User Manual LinkStation MultiMedia Home Server HS-DGL Series www.buffalotech.com v3.
Introduction Congratulations on your purchase! Your LinkStation Home Server gives you a central location for storing all your media files in your local network. All your computers and media players will be able to access files on the LinkStation. This user manual uses images representative of LinkStation user interfaces and software at time of publication. As time passes, future user interfaces and software may be available for download from: http://www.buffalotech.com (Support Section - Downloads).
Table of Contents LinkStation Diagram........................................................ 4 LinkStation Quick Setup.................................................. 6 Link Navigator Setup..................................................... 11 Accessing LinkStation Data from a PC........................ 20 Accessing LinkStation Data from a Mac..................... 23 LinkStation Expansion.................................................... 26 Transfering Files from your Digital Camera.................
LinkStation Diagram 1. Power Button – The Power Button is used to power the LinkStation on or off. The power on process will take approximately 30 seconds to a full minute to complete. During this time, do not unplug the LinkStation from the wall outlet. To turn the LinkStation off, press and hold the power button for several seconds until the Power LED light begins blinking. At that time, stop pressing the button and shutdown should complete within 30 seconds. 2.
LinkStation Diagram 4. Disk Full LED – When LinkStation’s internal drive approaches 95% of its capacity, the Disk Full LED will light up in red. For options to increase storage capacity, see LinkStation Expansion on page 26. 5. Diagnostic LED – The Diagnostic LED flashes if the LinkStation encounters an error. 6. USB Port (Front & Rear) – LinkStation offers two USB Ports for adding external drives or USB printers.
Quick Setup Plug the LinkStation’s power cord into a power outlet. Also, plug the included Ethernet Cable into LinkStation’s RJ-45 network port located on the back of LinkStation.
Quick Setup Connect the other end of the Ethernet Cable into a hub, switch, or router on the network, or connect it directly to a nearby running PC. NOTE: It is recommended that you connect LinkStation to a hub or switch on your network. Connecting it directly to the back of a PC should only be used if absolutely necessary. Many features, including automatic DHCP IP Addressing, require LinkStation to be connected to a switch or hub.
Quick Setup Turn the LinkStation on by pressing the power button until the green Power LED begins to flash.
Quick Setup Check the LINK/ACT light on the front of the LinkStation. If it is lit, then your LinkStation is connected properly; please turn to page 11 to continue setup. If it is not lit, continue to the next page.
Quick Setup If the LINK/ACT LED on the front of LinkStation is lit, your LinkStation is connected properly. If the LINK/ACT LED is not lit, make sure that: • Both LinkStation and the switch or PC are powered on. • The Ethernet Cable is securely fastened to both devices. • The Ethernet Cable is not damaged; verify this by trying another Ethernet Cable. If problems persist, contact our technical support. Please see page 80 for support contact information.
Link Navigator Setup Insert the Link Navigator CD into a PC’s CD-ROM drive. Depending on the PC’s configuration, the EasySetup program may launch. If it does not automatically launch, manually launch it by pressing the Start menu, selecting the Run... option. When the Run dialog opens, type x: easysetup.exe (where x is the drive letter of the CD-ROM drive). Press OK to continue.
Link Navigator Setup LinkNavigator is now running. Please press the Install IP Setup Utility icon, then press the Start button. The LinkStation IP Configuration Utility will launch and scan for networks.
Link Navigator Setup The IP Configuration Utility allows you to easily configure LinkStation’s network settings. The Search button will re-scan the network for any and all LinkStations available. The drop down menu lists all available LinkStations. If there are multiple LinkStations on the network, then select the proper LinkStation from the pull down menu. Once the proper LinkStation has been selected, press the Change IP Address button to continue.
Link Navigator Setup This section of the program changes LinkStation’s IP address. Check the check box that states Acquire IP Address Automatically. This will give LinkStation an IP address from the network’s router/DHCP server. A fixed (static) IP Address and Gateway can be set if preferred. The Administrator Password field sets an administrator password for the web-based configuration if desired. When finished, press the OK button.
