An affordable NAS solution for the home and business user. We take a look at the new DS211.
Product on Review: Synology DS211
Manufacturer and Sponsor: Synology
Street Price: £229.45 Inc. VAT (At time of review)
Synology are a strong force within the NAS market. Apart from just a few other names in the business they have an abundance of NAS products that cater for the home user right through to the corporate enterprise. Last year we took a look at the Diskstation DS410 and DS210j and we were very impressed.
This time we are to look at a newly released NAS called the DS211. Which is the next product up from the DS210j. The naming system that Synology adopt is quite intuitive – Diskstation (DS) Number of bays (2) Year of production (11). The variable at the end of each of the product range such as + or j symbolise – Performance (+) Entry Level (j). So our unit today has 2 bays, is 2011 model and is from neither performance or entry level range.
So the DS211 promises to be a strong contender for the budget crown delivering performance for home and small business users. Lets waste no more time and begin our analysis.
Synology’s Take:
Synology DiskStation DS211 is an affordable and full-featured 2-bay NAS server designed to increase productivity for business workgroups. Cross platform file sharing, rich office applications, data backup and security are easily achieved in a flexible solution. Running on DiskStation Manager 3.0 (DSM 3.0) operating system, it delivers ease of use and variety of features.
Specifications
Please visit the Synology website for Full Specifications on the DS211
Packaging & Bundle
Synology always take care with their packaging. It’s nice to see that they have maintained their eco-friendly traits by packing the DS211 into a recyclable box. Whilst there isn’t immediate excitement at seeing a brown, recyclable box, for such an item Synology have done a very nice job. Around the box we have short listings of the specifications and upon opening we are met with an inviting number of bundled extras within.
+ Power pack
+ RJ45 CAT5 Network Cable
+ Instructions Manual
+ Screws
+ Software CD
The DS211 packaging[/i
Plenty of items within the bundle
The DS211 is delicately placed into a foam blanket to keep it protected from knocks, bangs and scratches. But upon taking the NAS out of this sleeve we are met with a rather nice looking NAS unit. Unlike the DS410 which we reviewed last year, the DS211 follows a different colour scheme whilst being within the same product group “Home to Business Workgroup”. Of course this unit is smaller, and is going to be more suited to the home user and the DS410 the small business. The DS211 is smaller, and will accommodate up to 2 x HDDs. With first impressions to the side, lets move in for a closer look over the page.
An attractive looking NAS
Closer Look
Along the front panel of the DS211 we have a series of LEDs for Status, LAN, Disk 1 and Disk 2. These LEDs will give you a basic indication of activity. Further down we have a USB 2.0 port, USB copy button and power button which again has an LED.
Front panel of the DS211
Spinning the DS211 round to the back we can see that there is a perforated mesh panel that houses the 70mm PWM fan. Beneath this, 2 X USB 2.0 ports, LAN (RJ45) port, hard reset, and the DC in (12V) which the power pack will connect with. Next to this we have the MAC and serial numbers should you need to use for technical support.
The rear of the DS211
The underside of the DS211 has 4 rubber legs which will stabilise the unit on any surface so you needn’t worry that this unit will fall or slip.
The underside with rubber legs
Opening the unit up is easy, the DS211 is made up of two parts, just slide the panel without the grey fascia attached and the panels separate. Upon closer inspection, we can see inside there is a rack that will allow you to slide in 2 X 3.5″ drives, these shelves line up to SATA ports that provide power and functionality.
The drives actually slot in rather easy, a perfect fit.
Opening the DS211 is very easy
Space for 2 drives – which slot into SATA ports behind a 70mm PWM fan
Drives in – fitting is easy, a perfect fit
DiskManager 3.0
Towards the end of last year Synology launched DSM 3.0 the next stage in their NAS OS. DSM 3.0 has rich features and a wide array of functionality. The main focus with it, is that it can sustain multi-tasking operation with ease. Upon installing Synology Assistant which can be found on the software CD we are faced with the following screen. This gives us information about the DS211 that is being hosted on our Gigabit network.
Incidentally, installing the NAS is very easy. Slot the drives inside the unit, connect it to the network via the CAT5 cable supplied in the bundle, hook up the DC in power-pack and you are ready to go!
The first screen – Synology Assistant
Straight out the box the DS211 doesn’t have an OS, so we need to install with the latest version from the Synology website. When download, the .pat file just needs to be selected and the software integrates DSM 3.0 for you.
Installing DSM 3.0
During the installation of DSM 3.0 the softare configures the HDDs installed inside the DS211. This involves applying network protocols, formatting the drives and adding partitions ready to be used for storage. This process doesn’t take very long at all – it will of course depend on how large the drives are. The drives I installed are 1TB Samsung F3’s.
