Sharing data across a network is great. It means everyone who has access can do things like see photos, listen to music and work on documents, no matter what computer they are actually stored on. Unless, of course, that computer is switched off. What you need in order to allow universal access to data across a network is to set up a storage device that is independent of any single computer on that network.

That's where the Buffalo LinkStation Network Storage Centre comes into play. It acts as an external hard drive, on which you can store data you want to share between computers. The LinkStation comes in four capacities - 120GB, 160GB, 250GB and 300GB - and they all operate in the same way and look the same.

If looks matter to you then the relatively large and blocky nature of the LinkStation may not be to your taste, despite its white colouring. Still, it can be hidden away under a desk without any problems so don't let its size and weight put you off.

Once it is set up, the LinkStation appears as, and behaves like, a normal hard drive, albeit one listed under My Computer as a Network Drive. But to enhance its appeal and - no doubt - justify the price, Buffalo has added a few extras.

Most interestingly, you can access the LinkStation's contents from anywhere you can get an Internet connection, as it has a built-in FTP server. This is set up, just as the rest of the features of the device, using a Web-style interface, and you'll have to use the version of the manual on the CD-ROM to walk you through the procedure as the printed setup guide doesn't cover this area.

With so much crucial data on the LinkStation you are going to want to protect it, so Buffalo provides a simple but effective backup utility which will send data to an external hard drive either on demand or at set times which you schedule. The external drive connects to the LinkStation via one of the two USB 2.0 ports, one of which is on the front of the hardware and one on the back. The other USB port could be used to connect a printer, as the LinkStation has a built-in print server.

You can use a single LinkStation to share files on both Macintosh and PC systems, and you can set up folders that have restricted, password-controlled access which could be handy if you want to use the LinkStation in an office but don't want everyone to have access to everything stored on it.

The LinkStation is a bulky piece of kit, and it's not cheap. But it is nicely featured for the small office or home user, and would be a rather useful addition to any network which caters for serious amounts of data sharing. The fact that it uses a wired connection rather than a wireless one need not be an issue, particularly if your network is managed by a router with Ethernet ports rather than from a particular computer.