Synology DS211J DiskStation 2-bay NAS Server for Small Office and Home Use

Comment:
Primarily a low energy headless linux box for your household/small enterprise network. I got my unpackaged and the significant functionality up in a single night ƒx2TB HDDs take a even though to parity check). I've been messing around with some of the other features as well, I'm excited about the ability to use it as a svn server, not to mention the quantity of items I haven't even discovered however. DynamicDNS is a should with this issue, your files are only an ftp client away :) Not actually the NAS's fault, but DLNA is still not ready for primetime in my opinion, too numerous restrictions and lack of support. Also, it's very good to note that this NAS has restricted NTFS help. To access any files on a NTFS usb drive needs at least half of the processor power. I'm using 2 USB external difficult drives suitable now along with the server but they're NTFS so I'm going via the slow method of copying the data and reformatting to FAT32. Other than the NTFS limitations although, accessing the usb difficult drives is truly straightforward and they can even be mapped to your computer system like any of the internal volumes. I'm seriously excited about my new DS211j and I'm loving it far more and more each day

Comment:
I purchased this for my parents to use at their house so they can access the exact same data on both of their desktops and laptops. It was extremely uncomplicated to set up, it looks like Synology truly came by way of with DiskStation Manager three.! It is excellent to know my drives are mirrored so I don't have to be concerned about losing every thing when 1 goes down. Now I'm searching forward to finding a second device for our property so we can back up the data in between the two. Synology is very open to developers functioning by means of terminal access, which is good! This model (and a lot of others) makes use of an ARM processor instead of x86, though... so if you want to add apps, prepare to discover cross-compiling as most apps aren't pre-built for that architecture. Synology does have a couple models with PPC and x86 chips, even though.

Comment:
This is not just an NAS, this is like a tiny information center, has entirely simplified my life, everything works flawless and uncomplicated.Almost everything from a DLNA, Download Server, Media Server, File Serve, Mail and Net Server, you really cannot ask for anymore. For 200 bucks you cant go incorrect. I Threw a 2TB HD in it and thats it. Im able to access all my files from anywhere with an web connection, like my telephone. None Just Obtain It, you will not be disappointed.

Comment:
I was hunting for some thing techy to figure out this winter so I purchased this unit. I was astounded by the list of functions and capabilities! Those in the know about NAS really like it , so I am going on a learning journey to come across out for myself. I had to print the almost two hundred web page manual to stick to along for the setup. Have a lot of ink for printing!

Comment:
As opposed to several NAS, it actually handles data transmission effectively. With recommeded Hybrid Raid-1 ƒ 1-TB HDDs I pulled off from a Buffalo NAS), big file wirte can be far more than 30MB/s, and study quicker than 80MB/s. For smaller files, write is nevertheless about 20MB/s, and read - I haven't tested it, so not confident. The similar HDDs only maxed at 11MB/s, both create/read, in the NAS they came from, even with RAID-.HDDs Installation is effortless, even though not screwless.It comes with a DVD offering multilingual manuals and software. Manuals are in specifics, even though genuine, since all Synology NAS uses the proprietary Synology DSM NAS OS.Synology offers APPs for iPhone and Android to connect with the NAS if desired, which is a nice further.There are many other features that I don't will need to use, but they're there, such as DLNA and FTP. Fundamentally it's hard not to locate the function you require for a house user - as extended as you read through the manual and set it up correctly. The Information Replicator 3 application bundled with it can't handle extended file names. Nevertheless its free with the NAS (no subscription required), and it does have true-time monitoring capibility of chosen folders.No WOL function, which signifies I either need to leave the NAS on all day, or don\'t forget to turn it on/off each day.Audio / Photo Stations inside the DSM OS demands you to run a browser to use, which is sort inconvenient. The NAS can stream content material by using software program on client Computer such as Winamp anyway, so I simply don't use the constructed-in Audio / Photo Stations.Initial User Account setup took me awhile. It doesn't accept a sharefolder login from the client's side of this format: XXXX\CCCC (XXXX - name of client's pc; CCCC - login account), which is what Windows 7 would initially do. So to log onto sharefolders successfully, I had to go to Windows 7's User Account page to take out the XXXX manually, only then it accepts my account. If I can give it a 4.5 egg rating, I would, for the lack of WOL. On the other hand, I consider it's not fair to take out an egg just for this blemish.

