Reviews for Linksys NSLU2 Network Storage Server

Linksys NSLU2 Network Storage Server

Strengths: - Pretty easy to set up, all web driven menus. - Can be set for multiple users. - Simply the cheapest Network Storage you can create.

Weakness: - Priprietary disk format for USB Disks, but not for USB thumb drives, go figure. - User must push 'power' button to turn unit on. - Poor docs on how to set up users, groups, shares, etc.

The Linksys/Cisco NSLU2 acts as a windows file share device. I have used it with Win2K and WinXP without any issues. Just type in the file share and start working. There is a built-in web server as well for non-windows systems that don't support the Windows NetBios network shares, and for the NSLU2's administration.

The only real issue I have with the NSLU2 that you have to push the damn button to turn it on, like in the event of a power failure, when you are away from home. Linksis/Cisco should simply remove the button. The proprietary disk format isn't a big deal unless the disk already has a bunch of data on it that you want to keep. The unit is very small and can handle 2 x 250GB disks, or 1 disk and a thumb drive.

The unit boots up in about 30 seconds. When in use, the file shares are pretty fast - obviously USB 2.0 and Fast Ethernet. The unit's operating system is pretty well hidden from the user and administrator. Upgrades are done similar to all the Linksys routers - a single ".bin" file for a new release of code.

I will probably buy a second unit for the office.

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Runs and runs--low power

Strengths: Extremely quiet. Very small. Low Power consumption. Easy management. Great user security. Auto Backup/mirror. (Hacker's Toy)

Weakness: If you are looking for a full fledged office file-server, this may miss the mark.

Note: There are many revisions of the firmware. (If you have one of the earliest versions out of the box, you could hack it and make it a Linux server for any purpose.)


The newer firmware versions allow FAT32 and NTFS formatted drives--but I have not tried this.


Could be used as an office File server/WINS server, but fast-access files should be run off of a workstation hard drive and you would use the Backup feature to archive them at night.


I am using the default EXT2 format (a Unix standard--Not a proprietary file system!) which could be plugged into a Windows PC if you install the support for Unix--free download from Microsoft. (It is not worth the hassle to do this, however.)


I use mine for large file storage. It is fast enough to play MP3 files directly from storage which suits my needs.


It runs for months on end and never needs a reboot. I have had no problems with any of the features. (Scandisk, Security, etc.)


Features:
User and group security levels for folder and file permissions.


Disk "mirroring" on a schedule (not a RAID) for data redundancy (if you have two drives)


Backup Workstations (pulls from a Windows File share on a schedule) if users leave their computers on at night.


Administration through web interface.


File access via web interface with password protection. Could be used to share files over the internet if you redirect port 80 on your firewall to the NSLU2.


Built-in WINS server.

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Linksys NSLU2 Network Storage Server

Strengths: Easy to set up. Easy solution to my problem.

Weakness: Proprietary drive formatting, but not really a problem unless you want to swap drive into a Windows machine.

I keep meaning to set up one of the 6 or so old computers I have sitting around as a file server, mainly for media files, but I just haven't gotten to it. Then last week I saw this item online and figured for $80 I would give it a try - I already have a USB 2.0 drive enclosure and hard drives.

I have looked at network storage before, but other solutions were pretty expensive. This thing set up perfectly the first time, I mapped the drive as a network drive, and it just works great. Speed is just as good as the USB drive hooked directly to my machine. Movie files stream off of it with no stutter. I just ordered another USB 2.0 enclosure so I can add another 200 GB drive to my network (this device supports up to 250 GB on each drive, with two USB ports for two drives). From the documentation it appears you can hang multiple Network Storage Links on a network, and at this price I will likely add another in the near future.

It's not quite as flexible as having a server machine (for example, my Rio Receiver still has to have its server software running on one of the computers on my network, but that's more of a failure of the Rio). But this is really a nice, easy, cheap solution for something I've been wanting to do.

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Linksys NSLU2 Network Storage Server

Strengths: It's nice that this has the backup software built in. No more need of having some garbage software (or good, but insanely expensive software) on my PC.

Weakness: Only lets you have a total of 6 scheduled events for backup. If you have a server with more than 6 network shares, you'll need more of these.

