EtherFast 10/100 Instant GigaDrive (20GB) w/ Print Server [Mo.# EFG20]
Retail Price:
$1,100.00
Online Price:
~$578 [Buy.com]
I had never installed a network drive like this one before. So, I spent about 3 minutes browsing through the basic setup section of the manual. The manual is: 33 pages long, clearly written, and well formatted. I would have liked to have seen a more detailed manual with a much bigger troubleshooting section though.
I learned the GigaDrive's configuration is performed through a special (explorer style) utility that is included on the installation CD (which is a multi-OS CD). Part of the functionality of this utility, is control over multiple GigaDrive's (if you have more than one, or, are planning to buy more than one). I already noticed the unit was designed to be very 'stackable'. The 'feet' have rounded bottoms that fit into indentations on the top of the unit. If you're planning on supporting multiple network drives: buying multiple units of this module would pay off in several ways (i.e. having a single control interface and the ability to stack them neatly). It's nice to know that Linksys planned for this possibility in both their software, and case design.
Here's how the 'Basic Setup' went:
Unpacked the unit and it's components from the box
Plugged in the power and network connections ( I connected the unit into a port on a local HUB with the provided cable).
Turned the unit on (rocker switch located on the back of the unit)
It took about 30 seconds for the unit to finish it's boot up sequence and self check.
Placed the Install CD into one of my systems and began to install the configuration software. I just clicked on the "Install Software" button and made a couple of simple choices (like what directory to install to).
When I started the program, it immediately found the test unit and continued to search for other Instant GigaDrive's for about a minute.
After the network scan was complete the Utility listed all of the relevant details of the drive (it highlighted the single test unit I had by default)
I clicked on the 'Quick Setup' icon (the first icon on the left), to configure the drive. A simple menu came up with all the normal networking properties (and a few extra settings).
As you can see (click to enlarge):
The unit can take a static IP (default is 198.162.0.2)
The unit can look for a DHCP provided IP from a server
The unit can act as a DHCP server
The unit's name can be change (I called mine "BUBBA")
The workgroup can changed
A comment can be added (shows up under 'detailed' view in Explorer)
An AppleTalk 'Zone' can be selected
You can set the date and time
NOTE: It is very important that you remember to set the date and time. If this is not set correctly any files that get moved to the drive or created on it will have invalid time/date stamps. This can cause version conflicts on software, and general confusion. (The time date on my unit was wrong when I first turned it on).
After the changes were made I waited about 30 seconds as it reconfigured the drive.
All the changes are done - no problems
After a small delay, the unit to showed up under Network Network Neighborhood (My Network Places for the Windows2K users out there).
The Public folder is open to anyone (read/write) by default. I'm not for sure why it listed a network printer already (when I didn't have one connected or configured). Perhaps it's setup by default to share it's printer port. The other folder listed is an 'admin only' folder.
At this point I'd like to mention that there are some very serious administrator controls. They are almost identical to NT Server controls (User & Group privileges - as well as Quotas). We'll talked about the drives performance now, and get back to those Advanced Features later.
Time To Install and Complete Basic Setup: ~30 Minutes
