| At a glance | |
| Product | Buffalo Technology TeraStation 5800 (TS5800D1608) [Website] |
| Summary | Eight-drive Intel D2700 Atom business NAS running revamped Buffalo Linux-based OS |
| Pros | • Dual Gigabit Ethernet • Three USB 3.0 ports |
| Cons | • Still doesn't support rsync to non-Buffalo products |
Typical Price: $1803 Buy From Amazon |
Introduction
Updated 7/1/2013 - Added link to OS review
Buffalo has retired its TeraStation Pro line and replaced it with the new TeraStation 5000 series. The new platform comes in variations sporting from two to eight drives in desktop and rackmount versions.
All are powered by either 1.86 GHz Intel D2550 or 2.13 GHz D2700 dual-core Atom processors with 2 GB of DDR3 RAM. As the table below shows, all also have both USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports, but no eSATA. Buffalo sent the top-of-line 5800 for review, so let's get started.
Buffalo TeraStation Product Families
Bufalo has opted for a lockable front panel, that can be completely removed to expose the eight hot-swappable 3.5" SATA drive bays.
Front and rear panels
That #12 Factory Use Only port behind the front door is a standard VGA port. So when you connect a monitor and USB keyboard mouse, you can just fire up a server console and have at it. Buffalo still includes a serial port for syncing with UPSes that use that connection method. Note the Boot Mode switch (13) that allows for booting from a USB recovery drive.
Inside
The 5800 is designed for moderately easy serviceability. The two fans are on panels and can be changed without removing the cover. Once the cover is off, you can get right at the power supply and regulator boards.
Buffalo TeraStation 5800 inside top view
The board is mounted on the side and plugs right into the drive backplane. Removing the main board requires taking off the back cover.
Buffalo TeraStation 5800 board
The 5800's board (above) bears a strong resemblance to the TeraStation Pro Quad's board (below). But they are different boards.
Buffalo Pro Quad board
The key components of both are summarized and compared in Table 1.
| Component | TeraStation 5800 | TeraStation Pro Quad |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Intel D2700 Atom @ 2.13 GHz | Intel D510 Atom w/ Intel 82801IR I/O Controller |
| RAM | 2 GB | 2 GB |
| Flash | None | 2 MB |
| Ethernet | Intel WG82574L Gigabit Ethernet Controller (x2) | Marvell 88E8059 Yukon PCI-e Gigabit Ethernet controllers (x2) |
| SATA | In Intel companion device | In Intel companion device |
| USB 3.0 | NEC D720201 | NEC D720200F |
| Microcontroller | NEC D78F0513A | NEC D78F0513A |
| I/O | ITE IT8721F | ITE IT8721F |
Table 1: Key component summary and comparison
The review unit came with eight Seagate Barracuda 2 TB (ST2000DXM001) drives installed, which brought the total power consumption to 79 W. There is no idle drive spindown feature, but you can program three sleep / wake schedules to save some power.
The system was relatively quiet for an eight-drive NAS. The fans ramp up to full speed during boot, but then settle down after the system is fully up. I rated total noise as medium. Definitely audible, but not annoyingly so in my quiet home office.
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