Configuring drives ready for use within the DS211
Upon completing the installation of DSM 3.0, we can now log into the NAS. From the Assistant. The default login details are admin and no password. This should be adjusted after first logging in for security measures.
The login screen
When you first log into the NAS, you are met with a welcome screen that gives you quick start functionality.
Welcome screen with getting started features
Inside the GUI there are lots of features to look at and use. The Control Panel has a wide array of functionality allowing you to take full control of the DS211. Below is a screenshot showing what is available. The beauty with DSM 3.0 is that you can perform multiple tasks at once unlike in previous version of DSM.
The control panel with a multitude of features
DS Audio – Play music from Android or iPhone
Amongst many of the leading features with the DS211 and DSM 3.0 we have the ability to store files on the NAS and stream them to mobile devices such as Android or iphone. For the purpose of this review I thought it would be a worthwhile inclusion to show the functionality between the NAS and mobile device for audio files with DS Audio by Synology. About Synology DS Audio.
Synology DiskStations not only offer a great storage solution for media files, but now you can access your music collection directly from your iPhone or iPod Touch. Synology’s DS audio application allows users to access their music collections stored on the Synology DiskStation and stream that music through the iPhone or iPod Touch across an internet connection.
NOTE: Sound station will need to be enabled from the Control Panel of DSM 3.0
First things first, I went to the Android Market and did a search for Synology. Upon searching I discovered a number of apps by Synology to interface with my NAS but the app that I am concerned with is the DS Audio. The great thing is, these apps are also free!
Android market has many Synology free apps
After installing the app, we are met with a login screen (just put in the IP, username and password) and then you come to a home screen which gives you different options. I select “Folder” and can then navigate to where I have put an MP3 on the DS211.
The DS Audio homescreen – search for music in different ways
I can then play the file directly from the DS211 from anywhere within range of the wireless connection the NAS is being hosted on. So if you have an iphone and docking station with speakers you can ideally have the music playing off the NAS within another room. Perfect if you are entertaining guests and want some ambience!
Playing music off an android phone directly from the DS211
Transfer / Power / Thermal Performance
We have looked at some of the features that DSM 3.0 brings on the DS211 but how does this affect performance? What are typical transfer rates like over a Gigabit network? Is power consumption reasonable? Does the unit keep the HDDs cool? These are all questions that you might be asking and we are here to answer them.
Combined with the testing for DS211 will be a Toshiba STORE Steel 250GB USB drive and DS410 to present some interesting comparison.
Test Setup
CPU
Motherboard ASUS Rampage III Formula
Memory 12GB Kingston HyperX 1600MHz DDR3
Graphics NVIDIA GTX 580
PSU Antec Signature 650W
Devices
– Belkin N1 Gigabit Router
– Synology DS211
– Synology DS410
– Toshiba STORE Steel USB
First of all, for the purpose of real world testing I bundled together 6 files which were in 2 folders amounting to 3.2GB. I wanted to discover the incoming and outgoing transfer times between the DS211 and the computer – against other devices on a Gigabit network. Here are the results, combined with the resource monitor that is provided by DSM 3.0. Notice the difference in performance and low resources used.
Whilst performing these tests load power consumption was monitored. The power consumption was also monitored whilst being in an idle state. There are actually two states, idle after usage and hibernation which the unit falls into after 10 minutes of non-usage. Hibernation figures were recorded.
Temperatures were also monitored using the in-house monitoring software. Note: load temperatures during transfer did not present any change in HDD temperature.
Conclusion
The DS211 represents Synology’s attempt at bringing performance and storage to home and small business users on a budget. It will host 2 drives and provide you with great network storage at a smaller price-tag than you would expect.
Synology’s NAS OS – DSM 3.0 delivers a powerful interface that, as you have briefly seen from this review brings some fantastic features. The interface is very much web 2.0 and the emphasis with DSM 3.0 is that you can engage in multi-tasking without performance taking a hit. Performance and power consumption were very pleasing from the DS211 for its size and cost.
Features like the DS Audio which I previously showed in this article are innovative to say the least. I was able to sync my HTC Desire with the DS211 and so long as I was in WiFi range I could stream music directly from the NAS to my phone in just a few button pressed thanks to the DS Audio phone app. What this means is, provided you have an Android / iPhone ready device you can stream files from the NAS anywhere in your home. Fantastic!
Priced at £229.45 Inc. VAT the DS211 is an affordable NAS unit with lots of features thanks to DSM 3.0.
Pros
+ Affordable NAS solution
+ Great performance
+ Small, compact
+ DSM 3.0
Cons
– Plastic construction
+ Affordable NAS solution
+ Great performance
+ Small, compact
+ DSM 3.0
Cons
– Plastic construction
