WIth the Intel Atom CE5300 series you’ll be working with brands such as Asustor, Synology, and Thecus – just for starters. These systems will be working with the low power system-on-chip (SoC) of the CE5300 and will be rolling hard with “browse, click, and play” ease. So says Bev Crair, general manager, of Intel’s Storage Division, who adds that the power runs hand-in-hand with the simplicity here in the very near future:

“Streaming content across numerous mobile devices, not just from the cloud but locally, has become a common practice for today’s consumers. New storage solutions based on the Intel Atom CE5300 series elevate this to a whole new level by making it simple to ‘browse, click, and play’. The new SoC provides an excellent foundation for creating compelling entertainment experiences.” – Crair

You’ll be working with your storage system as either an iTunes-based server or as a media server blasting forth with full DLNA capabilities. With DLNA (Digital Network Living Alliance, that is), you’ll be transcoding 1080p video on the run with intelligent adaptation for any screen resolution you’ve got on hand. HD 1080p content will be knocked down to 480p when your smartphone is such a small size, while larger displays can easily bust out the full 1080 pixels of power.

With Asustor you’ll soon be working with 2 bays of up to 8 Terabytes or 4 bays up to 16 Terabytes. Once again with Thecus you’ll have the ability kick out 2 bays of up to 8 Terabytes – and the 4 bays up to 16 Terabytes holds true here as well. Finally with Synology you’ll only be pushing forth with 2 bays up to 8 Terabytes – but who needs more than that these days?

[via Intel]

The list of new features found in DiskStation Manager 4.2 beta is absolutely huge, so Synology users are definitely in for a treat. Some of the major highlights of this release include an expansion of QuickConnect to cover DS Photo+, DS File, and DS Audio. This upgrade should make it easier for new users to set these features up, which is always a plus.

iOS users now also have a DS Cloud app at their disposal, which seems to essentially be Synology’s in-house version of Dropbox. DSM’s Package Manager is also getting a pretty major overhaul with this release, and it adds a bunch of new ease-of-use features and new apps that users have specifically been asking for. If you’ve been bugging Synology for new apps and functionality in the Package Manager, there seems to be a pretty good chance that your wishes have been granted.

Jumping back to the Cloud-related features, Synology has done quite a bit with syncing in this latest release. For instance, Cloud Station is being brought up to version 2, and with this new version, the size limit for files is doubling – now users can sync files up to 10GB in size, rather than just 5GB. DiskStation Manager 4.2 beta is available for download right now from Synology’s website, with the full release following in another month or so. Be sure to check out our CES portal for all of our coverage from the show!

Satellite and various forms of digital terrestrial TV are supported, with electronic program guides that can be remotely accessed from a mobile device for setting up recordings. Alternatively, they can be navigated via the browser.

Four USB tuners have been tested with the plug-in: the DVB-S2 Stick for satellite TV (model:460e), nanoStick for DVB-T (73e, 73eSE), and nanoStick T2 (290e) for DVB-T/T2 reception. Others may well work, though they’re not necessarily certified.

Your Synology NAS will need to be running DSM 4.1 or above, too, and there’s a full list of compatible models here. Unfortunately, DVBLink isn’t a free update to Synology’s NAS range. After a 20-day trial, the package costs €25.21 ($33).

Hardware

Synology hardware is generally subtle and solid, and the DS213air is no different. 165 x 100 x 225.5 mm of glossy white plastic standing on four black rubber feet, it’s discrete if relatively uninspiring. Sticker price is $299.99, though Synology’s choice of plastics seems a little cheaper than some of its more expensive models. Not so bad as to leave us worried as to its durability, however.

The lower cost also likely explains the absence of slick drive caddies, with Synology instead requiring users open up the casing in order to access the two internal bays. The two halves of the NAS slide apart, leaving plenty of room to access the SATA II slots (which will accommodate either 2.5- or 3.5-inch drives, of up to 4TB apiece); you can optionally secure it together with included screws.

In addition to the internal bays, there are two USB 3.0 ports for hooking up external drives or printers for network sharing. There’s also a gigabit ethernet port, while inside there’s a WiFi b/g/n radio, though only with support for the 2.4GHz band, not the often-faster 5GHz band. It would’ve been nice to have seen WiFi ac support too, though that’s yet to be ratified and probably at odds with the DS213air’s budget tag; the first breed of WiFi ac routers generally cost two-thirds of the NAS alone, for instance.

At the back, there’s a 92mm fan which, even when the DS213air was under load, was generally quiet though spins with a noticeably higher-pitched tone when under load. You could have the NAS in your lounge and probably not notice it with the TV on. Up front there are LEDs to show status, WiFi activity, drive activity for each HDD, and a power light integrated into the power button. Unlike other models in Synology’s line-up, there’s no front USB port and quick-sync button, for quickly offloading photos from a digital camera.

Software

Synology’s well-esteemed DSM 4.1 OS makes its expected appearance, running on a 1.6GHz processor with 256MB of RAM. It’s one of the best platforms for network devices, resembling a blend of Windows and OS X, and organizing the DS213air’s dozens of features into an approachable layout.

First step is setting up your drives, which can be done in various levels of RAID. There’s the choice of creating one big volume spanning both – though without any data redundancy, so if one drive dies you lose the whole volume – as well as mirroring data, which gets you the storage of a single drive but the security of having a second copy should one unexpectedly expire. Synology’s Hybrid RAID is offered as the default, as well as more traditional Basic, JBOD, RAID 0, and RAID 1 options, though with only two bays there’s less room for some of the more creative arrays of the company’s larger models.

If you’ve a network cable to hand, then plugging in as a wired connection is straightforward. Alternatively, the DS213air can scan for WiFi networks and connect that way. Even if you don’t use the WiFi to get the NAS online, it can be turned on as a hotspot to open up wireless internet access, useful if you’ve a deadspot in your house or office. Alternatively, the DS213air can be used as a full wireless router, complete with a NAT firewall for security.

Beyond that, the NAS world is pretty much your oyster. The DS213air supports PC and Mac backup (including native Apple Time Machine support) with the option of different user accounts, multiple volumes, and per-account storage limits. You can drop your photos, videos, and music onto the drive, and have them shared out via DLNA/UPnP to your laptop, tablet, Xbox 360, PS3, or other device; Synology also offers iOS, Android, and Windows Phone apps for streaming media, as well as accessing files remotely. You can share two printers – using Apple AirPrint, Google Cloud Print, or regular old Windows printer sharing – and set up remote access for files or even host your email server or website.

Synology also allows for third-party functionality to be installed, including Logitech Media Server, hosting a WordPress blog, running a Plex Media Server, Asterix virtual PBX, and more. If you want cloud-based reassurance for your data, there’s support for HiDrive mirroring too, along with Symform cloud backup. You can even use the DS213air to monitor and record IP webcams as an impromptu security station.

That could get intimidating, if it wasn’t for the relative simplicity of DSM 4.1. If you can navigate through your PC or Mac, you can figure your way through Synology’s system; the more complex features stay out of your way unless you actively want to use them.

Performance

We slotted in a pair of 1TB Western Digital WD1002FAEX Caviar Black 7,200rpm 3.5-inch drives and ran through Synology’s default setup, which creates a single volume with one drive failure tolerance under the company’s own Hybrid RAID (SHR) system. The whole setup process took around 10 minutes to reach the DSM 4.1 desktop – at which point we could begin setting up user accounts and other settings – with the RAID taking a further 8 minutes to establish (and then running a background verification check, during which we were able to copy data to the drive, albeit at slightly reduced speeds). After formatting we had 912.12GB of space: roughly the equivalent of a single drive.

