Buffalo NAS Software Introduction

Introduction This article should be seen as part of Buffalo NAS reviews. Instead of doing and adding the same OS content in every review, we've chosen to separate it and have it as an independent article. That keeps things tidy and lessens the workload which in return allows us to bring you more and better content. On the following pages, you'll find a short introduction to the different features and function with screenshots. Locate and Install your New NAS To get started with your new Buffalo NAS, you'll need the NAS Navigator software which can be downloaded from the official website. At least that is the easiest way to do so. Once downloaded and installed, it will find all Buffalo NAS' on your network and thus allow you to set up and configure your new device in just a few steps. Initialization of the TS6400DN The initialisation of your new NAS will start in your default browser. The first thing you're asked to do is to set your administrator password. Next up is the timezone settings. While this might seem trivial, it is important for functions such as log files and scheduled settings. Proxy settings are important too if you use such one. That's why it is the next step. I don't have a proxy, so I'll just skip this part. The NAS comes pre-configured and is ready to use, but you don't have to use it as it is. You can change the drive setup too, to another drive mode. Once you've chosen your drive setup, you're done. It will now tell you how to easily access the NAS in your file manager as the final step. And then you'll be greeted by something like this. The dashboard for the NAS OS. From here, you can continue to configure your new NAS with shared folders, users, and other settings. General Functions and Dashboard Page It all starts with the login page, obviously. It is very plain and without unnecessary graphics which might make it load slower. You can choose whether to stay logged in or have your login time out for each session. Once logged in, you're presented with the dashboard. It has a summary of all vital information from drive fillage to memory usage and network load. Notifications and things that you need to be made aware of are right at the top of the page. You can see that it is yellow here compared to the screenshot above where it is green. In this case, there is a new firmware version available. You can change the order of the information fields and also collapse them in order to make it better viewable as well as match your needs. The function menu overlays the rest on the right side, much as we know it from other NAS operating systems. From here you can log out, restart, or shut the NAS down. You can also trigger a noise from the built-in speaker in order to locate it physically. This is especially useful when you have multiple devices next to each other. Important functions such as deletion of drives or shutdown of the device will prompt a window as seen below. You have to confirm the action by entering the four numbers given to you. A good security measure and one that isn't easily hacked or abused by automatic functions. File Sharing File sharing is the main function of a NAS and as such, it is also the first point in the menu. All features relating to file folders, user, groups, and sharing protocols are found in this section. Shared Folder All the shared folders are listed below each other and the list shows the capacity usage as well as assigned quota and snapshots made. You can quickly create new folders, delete the selected, or edit existing. Shared folder settings look like this. You can copy settings from an existing folder or set new rules. This includes which protocols can access the share as well as its name and location. Everything in one place. User and User Groups The user list looks much like the share list, except it has the created users instead of shares. Logically. There are two default users and you can create a lot more for all your needs, users, employees, or who else might need access. You need to set a username and password, but anything else is optional. You can set the user ID manually too which helps group similar users close to each other. You can also assign a description, enter the user's email address, and assign which groups he belongs to. User groups are much of the same, except you set rights for a whole group instead of for an individual. File Protocols Not all file protocols have their own settings, some can only be turned on and off. After all, there's no point in having anything enabled which you don't use anyway. A waste of ressources and a possible attack vector for evil minded people. SMB, or Samba, is the most common used file protocol. This is what Windows uses and MacOS as well as Linux are also able to access it. So are many other devices such as media players. Web Access is what you're using to access the user interface and this can be condifured too. It also includes remote access through Buffalo's own DDNS service. We also have NFS which is the Linux/Unix file network protocol. This is a bit more advanced looking for Windows users, but everyday settings for a *nix user. Rsync is a powerful backup and syncronisation feature which keeps things simple. Naturally, this is also supported by Buffalo NAS'. Storage Settings When it comes down to it, the storage drives are the heart of the whole operation and it is one of the first places you'll want to visit when configuring your NAS. The list of drives shows the status as well as information. Whether you want to know if a drive is encrypted, how much of it is used, or which file system it utilises, it's all right there in the list. Formatting a drive is as easy and simple as you'd expect it to be. GPT partitions will also be available if the drive is 2TB or smaller. Connected