Link Navigator Setup LinkStation is now ready to be configured. The login prompt will appear. The user name is root. There is no password by default. Only enter a password if you have configured one. Press the OK button when finished. User name: root Password: default password is blank. Only enter a password if you have configured one. In the future, your LinkStation can be accessed by typing //LINKSTATION_NAME into a Web browser (where LINKSTATION_NAME is the name of your LinkStation set on page 17).
Link Navigator Setup Congratulations, you have logged into LinkStation. These are the main configuration menus. Please bookmark this page for easy access. For detailed explanations of each menu and setting, please refer to the Settings section, starting on page 28 of this manual. To continue setup, click on the Basic link. Then, click on the LinkStation Name Setup link to continue.
Link Navigator Setup This section allows you to change the name of your LinkStation. This name will be required to access LinkStation data. A friendly, easy name is recommended. Please enter an appropriate name in the LinkStation Name field. The name cannot contain any spaces or special characters. Alphanumeric characters including hyphen and underscore are allowed. A short description of the LinkStation can be created in the LinkStation Description field.
Link Navigator Setup By default there are two shared folders on LinkStation. One is for Windows and Mac machines, while the other is for Macs only. Windows machines will only see one share. If you would like to create additional shares for specific users or specific types of data, then click on the Security tab on the left. Then click on the Shared Folder Settings link to continue. From this screen you can add new shares/folders or edit existing shares/folders.
Link Navigator Setup To begin setting up a new share, enter an appropriate share/folder name in the Shared Folder Name field. Set the remaining settings to the desired function. Access Restriction will turn on security features. Please refer to the Settings section (starting on page 28) of this manual before using the Access Restriction function. Press the Apply button when finished. A new shared folder has been set up. Please repeat this step to set up more shared folders.
Accessing LinkStation Data from a PC To access LinkStation from a PC, press Start and choose Run.... Type “\\LinkStation_Name”, where LinkStation_Name is the name of the LinkStation set on page 17. Press OK to continue.
Accessing LinkStation Data from a PC LinkStation’s root directory will appear. You will see all of the configured shares. All users can read and write to all folders unless otherwise configured. To set up security and password protection, please refer to the Settings section (starting on page 28) of this manual. To setup a printer see the LinkStation Expansion section found on page 26. LinkStation can be accessed by multiple PC’s simultaneously by following this step.
Accessing LinkStation Data from a PC From the previous step’s Root Directory screen, use the pull down menu and click Tools and then select Map Network Drive. The Map Network Drive program will run. Select the drive letter you would like LinkStation to assume from the Drive: pull down menu. Enter the \\LinkStation_ Name\share_name in the Folder: field (where LinkStation_Name is the LinkStation Name set on page 17 and share_name is the Shared Folder Name set on page 19).
Accessing LinkStation Data from a Mac If your Mac does not automatically detect your LinkStation’s Share folder and put it on your desktop, you will need to add the LinkStation to the Mac’s server list. Begin by clicking Go, and then choose Connect to Server. In the Server Address field, 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 25.
Accessing LinkStation Data from a Mac Select Guest and click on Connect. Note: If you have configured share permissions on your TeraStation, select Registered User and enter your Registered User credentials. 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.
Accessing LinkStation Data from a Mac If you don’t know your LinkStation’s IP address, there are several ways to get it. One simple method is to use the LinkStation client utility (included on your CD) or TeraStation client utility (available for download from www.buffalotech.com) to find your LinkStation(s). You must have a Windows PC running on the network to use the LinkStation or TeraStation client utility.
LinkStation Expansion LinkStation has two USB 2.0 ports on it, one on the front and one on the rear. These ports can be used for adding an external USB Hard Drive or a USB Printer, allowing everyone on the network to share the USB device. You can also connect your digital camera to one of these ports and download your pictures directly to the LinkStation (see page 27). One printer or one external USB Hard Drive can be added to either of the ports.