Synology suggests the DS213air is capable of 108.07 MB/sec read speeds with a RAID 1 array, and 58.66 MB/sec write speeds, based on transferring a single 5GB file over a wireless network. In a real-world environment, performance unsurprisingly takes a hit

Over a wired gigabit ethernet connection, we saw 83.08 MB/sec read rates and 32.4 MB/sec write rates. Switching to wireless, meanwhile, with a direct link between the DS213air and our test computer, those figures dropped to 9.82 MB/sec read and 8.34 MB/sec write.

More concerning, the DiskStation’s range proved a significant factor in speed drop-off. We achieved those wireless rates with DS213air and computer in the same room; with two walls between them, speeds fell to roughly a quarter of what we’d been seeing. Experiments with locking the NAS into 802.11n-only mode and switching channels had little effect, and there’s no 5GHz support.

Wrap-Up

Convenience comes at a cost. As a standalone NAS with a traditional wired connection to your home or small office network, the DS213air performs much as we’ve come to expect from the budget end of Synology’s range. Wired speeds are solid though not outstanding, certainly sufficient for small scale backup and media streaming purposes, and the twin-drive capacity offers a balance between performance, redundancy and price.

Wireless, however, is a more mixed bag. Placing the DS213air is made significantly easier – all you need is power, rather than an ethernet cable – but there’s a cost in performance. Accessing the odd file or streaming music is fine, but it’s a painful experience if you’re doing large backups over WiFi. Synology could’ve addressed this, in part at least, if it had opted for a dual-band 2.4GHz/5GHz radio, as the 5GHz band is generally less congested, but that would have presumably added to the price of the NAS.

Being able to repurpose a NAS as a wireless router is useful, though those looking for the greatest flexibility in where they store their backup system are likely to find better results with a Powerline adapter rather than WiFi. The Synology DiskStation DS213air is capable for an affordable NAS, but WiFi is still not the panacea to cable-phobia.

If your existing wireless network is patchy in places, you can use the DS213air as a WiFi hotspot to extend coverage (though you’ll obviously need a wired connection to reach the NAS in the first place). Alternatively, the DiskStation can be set up as a WiFi router all by itself, hooking up directly to your ethernet switch.

The two hard-drive bays take either 2.5- or 3.5-inch disks, and up to 8TB of storage, though you’ll get half that if you use RAID or Synology’s own Hybrid RAID alternative for drive-redundancy. There are also two USB 3.0 ports for adding external drives.

Inside, a 1.6GHz processor and 256MB of RAM run Synology’s DSM 4.1 software, which allows for not only remote access and backup purposes, but turns the DS213air into a DLNA streamer, iTunes jukebox, file and web server, print server, BitTorrent download station, and more. Companion apps for iOS and Android allow for remote browsing and streaming.

Synology claims the DiskStation DS213air can muster up to 108.07 MB/sec read and 58.66 MB/sec write speeds, though we’ve had a DS213air on our test bench for some time now and will have a full review with real-world benchmarking of our own very soon. Noise is said to amount to just 19 dB from the 92mm rear fan.

The Synology DiskStation DS213air is available from today, priced at $299.99 or £264.48.

DS413j owners can use a feature dubbed “Cloud Station” to sync their files on all of their computers, and Synology offers a mobile app for iPhone, iPad and Android that will allow you retrieve your files remotely, provided you have the DS413j hooked up to an Internet. On the inside, we have an unnamed 1.6GHz processor and 512MB of DDR3 RAM to keep things moving along. On the outside we aren’t working with too much, just two USB 2.0 ports and a Gigabit Ethernet port, but the DS413j comes with wireless support as well if you want to skip the cables.

Synology says that the DS413j uses only 31.56 watts during operation and 7.68 watts when in HDD hibernation mode, and it seems that reducing the carbon footprint of the device is something the company is pretty proud of. The Synology Hybrid RAID will build an optimal RAID volume “based on the hard drives installed” automatically, meaning that it isn’t necessary to have hard drives that are exactly the same size. Using the built-in media server, you can share content stored on your DS413j to other devices connected to your network easily – Synology specifically mentions the PS3 and Xbox 360, for instance.

Prices will obviously vary depending on the retailer you choose, but expect it cost a bit more than its predecessor, the DS411j, which is being offered at Best Buy for just south of $400. If you’ve got the cash and you’re in need of a private cloud server, the DS413j sounds like it might be a product worth your time. Be sure to have a look at our timeline below for more information on Synology!

You’ll be working with hardware assist with the DS213+ so that you’ll have improved performance over pervious models while using 256-bit AES encryption. You’ll also be able to work with USB 3.0 for improved restore times and backup when you need it. Both models (as it is with all Synology DiskStations) come with DiskStation Manager (DSM) operating system, made for intuitive everyday usage and business-friendly features galore.

Model DS213 comes with a standard SD card slot as well as 2 USB 3.0 slots, while the DS213+ brings on dual-core and floating-point for acceleration in decoding and encoding. Both units are going to be working with The Cloud Station package, including the ability for users to keep files in sync both “on the go” and in the office. This system gives you the ability to keep your files in sync without the need for 3rd party servers or port forwarding.

Both models have support for backups for both Windows and Mac OS X clients as well as centralized file sharing with common network protocols – simplicity, essentially. You’ll be working with ACL support for granular, file-level control as well as ADS for support of up to 100,000 users and groups. This system allows granular notifications via SMS, email, and even push – and there’s an Antivirus package if you’d like as well.

Find out all the information you need about this set of systems – if you don’t already have enough – in our original reveal of the DS213+ earlier this month. Otherwise you can pick both the DS213 and the DS213+ up immediately if not soon – DS213 will be up for $299 USD and the DS213+ will be available for $369 USD – check em out!

With Synology’s new System Hibernation mode, the DiskStation DS213+ is able to actively listen for network activity while consuming only tiny amounts of power. When it detects network activity, it’s able to quickly resume full operations. In System Hibernation mode, this machine requires just 2.64 watts of energy consumption.

When the device is in full operation mode, this device attains average read speeds of 110.36 MB/sec, while write speeds average at 84.31 MB/sec – both of these numbers are under RAID 1 configuration in a Windows environment. With AES 256-bit encrypted r/w speeds you’ll have 49.6 MB/sec for read and 24.7 MB/sec for write.

The DS213+ includes a a 64bit floating-point unit to boost the speed at which you’re able to decode and encode on the daily. Another bonus here is the DS213+’s upgraded surveillance environment with the ability to stream 12 channels of high definition IP camera all at the same time.

This device also has two USB 3.0 ports, one eSATA port, and a full-sized SD card slot. Inside you’ve got a noise dampening design and a 92 mm system fan for next-level airflow with just 19.9 dB(A) of noise. Like every other Synology NAS Server you’ll be working with DiskStation Manager 4.0 (DSM 4.0), and the whole system is available this week around the world wherever fine Synology products are sold!

[via Synology]

Today they’ve launched the new DS412+, a 4 bay NAS. As you’d expect, it offers various RAID options in order you keep your data safely backed up, but it’s fast too. Synology promise average read speeds of 202.36MB/s and write speeds of 179.15MB/s with a RAID 5 configuration and Link Aggregation mode. There’s also a USB 3.0 port located on the back of the unit if you need to shift your data to an external drive pronto.

The DS112, meanwhile, is similar to the single-bay DS112j that debuted last week, but aimed at small businesses and packing a little more power. It has a 1.6Ghz single-core processor and 256MB of RAM, up from 1Ghz and 128MB. It also has support for 4TB drives, as well USB 3.0 and eSATA ports located on the back. It promises power efficiency too: 13.2W under load, and 5.04W when idle.

Both products run the latest version of Synology’s software, DiskStation Manager 4.0. They’re shipping right now, with the DS412+ coming in at around $720, while the comes in at around $380.

