Buffalo network-attached storage series
The Kuro-Box Pro
Manufacturer	Melco
Type	Network-attached storage
Connectivity	100BASE-T, 1000BASE-T
Operating system	Linux
CPU	PowerPC, MIPSel, ARM

The Buffalo network-attached storage series are network-attached storage devices sold around the world, for example by US, European and Japanese computer retailers, and have been reviewed by the computer press. Not to be confused with Mitsubishi Electric, which sometimes refers to itself as MELCO ( M itsubishi El ectric Co rporation Melco Network-attached storage ( NAS) is file-level Computer data storage connected to a Computer network providing data access to heterogeneous network clients An operating system (commonly abbreviated OS and O/S) is the software component of a Computer system that is responsible for the management and coordination Linux (commonly pronounced ˈlɪnəks PowerPC is a RISC Instruction set architecture created by the 1991 Apple – IBM – Motorola alliance known as AIM MIPS (originally an acronym for Microprocessor without Interlocked Pipeline Stages) is a RISC microprocessor architecture developed by MIPS Technologies The ARM architecture (previously the Advanced RISC Machine, and prior to that Acorn RISC Machine) is a 32-bit RISC processor architecture Network-attached storage ( NAS) is file-level Computer data storage connected to a Computer network providing data access to heterogeneous network clients ^[1] They can be modified^[2] into miniature general purpose Linux-based computers. Embedded Linux is the use of a Linux Operating system in Embedded computer systems such as Mobile phones Personal digital assistants The LinkStation and TeraStation are intended for the general public, while the Kuro Box is intended for expert hackers as a cheap platform for Linux development. Linux (commonly pronounced ˈlɪnəks

These devices have undergone various improvements since they were first produced. ^[3] For example, the first generation of this device had a 100BASE-T network adapter using a Parallel ATA hard drive. AT Attachment with Packet Interface ( ATA/ATAPI) is a standard interface used to connect storage devices such as Hard disks Solid-state The current version has a 1000BASE-T-capable connection and uses the Serial ATA interface. ^[4] Older generations of the device used PowerPC and MIPS processors, while the latest version of the device^[5] uses an ARM architecture processor. PowerPC is a RISC Instruction set architecture created by the 1991 Apple – IBM – Motorola alliance known as AIM MIPS (originally an acronym for Microprocessor without Interlocked Pipeline Stages) is a RISC microprocessor architecture developed by MIPS Technologies The ARM architecture (previously the Advanced RISC Machine, and prior to that Acorn RISC Machine) is a 32-bit RISC processor architecture ^[6]

LinkStation

LinkStation HG

The LinkStation is a PowerPC,MIPS or ARM based network attached storage appliance sold in North America, Europe and Japan, that is significantly notable among the Linux community both in Japan^[7][8] and in the US/Europe^[9][10] for being "hackable" into a generic Linux appliance and made to do tasks other than the file storage task for which it was designed. PowerPC is a RISC Instruction set architecture created by the 1991 Apple – IBM – Motorola alliance known as AIM MIPS (originally an acronym for Microprocessor without Interlocked Pipeline Stages) is a RISC microprocessor architecture developed by MIPS Technologies The ARM architecture (previously the Advanced RISC Machine, and prior to that Acorn RISC Machine) is a 32-bit RISC processor architecture Network-attached storage ( NAS) is file-level Computer data storage connected to a Computer network providing data access to heterogeneous network clients The Linkstation has Ethernet, USB, and serial ports, but does not have a video output. Ethernet is a family of frame -based Computer networking technologies for Local area networks (LANs Various computer display standards or display modes have been used in the history of the Personal computer. It is made by Buffalo Technology^[11] a division of Melco. Not to be confused with Mitsubishi Electric, which sometimes refers to itself as MELCO ( M itsubishi El ectric Co rporation Melco Not to be confused with Mitsubishi Electric, which sometimes refers to itself as MELCO ( M itsubishi El ectric Co rporation Melco Produced in Japan, as of 2006 it is also available at American retailers such as Best Buy and CompUSA, as well as in Europe. Best Buy Co Inc ( is a Fortune 100 company and the largest specialty retailer of Consumer electronics in the United States and Canada CompUSA is a Retailer and reseller of Consumer electronics, Technology products and Computer services

Kuro Box

The Kuro Box

The Kuro Box is the name for a series of PowerPC and ARM processor based computers intended for use as a Network-attached storage device. PowerPC is a RISC Instruction set architecture created by the 1991 Apple – IBM – Motorola alliance known as AIM The ARM architecture (previously the Advanced RISC Machine, and prior to that Acorn RISC Machine) is a 32-bit RISC processor architecture A computer is a Machine that manipulates data according to a list of instructions. Network-attached storage ( NAS) is file-level Computer data storage connected to a Computer network providing data access to heterogeneous network clients The original Kuro Box was made from spare hardware components the manufacturer^[12][13] had from the Linkstation. Recent versions of the Kuro Box use later Linkstation hardware or hardware very similar to that of the Linkstation. ^[14][15] All Kuro Box versions are provided without a hard drive. A hard disk drive ( HDD) commonly referred to as a hard drive, hard disk, or fixed disk drive, is a Non-volatile storage device The case has the same physical dimensions and shape as the corresponding LinkStation, but it is black in color and has the Japanese symbols for "Kuro Box" (玄箱, meaning "expert box") in silver lettering on the side panel.

