Buffalo Linkstation Duo Multifunctional NAS Server Review

Today we are testing a NAS server from a Buffalo Technology company called Linkstation Duo. In addition to organizing network access to files, it boasts a number of additional features, such as: embedded web server, mysql database server, DLNA server, iTunes and Squeezebox, access to files via the Internet using WebAccess.

Specifications

Interfaces

RJ-45 LAN port connector. Data transfer rate 10/100 / 1000Mb / s
1 x USB 2.0

Built-in hard drives

Number of disks: 2
Disk Interface: SATA
The total amount of disks: 1TB, 2.0TB, 4.0TB, 6.0TB
Supported levels: RAID0, 1 and JBOD (individual drives)
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Protocol support

Network Protocol: TCP / IP
File sharing protocol: SMB / CIFS, AFP, FTP / FTPS, SFTP, HTTP / HTTPS
Active Directory Integration Kerberos
Control Protocol: HTTP, HTTPS
Time Synchronization Protocol: NTP

Dimensions of the device are 86 x 204 x 127mm, weight - 2.3kg. It supports both the Windows and Mac OS X family.

Appearance and equipment

Linkstation Duo comes in a small red box:


Accessories include: power supply, Ethernet cable, CD-ROM with software and brief installation instructions. The complete manual is on the enclosed CD.


Also included is an adapter that allows you to conveniently turn off the power of the network drive:


On the front panel there are 3 indicators:

• Power
• Function
• INFO / ERROR

Power indicator signals the status of the NAS. When loading, it blinks blue, then it lights up constantly, if the device is turned on.
The Function indicator signals the process of copying files from a USB drive.
INFO / ERROR can light up in two colors: orange or red. Orange means an informational message, red means a critical error. The error code consists of two parts: the number of long flashes corresponds to the first digit of the error code, quantitatively short flashes correspond to the second digit of the error. Decoding codes can be found in the Linkstation Duo operating manual, which is on the complete CD.

The device is black and made of plastic. The front panel opens and there are 2 hard drives behind it. You can remove the hard drive by pulling the plastic catch down and pulling the metal ring.


In the version that came to us for testing, 2 Western Digital disks of 500 GB each were installed.

SATA-III disk interface, spindle speed - 7200r / min.

The rear panel contains: a small cooling fan, a USB 2.0 port, an RJ-45 network port, an external power supply connector, a Kensington lock hole, a Function button, and an OFF / ON / AUTO power switch.


The difference between the ON and AUTO position is in the NAS operation mode: in the ON position, it will always be enabled, and in AUTO mode it will go to sleep mode if there are no active clients in the local network.
The Function button is responsible for activating the Direct Copy mode, which copies all data from a USB device connected to the NAS to a disk.

The “brains” of the network drive consist of 2 small boards: one is on the side, and the hard disks are connected to the second.

Since the power supply is external, the drive itself has turned out to be quite compact.

On the main board are: 2 Hynix h5ps5162gfr memory chips of 32 MB each, an ARM processor Marvell 88F6281 with a frequency of 600 MHz and an auxiliary network chip Marvell 88E1118.

Turn on

The first power-up is very simple - you need to connect the NAS to the router, connect the power and turn the switch on the rear panel to ON.
The next step is to install the NAS management software - NAS Navigator 2 utilities. The utility is available for both Windows and MacOS. The installer is on the included CD.


Clicking the right button on the NAS icon select the item “Open Web installation”.
A page with the login window will open in the browser:

The default login options are: admin: password

The control menu is intuitive. On the left is information about the NAS, on the right - a menu with settings.
On the first tab “Shared folders” you can add, view shared folders that are available to users.


When creating a folder, you can set various access parameters:
Attributes of the shared folder:

• Only for reading
• Read and write

Support for a shared folder in various operating systems, as well as the ability to access it via FTP, SFTP.


On the second tab "Users and Groups" you can edit or add users:


On the “Network” tab you can make the following settings:
1) Configure the method of obtaining the IP address via DHCP or assign a static IP, as well as enable / disable the AFP and FTP protocols:


2) Enable NAS to workgroup, NT domain, Active Directory.


3) Enable the embedded web server:


4) Activate mysql:


PhpMyAdmin is installed to manage the mysql database:


On the System tab, you can configure the time synchronization parameters and the web-interface language:


Configure RAID operation modes: separate drives, RAID0 or RAID1:

If the setting is changed, the section is formatted and the data is not saved.



Backup can be done only on another NAS Linkstation, or on a USB drive.


Reports on the operation of the NAS can be sent to email by setting up a connection to the SMTP server and adding a list of emails for distribution.

Additional features

In addition to simply storing files, the Linkstation Duo offers a number of additional services.

The WebAccess service allows you to configure remote access to files through a web browser. This feature has the ability to configure remote access using the BuffaloNAS service, which replaces DDNS.
You can also connect via WebAcess from mobile devices based on Android and iOS.

The Linkstation Duo has built-in DLNA, iTunes and Squeezebox servers:

DLNA indexes many video and audio formats, including avi, mkv, mp4, ts, mpeg, divx, wmv, ts, m2ts, m4v, vob, divx, mp3, m4a, aac, wma, wav.
ITunes server has no additional settings, it works with mp3 and m4a formats.

The Torrent client based on uTorrent is also preinstalled for downloading files:

There are a lot of settings, as in the desktop version: setting up the queue, download speed, port numbers, speed limit, work schedule.

Also present are settings for synchronizing image folders with the Flickr service and organizing file sharing via Eye-Fi.

findings

Advantages and disadvantages

Easy to understand user interface.
Embedded web server with php and mySQL
Many different additional services: DLNA, Bittorent, WebAccess and others.
Compact size
Only 1 USB port, which is located behind
Complete hard drives can be attributed to both pluses and minuses. On the one hand, they have already made a choice for us and it remains only to connect a network drive, and on the other hand we have been deprived of the very choice of our favorite hard drive model. It is also worth noting that the manufacturer does not recommend changing the hard drives that come with the NAS to others.

Total has turned out a very good network drive with many additional functions. Good for home use or small office. If you need more productive solutions, then you should look at the Linkstation 420 series, or TeraStation .

The price of Buffalo Linkstation Duo on Yandex.Market is ~ 9000 rubles for the 2TB version and ~ 11,700 rubles for the 4TB version

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