The DS112j has designed to run quieter and cooler than existing DiskStation products thanks to the new design. It supports hard drives up to 4TB, has a 1Ghz processor, 128MB of RAM, a Gigabit LAN port, and two USB 2.0 ports for additional storage and network sharing. During operation, the DS112j consumes just 12.1W. When you’re not using the hard drive and it spins down, the enclosure enters a low power mode and uses only 4.4W.

Synology also include the latest version of their operating system that powers the NAS, DiskStation Manager 4.0. New features of the software includes support for cloud backup services, surveillance support, an enhanced management console, and several business backup features. If you already own a Synology DiskStation product, you can upgrade to Manager 4.0 for free from today.

The Synology DiskStation DS112j is available in the UK right now and costs around £114 (~$178). Pricing and availability for the United States have yet to be confirmed.

Another added feature is how DiskStation saves previous versions of all files to prevent the loss of any previously stored information. Within the Control Panel, notifications can now contact owners via email, SMS, mobile, MSN, and even Skype. Some notifications include when your CPU fan stops/resumes, eSATA disk is full, disk I/O errors, and improper shutdowns. All important faults that any business owner would like to know about as soon as they occur.

The beauty of DiskStation is monthly fees are eliminated because once you purchase the product, you have easily accessible cloud storage that is truly yours. Once uploaded content content is accessible from other computers in an instant. It is a large step up from popular programs such as DropBox and Box.net.

Backup Basics

Drives fail: it’s a fact of life. Many people upgrade their PC or laptop more frequently than the average HDD/SSD lifespan, but there’s always the possibility of a spontaneous hardware failure to really put a dampener on your day. Then there are accidents – dropping your laptop, spilling coffee into it, having it stolen or simply losing it – and user errors, such as inadvertently deleting files that subsequently turn out to be vital. With many media collections being entirely digital these days, it’s important to have a second copy just in case the worst should happen.

There are several ways to make that second copy, some local and some remote. The “cloud” – or basically somebody else’s servers that you access through the internet – is a fashionable option today, though can grow expensive the more space you take up, and can be slow depending on the speed of your broadband connection.

More common is local backup: some sort of secondary drive that you use to store a copy of your primary data. A few years back you could squeeze most of your important files onto a DVD or a Blu-ray; now, with ever-growing quantities of digital content, optical media is generally insufficient. Instead a second drive (or a number of drives) come into play, the simplest setup being a USB/eSATA/FireWire/Thunderbolt/etc external HDD directly connected to a single computer, or else network-attached storage (NAS) which hooks into your local network and performs backups from one or more computers over ethernet or WiFi.

The benefit of a NAS is that it’s readily shared between several computers: with enough storage, you can replicate the contents of a number of drives with a single unit. They’re also more likely to feature drive redundancy, where two or more HDD/SSDs are used to keep mirrored copies of your data. If a backup drive subsequently fails, the entire backup isn’t lost. That’s where the DS411slim comes in.

Hardware

The DS411slim may be – at 120 x 105 x 142 mm and 660g – smaller and lighter than most of the company’s other NAS, but it doesn’t stint on power. Inside the black plastic chassis there’s a 1.6GHz processor with 256MB of RAM, while in addition to the four 2.5-inch HDD bays you get a pair of USB 2.0 ports (one upfront with a dedicated copy button to instantly backup a USB drive) and an eSATA port to add storage or share USB printers across your network. A single gigabit ethernet port gets the NAS online.

Opting for notebook drives keeps the DS411slim small; Synology is also keen to point out that HDDs intended for laptops are usually quieter and cooler, suffer less vibration, can have increased MTBF (mean time before failure) and are more resilient to bumps than desktop drives. On the flip side, they’re more expensive per gigabyte than 3.5-inch drives and offer a reduced maximum capacity: most models top out at 1TB, versus the 3TB of the physically larger versions.

Of course, since the DS411slim has four bays, that’s a maximum of 4TB supported. Each drive screws into a snap-in plastic tray and slots into the NAS itself. They’re cooled by a 60mm fan that, in general, proved so quiet as to be unobtrusive: even under load, it was only when we got up close to the Synology that we could really hear it.

Software

Like other Synology products we’ve reviewed, the DS411slim runs the company’s DSM 3.2 software, and it’s one of the SlashGear team’s favorites for NAS management. Laid out across a Windows/OS X style desktop, each aspect of DSM’s functionality – and there are plenty – lives in its own draggable, multitasking window. Out of the box there’s support for multiple user accounts (with optional usage limits), site and mail server hosting, DLNA/UPnP media streaming to your PS3, Xbox 360, computer or PMP, standalone downloads (including BitTorrents), printer sharing (for up to two printers) and FTP support.

Optionally, the DS411slim can be turned into a VPN server, a Squeezebox or iTunes media server, various types of enterprise-focused drive, or – with various free iOS and Android apps – offer up its content to your phone or tablet.

DSM 3.2 supports regular RAID – including Basic, JBOD, RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 5+Spare, RAID 6 and RAID 10 – but we opted for Synology’s own Hybrid RAID system. This can create a redundant array across multiple drives of different sizes, and automatically adapts if a new drive is added: that means you can start off with two HDDs and then, as you need more space, add more as necessary, without having to start your RAID array again from scratch.

Setting up the NAS to work with Time Machine on OS X was straightforward. By creating backup-specific user accounts – one for each computer – with individual limits on how much HDD space they could take up, we stopped Time Machine from running amok and consuming the entire array. Incremental backups happen automatically, and even over a WiFi 802.11n connection were not too intrusive to other network use. Windows users, meanwhile, get a copy of Synology Data Replicator 3 on the bundled DVD, allowing PCs to do the same thing.

Performance

We installed two 1TB Toshiba 5,400rpm hard-drives, and let the DS411slim set up a Hybrid RAID array: we ended up with 912.45GB of available space. Should one of the drives fail, our data would still be safe on the other, and after installing a new drive the NAS would automatically rebuild its array. It’s worth noting that the drive bays aren’t hot-swappable, so you need to shut down the DS411slim in order to swap out or add in disks.

Over a gigabit ethernet connection, the DS411slim managed 43.2 MB/s write speeds and 59.6 MB/s read speeds. You’ll get faster speeds if you set the NAS up as a RAID 1 array, but no drive redundancy. It’s worth noting that the bottleneck for most users is unlikely to be the core drive speed itself, but the network: with more and more home users relying on WiFi, sheer network throughput is going to have the biggest impact on things like backup times.

Wrap-Up

There’s a price/performance/convenience balance to be made with the DiskStation DS411slim. The barebones RRP of $319.99/£232.99 compares well to other four-drive NAS, but you’ll spend more on drives and get less maximum capacity too. On the flip side, your backup system will likely be quieter and smaller than most of those rivals.

In the end, while business users and those with a taste for HD video may want to look to a NAS that accommodates 3.5-inch drives, the DS411slim holds plenty of appeal for the regular consumer. Backup support for multiple PCs and Macs, a wealth of media sharing features and DSM’s software flexibility to turn the DiskStation into a mini server, webhost, ‘Torrent station or jukebox add up to a system with broad appeal and flexibility. Factor in the straightforward UI and compact footprint and you can see why the Synology DiskStation DS411slim comes highly recommended.

The DS212 is aimed at the home and business workgroup user. Both of the devices have read speeds of over 109 MB/s and write speeds over 54 MB/sec. Both of the devices use a RAID 1 configuration and have USB 3.0 ports. The NAS devices also have drive noise damping features with noise output of 19.8 dB.

Both of the devices also have a SD card slot that allows a plug and save function for memory cards. The difference between the two units is that the DS212+ adds a single eSATA port as another connectivity option. Both drives support hot swap storage and need no more than 19W of power in operation and under 8W in hibernation mode. Both models are shipping globally at undisclosed pricing.