Comment:
This point has additional function than most PCs. I can access files from multiple PCs, Server 2003 and my Seagate Theater + from my film space. I installed two 2TB drives into a RAID 1 config. The Synology DSM operating program took 6 hours to validate the drive(s). Backup software program comes with it. You can also stream to your mobile phone and to the Web. You can map a drive to this thing and it appears as a regional challenging drive to a Computer. That implies your Windows 7 House Premium Pc can carry out a Windows backup to it. When in standby, it consumes 10 watts of power--like 1 or two night lights. No need to have for WOL support. It has an Atom CPU which seems to be a bottleneck with regards to performance. Uploading photos from a Pc to the DiskStation averages 1-2MB/sec with a gigabit network connection and the CPU averages 90-one hundred% performing this. The much more high-priced Synology boxes are quicker. The understanding curve for this box isn't steep, but will demand a handful of hours of time to get familiar with the DSM operating program. Thankfully, all Synology boxes use the very same DSM computer software. At just more than 赨, this is a excellent devce to use as a residence server. If it was quicker I'd give it 5 eggs.

Comment:
All mentioned earlier, plus the outstanding tech support from Synology. Quite informative customers forum on the business's web site, the tech assistance actively participates and assists with resolving problems. An internal layout and external plasticy feel still leave a thing to be preferred. Turned out the troubles I've been experiencing was my fault of not carrying out adequate investigation. This NAS is paranoid about the HDD overall health, which is exactly what's anticipated from a backup device. So when it detected the spin up time value falling under the threshold - it issued an HDD failure alert. A false spin up situation when working with Samsung HD204UI HDD in this NAS was discussed on Synology forum, the company tech help actually read it and issued a patch - in spite of the truth this HDD is not on authorized HDDs list however. After applying the patch the NAS performs flawlessly.

Comment:
1. Tons of Features two. Great Interfacethree. Good Performance4. Quietfive. Operates with Apple Items. Most persons would say cost is a con, not me. Worth each penny. No cons I can assume of. Right after browsing for an NAS that was capable of carrying out anything I wanted I finally pulled the trigger and purchased the DS211J, and I am incredibly pleased. I am a 100% Mac household which can have it quirks. But this drive works great. I was capable to use time machine to back up two macs, access the drive using 2 iphones and a Ipad. Plus stream to a PS3 and a Apple Tv. I installed two WD 1TB Caviar Black drives and it is quiet, I don't even right here the fan. I couldn't be a lot more pleased and would advocate this drive to anybody.

Comment:
Fairly fast. Ok value for a diskless system i guess.... Coulda been less costly but oh properly, it has a lot of characteristics. This is for a buyer so didn't get to mess about with the auto save to external device feature. I have it set up to exactly where he can remote in making use of a safe connection but connect with a common connection from inside the network. Utilizes uncomplicated Windows file sharing protocols (duh) so uncomplicated for customer to use, just add to workgroup and develop shortcuts. Even have some Windows applications installed on it and hardlinked to the desktops. FTP constructed in, which is cool. UI is clean and effortless to use. Wish customers apart from admin could be shown all the possibilities admin can see if so preferred to be set up that way. Make Folder Share is what I would like most. My consumer has to use the admin account to make folder shares, which I didn't want. I wanted him to just be able to do that and not see most of the other admin selections, but it seems only admin can create new folder shares. Did I miss a thing? Usefull for SOHO or a household that wants to share stuff like pics and videos. You can have a lot more storage than a complete computer for the very same cost and less complexity plus redundancy, so I say it is def a win if this is something that you could use.

