The Buffalo TeraStation is currently the unparalleled giant of low-cost NAS. Offering up to a terabyte of storage, this device should meet or exceed the storage needs of nearly any small-business or home user. It's also the only sub-$1,000 device to offer RAID via two groupings of drives that can each be configured for RAID 1 or RAID 5. For storing essential business data, the TeraStation, thanks to its RAID features, is an easy device to recommend.

You can back up the TeraStation via a USB 2.0 external drive, or, if you need additional storage, you can attach another drive. The unit can also act as a print server for Mac OS or Windows environments, or it can be configured as an FTP server.

Access authorization can be assigned to individual users and groups, so that data can be restricted. As for the interface, system status displays contain lots of information, though we were disappointed by the lack of system-event logging or reporting.

All told, the TeraStation is a solid product that will go a long way toward alleviating storage growing pains in your home or small office.