On-line User Guide

Note:

• This is a condensed version of the Manual.
• The full version is on the CD-ROM provided with your Network Storage Link.
• For information about each screen, please use the help button and file.

Contents

• Getting Familiar with the Network Storage Link
  • Front Panel
  • Rear Panel
  • Buzzer
• Installation
  • Connecting Everything Together and Booting Up
  • Requirements
  • Hardware Installation
  • Changing USB Storage Devices
• Configuring Your Network Storage Link
  • Quick Setup with the Network Storage Link Wizard
  • Other Configuration
• Client PC Setup
  • Overview
  • TCP/IP Setup
  • Network Logon
  • Storing Files
  • Tips for Storing Data
• Troubleshooting

Getting Familiar with the Network Storage Link

Please take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with your new Network Storage Link.

Important !

• The Network Storage Link must be powered down correctly. While On, pressing the power switch for 3 seconds will start the shutdown process. Do not disconnect (or switch off) power to the Network Storage Link before the shutdown is complete.

Front Panel

Front Panel

The front panel has 4 LEDs and one Power Switch.

The power switch is a "soft switch".

• If the Network Storage Link is powered off, you can start it up by briefly pressing the power switch.  
• To power down the Network Storage Link, press the power switch, and wait for the shutdown process to be completed. Upon completion, all LEDs will turn Off.

LED Operation

LED operation is described in the following table.
Note that the "Ready/Status" LED has 2 colors - Green (Ready) and Amber (Status). These are listed separately.

Rear Panel

All ports and connectors are on the rear panel.

Network Storage Link Rear Panel

Audible Warnings

Audible warnings (beeps) will be generated under the following conditions.

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Installation

The following section instructs you on how to physically connect the Network Storage Link to the network, and how to configure the Network Storage Link for basic operation in your Windows environment. Everything you need to do to get your Network Storage Link up and running is covered here.

Connecting Everything Together and Booting Up

Requirements

The following conditions are required to begin the installation of the Network Storage Link to your system.

• TCP/IP protocol on your PCs.
• To connect to a network, an available port on a hub or switch.
• To store data, you need a USB flash drive and/or a USB Hard Disk Drive.
  • Flash Drives can only be inserted in the UPPER USB port (Disk 2).
  • USB HDDs can be connected to either USB port (Disk 1 or Disk 2)

Hardware Installation

If the above conditions are met, follow the steps below to begin the installation of your Network Storage Link.

1. Connect the network cable to the Network Storage Link.

Locate the RJ45 network cable that came packaged with your Network Storage Link. Plug it into the RJ45 socket on the Network Storage Link's rear panel, and connect the other end of the cable to your hub or switch.

2. Connect the the USB Storage Devices.

• USB flash memory devices (USB Key) can only be inserted in the UPPER USB port (Disk 2)
• USB Hard Disk Drives can be connected to either USB port (Disk 1 or Disk 2).
• For details on removing or changing USB storage devices, see the following section.

3. Connect the power.

Plug the supplied power cord into the Network Storage Link's power input, located on the Network Storage Link's rear panel. Connect the other end of the power cord to a power outlet.

4. Power on.

The power switch is on the front panel. Press it once to power on the Network Storage Link.

4. The Network Storage Link's self-test.

Now that its power is on, the Network Storage Link's boot process will begin. The Network Storage Link will run a brief self-test (2 or 3 seconds) prior to actually booting up. During the self-test, all of the Network Storage Link's LEDs will be illuminated or flashing.

6. Booting up.

When the self-test is complete, the Status (Amber) LED will turn Off, the Ready (Green) LED will blink continuously, and the Ethernet LED will blink occasionally. This signifies that the Network Storage Link is in the actual process of booting up. Boot up should take approximately 1-3 minutes. It will take longer on the first boot up, and on any boot up following an improper shutdown.

7. Boot up completed.

When Boot up is completed, the Ready (Green) LED and the Ethernet LED will be On.

• If a Flash Memory or USB Disk is connected to the upper USB port, the Disk 2 LED should be On.
• If a USB HDD is connected to the lower USB port, the Disk 1 LED should be On.
• If the Network Storage Link repeatedly beeps, there is a hardware problem. Consult this user guide's Troubleshooting section for possible solutions.

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Changing USB Storage Devices

Changing a Flash Memory Disk (Upper USB Port)

Inserting a Flash Memory Disk

You can insert a Flash Memory Disk at any time. Once the "Memory Disk" LED on the front panel comes on, and stays on, the Flash Memory Disk is available for use.

Removing a Flash Memory Disk

1. Run the Windows utility
2. Select "Safely Remove Drive"
3. Select the desired Network Storage Link
4. Click the "Eject" button.
5. Wait for the "Disk 2" LED to start blinking slowly. (The Windows program will also display a message when it is safe to physically detach the Flash Memory disk.)
6. Remove the Flash Memory Disk.

Note: If the Flash Memory Disk is not removed, it will not be re-connected. You must remove and re-insert the Flash Memory Disk to have it re-connected.

Changing a USB Hard Disk Drive

The USB Hard Disk Drive can only be changed when the Network Storage Link is powered OFF!

While the Network Storage Link is powered Off, you can safely disconnect an existing USB HDD, and connect the desired USB HDD.

A new USB Hard Disk Drive must be formatted before it can be used.

• For initial installation, the Windows-based Setup Wizard will check if the USB HDD has been formatted, and will offer to format the HDD if it is not yet formatted. The format operation will destroy any existing data on the disk.
• If a new USB HDD is connected at a later date, you can use the Web-based UI to format the new HDD. This option is on the Disk screen, accessed via the Administration menu.