Hardware

Synology’s design language tends toward the subtle, and the DS712+ is no exception: a 157 x 103.5 x 232 mm box clad in matte and glossy black plastic. Under the hood, the DS712+ is powered by a 1.8Ghz CPU and 1GB DDR3 Memory. The twin 3.5-inch drive bays are accessible from the front (and can be used with 2.5-inch drives too), each with an LED indicator to show activity. Each hinged bay-door has a lock, too, though it’s more to prevent accidental drive removal rather than a real security feature.

Other front-panel lights include two LAN LEDs – the DS712+ has a pair of gigabit ethernet ports – and a status indicator, while there’s also a power button/light and a dedicated copy button that pulls the content from an external drive plugged into the front USB 2.0 port to a preset folder. The rear panel is dominated by a 92mm fan, but there’s also a pair of USB 2.0 ports and an eSATA port along with the power input and dual Gigabit ethernet ports.

Installation is straightforward: slot in one or two drives, each up to 3TB in capacity, and then plug into your network. Synology allows the two ethernet ports to offer either link aggregation or network failover: you can either double-up with two connections to a single network, for faster throughput, or have the DS712+ linked to two separate networks so as to be accessible even if one goes down.

Synology’s fan is temperature controlled, running slowly if the DS712+ isn’t under load. During our throughput tests it spun up to a solid hum – though was still quieter than a desktop computer – whereas under normal use it was barely noticeable amid the rest of the hardware in our test area.

If two drives aren’t enough for you, the DS712+ is compatible with Synology’s DX510 Expansion Unit, offering a further five bays. The DX510 plugs in via eSATA and makes for a maximum possible total of 21TB. It’s not a particularly cheap setup, however: the DS712+ has a list price of $499.99, and a DX510 is a further $499.99, neither coming with actual drives.

Software

Both Synology’s home and business NAS use the company’s excellent Synology DiskStation Manager software, a custom-built interface accessed through the browser and which is head and shoulders above the clunky UIs of rival products. DiskStation Manager (DSM) resembles a Windows or OS X desktop, offering various tools and apps that can be accessed simultaneously with a windowed layout. It’s also extensible, with Synology offering various “packages” that can add extra functionality to the box.

At its core, DSM allows you to set up a pair of drives in the DS712+ as either two separate disks, JBOD (i.e. one large disk that combines the capacity of both), RAID 0 or RAID 1, or Synology’s own Hybrid RAID. The latter is arguably the most useful: not only does it provide storage redundancy (i.e. with two 3TB drives you get 3TB of total storage, one mirroring the other in case of HDD failure) but you can use it with mismatched drives. So, if you have a 3TB drive and an older 2TB drive lying around, you can combine them into a Hybrid RAID setup and still have some redundancy (DSM figures out exactly what data security can be offered, in the case of mismatched drives).

Beyond that there’s functionality for just about everything you might want to use a NAS for, whether business, pleasure or a combination of the two. Basic things like user accounts (with optional capacity limits) are obviously supported, as is Windows and Mac backup; Synology offer a PC backup app, and DSM is Apple Time Machine compatible. There’s remote access – either limited to the local network or over the internet – and the ability to use the DS712+ as a standalone FTP, mail and web server, as well as a standalone BitTorrent downloader. Two USB printers can be plugged in and shared across the network too.

Multimedia use, meanwhile, sees the DS712+ step up as an iTunes server, a photo/video/audio streaming station, Squeezebox Server for those using Logitech’s distributed audio system, and as a way of pulling in internet radio. DSM has its own music playback app too, also living in the browser, and there’s DLNA/UPnP support for serving content to a PS3, Xbox 360 or other compliant device. Finally, there are streaming media and remote file access apps for iPhone and Android, allowing you to remotely access your content and documents without filling up your phone’s memory.

Other NAS devices offer some of this functionality, but what sets DSM apart is how straightforward to use it is. It’s definitely the most multimedia-friendly NAS software we’ve seen, but it doesn’t stint on advanced features. For instance, the DS712+ can transcode audio files on the fly, in case your UPnP client doesn’t support a certain file-type, as well as transcoding MKV video for playback on your PS3.

Performance

All that flexibility would be pointless if the DS712+ didn’t deliver on network performance, but happily that’s not the case. Synology claim up to 97.04 MB/sec write speeds and up to 107.09 MB/sec read speeds when transferring a 5GB file; if you use link aggregation, bonding the two ethernet ports, those rates jump to 105.59 MB/sec write and 180.91 MB/sec read.

We tested both setups, and found Synology’s figures to be surprisingly accurate. With a bonded network setup of the two gigabit ethernet ports, transferring 80.56GB to the DS712+ took 17 minutes and 22 seconds, reaching 103.62 MB/sec write rate. Copying files back from the NAS hit 183 MB/sec.

With just a single ethernet port in use, we saw 91 MB/sec write speeds to the NAS, and then 101.02 MB/sec read speeds, again both using Rsync to copy files to and from our computer. That’s considerably better than the DiskStation DS211 we tested last, though the DS712+ is more expensive.

Wrap-Up

It’s hard to argue with the DS712+’s performance and software flexibility. The hardware is compact and easy to set up, quiet in operation, and the data throughput – especially if you bond the twin gigabit ports – is strong. Synology’s DiskStation Manager is hands-down the best NAS interface we’ve seen, combining advanced features with a user-friendly UI.

Our only concern would be capacity, the dual drive bays and pricey DX510 expansion unit meaning adding storage beyond the 6TB maximum of the DS712+ itself could quickly get expensive. Still, Synology also offers the DiskStation DS411+II, with similar quoted performance figures but four internal drive bays and a $649.99 price, for those who think they’ll want more capacity from the outset.

6TB is plenty for many home and small business users, however, and on that basis the small footprint of the Synology DiskStation DS712+ and easy usability make it another impressive product from an impressive company.

Gallery

This new unit will be just under $500 USD and with the ability to begin with any amount of storage, scaling up an option as a person’s usage grows. The DS712+ allows you multiple redundancy options and the two-bay server will support RAID 1 or Synology Hybrid RAID (SHR) for single disk redundancy. Dual NICs will allow for inexpensive MPIO support, SHR will allow users scaling their storage to do so quickly when adding disks in the DX510, and the entire DS712+ runs DiskStation Manager (DSM) software.

DSM software is currently on version 3.2 and supports Mac and Time Machine for OS X Lion. Your DiskStation will include support for joining LDAP domains including simply to act as a lightweight LDAP server. Alongside this is Package Manager which allows you to add packages only when you need them, and users can now browse, install, and run add-ons from inside the DSM. Packages can be installed including VPN server, Syslog Server, and now 3rd party packages as well!

Synology rounds the whole package off with the following features:

Other business-friendly features include:
• Support for ADS domains up to 100,000 users and groups
• ACL support for granular file-level permissions (using local or ADS users and groups)
• iSCSI support with MPIO, MC/S, and SPC-3
• Virtualization support (supports VMware, Citrix Xen, and Hyper-V)

You can find all the places where you can pick up the SD712+ by heading over to Synology.com and tapping the correct region for where you’re living.

Various traditional RAID setups are supported, along with Synology’s own Hybrid RAID system which allows drives of different sizes to be used. The company’s DSM3.1 OS is also present, a straightforward way to access UPnP/DLNA media streaming, backup, file sharing, site hosting, standalone BitTorrent downloads and more.

Connectivity consists of a single gigabit ethernet port, along with two USB 2.0 ports and an eSATA for adding external drives or sharing a printer across your network. If you have network CCTV cameras then the DS411 supports remote monitoring and recording, and Synology offers Android, iOS and mobile apps for other platforms.