Transfering Pictures from a Digital Camera If you plug a digital camera (or USB media card reader) directly into the LinkStation, you may automatically download all picture and movie files directly to the LinkStation. Begin by connecting the camera to a USB port on the LinkStation and powering it on. The Power LED on the front of the LinkStation will blink for about 20 seconds as your camera is mounted.
Basic Settings LinkStation Name Setup: LinkStation should be configured with a unique name to identify it over the network. A general description can be given for the device as well. Date and Time Setup: To properly catalogue shares and files by date, and to properly schedule tasks (such as backups), the current date and time must be set. An NTP client is configurable for automatic time corrections.
Basic Settings - LinkStation Name The LinkStation Name identifies the LinkStation on your network. The LinkStation name should be something easy to remember. It can be named after its owner, its location, or the type of data that will be installed on it. If there is only one LinkStation on the network, then naming it “LinkStation” would be fine. LinkStation Description is a handy way of differentiating multiple LinkStations.
Basic Settings - Time and Date Time Setup: The LinkStation time must be set correctly to maintain logs and to schedule backups. Input the time and date or press the Get Current Date & Time button to set LinkStation’s time to the same time as the PC that is being used to configure it. Check the Daylight Savings Time checkbox if your region is currently in DST. This will have to be unchecked in the fall and checked again in the spring each year.
Network Settings IP Address Settings: By default, LinkStation will attempt to obtain an IP Address from a DHCP Server. If a DHCP Server is not available, it will assign itself an IP Address of 192.168. xxx.xxx with subnet mask 255.255.0.0. A designated static IP Address can be given to LinkStation within IP Address Settings. The gateway and subnet can also be set here. Workgroup Settings: Configure Windows workgroup name and Wins Server. FTP Server Settings: LinkStation includes a builtin FTP Server.
Network - IP Address & Default Gateway IP Address Settings: LinkStation needs an IP address to communicate on a network. If it can’t obtain an IP Address from a DHCP Server, LinkStation will automatically use the IP Address 192.168.11.150, or you may enter an IP address and subnet mask manually. Enabling DHCP will set your IP address and subnet mask automatically. This is recommended for most users. Default Gateway Settings: The LinkStation does not require a default gateway address.
DNS Server: You may enable a DNS server here. Enter the DNS server’s IP address. A DNS server is not needed for correct operation of the LinkStation. Ethernet Frame Size: Do not change the Ethernet frame size unless you have a good reason for doing so.
Network - Microsoft Networking S Workgroup Settings: Select the appropriate Network ID. Enter the name of your workgroup in the Workgroup Name field. “Workgroup” is recommended for most home networks. Wins Client Settings: LinkStation does not require a WINS Server. Don’t enable WINS Client unless you have a good reason for doing so.
Network - FTP Server By default, LinkStation’s FTP Server is disabled. You may enable it here. Select Registered Users for FTP Access User for a password protected FTP Server. FTP Access specifies whether the anonymous shared folder is read-only or writable. Check the shared folders that are to be available through FTP under Registered Users Public Shared Folder Settings. Multiple shared folders can be added when the Registered Users FTP is used.
Security - Shared Folders Shared Folder Setup: Shared folders should be created to store data. Access to shared folders can be controlled via group and User permissions. By default a shared folder will allow access to all groups and users. Folders can be created in file formats for use by Windows, Mac, or both operating systems. User Setup: Individual users and passwords should be created for each user that needs to access restricted shared folders.
Security - Shared Folders LinkStation stores its data in shares. Multiple shares can be configured for different types of data. By default LinkStation has two shares. One share is for Windows and Macintosh computers. The other share is for Macintosh only. The default shares may be deleted if desired. Add a New Folder: This begins the process to create a new share. The next page describes this process further. Edit Shared Folder: This button allows sared folder information to be edited.
