BUFFALO LS-V2.0TL 2TB LinkStation Pro LS-VL Network Storage

Pros: Sleek looking, easy setup, decent interface and ease of file access.

Cons: Sadly these thing are notorius for becoming bricks. Firmware fails leave the content unaccessible and unit "bricked" Buffalo has no support to speak of, and will not look at any unit outside of the warranty period. No way to reset the unit once it fails -

Other Thoughts: It's too bad that these drives fail at the rate they do, just look at their forums to confirm this, when it worked it was a great product, but when firmware fails there's no recovery. Will replace with a different manufacturer, a sad fact of how Buffalo supports their products.

Pros: Good Price.

Cons: DLNA/Media Server does not work over the Wireless Network.

Manufacturer Response:

Please send me an email so we can trouble shoot your network. The LinkStation Pro can average 60-70MBps on a gigabit network which is perfect for streaming media content. If you are having issues streaming over a wireless network then the issue would be in those settings or with limitations of your wireless routers capabilities.

thanks
marco
newegg@buffalotech.com

Pros: Fast, reasonably priced, gigbit ethernet, nice build quality and attractive package. I purchased 2 of these units for file sharing in an Active Directory environment to allow various AD groups to be able to easily share documents. None of the content is particularly critical or sensitive. Nonetheless, I assumed I would be able to restrict access based on AD group membership.

Cons: Remember what happens when you ASSUME. Active Directory support is useless. By default, everyone has read/write access to a shared folder. If left in the default mode you can only restrict user or group by giving them "read" access. Yup, there's no way to deny someone from having read access.

The second option is to give the shared folder "read" access and add AD users or groups and give them "read/write" access. Again, no way to deny access. I can't think of many scenearios where I'd want all of the users on my network to have read access to all folders. Subtract 4 stars.

Then, there's the documention. I didn't expect much here but the docs are worse than I expected. Subtract one star, which technically leaves us at 0 stars.

Other Thoughts: So close... Buffalo, if you're listening: this *could* be an awesome device if it had real "Active Directory Support"

Manufacturer Response:

Please send me an email so we can help trouble shoot. This unit is Active Directory compatible but does have limitations compared to a Windows machine. In scenarios where the AD support is not to your liking then you are also able to bypass AD and create your own users/groups with access restrictions through the normal WEB UI for the LinkStation.

thanks
marco
newegg@bufflotech.com

Pros: The concept is great. Firmware not easy to use but not that difficult to figure out. When it works, it is great way to back up files or store files you don't need very often. Setting up password protection is not straightforward and only one computer can access password protected data at one time.

Cons: The unit failed after 2 years. The firmware crashed and could not be recovered (even after following some complicated instructions from their web site). I was copying files to the unit when it just stopped. Error code indicated it was the firmware. I also had a Linkstation Duo fail after about 9 months. Only a one year warranty. I will try to remove drive (no easy way to do so) and see what I can recover.

Other Thoughts: I would not purchase again.

Pros: Fairly fast, cool, and quiet.

Cons: Unit died 1 year and 4 months after purchase. Warranty is only for 1 year. I am not buying another one of these.

Other Thoughts: Documentation is poor, especially explanation of the error codes the LED light shows.

Manufacturer Response:

sorry that your unit has failed. Send me an email with the blink pattern so I can decipher the error. Could be as simple as replacing the fan which should take 10 seconds.

thanks
marco
newegg@buffalotech.com

Pros: Looks Nice sitting on the desk.

Cons: I purchased a Buffalo Linkstation Pro model LS-V2.0LT this week end.
I followed the exact instruction to set up the drive with my Acer Windows 7 system. Once all of the software was loaded I set the backup to do a complete backup. A message was shown that the computer had to be restarted before the backup could be completed. On restart the computer failed to start Windows and displayed a screen that instructed me to pur the Startup disck in the floppy drive (which my computer does not have) and press F2 to continue. At this point I was stuck. Could not access Safe mode or do anything but get to this same screen.
I called Buffalo Technical Support and expalined exactly what happened. They claimed that the issue was with my computer and had nothing to do with their product. As I tried to explaing that it was installing their product that caused this issue they refused to offer anyother help than to tell me to call Acer since it was a computer issue.
I then called Acer and accordin

Pros: Supposed to be compatible with Windows

Cons: Not really compatible with OSX. I should've researched on the Buffalo (and other) forums before purchasing.

Other Thoughts: I ran into more problems with corrupted files and permissions when trying to copy from my OSX iMac to this NAS (Buffalo LS-VL NAS). I had high hopes but ran into nothing but problems. The online forums indicate that Buffalo support leaves much to be desired... very unfortunate and will be looking for another NAS solution.

Pros: None

Cons: Always needed rebooting. Died within 4 months.

Other Thoughts: Buffalo support impossible to get a hold of. Finally found someone who confirmed hard drive dead. Buffalo wouldn't recover the data, but recommended a partner data retrieval service. $2,100 later, Buffalo told us they wouldn't replace drive since the service opened the case and voided the warranty. Wouldn't send the original broken case/hard drive back either.

Pros: FAST, inexpensive, good build quality. I'm using it with macs and PCs on a gigabit network. Stays cool and quiet. The On/Off switch is a nice implementation. When you toggle it OFF, it runs through a proper shutdown routine of the NAS, not just cutting off the power. Fast Web UI.

Cons: if not running DHCP, it's a bit hard to get setup using a static IP. LED is a bit bright, can't lower the brightness/shut them off. The AUTO power feature isn't recommended. The NAS seemed unreliable when this was set.

Pros: Already posted- it was wonderful for a VERY short period of time.

Cons: Ive had this unit up and running two weeks now. Today, out of the blue while reading a file, the NAS just disappeared from my network list. I have reset and powered down and done everything short of taking it apart and it is just gone. I even switched cables AND network hubs. I now have to play the warranty game with Buffalo. I guess it was too good to be true--look for something more reliable.

Other Thoughts: From amazing to junk in less than a blink. Here is Buffalo quality.