Basically a 600Mhz ARM NAS with linux (2.6.16 kernel iirc) preinstalled. By default the Linux is locked down so that it can only be accessed through Buffalo's WEB UI (driven by the onboard apache server)

There are straightforward instructions for unlocking the onboard Linux at buffalo.nas-central.org. I've done this and it works like a charm, everything accessed through ssh. Great for running torrents, apache, rsync etc.. on a nice low power box (11W iirc).

Best advice is pick up a cheap one on ebay (250G model) then upgrade the drive to a 1+TB unit. I've done this with 2 units.

Without a doubt this is one of the cheapest, simplest and most low power way to get a linux server going. If you want a more feature rich linux distro there are options to install on the buffalos but I've found unlocking the inbuilt linux to be more than sufficient.

fz :)

Take the drives out of the machines and make the machines diskless workstations. Move the drives into an arrangement of NAS / RAID storage to taste (depending on whether you want performance or redundancy). Partition to taste. Install copies of preferred OS to taste.

Obviously, this is deal of work so the decision to go forward really lies with how much value is placed in the size and speed and manageability of 8TB storage. With the cost of drives as they are these days, it would probably be more effective to buy 16 500G or 8 1TB drives and achieve the same that way.