Network | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net KitGuru.net - Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards Thu, 21 Sep 2023 07:12:56 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-KITGURU-Light-Background-SQUARE2-32x32.png Network | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net 32 32 Netgear launches the Orbi 970 router series with WiFi 7 support https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/joao-silva/netgear-launches-the-orbi-970-router-series-with-wifi-7-support/ https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/joao-silva/netgear-launches-the-orbi-970-router-series-with-wifi-7-support/#respond Thu, 21 Sep 2023 07:12:06 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=631315 Netgear recently introduced a new device to its Orbi lineup, with the Orbi 970 series routers. Featuring a strong new antenna design and WiFi 7 support, Netgear claims the Orbi 970 is able to provide exceptional performance in 360-degree coverage throughout almost any house, regardless of layout. With faster internet speeds now available to more …

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Netgear recently introduced a new device to its Orbi lineup, with the Orbi 970 series routers. Featuring a strong new antenna design and WiFi 7 support, Netgear claims the Orbi 970 is able to provide exceptional performance in 360-degree coverage throughout almost any house, regardless of layout.

With faster internet speeds now available to more households, more connected devices, and an increase in bandwidth-intensive applications, wireless networks need more capacity, lower latency, and support for higher speeds. That's where WiFi 7 comes in. Built upon the WiFi 6E protocol, WiFi 7 expands the channels to 320 MHz, increasing speeds and performance. The Orbi 970 Series capitalises on the new standard, guaranteeing that the benefits that come with WiFi 7 are spread within your house, from the front door to the backyard, across all devices at the same time.

To guarantee that WiFi remains fast across all devices, Netgear has implemented two of its own technologies: Quad-Band and Enhanced Dedicated Backhaul. The latter is the result of configuring multi-link operation (MLO), a WiFi 7 feature, to combine 5 GHz and 6 GHz bands to create a 10 Gig wireless backhaul offering reduced latency and high data delivery speeds. Moreover, Smart Connect, another feature of the system, automatically picks the quickest WiFi band for each connected device.

To attain the greatest wireless speeds possible today, the router has a 10 Gig internet connection as well as one 10 Gig and four 2.5 Gig Ethernet ports. The routers and satellites' sleek and cylindrical forms are carefully intended for best performance while looking good in your house. Each includes 12 high-performance internal antennas with high-powered amplifiers for 360-degree coverage.

According to Netgear, new Orbi 970 Series mesh system (three-pack) can cover up to 8,200 square feet and can accommodate up to 200 devices. Extra satellite(s) may be installed to increase coverage. Each add-on satellite expands the coverage of an existing Orbi 970 system by up to 2,700 square feet and includes one 10 Gig and two 2.5 Gig Ethernet connectors, enabling genuine multi-gig WiFi.

With the NETGEAR Orbi app, the setup process is quick and easy. In addition, the app also allows users to administer their network remotely. Another important feature on the Orbi 970 series is Netgear Smart Parental Controls, which allow you to control your children's online time across all of their connected devices and encourage healthy online behaviours for the whole family. The basic functionalities are accessible for free, but there's also a premium plan that unlocks extra features.

The Netgear Orbi 970 series is now available in white and black (a limited edition only available on netgear.com). The RBE973S three-pack (router and two satellites) is priced at £2,199.99/$2299.99, and the RBE972S two-pack (router and a satellite) goes for £1,599.99/$1699.99. Both include one year of Netgear Armor service. A single satellite (RBE970) can also be acquired for £799.9/$899.9.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: If you were planning to expand your home's wireless network, would you consider the new Orbi 970 series for the job?

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WD Red Pro 22TB HDD Review https://www.kitguru.net/components/hard-drives/simon-crisp/wd-red-pro-22tb-hdd-review/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/hard-drives/simon-crisp/wd-red-pro-22tb-hdd-review/#respond Wed, 31 Aug 2022 08:44:39 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=572352 It's WD's latest Red Pro NAS-focused drive - and it costs almost £600

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WD recently refreshed their Gold, Red Pro and Purple product lines with new 22TB flagships. Aimed at NAS systems with up to 24 bays, the 22TB Red Pro features WD's latest technologies for CMR hard drives and the company's NASware 3.0 technology. Today we find out if this drive is worth its asking price of almost £600.

The 22TB Red Pro (WD221KFGX) uses WD's latest ten disk / twenty head platform, using 2.2TB discs. It has a spindle speed of 7,200rpm and a 512GB cache. WD quote a maximum sustained transfer rate of 265MB/s for the drive, which is 3MB/s slower than the quoted transfer rate of the previous flagship 20TB Red Pro drive.

The official power consumption figures for the drive are 6.8W when operating, 3.4W when idle and 1.2W when in standby and sleep modes, all three of which are slightly lower than the 6.9W, 3.8W and 1.6W respectively of the 20TB version of the Red Pro.

WD quote a workload figure of up to 300TB/year for the 22TB drive (the whole Red Pro range has the same workload figure) and back it with a 5-year warranty.

Physical Specifications:

  • Usable Capacities: 22TB.
  • Spindle Speed: 7,200rpm.
  • No. Of Platters: 10.
  • No. Of Heads: 20.
  • Cache: 512MB.
  • Recording Method: ePMR (Energy-Assisted Perpendicular Magnetic Recording).
  • Interface: Serial ATA (SATA) 6Gb/s (SATA III).
  • Form Factor: 3.5in.
  • Dimensions: 26.1 x 147 x 101.6mm.
  • Drive Weight: 67g.
  • Firmware Version: 83.00A83.

Be sure to check out our sponsors store EKWB here

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QNAP’s latest NAS can double as a silent Plex server https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/nas/matthew-wilson/qnaps-latest-nas-can-double-as-a-silent-plex-server/ https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/nas/matthew-wilson/qnaps-latest-nas-can-double-as-a-silent-plex-server/#respond Wed, 17 Aug 2022 09:58:02 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=571179 QNAP is back with its latest NAS device. The new TS-410E stands out from the rest of the line-up by offering the quietest operation possible using a fanless cooling design. Primarily designed with multimedia-use in mind, the fanless TS-410E offers high-speed I/O, dual 2.5GbE ports, SSD slots, 4K output via HDMI and more.  The compact …

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QNAP is back with its latest NAS device. The new TS-410E stands out from the rest of the line-up by offering the quietest operation possible using a fanless cooling design. Primarily designed with multimedia-use in mind, the fanless TS-410E offers high-speed I/O, dual 2.5GbE ports, SSD slots, 4K output via HDMI and more. 

