Buffalo Technology Updates NAS and DAS Lineup at CES 2013

Brian already updated readers on the new products from Buffalo in the networking and Thunderbolt space. There were updates on the NAS front too. The primary announcement was the launch of the LinkStation 400 series of NAS devices. The available models include single and dual bay configurations with the option of going diskless (410D / 420D / 421E). These NAS devices also incorporate support for the BuffaloLink remote service and new mobile apps. The chassis has a black matte finish. Buffalo claims support for 80 MBps+ in throughput performance. Pricing ranges from $149 for the 421E to to $719 for a 8TB 420D. Availability is slated for end of Q1 2013.

The BuffaloLink service enables secure cloud access to the NAS. It consolidates various NAS devices under one account and provides easy remote access. The service works via relay mechanism and doesn't require any port forwarding. Buffalo maintains servers in US, Europe and Asia for this purpose. The service is available free for the life of the product. Plans are also underway to expand BuffaloLink to include other products such as routers.

The DriveStation DDR is a USB 3.0 DAS (Direct Attached Storage) unit with a 1 GB DDR3 cache. This is in addition to the 32 - 64 MB cache already present in the hard disk. This DRAM allows caching of writes to the hard disk. This makes it appear to the user that the writes to the DAS are quite fast (as much as 350% rise in some cases). Of course, there is no protection against power loss. Users have to be extremely careful in ensuring that the DriveStation DDR is connected to a UPS in case critical data is being transferred to it. Pricing ranges from $119 for a 1TB version to $189 for a 3TB version. Availability is scheduled for end of Q1 2013.

Head on over to the source link for more specifics on the products launched.