Product Description

Linksys NSLU2 Network Storage Link for USB 2.0 Disk Drives addresses a key problem that occurs in most office LAN environments. As workgroup needs evolve for increased datastorage demands along with emergent technologies, increasing the storage capacity of your network becomes vital. With the availability of many accessory hard drives, it is possible to increase storage without overhauling your entire network and the NSLU2 makes it possible with greater ease than you might have imagined. Now you can quickly and easily add gigabytes of storage space onto your network with the Network Storage Link from Linksys. This tiny network appliance connects USB 2.0 hard drives directly to your Ethernet network. You can connect up to two stand-alone USB disk drives of any size, and access them from anywhere on your network. You can even plug a USB flash disk into the Network Storage Link, for a convenient way of accessing your portable data files. The Network Storage Link can also be set up so that your storage devices are accessible from the Internet -- files can be easily downloaded via your web browser. Your files can be available publicly, or create password-protected accounts for authorized users. Installation of the Network Storage Link is simple -- just plug it directly into your 10/100 Ethernet network, and attach your USB 2.0 hard drives or flash disk. It can self-configure to your network via DHCP or you can use the built-in utility to manually configure it. With the speedy USB 2.0 interface, you'll get quick response times with even your largest files.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #416 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Linksys
• Model: NSLU2
• Format: CD
• Dimensions: 1.00" h x 4.00" w x 6.00" l, 1.50 pounds

Features

• Connects USB 1.1 or 2.0 hard drives and flash drives directly to your network
• Share music, video, or data files with managed access by user name or group
• Integrated file server -- access your files from the Internet
• Built-in disk utilities -- format, backup, and scandisk
• Connects directly to a 10/100 Ethernet network for throughput up to 200 Mbps

From the Manufacturer
Now you can quickly and easily add gigabytes of storage space onto your network with the Network Storage Link from Linksys. This tiny network appliance connects USB 2.0 hard drives directly to your Ethernet network. You can connect up to two stand-alone USB disk drives of any size, and access them from anywhere on your network. You can even plug a USB flash disk into the Network Storage Link, for a convenient way of accessing your portable data files. The Network Storage Link can also be set up so that your storage devices are accessible from the Internet -- files can be easily downloaded via your web browser. Your files can be available publicly, or create password-protected accounts for authorized users.

Installation of the Network Storage Link is simple -- just plug it directly into your 10/100 Ethernet network, and attach your USB 2.0 hard drives or flash disk. It can self-configure to your network via DHCP or you can use the built-in utility to manually configure it. With the speedy USB 2.0 interface, you'll get quick response times with even your largest files.

The Network Storage Link features built-in disk utilities, accessible through your web browser. You can format new disk drives, and scan drives for errors. The built-in backup program lets you schedule full, incremental, or synchronization backups of your network drives to the Network Storage Link, or vice versa. It will even send you an email message when a hard drive gets nearly full, completely full, or has an error.

The Network Storage Link is a fast, simple, flexible and economical way to add storage to your network.

Customer Reviews

Problems? Check your firewall settings.
Trying to install this nearly drove me crazy, until I realized my firewall was the problem (not the drive).

It is kind of slow, but an inexpensive solution to sharing disk files among multiple files and computers.

Fun for hackers and nice NAS too
Runs Linux and has a community of developers. Search for NSLU2 on Wikipedia for details. Also works great for its intended purpose. Great for sharing videos, music, etc. with all the machines on your LAN. Very eco-friendly (uses much less power than a PC).

Dirty Little Secret: It's a Linux box!!!
The "Slug" (the affectionate name for the NSLU2) is a small wonder in the world of Linux "PCs". As a dedicated Win32 guy, I was looking for a small PC to replace the power-hogging IBM M-Pro that I used successfully over the last year as a Firefly media server.

When I read about the micro-Linux implementations for the Slug, I got pretty excited... and with good reason. If you fancy yourself as PC literate, it's a super-simple process to install "Unslung 6.10-b" or Debian Linux on this machine, alongside the Linksys firmware. This gives you a fully functional network storage link _and_ a fully functional tiny Unix PC that can run a webserver, or a media server like Firefly. Rmember, the poor thing only has 32mb of RAM, so it's not going to run Photoshop... but as a utility box for server-side apps, it's a miracle!

It's amazing the first time you telnet into the modified Slug and see a Unix/Linux shell prompt. And wow, Firefly 1696-svn runs like a charm and, in my environment, serves up 6,800 320kb MP3s and FLAC files. It also transcodes FLAC seamlessly to 44.1khz WAV for playback on my Roku Soundbridges...

Super good bargain for anyone who needs a network disk server, and an even better deal for anyone with solid computer skills who needs a web or media server. I hear it's been discontinued, so buy one today before they are all gone!!! -ds