Security - Add a new Shared Folder Shared Folder Name: Names can have up to 12 alphanumeric characters (“-” and “_” are supported). Shared Folder Description: To differentiate the folders on LinkStation, a brief sentence or phrase evoking the type of data in the share is recommended. Shared Folders OS Support: If only Windows and OS X machines will access this shared folder, then select Win. If older Macintosh machines will access this shared folder, then select Win/Mac or Mac support.
Security - Shared Folder Settings Enabling Access Restriction on the previous page will give you this screen, where you can restrict access to your new shared folder to specific users and/or groups. NOTE: You may add restrictions to an existing shared folder by pressing the Edit Shared Folder button on the main Shared Folder Settings page and enabling Access Restriction. Here you can specify who may access the new shared folder. Select which groups and which users will have access to the new shared folder.
Security Settings Groups allow for quicker security administration. A group is a group of users with specific rights to specific shared folders. A business may want to make a Manager group and add all of its managers to the group. This group could have access to a shared folder that the regular employees do not have access to. By default there is a share called hdusers. This share cannot be deleted. Add New Group: This begins the process of creating a new group.
Security - Add New Group Group Name: This will be the name of the group. The name should reflect the types of users added. For example, the managers’s group could be named ‘Managers’. Group Description: The group description should be used to differentiate the different groups on LinkStation. A brief sentence or phrase regarding the users inside of the group is recommended. Select Affiliated Users: Select the users that are to be added to this new group.
Security Settings - Shared Folder Setup User accounts allow LinkStation to limit access to certain or all shared folders. A user account is assigned a password. This password is used to obtain the data inside the shared folder. If a user does not have the proper user account credentials, then access to the data will be denied. NOTE: User accounts will only be used on shares with the Access Restriction function turned on. Add New User: This begins the process of creating a new user.
Security Settings - Shared Folder Setup User Name: Enter a name for each user here. Each name should indicate the named user. For instance, you could use the user’s first name as the user name. Password: The user password is the password associated with the user. The password can be up to 8 characters and can contain spaces, hyphens, and underscores. The password will need to be confirmed on the Password (Confirm) line as well. The password can be changed at a later time by editing the user’s settings.
USB Settings USB Details: Normally, all devices currently connected to the LinkStation will be displayed under USB Details. Newly attached USB devices may not be visible here until the LinkStation is restarted. USB Disk Setup: An attached USB Disk can be configured as an additional shared folder for additional storage space. The attached USB Disk must be formatted by the LinkStation before it can be used on LinkStation. If a USB Disk is attached to LinkStation, it must be attached to the rear USB Port.
USB Settings USB Information: The USB Information table lists information about connected USB devices (such as printers and hard drives). It lists the USB Class (Printer or Storage), the Manufacturer if available, the Device Name, and whether it is a USB 1.1 or USB 2.0 device.
USB Settings Setup USB Disk: The USB Disk setup options specifies if an attached USB Disk is to be used as a shared folder. Using it as a shared folder increases the capacity of LinkStation. Selecting the Disable option makes it impossible to make the USB Disk drive a shared folder. However, if set to Disable, the USB Disk will still be available for Disk Backup. NOTE: The USB Disk must be attached to the rear USB Port to work properly. The front USB Port only works with USB Printers.
USB Settings - Print Server Print Server: The Print Server function turns printer sharing on or off. The Print Server function must be set to Enable if a printer is to be shared. LinkStation supports most PostScript printers. It doesn’t support bi-directional printers. Non-PostScript printers are not supported by Buffalo Technology.
USB Settings - Printer Share Installation Now that LinkStation is set up to share your printer, you can easily add the printer to any Windows PC on your network. Follow these steps for each PC that you want to be able to access the printer. • Access the LinkStation by pressing the Start Menu, selecting the ‘Run...’ option and entering \\LinkStation_ Name (where LinkStation_Name is the name set on page 18). Press the OK button when finished. • Right click on the lp icon and select Connect.
