drive but after buying this i cant understand why i never bought one before, the 3TB storage is more than enough, they really are amazing things and i cant reccomend it enough.

27.6.2019

I chose "out of the box" set-up initially so as not to get distracted with options and it all worked perfectly. Over a few days, I then went deeper into the settings and have now got it set like I want. No issues.