The compact TS-410E fits multiple usage scenarios, including the ability to be installed upright for greater space efficiency. It is powered by an Intel Celeron J6412 quad-core processor with 8GB dual-channel memory. It has four 2.5-inch SATA 6Gb/s SSD slots and users can flexibly configure SSD caching to boost IOPS performance. The TS-410E also provides hardware-accelerated AES-NI encryption to ensure data security without impacting performance.

If you have your local network set up right, the dual 2.5GbE ports will deliver up to 5Gbps transfer speeds, so you can access and move files super quickly and minimise downtime. For software, the system runs the QTS 5.0 Smart NAS OS, which supports file storage, sharing, backups, synchronisation, and also supports Plex, so you can set up a private media server and stream media files to any device.

You can learn more about the new QNAP TS-410E, HERE. Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Do many of you use a dedicated NAS for work/business, or even just streaming via Plex? Are you considering an upgrade? 

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Asustor Drivestor 4 (AS1104T) 4-bay NAS Review https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/simon-crisp/asustor-drivestor-4-as1104t-4-bay-nas-review/ https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/simon-crisp/asustor-drivestor-4-as1104t-4-bay-nas-review/#respond Thu, 07 Jul 2022 12:04:30 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=563636 This compact 4-bay NAS is well priced at £260, but the performance is worth looking at

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The four-bay Asustor Drivestor 4 (AS1104T) sits under the company's Personal to Home banner. Powered by a quad-core CPU backed by DDR4 memory, the compact entry-level Drivestor 4 also features a 2.5-Gigabit Ethernet port. We find out if it is worth buying at the £260 asking price.

Powering the Drivestor 4 is a passively cooled Realtek RTD1296 1.4GHz multimedia SOC. The RTD1296 is built on a 19 x 19mm TFBGA 636, 0.65mm ball pitch package. It uses an ARM Cortex-A53 quad-core 64-bit CPU together with an ARM Mali-T820 MP3 3-cored GPU and supports up to 4GB of DDR4 or DDR3. The Drivestor 4 comes with 1GB DDR4-2400MHz, if you feel you need a bit more memory then I'm afraid you are out of luck as the memory is soldered onto the motherboard. The 2.5GbE capability is also provided by Realtek in the form of the RTL8125B IC.

As for performance, Asustor rate the Sequential (SMB 512KB) read/write performance of the Drivestor 4 as 214MB/s and 266MB/s respectively. These figures were obtained from a Drivestor 4 loaded with four Seagate IronWolf 110 SSDs built into a RAID 5 array.

Asustor backs the Drivestor 4 with a 3-year warranty.

Physical Specifications

  • Processor: Realtek RTD1296 quad-core (1.4GHz).
  • Memory: 1GB DDR4-2400MHz.
  • Gigabit Ethernet Ports: 1 x 2.5GbE.
  • Rear panel connectors:  1 x USB 3.2 Gen1.
  • Front panel connectors: 1 x USB 3.2 Gen1.
  • RAID support: JBOD, RAID 0/1/5/6/10.
  • Cooling: Active – 1 x 120mm.
  • Drive Bays Supported: 4.
  • Maximum hard drive size supported: 20TB.
  • Maximum Capacity: 80TB
  • Internal File System support: EXT4
  • Dimensions (D x W x H): 218 x 164 x 165mm.
  • Weight: 1.57kg (empty).

Be sure to check out our sponsors store EKWB here

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ASRock is selling AMD and Intel Wi-Fi 6E upgrade kits for its motherboards https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/joao-silva/asrock-is-selling-amd-and-intel-wi-fi-6e-upgrade-kits-for-its-motherboards/ https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/joao-silva/asrock-is-selling-amd-and-intel-wi-fi-6e-upgrade-kits-for-its-motherboards/#respond Thu, 07 Jul 2022 10:00:16 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=567121 If you own a modern Intel or AMD-based ASRock motherboard and have thought about upgrading the wireless connectivity, there is now a way to do it. ASRock has recently introduced AMD and Intel Wi-Fi 6E upgrade kits, allowing users to benefit from faster WiFi and Bluetooth 5.2. These upgrade kits consist of an M.2 (2230) …

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If you own a modern Intel or AMD-based ASRock motherboard and have thought about upgrading the wireless connectivity, there is now a way to do it. ASRock has recently introduced AMD and Intel Wi-Fi 6E upgrade kits, allowing users to benefit from faster WiFi and Bluetooth 5.2.

These upgrade kits consist of an M.2 (2230) NIC, two antennas, two SMA Wi-Fi antenna cables, and a plastic cover for the module. The interface type changes depending on whether the kit is for AMD or Intel boards. While AMD's kit uses a PCIe interface, the NIC for the Intel boards uses CNVio2. Every other specification is the same.

Both kits support Wi-Fi 6E (802.11a/b/g/n/ax), Bluetooth 5.2 and MU-MIMO. Moreover, they use dual-band 2×2 with extended 6GHz band support for increased performance. It's not clear which chipsets are used for each kit, but VideoCardz believes AMD is using a rebranded MediaTek MT7921K card. As for the Intel kit, it could either use the AX211 or AX411 chipset.

The AMD upgrade kit is compatible with many ASRock motherboards, as shown in the support list. On the other hand, the Intel kit is much more limited, as it's only compatible with some ASRock Z690, H670, B660 and H610 motherboards.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru says: Do you own a motherboard compatible with these kits? Are you planning on getting one for yourself, or would you prefer an alternative like a USB pen or an add-in card?

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Synology launches 5-bay DiskStation DS1522+ https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/nas/matthew-wilson/synology-launches-5-bay-diskstation-ds1522/ https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/nas/matthew-wilson/synology-launches-5-bay-diskstation-ds1522/#respond Mon, 04 Jul 2022 07:25:28 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=566603 Synology is back with a new 5-bay DiskStation for 2022. The new Synology DiskStation DS1522+ launches this month, providing a compact solution for all-in-one storage to help you store, protect and share data.  The DS1522+ integrates well as the primary storage solution for smaller setups or as an edge node for multi-site deployments. Powered by …

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Synology is back with a new 5-bay DiskStation for 2022. The new Synology DiskStation DS1522+ launches this month, providing a compact solution for all-in-one storage to help you store, protect and share data. 

The DS1522+ integrates well as the primary storage solution for smaller setups or as an edge node for multi-site deployments. Powered by DiskStation Manager (DSM) 7.1, it features robust data management capabilities, comprehensive file sharing, collaboration, and video surveillance capabilities. The DS1522+ also supports the DX517 expansion unit.

With two expansion units and the main DiskStation, you can scale up to 15 drive bays as storage needs increase. A new network upgrade slot enables anytime 10GbE upgrades, while two built-in M.2 2280 NVMe slots can be used to speed up storage performance significantly.