Comment:
I have only had this NAS for about a week, but compared to my earlier one (Buffalo Linkstation Reside) this 1 blows everything else out of the water. Very rapidly read / write speeds (typically 30 - 40 mbps). The DSM three. computer software is super straightforward to use, if you can use Windows / OSX then you can use this with no a problem.Setting up to access by way of the web, safety, and so forth. is extremely straightforward.General I am very pleased with the solution. It is remarkable for the cost. I paired this with a 2TB Samsung HD for the time becoming, but strategy on adding a 2nd 2TB HDD in the close to future to let for RAID functionality and extra storage. None so far Customers have commented on these NAS drives taking a while to format. There is an solution for the swift format, even so their standard format does a quite intense format and checks each and every sector to keep away from problems later. Just set it up ahead of you go to sleep and it will be ready for you when you wake up.

Comment:
I live in a split house with Mac, Computer's and Linux so I want a device that is agnostic to the operating method. I read the optimistic testimonials and crossed my fingers it would work for me too. So far so excellent. Files are becoming shared across the network and operating systems. The Macs are all now happily Time Machining their backups, and the PCs are running whatever backup it is that comes with Windows 7, and Linux if FTP'ing. I was shocked when initially configuring the method to see that this is a complete tilt NAS, with LUNs, RAID levels, and iSCSI among other things. I'm not positive what I was expecting. Its got a lot of whistles and bells that based on your point of view could be Cons. I'm not confident its going to replace my linux web server. Very first it tends to make me a small uncomfortable to place my personal files in the DMZ. Identical issue goes for working with it as a firewall or router. With two 1 terabyte Hitachi drives running RAID 1 its pretty very, significantly quieter than the old Maxtor NAS it replaces. Any noise comes from the drives and IMO it can reside nicely on my desk. Bottom line no regrets - 5 eggs

Comment:
We have been deploying 1-two Synology devices like the 211j every week for roughly a year. They are low-cost, effortless to set up, and you can manipulate the naked drives with ordinary mdadm. We have been seeing a six-month failure price approaching 100%. We generally use new WD drives and put the devices on a UPS; we have been consistently seeing drive drops and array breakages for no explanation. The drives do not increase any Wise stats and are usable soon after that point. We are a skilled consulting firm and can\'t accept a extended, drawn-out "Try this, see if it performs" procedure, with its attendant RMAs and long support calls; we need to have anything we can trust. Regrettably, Synology can\'t offer us this at this time.

Comment:
This issue is quick/scalable/reliable/configurable/expandable/bulletproof and worth ten occasions what it expenses. For the funds you get a complete function NAS with two drive bays, Linux OS with a lot of seriously top rated shelf apps, assistance for raid arrays and JBOD, thru-the-internet accessability, dlna media server, audio and video apps, exceptional disk management apps, strong group/user creation and mgmt, a net server app, ddns with no-ip support and a host of other extremely helpful file/data sharing utilities. Get in touch with Synology tech spt and you won't get a tier-1 zombie - rather you get a incredibly knowledgeable competent tech who knows the product inside and out - really impressed! I've used most of the network apps and so far they function perfectly. This is not a con but be advised: if you're populating the NAS with big drives (I populated my NAS with two, 2TB drives for a max capacity of 4TB), initial drive preperation will take eight-ten hours to complete - for every single drive! I known as Synology tech spt to come across out if there could be a difficulty and they explained that the NAS drive prep utility goes thru an excruciatingly detailed surface scan at the outset thereby eliminating difficulties with undesirable sectors and other associated complications after the drive is placed into operation. THere is a less time consuming drive prep providing but they encouraged the total scan - and so do I. Locate anything else to do whilst the scan is running. Also; I bought my NAS to use mainly as a DLNA media streamer. It does that flawlessly - this issue is bulletproof, I have purposely attempted to add and delete shares/folders/users/etc etc to attempt and confuse this box. It continues to operate flawlessly - I'm amazed and impressed! The Synology folks certainly did their homework. There is 1 anomaly I found with the DLNA function that I find rather annoying; As soon as the DLNA server is activated in the command interface, it produces three separate media folders (Audio and Video and Photo) and areas them at the root level of Volume 1 (ie disk 1). The DLNA server will only look into these folders to find media to serve up. So, unless you Raid- your two drives and develop one big volume, you will be stuck storing all your media files on only one drive - OR WILL YOU. There are various workarounds for this, and they work (although a small cumbersome). After the three media folders have been placed on your vol 1, you can manually move a single or much more of them to vol2 and the op sys will work just as effectively with the folder on vol 2. You can also use a 'root' login to access the linux opsys and mount pointers to other shares you've designed on vol2. Each techniques are explained on the Synology web site. Possibly an update to DLNA file looking is due (hint hint).