Both of these devices are DOA. Initial setup was very simple. Plug the device in, run the utility that is on the CD it comes with (Windows only, as far as I know) and it will walk you through everything (you can manually configure without the software, but it requires changing your computers network settings - info comes with device).

The web interface on it is OK. The page you are presented with for setting up backup jobs could use quite a bit of work (as well as the documentation that goes with it). It's not obvious as to how you are supposed to enter server/share names into it. Having only 6 slots for backup jobs kinda sucks. Luckily the server I'm wanting to backup has exactly 6, but I'd need another NAS if I wanted to back up any more shares (or completely re-organize my shares).

The major problem I've had with this device (two of them, now, within a week) is that from anywhere between 5 minutes and a couple hours, the device just stops responding. Period. You can't ping it, you can't get to it's web page, and you can't browse through "Network Neighborhood/Network Places" to get to it. Pressing the power button produces a single short beep. To reset the power, you actually half to unplug it and plug it back in.

Linksys was no help in the matter. No new firmware (as of this writing), and all the troubleshooting was useless. Their suggestion was for us to replace them, which we will do. If the replacements act the same way, that will lower my view of Linksys even further.

We will see what happens. Beware!

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Linksys NSLU2 Network Storage Server

Strengths: Easy to use

Weakness: Lack of Linksys support Disk scan doesn't work Clock on system page looses 15 minutes per day No disk defragmenter Access through network neighborhood rather than drive letter

I hooked up the NSLU2 to mu network and USB 2.0 hard drive. Put the CD into my computer. The setup program found the system. The setup was easy.

I formated the hard drive. It was ready to transfer files. The transfer rate for XP backup was around 200MB/min. This is about twice the rate of Netgear WGT634 and half the rate of my Ximeta NAS drive. There was no problem with large files.

I attached the hard drive to my computer USB port. PartitionMagic identified the drive as a Linux EXT3 and Linux swap file.

I tried the manual disk scan. It said scanning for a while then the message said disk not scanned.

I noticed the clock as shown on their system page was off. I reset the clock. The next day it was 15 minutes off. Linksys online support said to reset the device. Twelve hours later it was 7 minutes off and 24 hours it was 15 minutes off. The next day online support told me to return the device to the store or contact support by email. Their response was to reload the firmware. They didn't seem to know their site doesn't have any firmware available to load. Their other suggestion was to return the unit.

The NSLU2 basicly worked for me. I would increase the rating if they eliminate the bugs and give real tech support. Tech supports answer for this device seems to be return the NSLU2 to the store. Maybe people shouldn't buy it in the first place.

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Linksys NSLU2 Network Storage Server

Strengths: The setup utility worked as advertised.

Weakness: The Linksys NSLU2 was extremely slow for file transfers.

I am not rating the Maxtor external hard drive, just the Linksys NSLU2. I tried the Linksys NSLU2 with both a flash drive and an external hard drive with USB2 connection. Regardless of the type drive connected, the Linksys NSLU2 gave extremely slow file transfers and tended to lock up every few minutes. I tried upgrading the firmware to the latest version, and that did help somewhat, but I still had the slow file transfers. Meanwhile, you have to install the Linksys software on each computer in your network in order to use the network drive. I've had great luck with Linksys products in the past, but this one is a lemon. You would be much better off to use an old computer as a file server, or just plug an external USB hard drive into your USB hub on your main computer. Several wireless routers have the option of attaching an external hard drive, the Netgear WGT634U for instance. That would be a much better option than wrestling with this quirky storage link.

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Best NAS solution

Strengths: Small - easy install - easy to use

Weakness: Had to upgrade firmware a couple of times to make work 100%

UnSlug firmware update unknownly failed (thought I had a defective box) and had to be re-flashed, it works but does have some drawbacks - found not to match my needs. Had to re-flash back to Linksys newest release via crossover cable. Took a few minutes and but now works 100%. Neat little box have both flash and hard drive connected, provides very fast access to storage - perfect for video streaming.
Cool product.

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Linksys NSLU2 Network Storage Server

Weakness: The unit arrived defective.

I received the unit, attempted to connect it and get it working on my network. After 2 hours with Linksys tech. support it was determined the unit was defective. Sucks.

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A Great Little Box....

Strengths: Quiet. Small. Built-in Backup Program. Web Menus to administer. Quick. Simple. Smart Product & Design.