The Synology DiskStation DS411 is available now, though pricing is only confirmed at “under $500.”

The drives are hot-swappable, and the DS24+ supports Basic, JBOD, RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 5+Spare, RAID 6 and RAID 10, as well as Synology’s own Hybrid RAID system. The company reckons you’ll see 165 MB/sec write and 195 MB/sec read speeds on average, and the impressively comprehensive DSM 3.1 software supports Apple Time Machine and other backup systems, along with various server options, control of network cameras, network printing and UPnP streaming.

Power consumption is listed as 38.5W in hibernation and 104.5W when active, though that’s perhaps no surprise given all those drive bays. It’s shipping now, priced at $1,699.99 for the disk-free DS2411+, while the DX1211 expansion module is around $1,299.99.

Up to four 1TB drives can be installed, and thanks to Synology’s own Hybrid RAID (SHR) system you can have redundant storage without all of the HDDs being the same capacity. Alternatively there’s manual control over Basic, JBOD, RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 5+Spare, RAID 6 or RAID 10 arrays. External USB or eSATA drives can be added, and there’s Amazon S3 support for cloud backup; network connectivity is via a single gigabit ethernet port.

Time Machine integration, bundled PC backup software and DLNA/UPnP streaming wrap up the main functionality, but Synology’s management app also means you can turn the DS411slim into an iTunes server, FTP or BitTorrent box, IP camera recorder, printer server (for one or two printers), Squeezebox server, or more. It’s also compatible with Synology’s iOS and Android remote apps, and the new DSM beta adds Apple AirPrint support.

The Synology DiskStation DS411slim will go on sale in mid-February; pricing will be announced closer to release.

Press Release:

Synology Announces Its Newest Small Form-factor DiskStation, the DS411slim; Now, iPad® App Ready

Redmond, Washington- Synology America Corp. today announced the release of its latest DiskStation for home and small office use, the DS411slim. Using 2.5” drives, the compact form-factor DiskStation allows for full RAID redundancy while minimizing energy usage and noise. Utilizing Synology Hybrid RAID (SHR), users can easily create redundant volumes up to 3TB.The energy-efficient DiskStation consumes fewer than 17 watts in use, and a scant 9.6 watts in hibernation.

The DS411slim boasts a faster processor than the previous DS409slim, and more RAM (now 256MB). These enhancements allow users to do more with their DiskStation and do it more quickly. Like its predecessor, it can still fit in the palm of one hand.

Bundled with Synology’s renowned DiskStation Manager (DSM) 3.0, the DS411slim is a feature-rich network attached storage solution, offering numerous tools to home users. In addition to the expected file sharing and backup, DSM 3.0 includes an integrated DLNA-certified media server to effortlessly stream music and videos to compatible media players.

“Don’t let the small size fool you. This is a full-fledged NAS server,” said Jason Bonoan, Product Marketing Manager at Synology America Corp. “From the breadth of integrated features to the ease of remote access, this comprises an incredible suite of solutions that mere DAS devices just can’t match.”

Surveillance Station 5, Synology’s included network video recorder (NVR) software, lets users quickly turn their DiskStation into a surveillance system. Compatible with over 750 models of IP camera, Surveillance Station 5 makes it easy for home users to monitor their homes when away, for either protection of the premises or as a nanny-cam.

In addition to the depth of features currently offered in DSM 3.0, the upcoming DSM 3.1 (now in public beta) will further expand the capabilities of the DiskStation. Among the enhancements will be:
DS File for iPhone- a new app to ease file access
DS Photo+ and DS Audio are released for iPad to manage photos and stream your entire music collection from the DiskStation
Airprint support- allows wireless printing from iPad/iPhone

For more information, please visit: http://www.synology.com/us/products/DS411slim/index.php

Availability: The DS411slim is scheduled to be available for purchase in mid-February. The price will be announced at its release.

Each of the drive bays are hot-swappable, and there are twin gigabit LAN ports for hooking up to your network. Keeping things churning are a 1.8GHz dual-core processor with 1GB of RAM (3GB supported), and there are four USB 2.0 ports and two eSATA for hooking up external drives or using the DS1511+ for printer sharing duties.

Despite the storage potential, Synology reckons the DS1511+ only gobbles down 68W in use, and since it runs the same great software as we reviewed on the Synology DiskStation DS211, you can set it up as everything from a basic network drive to a media server, mail server, FTP store, IP camera station and more. It’s available now, priced at around $870 for the drive-free DS1511+ unit itself, or in various pre-configured forms.

Press Release:

Synology® Unveils High-Performance DiskStation DS1511+ with Greater Scalability and Full-Featured NAS Solution for SMB Users

Taipei, Taiwan—Dec 21, 2010—Synology® Inc. today unveiled DiskStation DS1511+, a high-performance NAS server that offers greater scalability, significant storage capacity and full-featured business NAS solutions for SMB users.

As information data increases exponentially by the minute, the performance of data transmission becomes a predominant requirement for setting up a centralized file server in a business environment. “With link aggregation, the DS1511+ surpasses its predecessor to deliver an astonishing 197 MB/sec in reading speed under RAID 5 configuration in a Windows® environment, and 165 MB/sec in writing,” said Chad Chiang, the product manager of Synology Inc. The 2 LAN structure with failover support coupled with hot-swappable drives thus ensure high data availability.

The DS1511+ provides space for five hard drives – with a single drive reaching a 3TB capacity – that can be scaled up to a total of 15 drives for a maximum of 45TB by connecting with two Synology DX510 expansion units. The default 1GB RAM can also be upgraded to 3GB to enhance work process performance. Running on a 1.8GHz dual-core processor, the DS1511+ only consumes 68 watts of power during operation, while the multiples scheduled on/off, wake on LAN/WAN and hard drive hibernation facilitate energy saving and low operating cost. The reliability of DS1511+ is solidified by Synology’s 3-year limited warranty.

Blessed by the Synology DiskStation Manager 3.0 (DSM 3.0) operation system, the DS1511+ can fit to a business environment easily. Windows ACL support allows for customized privilege setup on files and folders through existing Windows user interface. Moreover, user account can be managed more efficiently and productively by utilizing the Windows ADS integration to reduce burden of IT administration.

For anyone seeking an alternative of Storage-Area-Network (SAN), the affordable and cost-effective iSCSI support in DSM 3.0 allows SMB users to consolidate storage into data center storage arrays while providing hosts with the illusion of locally-attached disks. The DS1511+ also serves as a seamless storage solution for virtualization servers, such as VMware® vSphereTM, Microsoft Hyper-VTM, and Citrix® XenServerTM.

The Synology DS1511+ has many features that enhance the effectiveness of resource sharing. The comprehensive network protocol support assures seamless file sharing across Windows, Mac® and Linux platforms, while file access on the Internet is simplified by the encrypted FTP server and the web-based file browser. In terms of security protection, the presence of HTTPS, firewall, IP auto-block and AES 256-bit encryption engine provides users with a peace-of-mind during file sharing.

Availability

The Synology DS1511+ is now shipping globally.

The latest equipment deserves the latest software, and Synology has included it with the DiskStation DS211+. They’ve thrown in DiskStation Manager (DSM) 3.0 with the latest hardware, providing those who use the new DiskStation DS211+ with an intuitive interface, making it easier than ever to manage the server. The new DiskStation is also priced at around $400, and features the ability for drives to be hot-swapped, so that there’s a minimal amount of downtime in the chance that there’s a failure in a certain drive.

It’s a 2-bay NAS server, and supports drives that come in 3TB, providing up to 6TB of space in total. That should be plenty of space for a small business, and especially the average user that wants something of this caliber. There’s also an integrated SD card reader for good measure. Check out the full press release below for more information about the new DiskStation DS211+.