Synology Drive enables intuitive file management and synchronization between platforms like Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS, ensuring your data is accessible no matter where you are. The DS1522+ also includes data backup, snapshot, and replication automation to ensure files can be backed up to other devices and cloud services automatically once set up.

The DS1522+ also functions as a full-fledged video management system that provides full local data ownership. Synology's Surveillance Station is a powerful VMS designed for businesses that already protects over 500,000 sites.

The Synology DS1522+ is available starting today, you can find more information HERE.

KitGuru Says: Do many of you use Synology at home or work? 

 

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QNAP TS-364-4G 3-bay NAS Review https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/simon-crisp/qnap-ts-364-4g-3-bay-nas-review/ https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/simon-crisp/qnap-ts-364-4g-3-bay-nas-review/#respond Thu, 12 May 2022 11:00:38 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=550599 We check out one of QNAP's latest 3-bay NAS devices

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QNAP have long been champions of the 3-bay NAS, from entry-level models up to those with even 10GbE SFP+ connectivity. The latest model to join the clan is the TS-364, which comes with 2.5GbE support and a pair of M.2 NVMe slots. Price around the £450 mark, we put this NAS through its paces and find out what it is capable of.

The TS-364-4G is powered by either an Intel Celeron N5105 or N5095 quad-core CPU. Our review sample came with the N5105 (2.00GHz, burst up to 2.9GHz) fitted. The processor also provides an AES-NI hardware encryption engine and hardware-accelerated transcoding. The TS-364-4G comes with 4GB of DDR4-2666MHz memory as standard but if you feel the need for more memory then it's not a problem as the motherboard / CPU of the TS-364 supports up to 16GB of RAM via two SODIMM slots.

QNAP quotes Sequential throughput performance for the TS-364-4G as up to 271MB/s for reads and up to 251MB/s for writes. QNAP has also equipped the TS-364 with a pair of M.2 PCIe Gen 3 NVMe slots that can be used for storage pools, cache acceleration or Edge TPU for AI image recognition which is all good but on the downside, the slots only run at x2 speed.

QNAP back the TS-364-4G with a 2-year warranty but this can be extended up to 5 years by purchasing a warranty extension.

Physical Specifications

  • Processor: Intel Celeron N5105 (2.00GHz, burst up to 2.9GHz).
  • Memory: 4GB DDR4-2666MHz.
  • Gigabit Ethernet Ports: 1 x 2.5GbE.
  • Rear panel connectors: 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2, 1 x HDMI 1.4b.
  • Front panel connectors: 1 x USB 3.2 Gen1.
  • RAID support: JBOD, RAID 0,1, 5.
  • Cooling: 1 x 92mm.
  • Drive Bays Supported: 3.
  • Maximum hard drive size supported: 18TB.
  • Maximum Capacity: 54TB (3 x 18TB, 20TB drive compatibility not listed) at time of writing.
  • Internal File System support: EXT4.
  • Dimensions (D x W x H): 260 x 150 x 142mm.
  • Weight: 1.64kg.

Be sure to check out our sponsors store EKWB here

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WD Red Pro 20TB HDD Review https://www.kitguru.net/components/hard-drives/simon-crisp/wd-red-pro-20tb-hdd-review/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/hard-drives/simon-crisp/wd-red-pro-20tb-hdd-review/#respond Wed, 20 Apr 2022 10:21:38 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=556818 It's a NAS-focused 20TB HDD, packing in a ton of technology - but it doesn't come cheap

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WD has recently added a new flagship HDD drive to their NAS orientated Red Pro range, in the form of a huge 20TB capacity model. It features WD's latest technologies for CMR hard drives, including OptiNAND, ePMR and triple-stage actuator technology, as well as the more NAS-focused features that the Red Pro product line brings, such as the company's NASware 3.0 technology.

The 20TB Red Pro (WD201KFGX) makes use of WD's latest nine disk platform, with each of the 2.2TB discs having an areal density of 1,131 Gbits/sq² along with eighteen heads. It has a spindle speed of 7,200rpm, a 4.16ms average latency and an impressive 512MB of cache. WD quote a maximum sustained transfer rate of 268MB/s for the drive, which is 4MB/s slower than the quoted transfer rate of the previous flagship 18TB Red Pro drive.

The official power consumption figures for the drive are 6.9W when operating, 3.8W when idle and 1.6W when in standby and sleep modes, all three of which are slightly increased from the 6.1W, 3.6W and 0.9W respectively of the 18TB version of the Red Pro.

WD quote a workload figure of up to 300TB/year for the 20TB drive (the whole Red Pro range has the same workload figure) and back it with a 5-year warranty.

Physical Specifications:

  • Usable Capacities: 20TB.
  • Spindle Speed: 7,200rpm.
  • No. Of Platters: 9.
  • No. Of Heads: 18.
  • Cache: 512MB.
  • Recording Method: ePMR (Energy-Assisted Perpendicular Magnetic Recording).
  • Interface: Serial ATA (SATA) 6Gb/s (SATA III).
  • Form Factor: 3.5in.
  • Dimensions: 26.1 x 147  x 101.6mm.
  • Drive Weight: 69g.

Firmware Version: 83.00A83.

Be sure to check out our sponsors store EKWB here

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Synology launches DSM 7.1 beta with new features and upgrades https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/nas/matthew-wilson/synology-launches-dsm-7-1-beta-with-new-features-and-upgrades/ https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/nas/matthew-wilson/synology-launches-dsm-7-1-beta-with-new-features-and-upgrades/#respond Tue, 22 Feb 2022 16:22:44 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=551229 Synology's major DiskStation Manager 7.1 update is on the way and there is good news for current users – the public beta build becomes available today. With DiskStation manager 7.1 users will find expanded functionality, with more enhancements and features to help address various IT challenges.  DSM 7.1 brings key improvements, including the introduction of …

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Synology's major DiskStation Manager 7.1 update is on the way and there is good news for current users – the public beta build becomes available today. With DiskStation manager 7.1 users will find expanded functionality, with more enhancements and features to help address various IT challenges. 

DSM 7.1 brings key improvements, including the introduction of file aggregation portals and SMB DFS capability to enable administrators to link together multiple Synology systems for more convenient file access. In addition, the new UI introduced with DSM 7.0 has been further refined by consolidating background tasks into an admin-friendly overview that aims to give greater transparency into what is happening on the system across different user accounts.

For Synology High Availability clusters, users can now view and manage drives on both systems from a single instance of Storage Manager for easier maintenance and management. On the performance side, DSM has long supported flash caching to boost random I/O performance but with the DSM 7.1 update, users will be able to speed up multiple storage volumes at the same time.

“Our constantly evolving DSM platform keeps adding capabilities to both new and existing deployments,” said Weili Lu, product manager for DSM. “The pre-release program provides a chance for us to work closely with our customers, providing early access to new features and obtaining valuable feedback in return.”

