Bay count, drive interface and the processor behind the applications · review

BUFFALO LinkStation SoHo 220, 8 TB review

The longest warranty on this shelf at three years, the only LinkStation here that copies from a USB device without a computer, and the only one whose network speed can be inferred only from the model it recommends instead.

By Jean-Benoit Buisson

Three years of warranty, including the hard drives, stated in the tenth bullet. Every other listing on this shelf gives twenty-four months, two years, or nothing at all. On a machine sold with its drives in it, a third year is a real difference, and it is the clearest reason this page costs $112.00 more than the plain LinkStation 220 at the same eight terabytes.

The second reason is the ninth bullet: “Direct Copy — Back up your devices via USB. Copy photos/videos/files without a computer.” No other LinkStation on this shelf names a USB function at all. It is still not a socket count — the page never says how many USB ports there are or what generation they run at — but it is a described capability where the others have silence.

The seventh bullet publishes the figure this shelf is short of: “8 TB Total Capacity — 2 Drive Bays ships with RAID 1 (Automatic Backup) = 4 TB usable capacity. Set to RAID 0 to use the full 8 TB.” It also specifies, in the title, that the eight terabytes are two drives of four — the only LinkStation page here that says how the capacity is divided rather than only what it adds to. And it repeats the shelf’s standard error: RAID 1 is called an automatic backup. A mirror survives a drive; it does not survive a deletion, because the deletion is mirrored, and both copies are in this box.

Now the unusual part. The first bullet reads: “Secure value personal cloud with RAID and fast connectivity. Check out the LS SoHo 720 for improved performance, macOS 26, and 2.5 GbE connectivity.” That sentence claims “fast connectivity” for this unit and then names 2.5-gigabit connectivity as something the recommended replacement has. Read together, the two halves say that this machine is not 2.5-gigabit — which is the only statement about network speed anywhere on any LinkStation page on this shelf, and it arrives by implication in a sentence selling a different product.

The second bullet caps compatibility at macOS 15 (Sequoia) and sends macOS 26 buyers to the SoHo 720. That is the same arrangement the LinkStation 210 and 220 pages use with the LS 700, except that the SoHo 720 is not on this shelf, so the referral here leads nowhere a reader can follow.

The rest is the template: a closed system keeping third-party applications out, SSL on transfers, individual folder access, NAS Navigator and PC backup software with NAS Navigator 2 for macOS 15 and earlier, “Made in Japan”, 24-hour United States support. The third bullet adds the intended setting — a small or home office, for organizing, storing, sharing and backing up.

No processor, no memory, no socket count, no port speed as a figure, no drive size, no decibel value, no watts. The product record carries 206 by 86 by 127 mm (5 in) and no weight.

Prices quoted in this text were read on October 26, 2026. The live price is at the top of the page.

Where it holds up, and where it stops

Strengths

Three years of warranty including the hard drives, the longest term on this shelf where everything else gives two years or nothing
The only LinkStation here that publishes a USB function: Direct Copy backs up a device without a computer in the loop
The title says how the eight terabytes are divided — two drives of four — which no other LinkStation page on this shelf does
Publishes the array it ships in and the 4 TB usable that array leaves, in one sentence
The RAID claim in the first bullet is true here, on two bays, unlike on the one-bay LinkStation 210 pages carrying the same words

Compromises

The first bullet claims fast connectivity and then names 2.5 GbE as something the recommended replacement has, which says by implication that this unit is slower
$112.00 more than the plain LinkStation 220 at the same capacity, for a warranty year and a USB function
macOS compatibility stops at macOS 15, and the SoHo 720 it refers buyers to is not on this shelf
The seventh bullet calls RAID 1 an automatic backup, which it is not
No processor, no memory, no socket count and no port speed as a figure, and no weight in the product record

