Buffalo LinkStation Pro Shared Network Storage User manual

User Manual
LinkStation Pro
Shared Network Storage
www.buffalotech.com v1.7

2
Introduction
Congratulations on your new LinkStation Pro! This user manual is intended to assist you
in conguring it.
Because we’re constantly updating our product, the images and text in this manual may vary
slightly from the images and text displayed by your LinkStation. These changes are minor
and should not affect the ease of setup adversely. As time passes, future user interfaces,
updated software, and later versions of this manual may be freely available for download at
our web site: http://www.buffalotech.com.
If you run into difculties or need additional help, feel free to contact our technical support.
Contact information for Buffalo Technology and our technical support is available on pages
56 and 57.

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Table of Contents
Initial Setup......................................................................4
Install Software.................................................................8
Accessing LinkStation Data from a PC.............................12
Accessing LinkStation Data from a Mac ..........................13
LinkStation Layout .........................................................18
Advanced Settings .......................................................... 20
Network Settings.............................................................24
Domain and AD Settings................................................. 25
Disk Management ...........................................................26
Shared Folders................................................................ 30
Groups ...........................................................................34
Users ..............................................................................35
Troubleshooting Multiple Shares.....................................37
Backups .........................................................................39
Maintenance Settings......................................................43
System Status ................................................................ 48
Client Utility ...................................................................52
Troubleshooting .............................................................. 54
Technical Specications .................................................. 55
Contact Information (USA) ..............................................56
Contact Information (Europe) .........................................57
GPL Information .............................................................58

4
Begin by plugging your power cable
and Ethernet cable into the back of the
LinkStation as shown.
Connecting your LinkStation

5
Plug the power cord into a
120 volt wall socket or surge
protecter.
Plug the other end of the Ethernet cable
into a hub, router, or switch in your
network.
Connect your Cables

6
Powering up
Press the power button on the front panel. LEDs will blink as your
LinkStation boots up.
After your LinkStation has completed booting up, check the LINK/ACT
LED on the front of the LinkStation. If it’s lit, then your LinkStation is
connected properly, and you can go on to page 8. If it’s not lit, turn to
page 7 for troubleshooting.

7
The LinkStation’s Ethernet port will automatically adjust to use either a crossover or catch cable,
so you may connect the LinkStation to your network with either type of Ethernet cable. Buffalo
Technology doesn’t recommend connecting the LinkStation directly to a PC.
Verify that the LINK/ACT LED on the front of LinkStation is lit (see page 6’s picture). If it’s lit, go to
page 8 to continue setting up LinkStation. If the LINK/ACT LED is still not lit, try the suggestions
below to verify that you’re not suffering from common setup problems.
Having problems? Make sure that:
•the LinkStation and the router, hub or switch are both powered on,
•the Ethernet cable is securely plugged in at both ends, and
•the Ethernet cable is not damaged. Verify this by trying a different Ethernet cable.
If problems persist, you may contact Buffalo Technology’s technical support. See pages 55 and 56
for technical support contact information.
Setup Notes

8
Insert the LinkNavigator CD into your computer’s CD-ROM drive.
On a PC, setup should automatically launch. If it does not, manually
launch setup.exe by pressing Start and selecting the Run... option.
When the Run dialog opens, type d:\setup.exe (where d is the drive
letter of your CD-ROM drive). Press OK to continue.
Installing Software
If you are installing the software on a Mac, open the CD and click
LinkNavigator to begin installation.

9
Press the Begin Installation button to begin.
LinkNavigator Setup
If you’re installing on a PC, click on Connect this PC to
LinkStation (the green, lower button). Mac users can skip
this step.
Click Next to step through the installation.

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LinkNavigator Setup
Continue pressing Next to step through the installation.
When installation is complete, you may close the installation
window.

11
Two new icons will be on your desktop: Shortcut for LinkStation and
Buffalo NAS Navigator.
Clicking Shortcut for LinkStation takes you directly to the folders on
your LinkStation. Share is the main folder that you can put les and
folders in. Info contains a copy of your user manual.
The Buffalo NAS Navigator icon opens the LinkStation’s client utility.
Turn to page 51 for more on using the NAS Navigator client utility.
LinkNavigator Setup is Complete!