DSM isn't the only piece of software getting an upgrade today – Synology has also released several improvements to its other apps and services, including:

  • Active Backup for Business: bandwidth control, expanded monitoring and reporting capabilities, and support for DSM backups
  • Active Insight: centralized login activity monitoring and Hyper Backup task statuses
  • Synology C2 Hybrid Share: server-side snapshots for better file protection
  • Directory Server: support for read-only domain controllers to improve deployment security and flexibility
  • Synology Drive: revamped mobile user experience and improved monitoring/auditing capabilities
  • MailPlus: Virtual DSM support, expanded management options, importing and migration improvements
  • Virtual Machine Manager: storage I/O performance improvements and QoS capabilities

Synology's DSM 7.1 beta is available starting today, you can download it HERE.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: DSM 7.0 brought a ton of upgrades, but Synology isn't done improving yet. DSM 7.1 makes some key upgrades and optimisations. Will any of you be trying the beta? 

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Netgear Orbi launches the industry’s first quad-band WiFi 6E Mesh system https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/matthew-wilson/netgear-orbi-launches-the-industrys-first-quad-band-wifi-6e-mesh-system/ https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/matthew-wilson/netgear-orbi-launches-the-industrys-first-quad-band-wifi-6e-mesh-system/#respond Tue, 12 Oct 2021 12:35:05 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=535270 Over the last year, working and learning from home has boosted internet traffic dramatically, leading to +38% downstream and +56% upstream usage. With all of that extra load to deal with, upgraded WiFi systems are becoming more of a necessity. This is where the new Netgear Orbi Quad-Band Mesh WiFi 6E comes in, offering huge …

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Over the last year, working and learning from home has boosted internet traffic dramatically, leading to +38% downstream and +56% upstream usage. With all of that extra load to deal with, upgraded WiFi systems are becoming more of a necessity. This is where the new Netgear Orbi Quad-Band Mesh WiFi 6E comes in, offering huge gains in capacity and speeds. 

Today, Netgear is launching the Orbi Quad-Band Mesh WiFi 6E –  the industry’s first quad-band WiFi 6E Mesh system. The 6GHz band offers two times the capacity over 5GHz, and combined WiFi speeds can reach up to 10.8Gb per second. In addition to the best WiFi speeds, ethernet has been increased to 10Gb, creating a futureproof solution for in-home and business connectivity.

The Orbi Router is joined by Orbi Satellite access points with a dedicated backhaul, providing multi-gigabit internet throughout the home. The connection between the router and each access point is not shared, removing potential interruptions to traffic. This also reduces the number of steps the connection needs to get through to a device.

Orbi’s 6GHz band allows up to seven 160MHz channels, ensuring throughput in crowded environments. 5GHz routers only have one clean 160MHz channel, so crowded environments, such as neighbourhoods, result in performance drops. The new Orbi Quad-band Mesh WiFi 6E system also touts 16 streams of 4×4 WiFi on every band.

Thanks to a new design changes to the WiFi radio and dipole antenna, 5GHz WiFi also sees significant improvements, with up to 30 percent better coverage. The new router also comes equipped with a 10G ethernet port, and a 2.5G ethernet port, followed by an additional three 1G ethernet ports. Netgear's research shows that many users like to use ethernet connections whenever possible, so they have doubled down and included a lot of them. Not only does the router have high-speed ethernet ports, but each Orbi satellite also includes multiple ethernet ports, allowing them to be placed more centrally throughout the home. With a router and three satellites, you'll have 12 ethernet ports to work with.

There are four separate WiFi networks to choose from when connecting devices – Home Mesh, WiFi 6E, IoT WiFi and a guest network. With this, you can separate legacy and IoT devices for efficient bandwidth use, so smart home products can have their own dedicated network, while your PCs, phones, consoles etc are connected to their own network.

All of the specifications and design decisions for this new Orbi Mesh system have been made with futureproofing in mind, Netgear has also ensured that setup and installation is easy through the Orbi App, which can be used to monitor the network map, speeds, connected devices and adjust security settings from a smartphone or tablet. Smart parental controls are also in place so you can set up specific rules, such as total internet time allowed on a per day basis. There is also the option to subscribe to Netgear Armor, which provides additional security tools and a built-in VPN.

The Orbi Quad-Band Mesh WiFi 6E will be available soon in two bundles. The router and two satellites will cover 9000 sq. ft and is priced at £1499, while the router and one satellite covers 6000 sq. ft and costs £1099. For the first time, there will also be a limited Orbi Black Edition, marking the first time that an Orbi WiFi setup has been available in a black colour scheme.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Are any of you looking to make the jump to a new mesh WiFi system? What do you think of the new Orbi setup? 

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Synology introduces C2 Backup for Windows devices https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/nas/matthew-wilson/synology-introduces-c2-backup-for-windows-devices/ https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/nas/matthew-wilson/synology-introduces-c2-backup-for-windows-devices/#respond Fri, 08 Oct 2021 12:19:31 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=534880 Alongside Synology's recent DSM 7.0.1 upgrade, today the company is launching the new C2 Backup application. With C2 Backup, Synology storage device users can back up their data efficiently for Windows devices, whether they are located at home or across multiple office locations.  There are two versions of this, C2 Backup for Individuals and C2 …

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Alongside Synology's recent DSM 7.0.1 upgrade, today the company is launching the new C2 Backup application. With C2 Backup, Synology storage device users can back up their data efficiently for Windows devices, whether they are located at home or across multiple office locations. 

There are two versions of this, C2 Backup for Individuals and C2 Backup for Businesses. Everything on a Windows PC or server can be securely backed up from a single console, including system configurations, software, files and folders as well as external drives.

Data backed up on C2 Backup is protected via end-to-end AES-256 encryption, with a user-held private key necessary to unlock the files. You can also use Incremental Backup to reduce the amount of data uploaded for each backup by limiting it to blocks that have changed, making the process more efficient.

Each subscriber can set their own preferences and retention policies to meet individual needs or to comply with corporate IT policies and regulations. You can also set up schedules to make sure that backups aren't missed, or you can set backups to trigger based on events, such as locking the screen, logging out of an account or on device power-up.

In the event of device failure, data loss, or ransomware attacks, C2 Backup's fast recovery methods allow users to quickly resume services. File-level recovery allows you to retrieve any file you need immediately, while entire devices can be restored to their previous state with bare-metal recovery.

Pricing for C2 Backup For Individuals is based on storage use, with no limit to the number of devices protected under each subscription. Annual subscription rates start at $3.49 per month for 500 GB of backed up data or under $9.99 per month to protect up to 2 TB. You can get full details on C2 Backup and sign up for the service, HERE.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Are any of you currently using Synology for NAS storage and file sharing? Will you be upgrading to C2 Backup? 

