Synology, maker of the DS209+ that earned our Editors' Choice award, unveiled Monday the DS409slim, its first advanced NAS server based on 2.5-inch laptop hard drives.
There are a few other NAS servers that use laptop hard drives, such as the Buffalo LinkStation Mini (most NAS servers use the regular 3.5-inch desktop hard drives). However, the Synology DS409Slim is the first we've seen that offers advanced functionality, including a variety of RAID configurations.
The biggest advantage of supporting small hard drives is the reduction in size of the device. Measuring only 4.7 inches by 4.1 inches by 5.6 inches, the DS409slim is significantly smaller than other four-bay NAS servers that support 3.5-inch hard drives. According to Synology, the DS409Slim consumes much less energy than other NAS servers of the same performance.
Despite its compact physical size, the DS409slim comes with impressive specifications, including a 1.2GHz CPU, 128MB DDR2 RAM, one Gigabit Ethernet port, two USB 2.0 ports, and one eSATA port. The new NAS supports up to four 2.5-inch SATA hard drives with up to 500GB each, which is currently the largest capacity for hard drives of this size. The hard drives are hot-swappable and can be set up in a variety of configurations including JBOD, RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 6.
Like the DS209+, the DS409slim is powered by Synology Ajax-based Disk Station Manager 2.1 firmware, which supports Windows ADS integration, cross-platform data sharing, several backup alternatives, and a vast amount of multimedia applications. Examples of these applications include a download station that supports BitTorrent, FTP, HTTP, eMule, and NZB; an audio station that supports Internet radio stations, and iPod playback with connected USB speakers; and support for a variety of media-streaming standards that let users stream multimedia files to set-top boxes or game consoles including the Sony PS3 and Microsoft Xbox 360.
Synology also announced at the end of June that its upcoming version 2.2 of the DSM firmware will be DLNA-compliant. Users will be able to update to this version for free when it's released in September.
The DS409slim is available for purchase now with a street price of about $400 without hard drives.
(Credit:
Synology)
• Support for RAID 6 in four-drive and five-drive Synology NAS servers. RAID 6 provides better protection than RAID 5 by allowing for data integrity even when two hard drives fail at a time.
• Enhanced IP camera support with more cameras added to the list.
• Support for SMART, the popular predictive failure feature found on most hard drives. Users now can use the firmware to monitor the health of the NAS' hard drives.
• Network File System support.
The new firmware also offers an enhanced audio station that allows for playing music directly to a PC's speaker (instead of only to USB speakers in the current version), and an enhanced iTunes server that has a new playlist-managing feature. The firmware will be available later this month as a free download.
Synology also announced its new NAS server, the DS408. The device supports up to four SATA hard drives with a combined capacity up to 4TB with multiple RAID configurations. The DS408 will also be available later this month for an estimated $749.95.
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The DS207+ is the same as the DS107+ except for being about 40 percent wider to support another hard drive and RAID capability.
(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET Networks)I reviewed the Synology DS107+, a single hard-drive NAS device, a while ago and gave it an Editors' Choice award for its incredible amount of features, a well-thought-out Web interface, and its great performance. Still, I came way wishing it could take another hard drive and support RAID.
Apparently, I don't have to wish at all. Synology also offers the DS207+, a dual-bay NAS device that is the same as the DS107+ with the exception of the second hard-drive bay and RAID capability.
The DS207+ has the same number of ports (two USBs and one eSATA), LED status lights, and it looks similar to the DS107+, but it is about 40 percent thicker to make room for the second hard drive. It can take two SATA hard drives of any capacity. It also comes with robust firmware, called Disk Station Manager 2.0 NAS Management, that was unveiled in April, and a slew of features also found in the DS107+ such as Surveillance Station, Photo Station, Media Server, and so on.
Like the DS107+, the DS207+ is also a NAS enclosure. That means it doesn't come with any hard drives and you will have to buy and install the hard drives. It's very easy to do so as long as you can handle a Phillips-head screwdriver.
You can get the DS207+ now for about $350--that's about $50 more than the DS107+. In my opinion, the addition of another hard drive and the RAID configurations is totally worth it.
Still, now I wish it were cheaper.
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