USB drives are also shown here with about the same information. On this four-bay NAS, you can create up to two drive arrays from the installed drives. Most people will probably only use the one, but it's good to have the options of two when needed. If you don't need or want a RAID setup, you can also use the four drives as they are. The array information and included drives will be shown for each of them if you click it for details. LVM, or Logical Volume Manager, is a Linux device-mapper framework that provides logical volume management for the kernel. This is also supported here. Last but certainly not least, we have the iSCSI volume setup. I've become quite a fan of iSCSI over the years and it is a great feature when needed. It can make volume sharing a lot simpler, but it depends on your usage whether it is for you or you rather want to stick with traditional shared folders. Either way, it's a great option to have. Cloud Storage Buffalo NAS' offer connection with the three major cloud systems and there is a good chance that you have at least one of them: Dropbox, Azure, and OneDrive. Dropbox connections are made via authentification codes provided from Dropbox. Once entered, you'll be able to use it as source and target. Azure is linked by an account name and access key. The last is OneDrive which is linked online via Microsofts website. Applications Add-Ons There aren't many add-on apps available for Buffalo NAS'. In fact, there's only a single one. But it is an important app which can protect your data and device from viruses. The antivirus is powered by Trend Micro and it is a relatively simple system. While simple, it is still a valuable partner and worth enabling. Network Settings We have arrived at another important page in the user interface and one which you should visit early on: The network settings. This is where you define how the NAS is connected to your networking infrastructure. Each port can be individually configured in all aspects, as you would expect it. They're also clearly identified, allowing you to find the right port and make the appropriate changes in a jiff. An added security is that you can bind select services to select ports, thus making them inaccessible from the others. This way, you can have an outward facing set of rules and one for the locale connections too. I love this aspect as it gives you, the user and owner, a lot more control. Compatible networking ports can be linked up for failover and bandwidth acceleration, just as you'd expect them to be. In the case of the NAS which I'm using for this article, there are two Gigabit ports which can be linked. In the event that your setup requires a proxy, you got that option too as a global setting for the NAS. Only the IP and port are required, but username and password are available too if your proxy is protected or limited. Network authentification can be done via Workgroup or Active Directory, depending on the rest of your network setup. The active Workgroup, should you be working with Windows based systems, can naturally be changed too. You can also add a WINS server if you have one of those running. SNMP v2 is also available. Lastly, the Buffalo NAS OS has the feature to ping an IP address too. This is a simple item, but one that's great and quick to use if you want to make sure that there is a connection between the NAS and a specific IP address. Backup Options Backup is a vital function of a NAS, and that goes in both directions. Buffalo has you covered in all basics here and we've also already seen the cloud options on the previous pages. You can have a whole list of normal backup jobs. And there are quite a few available settings and functions for these. You can create these backup jobs fully to your needs and likes. Replication is also part of the setup here. And so are periodic syncronisations. A good business NAS also needs a failover option and Buffalo has that too. If on NAS should fail unexpectedly, another can take over without anyone noticing that it happened. And lastely, there is Time Machine for those with MacOS clients. Device Management The last page that we're going to take a look at is the one for the device itself. The available options might vary here depending on the unit you have and its hardware limitations. But most should be available on all devices. Among the first settings here are the device name and time as well as language settings. The time settings naturally include the option for NTP synchronisation. Email notifications are a great way to keep yourself informed about possible errors or trouble in general. That is, of course, unless the trouble is with the networking in which case it will have issues sending out emails. System, file, and replication logs can all be viewed from here too. There are three timers available for the sleep mode. You'll find the options such as days and times to work on and when. Naturally, you can also connect a UPS to the NAS, if you have one. Make sure that things keep running or shut down safely in the event of a power failure. There's also an option to erase or restore settings back to defaults. All settings can be stored and restored via USB drives. Those settings can also be migrated. In the middle of it all is one of the most important settings and features, the firmware update. You should always run the latest version in order to reap the benefits of security patches and additions. You can also upload your own SSL and server certificate to the NAS, if your company has their own. Keep those data connections secure is more important these days than ever before. The notification settings aren't software-based as such, as you might expect. Instead, these are the settings for the LCD panel and built-in speaker/alarm. The last setting is for the boot authentification.