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Synology launches DSM 7.0.1 upgrade with new Hybrid Share feature https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/nas/matthew-wilson/synology-launches-dsm-7-0-1-upgrade-with-new-hybrid-share-feature/ https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/nas/matthew-wilson/synology-launches-dsm-7-0-1-upgrade-with-new-hybrid-share-feature/#respond Fri, 01 Oct 2021 12:05:04 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=534875 Synology NAS owners are about to get a big upgrade. Today, Synology announced its new operating system, DSM 7.0, which is now available for the vast majority of Synology storage devices, including enterprise NAS and surveillance-focused systems. Since its official release, DSM 7.0 has received praise for its greater speed and efficiency. Today's DSM 7.0.1 …

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Synology NAS owners are about to get a big upgrade. Today, Synology announced its new operating system, DSM 7.0, which is now available for the vast majority of Synology storage devices, including enterprise NAS and surveillance-focused systems.

Since its official release, DSM 7.0 has received praise for its greater speed and efficiency. Today's DSM 7.0.1 update expands availability to Synology's top-end devices, and introduces a number of advanced functions, including expedited processing of support requests through Active Insight integration, Fibre Channel support, flash volume deduplication, and a K8s CSI driver to improve volume management.

Together with this update, Synology is officially launching Hybrid Share, its hybrid cloud solution that brings the flexibility and scalability of cloud services to on-premises deployments. Hybrid Share enables easy and quick file synchronisation between locations, combining efficient local file caching with bandwidth offloading to the cloud to improve productivity while reducing IT burdens. Hybrid Share is automatically available to all on the C2 Storage Advanced Plan at no additional cost.

Owners of XS, SA, FS, NVR, and DVA Series devices can obtain DSM 7.0.1 by heading to the Synology Download Centre or upgrade directly from within DSM once the update is rolled out in their regions.

KitGuru Says: Do you use a Synology NAS for work or at home? Have you upgraded to DSM 7.0.1 yet?

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WD Red SN700 1TB NVMe SSD Review https://www.kitguru.net/components/ssd-drives/simon-crisp/wd-red-sn700-1tb-ssd-review/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/ssd-drives/simon-crisp/wd-red-sn700-1tb-ssd-review/#respond Tue, 28 Sep 2021 12:00:21 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=532840 WD's latest SSD family is the SN700, the first NVMe drives to carry WD's Red label.  The SN700 has been designed and built from the ground up to work as a cache/storage drive to tackle demanding 24/7 NAS workload environments.

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WD's latest SSD family is the SN700, the first NVMe drives to carry WD's Red label.  The SN700 has been designed and built from the ground up to work as a cache/storage drive to tackle demanding 24/7 NAS workload environments.

The SN700 family is made up of, (at the time of writing), five capacities; 250GB, 500GB, 1TB (the drive WD supplied for this review), 2TB and the flagship 4TB drive. WD has kept details about the controller and the number of 3D TLC NAND layers very close to their chest.

Sequential read performance for the range is stated as up to 3,100MB/s for the 250GB model, 3,430MB/s for the 500GB and 1TB models and 3,400MB/s for the 2 and 4TB drives. The 250GB drive gets a Sequential write figure of up to 1,600MB/s, the 500GB drive 2,600MB/s, the 1TB drive 3,000MB/s, the 2TB is a little slower at 2,900MB/s and finally, the 4TB drive is rated at up to 3,100MB/s.

When it comes to random read performance, the 4TB drive is the fastest at up to 550,000 IOPS, next up is the 1TB drive at up to 515,000 IOPS, the 2TB drive is rated up to 480,000 IOPS, the 500GB drive, 420,000 IOPS and finally the 250GB drive at up to 220,000 IOPS. The 1TB drive has the fastest random write rating at 560,000 IOPS, next up is the 2TB drive (540,000 IOPS), then the flagship 4TB drive (520,000 IOPS) followed by the 500GB drive (380,000 IOPS) and the entry-level 250GB model, 180,000 IOPS.

WD quote an endurance figure for the 1TB drive of 2,000TBW and back the drive with a 5-year warranty.

Physical Specifications:
Usable Capacities: 1TB.
NAND Components: 3D TLC NAND.
NAND Controller: WD in-house.
Cache: DDR4.
Interface: PCIe Gen3 x4.
Form Factor: 2280 M.2.
Dimensions: 22 x 80 x 2.3mm.
Drive Weight: 7.5g.

Firmware Version: 111130WD.

Be sure to check out our sponsors store EKWB here

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QNAP TS-451D2-4G 4-bay NAS Review https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/simon-crisp/qnap-ts-451d2-4g-4-bay-nas-review/ https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/simon-crisp/qnap-ts-451d2-4g-4-bay-nas-review/#respond Fri, 30 Jul 2021 08:41:53 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=515951 We check out QNAP's latest home/SOHO 4-bay NAS

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QNAP's TS-451D2-G4 is a dual-core powered, 4-bay NAS aimed at home and SOHO users. It features DDR4 memory, 4K/60Hz HDMI 2.0 output, real-time transcoding and AES-NI encryption. Priced around the £440 mark, we find out if it is worth buying.

 

At the heart of the TS-451D2 is an Intel Celeron J4025, a dual-core CPU that is rated at 2.0GHz (boosting up to 2.9GHz). The NAS is available in two versions, the D2-4G (the system we are looking at here) with 4GB of DDR4-2400 memory and the D2-2G with 2GB of memory. The NAS supports a maximum of 8GB of memory via the two SO-DIMM slots so if you need to upgrade to more memory for any reason, the option is there. It also supports an AES-NI hardware encryption engine and hardware-accelerated transcoding.

QNAP quotes Sequential throughput performance for the TS-451D2 as up to 220MB/s for reads and up to 224MB/s for writes with both LAN ports being used in Link Aggregation mode. With a single Ethernet connection, the official figures are 113MB/s reads and 112MB/s writes.

QNAP back the TS-451D2 with a 2-year warranty but this can be extended up to 5 years by purchasing a warranty extension.

Physical Specifications

  • Processor: Intel Celeron J4025 2.0GHz (boosting up to 2.9GHz).
  • Memory: 4GB DDR4-2400.
  • Gigabit Ethernet Ports: 2.
  • Rear panel connectors: 2 x 1GbE RJ-45, 3 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 (Type-A), 1 x HDMI 2.0.
  • Front panel connectors: 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1.
  • RAID support: 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, JBOD.
  • Cooling: Active, 1 x 120mm fan.
  • Drive Bays Supported: 4
  • Maximum hard drive size supported: 18TB.
  • Maximum Capacity: 72TB.
  • Internal File System support: EXT4.
  • Dimensions (D x W x H): 219.4 x 160 x 165.3mm.
  • Weight: 2.09kg.

