Linksys NSLU2 Network Storage Link

Summary: If you want to waste time and money run out and buy the NSLU2 right now! I bought this unit along with two Maxtor OneTouch II 300Gb drives. After going ...

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Summary: If you want to waste time and money run out and buy the NSLU2 right now! I bought this unit along with two Maxtor OneTouch II 300Gb drives. After going through the process of setting everything up, with a little "help" from tech support (set up includes formatting the drives using a format not compatible with Windows) I start transferring files. Things go ok then rapidly downhill with some very strange problems. Not seeing the drives on the network then suddenly the drives are there, the same files "appearing" on both drives even though Drive two had not been written to, suddenly only one drive is there, oh there it is again, and so on.
This morning I talk to Tech support, that's when I find out that the drive size is limited to 250Gb MAX. Yet when I point out that on the box it says "...connect up to two stand-alone USB disk drives of any size...". From that point on I got excuse after excuse and finaly someone who I could hardly understand telling me to return the unit to the store. Great, I get to waste more time arguing with the store! Linksys a once trusted resource is now a source of deception and no longer can be trusted.

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Summary: I purchased it since it was cheap. When I opened the box, the first thing I noticed was the lack of documentation. This device was made to be used by ...

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Summary: I purchased it since it was cheap. When I opened the box, the first thing I noticed was the lack of documentation. This device was made to be used by someone with years of experience and/or in business environment and to be installed by someone in the know. It took me almost 24 hours of playing around with it before I could get anything to work. The O.S. for this device lacks for the ability to be able to delete the files you don't want if you happen to change your basic settings. The device will reformat your H.D. into the Linux environment and from then on, you will NOT be able to change it back to the Windows environment should you decide to do so. Once you hook a H.D. up to this device and begin using it, that is all it will ever be good for. I spent hours with support trying to find out how to re-use a H.D. in the Windows environment if one should change their mind OR get a larger H.D. to use on this system. I was finally told their wasn't any way. No where in their meager documentation (if one could call it that) does it so let you know. This device is NOT for the faint of heart or for the average computer user. Take it from me.

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Summary: The NSLU2 is a great idea, but the execution leaves a bit to be desired. However, this device does fulfill its function, which is to allow the use of cheap ...

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Summary: The NSLU2 is a great idea, but the execution leaves a bit to be desired. However, this device does fulfill its function, which is to allow the use of cheap USB drives as NAS without dedicating a computer to the task.

This device is quite small - about the size of a calculator. It is also quite light. Thus, finding a spot for it is very easy. Setting it up is not hard - PC software is included that can locate and configure the unit. One problem - if your present network is not configured as 192.168.1.X, then you will need to reconfigure your network to accomodate this device - it comes configured with a static address, and there is no way to change the address until it is attached to an appropriate network.
During setup, the software also installs a program on your PC that allows your computer to use the drive; from what I can tell, the application must be installed to use the attached drive. Once setup, you can attach a hard drive - note that you cannot hot swap drives; if you remove a drive while the device is operating, you must reset the device before reattaching the drive. Also, the device will not recognize the drive until it has reformatted it - a major pain if you have already been using the drive as a network backup. Once the drive is formatted, any computers on the network with the application are able to access the drive through the "My Network Places" location in windows explorer.

I must admit that I am disappointed by the NSLU2's performance. Prior to installing this device, I had a separate computer acting as a file / print server. Transfers to the USB drive in that setup occurred at approximately 18Mbps for large files. With the NSLU2 the highest transfer rate that I get is around 3Mbps.

The NSLU2 unfortuneately does not work with USB hubs. I suppose you could purchase more NSLU2s to add additional drives, but given that my wireless router only has four ethernet ports, and three are now taken, that is not a promising approach. Hopefully, this issue will be rectified in a future firmware release.

Lastly, the NSLU2 does not work with printers. Thus, you will need a separate print server if you need to hook USB printers to your network.

Overall, despite many of the negative points I raised, I am satisfied with the NSLU2. It allows the attachment of NAS at a reasonable cost, has no reliability issues, and is reasonably easy to setup. If that fits your needs (as it does mine), then I would not hesitate to recommend it.

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Summary: Once it's up and running, it is convenient having the hard drive up on the network. The Network has to be running properly. I did a complete firmware upgrade ...