USB Settings - Printer Share Installation • The Add Printer Wizard will launch. Select the proper driver for your printer. If the specific printer is not in the list, you will be required to insert the CD that came with your printer into your PC’s CD-ROM drive and press the Have Disk button. Refer to your printer documentation for further information on installing your printer if necessary. Press the OK button when finished. • The printer is now successfully installed.
USB Settings - Printer Share Installation • To print a test page or configure additional printer settings, right click on the lp printer icon and select Properties. This will open the printer’s driver properties page. • Press the Print Test Page button to print a test page. You can also browse through the available settings for the printer. Please refer to the printer’s documentation for more information on changing the printer’s settings.
USB Settings - Delete Print Queue Deleting print jobs may be necessary if a corrupt print job was sent to a printer. If printing to the printer connected to LinkStation suddenly fails, it is recommended that you Execute the Delete Print Queue program. Deleting the print jobs will require that users re-send their print jobs to the printer. If there are still problems printing to the printer, then check the printer manufacturer’s documentation for troubleshooting information.
Maintenance Settings System Status:The System Status page displays current information about LinkStation. Disk Backup: Individual Shares or folders inside of shares can be scheduled for backup to an attached USB Disk. The scheduled backup time should not conflict with a scheduled sleep time. Disk Sleep Function: The LinkStation can be scheduled to enter a sleep mode to preserve energy at a scheduled time. The sleep time cannot coincide with the time of a scheduled backup or the backup will fail.
Maintenance Settings Disk Format: The internal drive or an attached USB drive can be formatted and rebuilt. Once a format begins all data will be lost on the drive. Care should be taken to backup any data stored on the drive prior to formatting. External USB hard drives attached to LinkStation may need to be formatted via this Disk Format utility before being used by LinkStation. Administrator Password: By default, the administrator name (login) is “root” with a blank password.
Maintenance Settings - System Status The System Status page briefly lists important configuration information about LinkStation. No configuration changes can be made from this screen, but it’s a good place to review settings.
Maintenance Settings - Sleep Sleep Function: Enable Sleep Function to allow LinkStation to go into Sleep Mode. In Sleep Mode, LinkStation’s internal hard drive shuts off until the Wakeup Time. Disable Sleep Mode if you want LinkStation to always remain on. When LinkStation is sleeping, data cannot be accessed and scheduled backups will fail. Schedule Sleep Time: If the Sleep Function is set to Enable, then enter an appropriate Disk Sleep Time and Disk Wake Up Time. Click Apply to save these settings.
Maintenance Settings - Backup Disk Backup Folders: Before Disk Backup can be enabled, at least one share or folder must be set to be backed up. Use the drop down menu under Folders for Backup. All files and folders inside the selected folder will be backed up. Once a share or folder is selected, press the Backup Folder Add button to add it to the list of folders that will be backed up. To remove a folder from the list, check it and press the Backup Folder Delete button.
Maintenance Settings - Backup Settings Disk Backup: The Disk Backup function allows LinkStation’s data to be backed up to an external USB Hard Drive or another LinkStation on the network. The Disable option turns off the ability to backup. Backup Frequency: Run Backup Immediately runs the backup program once. Run Backup Daily at the Specified Time scedules a regular daily backup. The Run Backup Every (Day) at the Specified Time option makes LinkStation perform a backup at a scheduled time once a week.
Restoring a Backup To restore a backup, the backup destination (if on a USB hard drive) must be shared as a shared folder. This setting can be enabled on page 47. Then, browse to the usbdisk1 folder. This is where backup data is stored. Backups in usbdisk1 are in folders named YEARMONTHDAYTIME, so “0408062200” is a backup that occurred on August 6th, 2004 at 22:00 (or 10pm). If Overwrite Backup was set when the backup ran, then only one backup folder will exist.
Maintenance Settings - Disk Scan Disk Scan: The Disk Scan Target is the disk that is to be scanned. The Internal HDD option is for LinkStation’s internal hard drive. If a USB Hard Drive is connected to LinkStation, then it will also be available from the pull-down menu. Please select the disk that should be scanned. If both disks are to be scanned, then the Disk Scan must be run twice; once for each disk.