Press Release

Synology Launches Budget-Friendly, Business-Grade NAS DiskStation DS211+

REDMOND, Wash., Dec. 14, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — Synology America Corp. today launched the DiskStation DS211+, a high-performance and full-featured 2-bay NAS server for office and enthusiast users to share files, centralize backup, and protect data. The latest addition to the professional class of DiskStations comes with Synology’s distinctive DiskStation Manager (DSM) 3.0 software to provide an intuitive interface for managing the server.

As part of the revamped design, the DS211+ offers hot-swap drive bays, which will help businesses to minimize downtime in the event of a drive failure. Priced around $400, this is the first DiskStation to offer this feature at this price point. For photographers, it also offers an integrated SD card reader, making for easier transfers to the NAS.

“When you factor in the benefits of the newer hardware on productivity, this is just a great answer to the needs of small businesses,” said Jason Bonoan, Product Marketing Manager at Synology America. “With support for 3TB drives, that allows for volumes up to 6TB, plenty of space for many small businesses. This new model just represents a value unmatched by DAS so-called ‘solutions.’” In addition to the expected NAS duties, such as file sharing and remote access and management, Surveillance Station 5 allows the DiskStation to become an NVR solution. As a surveillance solution, it supports up to 12 IP channels at once, chosen from a list of over 700 camera models.

With DSM 3.0, it offers business users such features as: ADS integration (with support for domains up to 100,000 users and groups) Enhanced iSCSI support (including persistent reservations) Hardware encryption engine with 256 bit AES share-level encryption Using the intuitive DSM 3.0 interface, it is simple to manage all aspects of the server. Synology Hybrid RAID (SHR) allows users to easily create a redundant volume, protecting their data against disk failure without requiring expertise with RAID technology. In addition, the DS211+ is backed by a competitive 2-year warranty and in-house technical support with no extra charge.

Visit http://www.synology.com/us/products/DS211+/index.php for more product information.

About Synology Founded in April of 2000, Synology Inc. is a leader in next-generation Network Attached Storage (NAS) servers for the home and small to medium sized business markets. Specializing in both hardware and software for network attached storage devices; Synology products are feature-rich, easy-to-use, energy-efficient, reliable and affordable. All Synology product investments are enhanced with product warranties, free software upgrades and 24/7 online support. Visit http://www.synology.com for more information Synology has a global presence with regional offices in the US (Redmond, Washington) and the UK (London, England) and Taiwan (Taipei).

Press Contact Doug Self marketing.us@synology.com Synology America Corp.

Hardware

Unlike its more sober – and expensive – siblings from the Synology line-up, the DS211 comes with a crisp white chassis and a bright LED panel on the fascia. At 161 x 218 x 88 mm it’s not too large to sit in the corner on your desk, and Synology include the necessary AC adapter, installation kit and a 2m ethernet cable to get you wired up. You’ll also need at least one hard-drive: the DS211 will take either 2.5- or 3.5-inch drives, each up to 2TB, for a total of 4TB altogether.

Ports include a single gigabit ethernet, two USB 2.0 on the back and a single USB 2.0 on the front. There are indicator lights for overall status, network status, each drive and power. Like the DS411+ NAS we reviewed back in July, fitting the drives requires opening up the chassis rather than simply slotting in a couple of caddies at the back; a pair of screws hold the casing in place. A single 70mm fan keeps everything cool, including the 1.6GHz processor paired with 256MB of memory.

Software

The DS211 runs Synology’s DiskStation Manager 3.0 (DSM 3.0) OS, and it’s a comprehensive platform that covers more than just multi-PC backup. As with most network-attached devices, setup and control is managed via your browser; however, DSM 3.0 gets a new, multitasking UI with various independently draggable windows that can be viewed in a single browser tab. The whole thing looks like a blend of Windows 7 and OS X, complete with drop-down task menus and desktop icons, and it’s even possible to reskin it with different color themes.

While having a more aesthetically-pleasing NAS UI might not seem the best use of Synology’s resources, it does make using the DS211′s media functionality more pleasant. Load your multimedia, and the NAS has its own audio player that also supports internet radio; meanwhile there’s also DLNA/UPnP streaming to funnel that content around your home to compatible computers, HDTVs and STBs.

By default, with two drives the DS211 will set up a mirrored array that provides redundancy for your data: should one drive die, the other will still keep the data safe. Alternatively you can choose to bypass redundancy and set the two up as a single volume. With only two bays – unlike Synology’s larger NAS units – there’s no more complex arrays possible; however, you can add external drives via USB, or use the DS211 as a print server with a USB printer.

For backups, Synology provide their Data Replicator for PC users and Time Machine compatibility for Mac OS X. The front panel USB port has a Copy button which automatically pulls backs-up the contents of any camera, USB drive or memory stick you plug in. An app on the NAS itself makes for straightforward secondary backups, copying all the data on the array over to a local USB drive or a remote DiskStation or rsync station. Unlike with Data Robotics’ DroboProFS, you can remotely back-up to any server, not just an identical NAS.

There are many more apps on offer, including standalone BitTorrent downloads, photo and video slideshows – with companion apps for iPhone and Android – and SqueezeCenter compatibility for those using Logitech’s streaming audio system. Small office users, meanwhile, get the same security camera monitoring, virtual web host, PHP/MySQL, mail server and other business-friendly options as in Synology’s more expensive models. We were able to easily set up media streaming, simply by loading some audio files into a folder and ticking a few boxes, and even creating a web server was surprisingly straightforward.

Performance

Despite the relatively low amount of RAM Synology has outfitted the DiskStation DS211 with, we had no issues with performance. Set up as a RAID 1 array, the DS211 managed 101.37 MB/sec read rates and 56.12 MB/sec write rates, when tested with a 1.5GB file. That makes it roughly on a par with the DS411+ when it comes to read speeds, though around half as fast when writing data.

Wrap-Up

There’s a huge amount to like about the Synology DiskStation DS211. Not only is the NAS well made and compact, the DiskStation Manager 3.0 software stands head and shoulders above rivals for not only ease of initial setup but for ongoing use.

We’d like to have seen integrated wireless, too, though Synology do provide a list of compatible third-party USB WiFi adapters that can be used. Still, having it fitted as standard – even with the ensuing throughput limitations – would make for more flexible placement for home users willing to sacrifice some speed.

The data transfer speeds may not match Synology’s faster models, but then the DS211 is also half the price of the DS411+. Small businesses may want to look to models with more drive bays for greater future-proofing – and still get DSM 3.0 – but home users wanting not only data security but stable media access and more should definitely have the DiskStation DS211 on their shortlist.

We weren’t joking when we described the DS411+ as sober. A charcoal gray box measuring 168 x 184 x 230 mm, the front panel has little of note aside from the power button and indicator lights for status, LAN and each of the four hard-drive bays. There’s certainly no LCD display to tell you how much capacity is left. On the back there are two 80mm fans and then power, gigabit ethernet, two USB 2.0 ports and an eSATA port, together with a Kensington lock hole.

There are also four thumbscrews, which when removed allow you to slide off the top section of the chassis. Unfortunately, that’s what’s required every time you want to access the four internal 3.5-inch hard-drive bays. We’d prefer to have some sort of front or rear accessed caddy system instead, which would make for easier hot-swapping. Up to 8TB can be installed (four 2TB drives) with a choice of RAID 0, 1, 5, 5+Spare, 6, 10 or JBOD.

