Review on 📦 Efficient Storage Solution: Synology DiskStation 1-Bay (Diskless) Network Attached Storage DS111 (White) by Gordon Turman

Initially I didn't want to buy another "cheap" NAS device as my previous purchase was a year ago (still with PATA interface) ) was a very slow I/O device with no robust feature set and a very proprietary disk configuration. I've been using the DS-111 for the past few days to see what it's made of and it didn't disappoint. .Integrated software. Synology DS-111 uses its own operating environment called DSM. I'm checking this with version 3.1, which is slightly newer than the 3.0 version it shipped with. Updating the device was as simple as downloading the update file from Synology's website, logging into the device with a browser, and pointing to the file. Installation -------- Installing the hard drive was very easy, although they don't include the correct screws to install the hard drive, so have them ready if you want it assembled properly. Design ------- The device has a USB and eSATA port on the front, 2 USB ports on the back and a minimalist design with indicators for power, LAN, HDD, OS status and eSATA I/O to the front panel. There is a standard size (20mm) fan on the back. If you've dealt with this type of unit before, you know it's the first thing to do and it seems standard enough to be easily replaced or upgraded to something with better bearings or less noise. The block is made entirely of plastic, except for the base of the device. Noise -------------- It's quiet. You can hear the drive spinning and hard drive heads moving, but no louder than if they were inside the computer case. The fan doesn't make much noise and the power supply is external so there is no fan hum or rattle. Operation ---------- You can configure disks, volumes and ranges as iSCSI target. I have verified that this works with vmWare ESX 4i and the I/O is as expected. You probably CAN run a virtual machine from here, but only in your home lab. File sharing works with internal file permissions that you can define. Users, passwords and password strength are configurable. You can also enable guest access to file shares. You can set up a device as an NFS target. Windows file service is supported as well as Apple file service. LDAP and domain connection are supported. SNMP connection is supported. Account banning is supported on subsequent login failures, as is automatic banning of IP addresses that violate the rules. In this case, you can receive email notifications or SMS notifications on your mobile phone. While I like this warning, it's worth noting that if you change your password, you'll receive the password unencrypted via email over the internet. Audio to your iPhone/iPad with free apps. The photo software's refresh rate is slow, but it's a very nice interface and allows you to fix a port so you can address this device from the internet without exposing it to a firewall on nonessential ports. The iTunes share is supported, but I couldn't get the Apple TV to show the shares. I suspect you'll probably need a computer running iTunes to specify its locations in order to share media. A simple SSH/Telnet connection is available for device management. The user interface is completely browser-based. SSL supported. The device has an e-mail notification where you can specify the e-mail addresses you want to be notified of errors or changes. The device can be set to turn on automatically after a power failure. Performance --------- Using a 3MB SATA drive at 7200RPM, copying a 1.05GB AVI file from my Macbook to the DS-111 takes about 19 seconds. It takes about 22 seconds to extract the same file again. Record an average file speed of 50MB on a 1000MB network connection. Not remarkable, but not bad for a budget NAS either. When copying multiple files upwards, the speed is kept at about the same level at 50 MB/s. When copying 2 GB up, when copying 1 GB down, the speed drops noticeably to 20 MB/s in both directions. seems about four times faster than copying to the same disk in a Windows XP shared folder on the same network. You just want something on your home network to store pictures, movies and documents - you'll be happy. All other plugins are optional features that may or may not work well, but are nice to have. I believe this replaces my need for a home server and reduces power consumption to about 1/10th the power consumption of a computer running this way while actually preserving some functionality over a server.