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Buffalo Linkstation 300GB
Price: £196 inc VAT

Features
Performance
Ease of use
Value for money
Overall

Reviewed By: Andy Shaw

This review updated: 01/05/2006
Featured in magazine:
Issue 133
Manufacturer Contacts:
Supplier: Buffalo
Tel: 01753 555000
Web Address: www.buffalo-technology.com


When your computer's hard disk starts looking a bit light on space you have a number of options. The cheapest is to back up some of your space-hogging video, music and digital photographs onto CD or DVD. If you want to keep accessing these files though, you might consider installing a new hard disk – both internal and external options are available and you can check out our upgrading project on page 40. If you want to share your files across a number of computers and devices on your home network however, this Buffalo LinkStation is 300GB of exactly what you need.

Features
While you'd connect most external hard disks directly to your computer, this is a bit different. It comes with an Ethernet cable and socket, and is designed to be connected to your router – the device that most home networks use to share a broadband internet connection around the house. It doesn't matter whether your network is wired or wireless, as long as your router has a spare Ethernet socket. As well as a 300GB hard disk, the unit features a built-in print server, so you can plug any USB printer into the device and have that always on and accessible to your network too. It also conforms to Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA, www.dlna.com), a fairly new but well-supported standard for sharing digital information in the home.

Performance
The performance of the device is fine – it's more likely to be restricted by the speed of your network, especially if you're wirelessly connected, than by the speed of the drive. One issue we noticed, however, was that, unlike most routers, this device has moving parts and a fan to keep it cool. If you keep your router (which is likely to be silent) somewhere that needs to be quiet, such as near a phone socket in a bedroom, you may want to reconsider its placement.

Ease of use
The device simply plugs into your existing network, so it's really very easy to use, as long as you already have a router with a spare Ethernet port. The quick start manual will take you through getting it set up – which you manage through a web interface much like a router – and mapping a drive to your PC so you can access the device as if it were a disk connected to your computer. There are also security options for giving different individuals or groups on your network access to different parts of the drive, all explained in the documentation.

Value for money
As we mentioned in the introduction, there are far cheaper ways of getting more storage – archiving some files or slotting in cheaper internal disks. However, the LinkStation provides a number of added benefits – keeping your data accessible across your network at all times, especially if you're in the habit of switching computers off, and also hosting a print server. It's not going to replace an impulse hard disk purchase at this price, but if you're looking specifically for these features it's a great option.

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