The DS411+’s processing is taken care of by an Intel Atom D510 1.67GHz processor paired with 1GB of RAM, while the software is flexible enough to do plenty more than just network backup. In addition to mirrored storage there’s the usual DLNA/UPnP media server streaming for audio, video and image files (including to PS3 and Xbox 360 consoles), standalone BitTorrent downloads, FTP and PHP/MySQL website hosting and iTunes server functionality. You can also use the DS411+ to monitor up to twenty IP webcams (as long as they’re compatible models), network-share two USB printers, and load various optional “Synology Packages” that turn the NAS into a SqueezeCenter or email server. Unsurprisingly there’s customizable user quotas for shared storage, Time Machine compatibility and all the usual NAS flexibility, while the two USB ports and the eSATA port can be used to add external drives.

All that would be for naught if the DiskStation DS411+ fell short in its performance; happily, it does not. We slotted in four Seagate 1TB hard-drives in RAID 5 configuration, and then measured transfer speeds with 1GB and 5GB files. Reading, the DS411+ managed 102MB/sec with the 1GB files and 110MB/sec with the 5GB files. Writing, the DS411+ managed 94MB/sec with the 1GB and 98MB/sec with the 5GB. That’s surprisingly close to the quoted 112MB/sec read and 106MB/sec write from the official specifications.

The front panel of the DS411+ may not be especially noticeable, but then neither is the sound; obviously it’ll depend to a large extent on which hard-drives you pick, but Synology’s fans are relatively quiet despite keeping the NAS cool to the touch. They’re also secured in place using regular Philips-head screws, so replacing them yourself shouldn’t be too arduous a task.

In all, we’re highly impressed with the Synology DiskStation DS411+. Not only does it get within spitting distance of its quoted specifications, it has the backup and multimedia flexibility to suit both home and small-business users. While we’d like to have seen a more accessible chassis, and the front panel could benefit from a status display, there’s no arguing with the NAS’ performance. At $650 for the barebones drive it’s not cheap, but if you need reliable, consistent speed then it’s at the top of the pile.

All three models have four 3.5-inch drive bays and support various levels of RAID configuration.  The DS411+ runs an Intel Atom D510 processor and sucks up 60.5W during use, while the RS810+ uses 68W; both support wake-on-LAN, HDD hibernation and power scheduling.  Meanwhile the RackStation RS810RP+ gets a second, redundant power supply.  Both it and the RS810+ support hot-swapping of drives, can have their 1GB of standard RAM expanded to 3GB, and have modular motherboards for easier maintenance and repair.

Of course, as well as backup there’s web hosting functionality – each unit can host up to 30 different sites simultaneously – and IP camera control, Windows ADS compliance and more.  The diskless DS411+ will be priced at $650 and carry a 2 year warranty. The diskless RS810+ is $1399, RS810RP+ is $1899, and RX410 expansion system (which can boost storage to up to 16TB) is $550; all 3 rackmounts carry at 5 year warranty.

Press Release:

Synology® Unleashes Scalable RackStation RS810+ and DiskStation DS411+ High-performance NAS Servers with Extensive Functionality for SMB Users

Redmond, Washington—July 16, 2010— Synology® America Corp. today officially launched the RackStation RS810+ and DiskStation DS411+, 4-bay NAS servers with rich, business-oriented features, appealing to SMBs that demand flexibility and great performing network attached storage solutions.

Businesses need a strong foundation to face mission-critical tasks, and can rely on the Synology RS810+ and DS411+ to deliver high-performance. Tested in a RAID 5 configuration in a Windows® environment, the Synology RS810+ and DS411+ deliver an average of 112MB/sec reading speed while RS810+ writes at 107MB/sec and DS411+ writes at 106MB/sec. The web server responsiveness rates are remarkable; the Synology RS810+ and DS410+ take less than 32 seconds to handle 1,000 simultaneous requests.

For forward-thinking and continuously expanding SMBs, the Synology RS810+ offers scalable storage up to 16 TB with the RX410, and is expandable to up to 3 GB RAM. The Synology RS810+ was certified to be VMware® ready, delivering a reliable storage solution for virtualization deployment. The hard drives are hot-swappable to ensure continuous service uptime when a drive needs replacement. The modular design allows for rapid in situ replacement of the motherboard. For businesses that require uninterrupted data sharing and protection, the Synology RS810RP+ comes with a redundant power supply, which optimizes data availability and safety.

The Synology RS810+ operates at 68 watts while DS411+ draws at 60.5 watts. With energy conservation features such as Wake on LAN/WAN, scheduled power on/off, and hard drive hibernation, users are not only able to reduce monthly bills, but also reduce their carbon footprint.

“The Synology RS810+ and DS411+ run on the award-winning operating system, Synology DiskStation Manager 2.3 (DSM 2.3), and are specifically designed for businesses that want an affordable alternative to various network devices or costly PC servers,” said Rosiel Lee, product manager at Synology Inc. The Synology RS810+ and DS411+ will host up to 30 websites with Web Station, become affordable NVR solutions, supporting up to 20 IP cameras with Surveillance Station, and act as mail servers with Mail Station. In addition, comprehensive business- oriented features are provided, including cross-platform data sharing, encrypted data storage and transmission, all-round backup solution, iSCSI capability and Windows ADS integration.

Availability

The Synology RS810+, RS810RP+, RX410 and DS411+ are now shipping worldwide.

In the box there’s the DS710+ itself, along with the AC adapter, screws to fix your hard-drives into the caddies, a Quick Start manual and warranty guide, installation CD and an ethernet cable. Accessories are packaged in a separate box to the NAS itself, and everything arrived scratch-free. The front of the DS710+ has a column of LEDs – for status, LAN, HDD1, HDD2 and eSATA activity – together with a power button (and LED); there’s also a USB 2.0 port, for plugging in a memory stick or memory card reader, complete with a “copy” button that automatically grabs the contents to a preset directory.

The back panel is dominated by the two HDD caddies, which are made of reasonably sturdy plastic and held in by simple clips; it’s an easy matter to disengage them and slide them out, though of course you’ll need a screwdriver to actually add/remove the drives themselves. As for ports, there are two USB 2.0, a gigabit ethernet, power and an eSATA connection, along with a Kensington lock hole, reset button and a blanked-off VGA port. The latter appears to be a legacy of the mainboard Synology have used, which is based on a 1.67GHz Intel Atom processor paired with 1GB of memory. Only one fan is fitted, a standard 80mm unit at the front, though while the textured front panel looks like it could be a fan grill it’s actually solid plastic; instead the DS710+ sucks in air through an array of holes at the bottom front edge.

Setup is straightforward; Synology provided us with a pair of 750GB Samsung HD753LJ hard-drives, which quickly screwed into the plastic caddies and slotted into place. While the temptation is to ignore the installation CD, it’s actually pretty important; it downloads the latest version of the DiskStation Manager firmware (DSM) and installs it, a process which takes a few minutes. The advanced setup allows you to specify a fixed IP address and rename the NAS, but once that’s all done the rest of the setup is completed via the web interface.

First stop is the Storage section, where you can choose from the various RAID setups on offer: Basic, JBOD, RAID 0 or RAID 1. With only two internal drive bays there’s obviously nothing more complex than simple mirroring, but you can add extra external RAID 1 drives using the ports on the rear. We picked RAID 1 and then had to wait a few hours while the array was established; of course, after you’ve done that you can subsequently replace one of the drives with the DS710+ still running and have it automatically repair the array. That’s made a little trickier by the rear-access to the dual caddies, but it’s unlikely to be something you’ll be attempting often.

Synology’s current DSM release is version 2.2, and there’s a long list of potential functionality depending on how much or how little you expect from your NAS. Obviously there’s basic network-access and backup, and you can create various partitions and directories, user and group accounts and the typical access restrictions (read, read/write, etc). Given the small office focus of the DS710+ you can set the NAS to automatically email new users with access instructions, together with sending out status messages to whoever is logged as administrator.