Comment:
The computer software operates excellent. It was straightforward to set up. Looks good. Lots of choices. Reasonably low-cost. It is a small slow, in particular when moving significant quantity of files. The initial backup (moving about three.5TB of data to it) went incredibly slowly, even more than USB, and took a few days. But when the data's there (and it is now), I don't want to do that any longer considering that I'm using it mostly as a backup device. The USB drives I used to transfer the data had been NTFS formatted which slows it down a lot. Employing a native format would possibly be quicker, but I didn't try it.The plastic housing feels a little inexpensive, but given that it's just going to sit on a shelf I believe it's fine. I wasn't positive what to expect with this. I knew I wanted a NAS with FTP capability so I could load a back up of my data on it and then move it off-web site (to my in-laws property) exactly where I can push incremental backups to it over the net. It does that, and more. I've now got online access to my media collection from just about anyplace on the planet. It's got far a lot more features than I'll ever will need to touch.I nearly gave it 5 stars, but went with 4 because I do have a couple of cons listed. I feel it's a very good, solid item with great characteristics at a great cost, it's just a small slow (which is possibly never going to be an challenge for most people).

Comment:
This NAS is effectively built, installation and computer software is really effortless to use. The unit requires up a really smaller quantity of space and is really quiet. The efficiency for backing up 3 PCs as well as media and other files is very good. I caught this item on sale at another site, but purchase nearly almost everything from the Egg all of the time. They had it for 赱 with no cost shipping which I felt was worth it. Manufacturer's web page is wonderful as far as help and software program downloads! Any time I have a question I received an immediate response with simple to comply with directions or explanations. The customer service and support was a major element in my acquire as I have had bad experiences in the past from other corporations. I would definitely suggest this product and business to all of my friends.

Comment:
- Quickly ࿜-70MB/sec download to Computer and 30-35MB/sec upload to DS)- Fantastic interface, total of features- Whisper quiet, in particular with the WD Green (WD20EARS) drives. Really minor complaint, but I had expected to see some sort of rubberized mounting points. I place smaller foam pads on the corners of my drives ahead of installing them to lessen any modify of rattle.It was also not apparent in the beginning how to set up the DSM software, but then again I don't read manuals.

Comment:
Rapidly transfer rate 40MB/s 鶀Mb/s). With Jumboframe, 50MB/s 鷐Mb/s). Uncomplicated setup, full of capabilities, low power usuage none A reviewer below said the pic uploading is at 1-2MB/s...he is definitely not doing a thing appropriate.

Comment:
I purchased two of these for my mother and my mother in law. I wanted some redundant storage so I didn't have to deal with them trying to back up their critical files. They each have been flawless. They are uncomplicated to setup, fast for a two bay NAS. The only dilemma I ever had was an ID10T error. When the energy goes out I didn't have them setup to auto restart and I had to go out and turn it back on.

Comment:
Fairly rapidly, Tons of functionality, Not as well high priced, Excellent for small workplace, I feel it's a wonderful unit, could take a even though to setup depending on how numerous Computer's you have and what OS they run.

Comment:
Solid trustworthy technique surveillance station requires camera licenses. READ synology.com info... Do not bother with the surveilllance station app, unless you are prepared to give them a line of credit for camera licenses. I guess Newegg removed my prev post mainly because I was too crucial of the licensing scheme. Licenses are tricky to find. Type of odd that a software essential is out of stock on the vendor web site.