Be sure to check out our sponsors store EKWB here

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QNAP launches AMD Ryzen powered NAS with up to 8 storage bays https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/nas/matthew-wilson/qnap-launches-amd-ryzen-powered-nas-with-up-to-8-storage-bays/ https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/nas/matthew-wilson/qnap-launches-amd-ryzen-powered-nas-with-up-to-8-storage-bays/#respond Wed, 26 May 2021 13:19:17 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=516560 QNAP is back with another AMD Ryzen powered NAS system. The new TS-x73A features an AMD Ryzen V1000 series v1500B quad-core processor, 2.5GbE networking, 8GB of memory and up to eight bays for storage drives. Speaking on the new Ryzen powered NAS, QNAP Product Manager, Jason Hsu, said: “With a great leap in hardware performance …

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QNAP is back with another AMD Ryzen powered NAS system. The new TS-x73A features an AMD Ryzen V1000 series v1500B quad-core processor, 2.5GbE networking, 8GB of memory and up to eight bays for storage drives.

Speaking on the new Ryzen powered NAS, QNAP Product Manager, Jason Hsu, said: “With a great leap in hardware performance compared to previous models, the TS-x73A series provides incredible potential and expansion options for users. By supporting switching to the ZFS-based QuTS hero operating system, the TS-x73A series represents great value and an exceptional investment for users with various and evolving requirements.”

The TS-x73A series includes 8GB DDR4 RAM but supports up to 64GB of DDR4 memory, as well as ECC RAM, so there are upgrade paths present for users that need them. Aside from the main drive bays, there are also two built-in M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD slots, which can be used to leverage QNAP's Qtier and SSD Caching technology for better performance.

Dual 2.5GbE ports are capable of delivering transfer speeds of up to 5Gbps, but there are two additional PCIe Gen 3 x4 slots for add-in cards, so users can upgrade to 10GbE networking, install a wireless card or another SAS/SATA expansion device.

There are three models in the The TS-x73A series, a 4-bay NAS, a 6-bay NAS and an 8-bay NAS. You can find more details on technical specifications and pricing, HERE.

KitGuru Says: How many of you actively use or want to upgrade to a NAS? 

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Synology launches SNV3000 series M.2 NVMe SSDs and 10/25GbE NICs https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/joao-silva/synology-launches-snv3000-series-m-2-nvme-ssds-and-10-25gbe-nics/ https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/joao-silva/synology-launches-snv3000-series-m-2-nvme-ssds-and-10-25gbe-nics/#respond Sat, 20 Feb 2021 11:29:01 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=505114 Synology has released two new enterprise-grade M.2 NVMe SSDs for data caching and two high-bandwidth NICs to increase the performance of its NAS storage solutions.  Available with 800GB of storage capacity both the SNV3400-800G and the SNV3500-800G are used for caching large data sets, increasing the performance of HDD-based arrays in a NAS. With a …

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Synology has released two new enterprise-grade M.2 NVMe SSDs for data caching and two high-bandwidth NICs to increase the performance of its NAS storage solutions. 

Available with 800GB of storage capacity both the SNV3400-800G and the SNV3500-800G are used for caching large data sets, increasing the performance of HDD-based arrays in a NAS. With a rated random read/write performance of 375K/70K IOPS and an endurance rating of 0.68 DWPD (Drive Writes Per Day) and 500TBW, the SNV3000 series SSDs are compatible with Synology's DiskStation Manager, allowing users to monitor their drives performance, lifetime analytics, and lifespan.

Julien Chen, product manager at Synology, said that these drives are the company's answer to the “growing need for cost-effective but high performance and high capacity storage”. Aimed at heavy-caching applications such as virtualisation, high-traffic volume database storage, AI, and HPC, the SNV3000 SSDs can store pools of hot data and make use of the NVMe SSD cache benefits, delivering an outstanding performance improvement to your storage servers.

Synology E10G21-F2 and E25G21-F2 NICs were designed to increase the throughput and performance of compatible Synology systems, offering either a 10Gb connection with the E10G21-F2 or a 25Gb connection with the E25G21-F2. Ideally used on bandwidth-heavy tasks such as distributed computing, AI, and big data applications, these NICs are also useful to allow more concurrent users connected to a centralised storage application or to backup a large number of devices faster.

The E25G21-F2 is backward-compatible with 10GbE SFP+ equipment, making it easier and less costly to implement it in a hybrid environment. The Synology SNV3000 SSD series, and the E10G21-F2 and E25G21-F2 NICs are available now, backed by a 5-year warranty.

KitGuru says: Are you in need of a new high-speed NIC such as the E10G21-F2 or the E25G21-F2? What do you think of Synology SNV3000 series cache-oriented SSDs?

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Apple looking for engineers to develop 6G wireless systems https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/joao-silva/apple-looking-for-engineers-to-develop-6g-wireless-systems/ https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/joao-silva/apple-looking-for-engineers-to-develop-6g-wireless-systems/#respond Fri, 19 Feb 2021 11:10:54 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=504969 With 5G slowly getting worldwide coverage, Apple is already working on its successor. According to new job listings on their website, the company plans to develop its own 6G technology, making it increasingly more independent from other partners. The company has posted new job positions (via Bloomberg) to hire 5G/6G wireless system research engineers for their offices …

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With 5G slowly getting worldwide coverage, Apple is already working on its successor. According to new job listings on their website, the company plans to develop its own 6G technology, making it increasingly more independent from other partners.

The company has posted new job positions (via Bloomberg) to hire 5G/6G wireless system research engineers for their offices in Silicon Valley and San Diego. The job description mentions that future employees will have the “unique and rewarding opportunity to craft next generation wireless technology that will have deep impact on future Apple products”, placing them into a group that will be held responsible for developing the “next generation disruptive radio access technologies over the next decade”. Furthermore, the job description clearly states that the people selected for this opportunity will “research and design next generation (6G) wireless communication systems for radio access networks”.

Although 6G wireless technology should only hit the market by 2030, it looks like Apple plans to start working on it as soon as it can. Apple has already joined a group of companies responsible for creating the 6G standards and future cellular network technologies. The standards have not been set in stone yet, but specialists expect speeds up to 100x times higher than what 5G offers.

The job listing also suggests Apple plans to start developing its own wireless technologies, similar to what it did with its own CPUs powering the latest generations of iPhones, iPads, and MacBook Air. Besides CPUs, the company is now also developing custom screens, camera technologies, modems, and wireless chips.

KitGuru says: Do you think 6G will bring noticeable performance improvements over 5G? When do you expect to see this technology available on the market?