12
To Access LinkStation Data from a PC:
Your LinkStation uses “shares” (folders) to hold data. A share called “share” is already
congured on your LinkStation, and you can create additional shares on page 29. To
start using your LinkStation, you can either click on the Shortcut for LinkStation on your
desktop, or you may just use drive L in My Computer, which setup has mapped to the
default share in your LinkStation.
Accessing LinkStation Data from your PC

13
After installing the LinkNavigator software, your Mac will have two
new icons on the desktop.
The Share folder is the main folder that you can put les and folders
in. NAS Navigator is the LinkStation’s client utility.
Clicking Share opens the main folder on your LinkStation. You can
put les and folders in Share as though it were any other hard drive
connected to your computer. You may add additional shares to your
LinkStation on page 30.
The NAS Navigator icon opens the LinkStation’s client utility. See
pages 21 and 55 for more on using the NAS Navigator client utility.
Using your LinkStation with a Mac

14
You can manually add LinkStation Shares
(folders) to your desktop by adding them to the
Mac’s server list. Begin by clicking Go, and
then choose Connect to Server.
Accessing LinkStation Data from a Mac
In the Server Address eld, enter your
LinkStation’s IP address in the form smb://
ipaddress (where “ipaddress” is your
LinkStation’s IP address), and click Connect.
If you don’t know your LinkStation’s IP
address, see page 16.

15
Select Guest and click on Connect. Note: If you have congured share
permissions on your LinkStation, select Registered User and enter your
Registered User credentials.
Accessing LinkStation Data from a Mac
Select the volume that you want to mount, such as share or share-mac,
from the list of folders on the LinkStation.
The share will open. A link to the shared folder will appear on your
desktop.

16
If you don’t know your LinkStation’s IP address, there are
several ways to get it.
One simple method is to use the NASnavigator Client Utility
(included on your CD) to nd your LinkStation(s). Just click
on the tab for your LinkStation and you’ll be able to read its
IP address. See page 52 for more on the LinkStation client
utility.
You can always get the LinkStation’s IP address from your
router’s conguration utility. Many Buffalo routers list this
information on the Client Monitor page, as shown to the right.
Consult your router’s documentation for instructions on
identifying the LinkStation’s IP address.
Accessing LinkStation Data from a Mac

17
LinkStation Expansion
LinkStation Pro has two USB 2.0 ports on the rear. These ports can be used for adding external
USB Hard Drives. LinkStation will share connected USB storage devices, allowing everyone on the
network to use them. Up to two external USB hard drives may be added to LinkStation Pro. To
connect a USB hard drive to your LinkStation, simply plug it into one of the USB ports.
Once your USB hard drive is connected, see page 27 for conguring your LinkStation to use it.
Page 29 will show you how to reformat the USB Hard Drive. Page 39 and 40 show you how to set
up LinkStation to backup to a USB Hard Drive.

18
Power Button – Press and release the Power Button to turn
the LinkStation on. Hold it down for three seconds to turn the
LinkStation off.
Link/Act LED – The Link/Act LED glows green when the
LinkStation is connectied to a network. It blinks when the
LinkStation is sending or receiving data.
Info LED – The Info LED blinks when you have a message
waiting for you in the client utility.
Diag LED – The Diagnostic LED blinks to signal abnormal
operation. See page 53 for a list of Diagnostic LED codes.
LinkStation Layout

19
Init button – The red Init button allows you to return
your LinkStation to factory defaults.
10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet Port – Use this port
to connect your LinkStation to a switch, a router, or
another computer. The port is autosensing, so either a
conventional Ethernet cable or a crossover Ethernet cable
may be used.
USB Ports – LinkStation offers two USB 2.0/1.1 ports
for adding external drives. Please see the LinkStation
Expansion section on page 16 to learn more about using
LinkStation’s USB Ports.
LinkStation Layout

20
Advanced Settings
The Conguration GUI may be accessed at any time
by typing the IP address of your LinkStation into
the URL bar of a browser running on a computer
connected to the same network as the LinkStation.
This works perfectly with OS X, Linux, and other
non-Windows PCs.
If you have a PC running the Buffalo NAS Client
Utility, you can get to the Conguration GUI by
clicking on Setup and choosing Conguration
Settings.
The Configuration GUI