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Summary: Once it's up and running, it is convenient having the hard drive up on the network. The Network has to be running properly. I did a complete firmware upgrade with the install. It seemed to help me with connection issues- but dont expect the Maxtor software to be of any value at all. It won't see the drive across a network and you can only use the hard drive with the wireless due to its own formatting standard. If you want to also connect with cable from time to time, this is not for you. Across a network I am finding it to be effective and faster than other hard drives on other network computers. The power button needs to go, but others have written about this as well.

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Summary: You have to reformat the drive - wish that was explicit in explanation. I wouldn't have bought one if I had known. Bought a Buffalo TeraStation instead...

Summary: You have to reformat the drive - wish that was explicit in explanation. I wouldn't have bought one if I had known. Bought a Buffalo TeraStation instead...

Summary: It's the slowest thing on earth. Only good for archiving things but not real time use like Sourcesafe or Morpheus. The programs writing to it think it's broken ...

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Summary: It's the slowest thing on earth. Only good for archiving things but not real time use like Sourcesafe or Morpheus. The programs writing to it think it's broken because it's so slow.

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Summary: The NSLU2 is another consumer-level networking device from Linksys with Linux-based firmware. What's that mean? You can legally "hack" into your slug (nickname of the NSLU2) and change the ...

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Summary: The NSLU2 is another consumer-level networking device from Linksys with Linux-based firmware. What's that mean? You can legally "hack" into your slug (nickname of the NSLU2) and change the firmware to gain extra features and improve usability. This process is not for the tech-faint-of-heart, but can add dozens of improvements over the standard Linksys firmware (which is riddled with bugs) and even turn the slug into a music server (to play mp3s on other PCs over your network), a web-server, an email server, a network sys-logger and many more. Unfortunately, the limited ram prevents installing or running too many programs, but some modders have even boosted the ram by adding old chips from DDR ram sticks. There are several Linux-based firmwares available, from a bare-bones command prompt only version to one to one with a web interface that basically mimics the original firmware, but adds some important bug fixes. I've installed Unslung 6.8 and mt-daapd on my slug (free iTunes server software) which streams my 3000+ song collection to any computer on my network, and my Roku Soundbridge M2000 wireless media player. Installing optional programs in Unslung is very easy, with a single command that downloads the installation file from the internet and installs it.

Originally, I wanted to leave the attached 120gb USB HDD formatted in NTFS, but that proved too much for the slug to handle and crashed it regularly. Although I didn't really want to, I reformatted the drive in the Linux ext3 system and it's worked flawlessly for months. Transferring entire ripped CDs to the NSLU2 takes a few minutes over my 54mbps wireless network. It's also fast enough to stream avi, mpeg and wmv files to wireless clients with no drop-outs or rebuffering. LARGE 700mb files including DVD-quality full-length movies work perfect. I also tried setting up a torrent client to run on the hacked NSLU2 with mixed results. It's not something I think I'll look into, but the Unslung firmware I installed also has the ability to connect other USB devices, provided their drivers are compatible. NSLU2 forums have how-to's on installing webcams, USB printers and many others.

As far as some of the other less-positive reviews here, I didn't test a drive over 120gb, so I don't know if there is a size limitation. Seems it was fixed with new firmware from Linksys, but even two 120gb HDDs is an awful lot of storage, so I can't imagine the average user needing more than that. Another reviewer was upset that you can't plug an ext3 formatted drive into a Windows machine, but they were partly wrong. Free software like "Ext2 Installable File System for Windows" and "DiskInternals Linux Reader" will do just that. I wouldn't expect Linksys customer service in India to know that (or recommend using it), but a simple Google of "ext3" and "Windows" was all I needed to find both programs. The slowness others may have experienced with transfer speeds may be due to using NTFS formatted drives. Interestingly, NTFS is copyrighted by Microsoft, and anyone wanting to use software that directly accesses the system has to pay licensing or reverse-engineer the system themselves, which on its own, is terribly designed. Hence the speed of ext3 over NTFS, even in XP environments.

If you enjoy modding or tinkering with things, the NSLU2 is for you. With some knowledge of basic networking, telnet and Linux, the NSLU2 can be turned into a fairly powerful mini-Linux networked PC. Even the novice user could update to the Unslung firmware - which is very similar to the Linksys firmware but fixes some bugs - with a little research.

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