The drive is great. Access speed are limited to your ethernet speed so access speed can be an issue for speed demons out there. However, contrary to popular belief, you do not need to install any software. Microsoft's built-in network manager can find the drive easily on the same network. If you want the drive for use outside your private network then you WILL need the software. Otherwise, there are a lot of sour grapes out there that do not know how to find a network drive. Word to the wise, the first time we put the drive on the network we had to turn the power off and turn it back on since it didn't get assigned an IP address on the router. So this method may be the trick you need to SEE it on the network. Enjoy a great home solution to networking.