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Synology DiskStation DS1520+ 5-bay NAS https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/simon-crisp/synology-diskstation-ds1520-5-bay-nas/ https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/simon-crisp/synology-diskstation-ds1520-5-bay-nas/#respond Thu, 24 Dec 2020 16:31:53 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=498792 This new NAS has a pair of M.2 NVMe slots for SSD caching and four Gigabit Ethernet ports.

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Synology's DiskStation DS1520+ is a 5-bay NAS designed for small offices and IT enthusiasts featuring a pair of M.2 NVMe slots for SSD caching and four Gigabit Ethernet ports.

Powered by an Intel Celeron J4125 quad-core processor clocked at 2.0GHz (burst up to 2.7GHz) the DiskStation DS1520+ comes with 8GB of DDR4-2666MHz memory which is the most the motherboard supports. It also supports an AES-NI hardware encryption engine.

Synology quote Sequential throughput performance for the D1520+ as up to 451.28MB/s for reads and 451.18MB/s for writes although those figures are from the NAS being tested with all four LAN ports being used in Link Aggregation mode. As well as the four network ports the DS1520+ sports a pair of NVMe supporting M.2 slots for cache duties.

Synology back the DS1520+ with a 3-year warranty.

Physical Specifications
Processor: Intel Celeron J4125 (2.0 (base) / 2.7 (burst) GHz).
Memory: 8GB DDR4-2666.
Gigabit Ethernet Ports: 4
Rear panel connectors: 2 x eSATA, 1 x USB 3.0.
Front panel connectors: 1 x USB 3.0.
RAID support: Synology Hybrid RAID, JBOD, RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 6, RAID 10.
Cooling: Active – 2 x 92mm.
Drive Bays Supported: 5.
Maximum hard drive size supported: 16TB.
Maximum Capacity: 80TB.
Maximum single volume size: 108TB.
M.2 drive slots: 2 x NVMe.
Internal File System support: Btrfs, EXT4.
Dimensions (D x W x H): 223 x 230 x 166 mm.
Weight: 2.62kg.

Be sure to check out our sponsors store EKWB here

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Seagate IronWolf Pro 18TB (ST18000NE000) HDD Review https://www.kitguru.net/components/hard-drives/simon-crisp/seagate-ironwolf-pro-18tb-st18000ne000-hdd-review/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/hard-drives/simon-crisp/seagate-ironwolf-pro-18tb-st18000ne000-hdd-review/#respond Thu, 17 Dec 2020 08:44:08 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=495150 We review an 18TB (!) NAS-focused HDD from Seagate

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The latest flagship model to join Seagate's range of IronWolf Pro hard drives, designed to support commercial and enterprise NAS devices ranging from single bay designs up to 24-bay units, is the humongous 18TB model. If you are happy to shell out over £500 for one of these, what sort of performance can you expect?

 


As with most hard drives, these days the 18TB IronWolf Pro (ST18000NE000) uses Helium technology which allows for 9 x 2TB platters together with 18 heads to be crammed into a 3.5in format drive with a height of just 26.11mm. The drive has a spindle speed of 7,200rpm with a 256MB cache which gives the drive an official transfer rate of 260MB/s while the average latency is quoted at 4.16ms.

Seagate quote power ratings for the 18TB IronWolf Pro as 1.25W standby, 1W sleep, 5.2W average idle and 8W average active.

The official workload rating of the drive is 300TB/year with an MTBF of 1.2M hours and Seagate back the drive with a 5-year warranty.

Physical Specifications:

  • Usable Capacities: 18TB.
  • Spindle Speed: 7,200rpm.
  • No. Of Heads: 18.
  • No. Of Platters: 9 (x 2TB).
  • Cache: 256MB.
  • Recording Method: Perpendicular / Conventional Magnetic Recording (CMR).
  • Interface: Serial ATA (SATA) 6Gb/s (SATA III).
  • Form Factor: 3.5in.
  • Dimensions: 26.11 x 101.85 x 146.99mm.
  • Drive Weight: 679g.

Firmware Version: EN01.

Be sure to check out our sponsors store EKWB here

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Synology SNV3400-400G 400GB SSD Review https://www.kitguru.net/components/ssd-drives/simon-crisp/synology-snv3400-400g-400gb-ssd-review/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/ssd-drives/simon-crisp/synology-snv3400-400g-400gb-ssd-review/#respond Mon, 23 Nov 2020 08:35:33 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=492488 We check out this 400GB SSD, specifically designed for NAS caching duties

The post Synology SNV3400-400G 400GB SSD Review first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
One of the leading lights in the NAS device world, Synology, now have their own NVMe M.2 SSD range – the 400GB SNV3000 series. Designed to be used as a cache drive in their NAS devices, the M.2 22110 SNV3500 SNV3400-400G comes with power loss protection, while the SNV3400-400G built on the more familiar M.2 2280 format, does not have such protection.

The drives use a combination of the enterprise edition (DC) of one of the most popular current PCIe 3.0 controller's, Phison's PS5012-E12 and Kioxia BiCS3 64-layer 3D TLC NAND.

Synology rate both the SNV3400-400G and the SNV3500 as up to 3,100MB/s (QD32) for Sequential reads and up to 550MB/s (QD32) for writes. Random read/write performance is quoted as up to 205,000 IOPS and 40,000 IOPS respectively at a QD of 256.

Typical power consumption figures for the SNV3400-400G are; 3.2W for both active read and writes with a 2W idle rating while the SNV3500-400G figures are; 3.7W typical active read, 3.4W typical active write and again a 2W idle rating.

Synology rates the endurance of the SNV3400-400G as 500TB TBW (works out at around 0.68 DWPD) and supports the drive with a 5-year warranty.

Physical Specifications:

  • Usable Capacities: 400GB.
  • NAND Components: Kioxia BiCS3 64-layer 3D TLC NAND.
  • NAND Controller: Phison PS5012-E12DC.
  • Cache: 4GB DDR4.
  • Interface: PCIe 3.0 x4, NVMe.
  • Form Factor: M.2 2280.
  • Dimensions: 22 x 80 x 3.5mm.

Firmware Version: ECEM12.4.

Be sure to check out our sponsors store EKWB here

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Seagate IronWolf 510 1.92TB SSD Review https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/simon-crisp/seagate-ironwolf-510-1-92tb-ssd-review/ https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/simon-crisp/seagate-ironwolf-510-1-92tb-ssd-review/#respond Fri, 13 Nov 2020 07:56:14 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=489399 Priced at £370, this SSD is designed for use as a 24/7 cache drive in NAS devices

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According to Seagate, the IronWolf 510 is the world's first PCIe M.2 SSD built from the ground up to be used for caching duties in NAS devices. Priced around £370 for the 1.92TB model, we put this drive through its paces today.

