Buffalo LinkStation SoHo 720: Secure and Simple Network Storage for Your Home Office

Beyond Backup: Understanding Network Attached Storage with the Buffalo LinkStation SoHo 720

We live in a world drowning in data. From family photos and videos to important documents and work files, our digital lives are constantly expanding. Managing all this information, keeping it safe, and making it easily accessible can feel like a Herculean task. External hard drives scattered around the house, USB sticks that mysteriously disappear, and the constant worry of a computer crash – sound familiar?

Enter Network Attached Storage (NAS): A Lifeline in the Digital Sea

Network Attached Storage, or NAS, offers a solution to this digital deluge. Imagine a central hub for all your digital files, accessible from any device on your network, and even remotely when you’re away from home. That’s the essence of a NAS. It’s like having your own personal cloud server, but instead of relying on a third-party provider, you’re in complete control.

A NAS is essentially a small, dedicated computer with one or more hard drives, connected to your home or office network. It uses network protocols like SMB/CIFS (for Windows) and AFP (for macOS) to share files with authorized devices. This means you can access your documents, photos, music, and videos from your laptop, desktop, smartphone, tablet, or even your smart TV – all without juggling multiple storage devices.

The core benefits of a NAS are threefold:

• Centralization: All your data is stored in one place, making it easy to find and manage.
• Security: NAS devices offer various security features, including user access control and data encryption, to protect your files from unauthorized access. Many also offer RAID configurations, which we’ll explore shortly.
• Accessibility: You can access your files from anywhere with an internet connection, making it easy to share files with family, friends, or colleagues.
  

Meet the Buffalo LinkStation SoHo 720: A Practical Example

The Buffalo LinkStation SoHo 720 (model LS720D1602B) is a great example of a NAS designed for home offices and small businesses. This particular model comes with 16TB of storage, pre-configured for data protection, and offers several features that make it a compelling option for those seeking a reliable and easy-to-use storage solution.

Speed Matters: Understanding 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet

Let’s talk about speed. The LinkStation SoHo 720 is equipped with a 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet (2.5GbE) port. Now, you might be thinking, “What’s the big deal? My router has Gigabit Ethernet.” And you’d be right, most routers do have standard Gigabit Ethernet (1GbE), which allows for a theoretical maximum transfer speed of 1 gigabit per second (Gbps).

However, 2.5GbE, as the name suggests, offers a significant speed boost – up to 2.5 times faster than 1GbE. This translates to a theoretical maximum transfer speed of 2.5 Gbps. While you won’t always achieve these theoretical maximums in real-world usage, the difference is still substantial. Imagine transferring a 10GB file. With 1GbE, it could take around 80 seconds. With 2.5GbE, that time could be reduced to around 32 seconds.

This speed increase is particularly noticeable when multiple devices are accessing the NAS simultaneously – streaming movies, backing up files, or sharing large documents. The increased bandwidth provided by 2.5GbE helps to prevent bottlenecks and ensure smooth performance for everyone. And the best part? You don’t necessarily need to replace all your existing network cables. 2.5GbE is designed to work with standard Cat5e cabling, which is commonly used in most homes and offices. Some older or lower-quality Cat5e cables might not be able to sustain the top speed, in those situation Cat6 is recommended.

Some user reports mention difficulties related to network configuration. These problems are generally easy to handle. One may need to update network adapter drivers or check router settings.

Data’s Guardian Angel: RAID 1 Explained

One of the most important features of the LinkStation SoHo 720 is its pre-configured RAID 1 setup. RAID, which stands for Redundant Array of Independent Disks, is a technology that combines multiple hard drives to improve performance, provide data redundancy, or both.

RAID 1, also known as “mirroring,” focuses on data redundancy. Imagine having a perfect twin – everything you do, your twin does too. That’s essentially how RAID 1 works. The NAS has two hard drives, and every piece of data written to the first drive is simultaneously written to the second drive.

This might seem like it halves your storage space (and it does – the 16TB model offers 8TB of usable storage in RAID 1), but the benefit is immense. If one of the hard drives fails – and hard drives do fail eventually – you don’t lose any data. The other drive contains an exact copy. You can simply replace the failed drive, and the NAS will automatically rebuild the RAID array, restoring your data redundancy. It is important, however, to replace any failed drive as soon as is practical.

It’s worth noting that RAID is not a substitute for backups. While RAID 1 protects against hardware failure (a drive dying), it doesn’t protect against accidental deletion, viruses, or other forms of data corruption. For complete data protection, it’s still essential to have a separate backup strategy, such as using the cloud integration feature we’ll discuss next.

Some users report a drive slot failing. While this is less common than a drive failure, it is covered by the manufacturer’s warranty.

Beyond the Basics: Direct Copy for Easy Transfers

The LinkStation SoHo 720 includes a handy feature called “Direct Copy.” This allows you to connect a USB storage device – a flash drive, external hard drive, or even a digital camera – directly to the NAS and copy files without needing to use a computer.

This is incredibly convenient for quickly backing up photos from your camera’s SD card, transferring files from a USB drive, or creating a backup of another external hard drive. Simply plug in the USB device, press a button on the NAS, and the files are copied over. This eliminates the need to transfer files through your computer, saving time and simplifying the backup process.

The Hybrid Cloud: Combining Local and Cloud Storage

NAS offer more security than cloud solutions.
The LinkStation SoHo 720 offers integration with popular cloud services like Dropbox, Microsoft Azure, and OneDrive. This allows you to create a “hybrid cloud” setup, combining the benefits of local storage with the advantages of cloud backup.
You can configure the NAS to automatically synchronize specific folders with your cloud storage account. This provides an offsite backup of your most critical data, protecting you against disasters like fire, theft, or natural disasters that could affect your physical NAS device. It also allows you to access your files from anywhere in the world, even if your NAS is offline.
This hybrid approach gives you the best of both worlds: the speed and control of local storage, combined with the accessibility and disaster recovery capabilities of the cloud.

NAS in Action: Real-World Use Cases

Let’s look at how different people might use the LinkStation SoHo 720:

• The Family: Imagine a family with multiple computers, smartphones, and tablets. They can store all their photos, videos, music, and documents on the NAS, making them accessible to everyone in the household. They can stream movies to their smart TV, share photos with relatives, and automatically back up all their devices.
• The Small Business: A small team of designers, writers, or developers can use the NAS to share project files, collaborate on documents, and ensure everyone has access to the latest versions. The RAID 1 configuration provides data protection, and the 2.5GbE connection ensures fast access for multiple users.
• The Professional Creative: Photographers, videographers, and other creative professionals often work with massive files. The LinkStation SoHo 720 provides a secure and fast central storage location for their work, allowing them to easily access and back up their projects. The Direct Copy feature is particularly useful for offloading large files from memory cards.

Wrapping Up: Centralizing and Securing Your Digital Life

Network Attached Storage offers a powerful solution for managing the ever-growing amount of data in our lives. The Buffalo LinkStation SoHo 720, with its pre-configured RAID 1, fast 2.5GbE connectivity, easy setup, and useful features like Direct Copy and cloud integration, provides a compelling option for home users, small businesses, and creative professionals seeking a reliable and secure way to centralize, protect, and access their digital world. By understanding the underlying technology and its practical applications, you can take control of your data and enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing your files are safe and accessible whenever you need them.