Maintenance Settings - Format Select a disk to format: The pull-down menu lists the drives that can be formatted. If a USB Hard Drive is connected to LinkStation then it will be available for format. The Internal HDD can also be formatted from this page. NOTE: Formatting a drive will erase all data. Do not format a drive unless you need to! Brand new USB Disks may need to be formatted before the LinkStation can write to them, but the internal LinkStation hard drive comes pre-formatted.
Maintenance Settings - Administrator Password Settings Administrator Name: The Administrator Name is used to log into the Web-Based configuration. The default Administrator Name is “root”. It cannot be changed. Old Password: Please type the current administrator password into this field. By default there is no LinkStation password. If a password has already been set on LinkStation, then enter the current password. New Password: Please enter the new desired administrator password.
Maintenance Settings - Shutdown Shutdown: The Shutdown function in LinkStation allows an administrator to shut down LinkStation without using the power button. This feature can be handy if LinkStation is being configured from a location not close to the LinkStation’s power button. Press the Execute button to shutdown the LinkStation. The LinkStation can then only be turned on by pressing the power button on the front of it or by waiting for the Wake Up Time (if Disk Sleep is enabled on page 53).
PCast PCast and DLNA are special services that can run within LinkStation, allowing it to be a media server for LinkTheater or other digital multimedia players. The LinkTheater product is a media server that connects to your television and streams multimedia content. The PCast service allows you to stream any multimedia content directly from LinkStation to the LinkTheater. DLNA is an industry standard supported by many digital multimedia players.
PCast Settings - LinkTheater Media Server Function: The Media Server Function will need to be enabled for this function to work. If you do not own a LinkTheater than disabling this feature is recommended. Media Folder: The Media Folder specifies which shared folder to share with LinkTheater. All of the multimedia files inside this shared folder will be available to LinkTheater. NOTE: At this time, only one shared folder can be accessed with LinkTheater.
PCast Settings - LinkTheater Get to this page by clicking Choose Devices on the previous page. Search for DLNA Client: This will show a list of all clients that could connect to the media server. For any that you want to have access, put a checkmark next to their MAC address and click Allow Access. You can deny access to any DLNA client by checking it and clicking Deny Access.
Troubleshooting - Multiple Shares When adding multiple shares, it’s possible that you may get an error message similar to the This is caused by having multiple shares to the same resource using different credentials. The error occurs when connecting to at least one secure, restricted share. Due to a constraint in Microsoft Windows only one set of credentials can map drive letters to a network resource such as the LinkStation.
Troubleshooting - Multiple Shares When mapping any share, select the ‘Connect using a different user name’ option. A login and password prompt will appear. Enter the same username and password for all LinkStation shares. This username and password is the username and password required for the secure, restricted share. Use this same login procedure for all unsecure, unrestricted and restricted shares on LinkStation.
Troubleshooting - Disk Scan Disk Errors If LinkStation encounters a disk error, it will be reported in the LinkStation status on the top of any of the Web-Based configuration screens. It is recommended to start a Normal Disk Scan in the event of this error. If that doesn’t work, try running a Thorough Disk Scan. Additionally, if that still does not resolve the problem a format is recommended.
Technical Specifications LAN Standards: Auto-MDIX10/100/1000 Base-T Ethernet Transmission Types: 1000BASE-T: 8B1Q4, PAM5; 100BASE-TX 4B/5B, MLT-3;10BASE-T Manchester Coding Access Media: CSMA/CD Media Interface: RJ-45 USB Standard: USB 2.0 Hi-Speed (HS) Full-Speed (FS) Low-Speed (LS) USB Connector: USB 2.0 Connectors (2) Data Transmission Speed: Max: 480 Mbps (HS Mode) Max: 12 Mbps (FS Mode) Electric Current: 5.
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