From there, though, the sky is the limit. The DS710+ can act as a UPnP/DLNA or iTunes media server, squirting out audio, video and image content across your network, and as a standalone BitTorrent download station. You can use it to host a website (with MySQL and PHP support) or merely as an FTP site, with an optional AJAX-based file and photo browser and support for smartphone access (iPhone OS 2.2.1 or later; WM 6.0 or later, Symbian OS 9.1 or S60 3rd Ed or later). You can plug a printer into one of the USB 2.0 ports and share that over the network, or use the DS710+ to store recorded video from up to sixteen IP cameras. There’s even a standalone media player app, which lets you plug in a set of USB speakers and control audio playback directly from an app in the web interface. Best of all, the vast majority of the interface is clear and straightforward, with little in the way of hurdles to get things up and running, and if you disable certain functionality then the menu generally is hidden so as to avoid confusing matters.

Just around the corner, however, is DSM 2.3 – currently in beta – and that adds even more flexibility. Recognizing that many users want offsite backup along with local storage, DSM 2.3 introduces support for Amazon S3, the company’s subscription-based cloud storage service. There’s also a new iPhone app called DS Cam, with the ability to remotely watch live IP CCTV footage managed by the DS710+, and Synology have made improvements to the onboard media player and AJAX photo browser too. Of course, if you’re relying on the DS710+ for your sole backup you might not want to put all your faith in the DSM 2.3 beta, but it’s an interesting taste of what’s to come.

A NAS with poor performance is of no use to anybody, and so we’re pleased to report that the DS710+ suffers no such shortcomings there, either. We used our gigabit ethernet network to transfer a 1.4GB file from a Mac Pro workstation to the DS710+, a process which took around 115 seconds (just under two minutes) in RAID 1 configuration and 102 seconds in RAID 0 configuration. Copying back that same file from the DS710+ to our Mac Pro took longer, however, at around 205 seconds (just under three and a half minutes) for RAID 1 configuration and 182 seconds in RAID 0 configuration.

The biggest problem we have with the Synology DS710+ is the price. Diskless, you can pick up the NAS for around $560, while a pre-configured DS710+ 2100 with twin 1TB drives will set you back around $860. That’s a serious step up from other dual-drive models in Synology’s own range, which actually run the same software (and so have the same feature list). Yes, the DS710+ is a speedy performer, but you really have to need that extra speed advantage in order to pick it. Still, make the investment and you’ll have a strong performer with bags of flexibility.

Quick Look Video

The DiskStation DS1010+ is based on Intel’s latest Atom dual-core D510 1.66GHz processor (in effect the nettop version of the N450), complete with up to 3GB of RAM (1GB standard), and Synology reckon it has 250-percent faster performance than its DS509+ predecessor.  As well as the five onboard bays – each happy with a 3.5-inch 2TB HDD – you can pair it with the DX510 five-bay external enclosure; RAID 1, 5 or 6 setups are supported, and there are dual gigabit ethernet ports, four USB 2.0 ports and an eSATA port.

As for the DiskStation DS110j, that’s a little more homely with just a single ethernet port and three USB 2.0 ports, an 800MHz processor and 128MB of RAM.  However it has similar media sharing and backup functionality to the DS1010+ (albeit with no RAID support, obviously).

Both are available in the US and Canada now, in both diskless and HDD-pre-installed forms.  No word on how much the Synology DiskStation DS1010+ comes in at, but the DiskStation DS110j is $150 with no included storage.

[via Linux for Devices]

Ports include gigabit ethernet, two USB 2.0 and a single eSATA which can be used to add extra external storage to the drive.  Inside there’s a 1.2GHz processor together with 128MB of DDR2 RAM, and the DS409slim can apparently operate normally without its fan being on.

As well as basic backup duties, the DS409slim will act as a file server, email server, web server and DLNA home media server.  Synology include Disk Station Manager 2.1, which manages RAID settings, backup, a BitTorrent downloader, FTP and HTTP settings, as well as UPnP streaming; meanwhile a new version, 2.2 Beta, will be released sometime this month, offering iPod touch/iPhone photo and audio access.

The Synology DS409slim is available now, priced at around $400 without drives.

Press Release:

Synology Introduces the DS409Slim, the Most Compact, Energy Saving 4-Bay NAS on the Market for Home and Small Business Users

Synology® America Corp. today launched the new 2.5″ 4-bay Disk Station DS409slim, a highly anticipated addition to the 09 series product line bringing lower power consumption, virtually quiet operations and an extremely small footprint both physically and financially while providing the same reliable data sharing and backup solutions that Synology is well known for. The DS409slim is one of the most versatile, energy efficient and stylish network attached storage devices on the market

Synology® America Corp. today launched the new 2.5″ 4-bay Disk Station DS409slim, a highly anticipated addition to the 09 series product line bringing lower power consumption, virtually quiet operations and an extremely small footprint both physically and financially while providing the same reliable data sharing and backup solutions that Synology is well known for.

The DS409slim uses 2.5″ hard drives which increases shock tolerance and reduces power consumption. The DS409slim consumes only 19 watts of power under normal operating conditions with all four hard drives installed. The smart fan design keeps the DS409slim’s fan off under normal operations resulting in an extremely quiet Disk Station that is perfect for sitting on an office desk or in living room.

“The DS409slim is one of the most versatile, energy efficient and stylish network attached storage devices on the market,” says Heather Morford, marketing director of Synology America Corp. “When you look at its compact size, you would never dream that it’s a full featured file server, backup solution, surveillance station, email server, web server and home media server. It’s designed for the SMB market but as an ‘all in one solution’; it’s also a great choice for home users. Home users will appreciate the surveillance features to keep watch on the house or kids, being able to stream or share files over the internet and the peace of mind that it serves as a solid backup solution to protect important memories and financial information. Best of all, it can sit on a bookshelf and won’t look like you have an IT department in your living room,” adds Morford.

Though small, the DS409slim is configured to perform. With 4 hot-swappable drives, a 1.2 GHz CPU, 128MB DDRII RAM, one Gigabit LAN port, two USB2.0 ports and one eSATA port it can handle all the needs of a small to medium business. The DS409slim supports up to 2 TB with the combination of four 2.5″ SATA or SSD hard drives of 500GB each. The physical footprint of the DS409slim remains stylish and compact with the total size being just larger than a 12 oz coffee cup (120 x 105 x 142 mm).

The DS409slim comes with Disk Station Manager 2.1 firmware which supports Windows ADS integration, cross platform data sharing, RAID data protection and several backup alternatives. Multimedia applications include; Download Station 2-functions as a 24×7 BitTorrent, FTP, HTTP, eMule and NZB dpwnload center. Audio Station supports music, Internet radio stations, and iPod playback with connected USB speakers. UPnP support allows users to stream multimedia files with an UPnP DMA on a stereo system or a TV-set. Sony PS3 and Microsoft Xbox360 are also supported.

DSM 2.2 Beta will be released in July 2009 with the official version releasing in September 2009. DSM 2.2 includes many new features that the DS409slim will be able to utilize; a new DLNA compliant Media Server which ensures interoperability between the DS409slim and various DLNA certified CE, PC and mobile devices. iPhone support allows users to upload photos to DS409slim or to browse photos stored on DS049slim with iPhone/iPod Touch and the ability to stream music with the iPhone/iPod Touch.

DSM 2.2 Beta will be free for download on Synology’s official website in July 2009
Availability
DS409slim is now shipping in the US.

About Synology
Founded in April of 2000, Synology Inc. develops next-generation Network Attached Storage (NAS) products for the home, small and medium sized business markets. Providing a secure way of storing and sharing digital content, Synology products are feature-rich, easy-to-use, energy-efficient and affordable. All Synology product investments are enhanced with free software upgrades and 24/7 online support.