TeraStation

Two TeraStations stacked

Linux community

LinkStation

As the device runs on Linux, and included changes to the Linux source code, Buffalo was required to release their modified versions of Source code as per the terms of the GNU General Public License. In Computer science, source code (commonly just source or code) is any sequence of statements or declarations written in some Human-readable Due to the availability of source code and the relatively low cost of the device, there are several community projects centered around it. There are two main replacement firmwares available for the device: the first is OpenLink^[17] which is based on the official Buffalo firmware with some improvements and features added. The other is FreeLink,^[18] which is a Debian distribution. Debian ( pronounced) is a computer Operating system composed entirely of Free and open source software.

Kurobox

The product was designed by the manufacturer to accept a user supplied Linux distribution. Linux (commonly pronounced ˈlɪnəks Several^[19] including a Kurobox specific distribution called Sylver, Debian, Gentoo Linux, and Fedora Core have been ported to it by various user groups in both the USA/Europe,^[20] and Japan. Debian ( pronounced) is a computer Operating system composed entirely of Free and open source software. The Gentoo Linux Operating system (ˈdʒɛntuː is a Linux distribution based on the Portage Package management system. The Fedora Operating system is an RPM -based general purpose Linux distribution, developed by the community-supported Fedora Project and sponsored The United States of America —commonly referred to as the For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. ^[21]

TeraStation

Like the LinkStation the device runs its own version of Linux. Linux (commonly pronounced ˈlɪnəks Debian and Gentoo Linux distributions and NetBSD have been reported to have been ported to it. Debian ( pronounced) is a computer Operating system composed entirely of Free and open source software. The Gentoo Linux Operating system (ˈdʒɛntuː is a Linux distribution based on the Portage Package management system. NetBSD is a freely redistributable Open source version of the Unix -derivative Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD Computer Operating ^[22]

Uses

LinkStation Pro and KuroBox Pro

The device in various iterations ships with its own Universal Plug and Play protocol for distribution of Multimedia stored on the device. Universal Plug and Play ( UPnP) is a set of Computer network protocols promulgated by the UPnP Forum. Multimedia is media and content that utilizes a combination of different content forms. It can also be configured as a variety of different media servers^[23] TwonkyVision Media server,^[24] a SlimServer/SqueezeCenter server, an Itunes server using the Digital Audio Access Protocol,^[25] a Samba server, MLDonkey client, as well as a Network File System server for Posix based systems. iTunes is a proprietary digital media player application introduced by Apple Inc The Digital Audio Access Protocol (DAAP is the proprietary protocol introduced by Apple in its ITunes software to share media across a local network Samba is a Free software re-implementation of SMB/CIFS networking protocol, originally developed by Australian Andrew Tridgell MLDonkey is an Open source, Free software multi-network Peer-to-peer application Network File System (NFS is a Network file system protocol originally developed by Sun Microsystems in 1983 allowing a user on a client Computer to access POSIX (ˈpɒzɪks or "Portable Operating System Interface" is the collective name of a family of related standards specified by the IEEE to define For use as a backup server, it can be modified to use it with Rsync to backup/synchronize data from one or many computers in the network pushing their data, or even having the LinkStation pulling the data from remote servers – beside the use of the Buffalo provided backup software for Windows. rsync is a Software application for Unix systems which synchronizes files and directories from one location to another while minimizing Microsoft Windows is a series of Software Operating systems and Graphical user interfaces produced by Microsoft. It has also found use in a number of other ways. Notably through its USB interface which comes configured as a Print server but can also use the Common Unix Printing System to act as such for a USB Printer. A print server, or printer server, is a computer or device that is connected to one or more printers and to client computers over a network, and The Common Unix Printing System ( CUPS) is a modular printing system for Unix-like computer Operating systems that allows a computer to act as Users have managed to get it to use a number of other USB devices^[26] with version 2. 6 Linux kernel's^[27] enhanced USB support. Linux is an operating system kernel used by a family of Unix-like Operating systems These are popularly termed Linux operating systems and Additionally, because the Apache HTTP Server software is already installed for the purpose of providing the Buffalo configuration screens, the device is easily converted to be a lightweight web server (with the Buffalo content deleted) and then can serve any content of the operator's choice.

See also

• NSLU2

References