Comment:
Good item, painless set up and it does almost everything I need it to. Printer server works good and it streams all of my stuff to Apple Television with XBMC and Samsung BDP3600 blu ray player. Initial disk format took a Extended time, had to leave it on overnight to check my 2TB drive for errors.

Comment:
This is my initial NAS drive, and so far does all it is advertised to do. I have a quite big quantity of music, photo's and video. Have it linked to my Apple Airport Extreme router and hardwired from my main Pc to the router. Employing iTunes server and FTP file access. Installed only one WD 2TB EARS drive and works perfectly. iTunes server showed up immediately on each my iBook and Computer iTunes shared folders. FTP set up was pretty effortless set up, even though the EZ set up does not involve Apple routers. Had to go in manually to my router and set up port forwarding. Transfer rate after I connected straight to the Airport Extreme rather of thru a Gigabit switch is consistently around 30MBs. Thru the switch was only obtaining 6Mbs.The Synology is a little far more high-priced than the Netgear or D-Link fundamental two bay diskless offerings, but following reading all the evaluations, every single of these units was referenced frequently against the Synology. So went with Synology for a little far more. Glad I did. I am not an IT skilled, but a Mech engineer by education and get pleasure from as a hobby understanding networking and connecting my household gear with each other. (My wife thinks I spend a tiny also much time receiving to the "Wow honey, isn't that cool"). Even with virtually 200 pages of manual, it does take some understanding of network acronyms, how networking functions, and a small thinking to make the system do what you want. Not like just plugging in an external USB drive. But if you just want to use it for backup only and not other choices, pretty straight forward. For what I do, the 211J processor speed is sufficient though I have pushed it to 100% for lengthy periods. May look at the 211 with 25% quicker processor subsequent time, but incredibly happy with the J so far. I have about 1TB of data files on the unit right now. Now searching at what else I can do with the great small unit. As constantly, NewEgg is the very best with speedy delivery. Lastly, Synology seems to have taken a que from Apple with quite skilled packaging of the item.

Comment:
Certainly one particular of the best purchases I have produced for my network in years! Set up was straightforward... and simple to say the least. Setup as a back up drive and a DMA for all my videos and images. Able to stream to PS3 and XBOX360 devoid of any difficulties. iTunes server and FTP are good characteristics! General, this small NAS has made my network setup efficient and easy to preserve. Only con is that I really should have purchased this unit years ago! Did I mention that it was the greatest purchase I have created in fairly a while! Certainly worth the extra $$!

Comment:
Almost everything in 1 location. Added 2x WD 1TB black. Nonetheless...backup to USB attached device fails. Really flaky, finally got it to back up to a WD 2TB mybook formatted NTFS. EXT4 formatted seems to be substantially faster but is not dependable. I have a 1TB that it will not reliably back up to, what is the point?This is a identified problem with synology if you appear on the world wide web...wish I would have known. See above.

Comment:
Currently stated by others Does NOT support bidirectional printing, so you will not get any messages from your printers (out of paper, low ink, insert CD tray, and so on.) My 2+ year old, 贄 Belkin Network USB Hub DOES assistance bidirectional printing, so Synology's excuses about how hard it is to help and why they haven't completed it yet are lame. Only supports two USB printers, even though it has 3 USB ports (I could have applied assistance for a third).Only one Ethernet port. Will recognize an NTFS-formatted challenging drive attached to the USB port, but will NOT format NTFS. Most of the above Cons can be worked about, but I seriously miss the bidirectional printing capability of my Belkin Network USB Hub, which this replaced. Backing up to the USB HDD attached to the Belkin hub was from time to time flaky, and HDD sharing was 1 user at a time (i.e., no simultaneous access), so we required a much more robust network storage solution.I'm hopeful (but not overly optimistic) that Synology will upgrade the DiskStation OS to assistance bidirectional printing in the near future.