Weakness: Does not reboot if power outage. You have to push the power button. Documentation is confusing. If you haven't accessed in some time it is slow to come back online.

This is the greatest little NAS system you can find. For someone with File Server or Network experience you will find it easy and quick. It is very quiet and you will not believe how small and simple it is to use. If you are familiar with Linksys products then this will be a breeze.

This is my second one. I originally purchased it to quickly set up a friends office with 15 users. It was up and running in minutes and I could give them group shares and individual home drives in seconds. You can create group shares and give user id's and passwords access. And then you can create a HOME drive and give individual access and keep others out. I set up an office with a shared disk and a printer in minutes and was able to train someone in the office to administer the system. The best part is that it has a backup application.

I bought another one for my home and it works great. Now my wife has a place to put all of her files and information and so do I. We also have a family share to share information as well.

The backup is a little different here. You can set up a backup from a share on your laptop or PC and have it backed up every night. You can also backup specific shares on the disk as well.

But what most will want to do is purchase a second disk and have the first on backed up. The way the software works is you select a disk backup and every night it makes a disk copy of the first disk. So basically disk two copies disk one. Disk 2 deletes the previous nights copy when it makes the night's copy. So you are not keeping an incremental backup. You are making a nightly copy. This is something you should know in advance. If you mess up a file and figure it out a week later and you want to restore a specific version from a week ago, you can't do it. You can only restore the previous night's backup. This is a disaster recovery function. Not a backup.

The only real issue I have with the whole system is the startup. When I go away from my computer for say two hours and I come back and I open my H: drive, the disks, which are in rest mode, spin up, and take about 20 seconds to get going. Once it is up and running then it is fine, but that first time it takes some time. I think this is an external drive USB issue. I have very fast drives and I have a large cache on the drives, but it still is slow that first time. I got the fast drives on purpose, but it does not help. They are in sleep mode and it just takes some time for them to spin up and start. I hate to wait while I watch them spin up. I really do not think this is a linksys issue or an issue with the Storage Link. It is more a function of the power saving feature of the drives.

Anyways, it is a great system and I would highly recommend it for home or small office use.

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Linksys storage

Strengths: Easy to setup, since it's always on availabilty to access files on the network any time.

Weakness: Slow Transfer Speeds almost half of what it should be. Linksys unit have to be boot prior to hard drive, if hard drive and that unit are power up at the same time hard drive won't be accessable.

This pretty neat unit. I currently have two hard drives hook up to this unit for a total of 410gb. It's very easy to set up in my opinion.

Few drawbacks:
1. Transfer speeds are slow. When I transfer files from one computer two another the speed of transfer is about 8.2mb/s. When transfering or trying to get files from this unit the transfer speed is about 3.8mb/s. So it about a half speed of what it suppose to be.

2. I noticed that if hard drive is turn on first and then the unit, the hard drive won't be accessable. This unit has to be turn on first and then the hard drive. Anyways that how my unit works.

3. When I bought this I thought I would be able to move my external hard drive between unit and computer but that will not happen. Hard drive goes under some kind of special formating and all data of the hard drive is wiped clean.


Overall I liked this unit, the transfer speeds are slow but I can live with it. 3 stars for this product becasue of the drawbacks.

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Linksys NSLU2

Strengths: Easy to set up, convenient for file sharing, simple interface.

Weakness: Cannot use hard disks over 250 GB.

Besides the fact that one cannot use a hard disk over 250 GB, this small interface unit does quite a bit. Having used two for work, one can fully appreciate its use. Of course, one could potentially alter the firmware with Linux, but for others, the simple to use web-based configuration guide is just enough. Should you need, though, say, two or four TB, an industrial sized storage device will do best.

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NSLU2 good enough for me, maybe for you

Strengths: Small form factor, quiet, works well

Weakness: none

I've played with this little unit for months now and have finally come to love it. Yes, it takes 30 seconds or more to come up to speed but why be in a hurry. I recently was able to backup all the MP3's of the two girls iTunes folders with ease. Each girl had over 800 tunes. Once I culled out the two or three songs that had CRC errors, I would restart the copying and then it finished without error. I have backed up more files on two other computers in the house and am going to continue to do so. I intend to buy a second drive for redundent backup.

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