Specifications

Bay count	Two — stated in the title as 2-Bay and in the seventh bullet as two drive bays holding 8 TB in total. The title specifies the division as 2 × 4 TB, which no other LinkStation page on this shelf does
Drive interface	Not published on the listing as a size or a bus — the title gives 8 TB as two 4 TB drives and the seventh bullet repeats the total, and no inch figure and no bus appears anywhere
Solid-state slot count	Not published on the listing — no M.2 slot and no cache slot is named in the title or in any of the ten bullets
Processor	Not published on the listing — no chip, no core count and no clock speed appears anywhere on the page
Memory	Not published on the listing — no memory figure of any kind appears in the title or the ten bullets
Ethernet port count	Not published on the listing as a figure — the second bullet says to connect the unit to a router and counts no socket
Port speed	Not published as a figure, and contradicted by implication — the first bullet claims "fast connectivity" for this unit and names 2.5 GbE connectivity as a feature of the SoHo 720 it recommends instead, which reads as a statement that this machine is not 2.5-gigabit. It is the only reference to a network speed on any LinkStation page on this shelf
USB ports	Named by function and not counted — the ninth bullet describes Direct Copy, backing up a device over USB and copying photographs, videos and files without a computer. No socket count and no USB generation is given. No other LinkStation on this shelf names a USB function at all
Supported redundancy levels	RAID 1 as shipped, with 4 TB usable out of 8 TB of drives, and RAID 0 available for the full 8 — stated in the seventh bullet, which calls RAID 1 an automatic backup. A mirror keeps the machine running through a failed drive, mirrors a mistaken deletion as well, and holds both copies in this box, so it is not a copy of the data on separate hardware
Published operating system	Not named, and described as closed — the fifth bullet states a closed system to reduce exposure from third-party applications, with SSL on transfers. The sixth names NAS Navigator, with NAS Navigator 2 for macOS 15 and earlier
Stated idle power	Not published on the listing — no figure in watts appears on the page
Stated acoustic figure	Not published on the listing — no decibel value and no claim about noise appears, on a machine sold for an office
Stated dimensions	Not published in the bullets — the product record carries 206 by 86 by 127 mm (5 in) and no weight at all
Amazon reference	B07X6C7QHR
EAN	0747464133966
On Amazon.com	Amazon.com had an offer at $475 on October 26, 2026.

The questions that come up before an order

What is Direct Copy?

The ninth bullet describes it as backing up a device over USB and copying photographs, videos and files without a computer. It is the only USB function published on any LinkStation page on this shelf, although no socket count or generation is given.

Is it 2.5-gigabit?

The page does not say so, and implies the opposite: the first bullet recommends the SoHo 720 for 2.5 GbE connectivity while claiming only "fast connectivity" for this unit.

Why is it dearer than the plain LinkStation 220 at 8 TB?

Two published differences: three years of warranty instead of two, and the Direct Copy USB function. The capacity, the bays and the RAID 1 arrangement are the same, and the price gap is $112.00.

How much of the 8 TB can be used?

Four. The seventh bullet states RAID 1 as shipped with 4 TB usable, and RAID 0 available to release the full 8 TB without protection.

Against the rest of the network and storage gear

This network and storage gear share the category and the price bracket. Only what each one states is shown; an incomplete column would mislead.

Model	Price	Bay count	Drive interface	Solid-state slot count	Processor
BUFFALO LinkStation SoHo 220, 8 TB	$475	Two — stated in the title as 2-Bay and in the seventh bullet as two drive bays holding 8 TB in total. The title specifies the division as 2 × 4 TB, which no other LinkStation page on this shelf does	Not published on the listing as a size or a bus — the title gives 8 TB as two 4 TB drives and the seventh bullet repeats the total, and no inch figure and no bus appears anywhere	Not published on the listing — no M.2 slot and no cache slot is named in the title or in any of the ten bullets	Not published on the listing — no chip, no core count and no clock speed appears anywhere on the page
BUFFALO LinkStation 220, 12 TB	$462	Two — stated in the title as 2-Bay and in the seventh bullet as two drive bays holding 12 TB in total, with the drives included	Not published on the listing as a size or a bus — the seventh bullet gives 12 TB across two bays with the drives supplied, and no inch figure and no bus appears anywhere on the page	Not published on the listing — no M.2 slot and no cache slot is named in the title or in any of the ten bullets	Not published on the listing — no chip, no core count and no clock speed appears anywhere on the page
Synology DS225+, two-bay enclosure with one 2.5GbE and one 1GbE socket	$421	Two — stated in the title, and the second bullet places the model in the two-bay Plus series as the replacement for the DS224+	Not published on the listing as a size or a bus — the first bullet states that the unit requires compatible drives and directs the reader to the maker’s own compatibility list, which is where the answer is kept rather than here	Not published on the listing — no M.2 slot and no cache slot is named, and the only expansion the page describes is a memory module	Intel Celeron J4125, quad-core — named in the second bullet; no clock speed is printed
BUFFALO LinkStation 720, 4 TB	$409	Two — stated in the title as 2-Bay and in the seventh bullet as two drive bays holding 4 TB in total, with the drives included	Not published on the listing as a size or a bus — the seventh bullet gives 4 TB across two bays with the drives supplied, and no inch figure and no bus appears anywhere	Not published on the listing — no M.2 slot and no cache slot is named in the title or in any of the ten bullets	Not published on the listing — no chip, no core count and no clock speed appears, on a page claiming up to seven times the performance of an earlier range

What separates the models, in network and storage gear

If price decides: BUFFALO LinkStation 720, 4 TB, at $409.

The buyer this one serves, among network and storage gear

A small office that wants eight mirrored terabytes, a third year of cover on the drives, and a card or stick copied straight to the machine.

What this one costs among network and storage gear

Details checked on October 26, 2026.

Sources

Specifications: the manufacturer sheet for network and storage gear and the matching Amazon product page. Prices and availability: Keepa. Every figure on this page names its source.

What we look at on this network and storage gear