Note: Hard Disk Drives used on the Network Storage Link are NOT compatible with any version of Windows. You cannot swap USB HDDs between Windows and the Network Storage Link.

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Configuring Your Network Storage Link

Now that everything is connected and powered on, you are ready to configure your Network Storage Link so that it is accessible to the users on your network. You will have to install the Network Storage Link Utility on your PCs to access the Network Storage Link's Quick Setup features.

Quick Setup with the Network Storage Link Wizard

The following procedure configures the Network Storage Link, ready for use on your LAN.

• This procedure only needs to be done ONCE, by the Network Storage Link's Administrator.
• Other users on the network should follow the Client PC Setup procedure described in the following section.

1. Insert the CD-ROM supplied with your Network Storage Link into your PC's CD-ROM drive.
2. The setup screen should appear after a few seconds. If it does not, run the program SetupUtility.exe in the root (top) folder of your CD-ROM.
3. Click "Setup" to start the Setup Wizard. The Wizard will begin scanning your network for installed Network Storage Links.
4. Select the desired Network Storage Link, and click "Yes".
5. You will be prompted for the Network Storage Link's password. Enter the current password. The default value is "admin".
6. Step through the Wizard, completing each screen.
7. On the final screen, click "Save" to save your data to the Network Storage Link.
   The Network Storage Link is now operational.

Note:

• If the USB HDD attached to the Network Storage Link has not previously been used by the Network Storage Link, you will be prompted to format it. You MUST format the disk to make it usable in the Network Storage Link, but the format operation will destroy any data on the disk.

• The Network Storage Link's disk format is NOT compatible with Windows. You cannot swap USB HDDs between Windows systems and Network Storage Links.

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Other Configuration

After the configuration above, all Windows users can access the Network Storage Link with "Guest" access rights. This allows to access to the flash drive (if installed) and the Shared Data folder on the USB disk.

However, we recommend creating an Network Storage Link "User" for each person on your LAN. This will provide each person on your LAN with their own login (name and password) as well as their own personal folder on the Network Storage Link.

The Web-based Interface

The Web-based Interface you are now using provides access to all the settings available in the Wizard, and is the only way to create Users, Groups, and Shares.

• Users must be created by using the "Users" option under "Administration". See the "Client Setup" section of this document for details on setting up PCs to login to the Network Storage Link whenever they start.
• Groups are groups of users. To simplify administration, access rights (to data stored on the Network Storage Link) is assigned to user groups, rather than individual users.
• Shares are folders on the Network Storage Link which are visible under Microsoft networking - they can be seen in Network Neighborhood/My Network Places.

For details on using this Web-based interface, please use the help file for each screen.

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Client PC Setup

Overview

Supported versions of Windows are:

• Windows 95/98/ME or later
• Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000
• Windows XP

The following items may need to be checked or configured:

• TCP/IP protocol.
• Network Logon (Windows 95/98/ME only)
• Mapping to the Network Storage Link's storage.

TCP/IP Setup

Normally, no changes are required to each PC.

Check with your LAN administrator (or Network Storage Link Administrator) to see if any changes are required.

Network Logon (Windows 95/98/ME only)

If using Windows 2000 or XP, ignore this section. You do not need to make any changes to your network configuration.

If using Windows 95/98/ME, you must Logon to the Network correctly in order to use the Network Storage Link,:

1. Check your Window logon using Start - Settings - Control Panel - Network.
   Ensure the Primary Network Logon is set to "Client for Microsoft Networks", as shown below.

Note: If this is already set, there is no need to make any changes.

Windows Logon

2. Windows will prompt you to Logon to the Network when it boots.
   You must logon.
   If you press ESC, or click Cancel, no network resources will be available. When you logon, you need to use a valid User Name and Password.
   • If the Network Storage Link Administrator has defined users on the Network Storage Link, use the User Name and password they supply.
   • If you use a User Name and password which is not recognized by the Network Storage Link, you can still use it, with guest access rights. By default, this allows read/write access to the "public" share, but the Administrator can set the guest access rights as they wish.

Storing Files

To store files on the Network Storage Link, you should "Map" a drive letter to each folder on the Network Storage Link folder which you wish to access. The "Network Drive" will then be available to all Windows programs. The procedure is as follows:

1. Double-click the Network Neighborhood (or My Network Places) icon on the desktop.
2. On the "View" menu, select Details. The Comment column will now be visible.
3. Locate the Network Storage Link, as shown below. If it is not listed, double-click Entire Network. Then double-click the Workgroup that the Network Storage Link is in. (By default, the Network Storage Link is in Workgroup.)

Network Browse

4. Double-click the icon for the Network Storage Link.
5. Right-click a folder (directory) to which you have access, and select Map Network Drive, as shown below.

Map Network Drive

6. Select a drive letter for this folder, and check the Reconnect at Logon checkbox. (If this is not done, the mapping will be lost when you shut down your PC.)
   Then click OK.
7. This drive will now be available in Windows Explorer, and from the File-Open or File-Save As dialog in all Windows applications.

Note:

On Windows 95/98/ME, when you try to access a folder, you may be prompted for a password, as shown below:

Network Resource Password Dialog

If your Windows logon name is the same as your user name on the Network Storage Link, but the passwords are different, you can enter your Network Storage Link password here.

But if your Windows logon name does not exist on the Network Storage Link, you will have only guest access rights, and there is no password which you can enter in this dialog.

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Troubleshooting

This table lists some common problems, and the solution to them.