Linksys NSLU2 (NSLU2-CA) Network Storage Server

Pros: Inexpensive, attractive, quiet, stable

Cons: No reasonable spin-down possibility, absolutely not "plug and play"

The Bottom Line: At this price, take the time to learn what it is and how it works, and you'll never use Windows File Sharing again.

Review: The NSLU2 is a device which can allow one computer to access data on a hard drive over a TCP/IP network. If you do not know what a NAS is, think of it this way - it is nothing more than a computer without a dedicated monitor, keyboard or mouse. That ...

Pros: automatic system backups, small, quiet, inexpensive, runs linux

Cons: not for the network novice, not the speediest, drives must be empty to start

The Bottom Line: It does what it is supposed to do, and does it fairly well, for not a lot of money.

Review: *pssst* hey buddy... come here... soOOOooo... got all your files backed up? NO?!? Come on, you know better! One worm, one piece of spyware, one failed hard drive, and *poof*, gone. All those digital pictures you took of your vacation to the Grand Canyon ...

Pros: Uses standard SMB protocol; quiet; easy to upgrade

Cons: Not easy to administer

The Bottom Line: While not completely plug & play, the NSLU2 is a great little NAS. It takes a little effort, but I haven't found anything better for the price.

Review: I have six (6) computers in my home network and wanted to be able to backup data and share music throughout the house. I had a few criteria I was using to evaluate NAS: 1. No software install on clients 2. Inexpensive 3. No fans (runs cool and quiet) ...

Pros: Compact, quiet, cheap, low energy consumption

Cons: Compatibility issues, performance, not for everyone

The Bottom Line: Get it, if you at least moderately know what you are doing. Then it's probably the cheapest way to go.

Review: Intro This unit can be great for many uses, if used right. It certainly isn't for everyone. There are technical notes in the review. They are marked as such and may be skipped without loss of the general information. But I am getting ahead ...

Pros: It works, good security, creates backups, can be accessed from the internet or through network.

Cons: Tech Support, documentation, setup misses a lot of steps.

The Bottom Line: Buy this product. Find yourself a nerd and have them install it if you cant figure it out. Once installed, you will be glad you bought this product.

Review: Found this product in PC World and bought one a week later. I had already copied the contents of my external hard drive to my PC drive a night earlier so it would be ready for formatting. This device requires that it format your external drive to it's ...

Pros: Clever concept and device. Inexpensive.

Cons: Finding support files is a chore. Firmware upgrade is necessary and laborious.

The Bottom Line: If you're looking to attach a stand-along hard drive to a network, the Linksys NSLU2 is a good choice.

Review: Today, I received a Linksys NSLU2 Network Storage Link that I bought used on eBay. It was accompanied by a Maxtor 160GB USB external drive. Setting this thing up was one obstacle after another, and the primary purpose of this review is to memorialize ...

Pros: Easy to configure. Linux OS means there are many open source hacking projects around

Cons: Even with the latest firmware, still has problems w/ NTFS

Review: Don't expect superfast speeds. You have to go through the network, and then through USB2. You're not going to get fantastic speed. But for convenience, it's great. Great to use as a drive to share various files such as bookmarks, installers for ...

Pros: Cheap method for having a drive available to all machines regardless of which are on.

Cons: Better setup software needed for many domestic users.

Review: The unit was easy to install but it isn't until you own one that you realise that you can't just plug a USB drive into your network and then expect it to work somewhere else - this unit formats the drive in a particular way so you do need to dedicate a ...

Pros: good price point, quiet operation, mostly reliable. Can be hacked.

Cons: Slow performance. Unfriendly setup. EXT3 file system. Can be hacked (can't everything?).

The Bottom Line: I don't trust this unit as a protector of data. For general data access across a domestic LAN, it's OK. Tepid recommendation to friend.

Review: With great expectations, I installed this device, plugged in a Maxtor 250GB drive and was duly informed that the drive was not formatted, no surprise there. The surprise was that when formatted you are presented with an EXT3 files system. Nothing on ...

Pros: Easy to use and set up for basic network drive use.

Cons: 255 character FTP command limit (file path limit), Port 21 only, proprietary drive format

The Bottom Line: I wouldn't recommend this drive to anyone who wants to use it as an FTP backup. As for easy of use for a basic network drive, it's not bad.

Review: I’ve been using Linksys products for quite some time now. When it comes to network equipment, I use nothing but. I bought the NSLU2 to use in conjunction with SyncBackSE, (a backup utility that copies files and folder structures from one location to ...