Available in four capacities (at the time of writing this review); 240GB, 480GB, 960GB and the flagship 1.92TB we are reviewing here, the IronWolf 510 is built around an eight-channel Phison PS5012-E12DC controller and Kioxia BiCS3 64-layer 3D TLC NAND.

The quoted official Sequential read figures for the range are up to 3,150MB/s for the 1.92TB and 960GB models, 2650MB/s for the 480GB drive and up to 2,450MB/s for the 240GB drive. Write performance is quoted as up to 850MB/s for the 1.92TB drive, while the 960GB drive is faster at up to 1,000MB/s. The 480GB drive is rated as up to 600MB/s and the entry model 240GB drive gets a 290MB/s figure.

Random 4K performance for the four drive range is quoted as up to 290,000 IOPS read and up to 27,000 IOPS write (QD32 8 threads) for the 1.92TB model. The 960GB drive is rated faster at up to 345,000 IOPS for reads and up to 29,000 IOPS for writes. The 480GB drive is rated as up to 199,000 IOPS and 21,000 IOPS for read and write respectively while the 240GB drive makes do with up to 100,000 IOPS reads and 13,000 IOPS writes.

Seagate has built some very serious endurance into the IronWolf 510. It has a DWPD (Drive Write Per Day) figure of one for the length of the 5-year warranty that backs the drive and a TBW figure of 3,500TB together with an MTBF of 1.8M hours.

Physical Specifications:

  • Usable Capacities: 1.92TB.
  • NAND Components: Kioxia BiCS3 64-layer 3D TLC NAND.
  • NAND Controller: Phison PS5012-E12DC.
  • Cache: 2GB DDR4.
  • Interface: PCIe Gen3 x4,  NVMe 1.3.
  • Form Factor: M.2 2280.
  • Dimensions: 22.15 x 80.15 x 3.58mm.
  • Drive Weight: 8.3g.

Firmware Version: STIS1029.

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Synology DiskStation DS920+ 4-bay NAS Review https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/simon-crisp/synology-diskstation-ds920-4-bay-nas-review/ https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/simon-crisp/synology-diskstation-ds920-4-bay-nas-review/#respond Mon, 14 Sep 2020 07:11:07 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=484936 This is Synology's latest 4-bay NAS lineup in the Plus series.

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Sitting under Synology's Personal and Home User banner, the DiskStation DS920+ is the latest addition to the companies 4-bay NAS lineup in the Plus series. The DiskStation DS920+ comes with support for a pair of M.2 NVMe SSD slots for performing cache operations.

Powered by an Intel Celeron J4125 quad-core processor clocked at 2.0GHz (burst up to 2.7GHz) the DiskStation DS920+ comes with 4GB of DDR4-2666MHz memory but should you need more the motherboard supports up to 8GB via a single SO-DIMM slot. It also supports an AES-NI hardware encryption engine.

Synology quote Sequential throughput performance for the DS920+ as up to 225.99MB/s for reads and 225.90MB/s for writes although those figures are from the NAS being tested with both LAN ports being used in Link Aggregation mode.

Synology back the DS920+ with a 3-year warranty.

Physical Specifications
Processor: Intel Celeron J4125 (quad-core 2.0GHz, 2.7GHz burst).
Memory: 4 GB DDR4-2666.
Gigabit Ethernet Ports: 2.
Rear panel connectors: 1 x USB 3.0, 1 x eSATA.
Front panel connectors: 1 x USB 3.0.
RAID support: SynologyHybrid RAID, RAID 0,1,5,6 and 10.
Cooling: Active – 2 x 92mm.
Drive Bays Supported: 4.
Maximum hard drive size supported: 16TB.
Maximum Capacity: 64TB.
Maximum single volume size: 108 TB.
M.2 slots: 2 x NMVe.
Hardware encryption: Y (AES NI).
Internal File System support: Btrfs or EXT4.
Dimensions (D x W x H): 223 x 199 x 166mm.
Weight: 2.24kg.

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NETGEAR Nighthawk Mesh WiFi 6 System (MK63) Review https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/james-morris/netgear-nighthawk-mesh-wifi-6-system-mk63-review/ https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/james-morris/netgear-nighthawk-mesh-wifi-6-system-mk63-review/#respond Wed, 19 Aug 2020 10:27:55 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=480781 Looking for a relatively affordable WiFi 6 Mesh setup? We check out this offering from Netgear

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NETGEAR was one of the first networking manufacturers to launch WiFi 6-capable routers with the Nighthawk AX12 over a year ago. More recently, it extended this superfast wireless technology to mesh with the Orbi WiFi 6 AX6000. But the Orbi AX6000 is extremely expensive, costing over £700, so now NETGEAR has brought the price down considerably under the mantle of its Nighthawk brand. You can pick up a two-unit setup of the NETGEAR Nighthawk Mesh WiFi 6 for under £230, but we put the three-unit version through its paces, which is still temptingly priced at £300.

A quick look at the Nighthawk units reveals a much smaller footprint, and this is paralleled by more limited specification. Each unit only has two radios, compared to the Orbi version's three. This means that there is no dedicated backhaul, and the overall throughput rating is a lot lower than the Orbi. Where the latter is rated at AX6000, the Nighthawk only manages AX1800. This is made up of 600Mbits/sec at 2.4GHz and 1,200Mbits/sec at 5GHz.

The antenna configuration is just 2×2 for each radio, which is two thirds as many per unit in total as ASUS's WiFi 5 ZenWiFi AC, which is similarly priced albeit with just two units. The latter also has a dedicated backhaul that's faster than the Nighthawk's 5GHz radio. But NETGEAR has the advantage of WiFi 6 technology, which has improvements beyond mere speed.

In the three-unit bundle, there is one that is aimed at router duties, with two Ethernet ports. The satellites have just one Ethernet port each. Neither have USB for printer or storage sharing, which is also a feature curiously missing from NETGEAR's Orbi WiFi 6, but included with the ASUS ZenWiFi. In other words, the main thing that the Nighthawk system has in its favour is WiFi 6.

However, if it can deliver decent performance and coverage, particularly for WiFi 6 devices, the sub-£300 price is very keen. Let's see if it can live up to the new technology billing.

Price: £299.99.

Specification:

  • Wireless protocols: MU-MIMO with 802.11b/g/n/ax 2.4GHz, 802.11a/n/ac/ax 5GHz
  • Performance: AX1800 (1,200 + 600 Mbits/sec)
  • Antenna Configuration: 2×2 internal antennas for 2.4GHz; 2×2 for 5GHz only (4 total)
  • Ports: Router: 1 x Gigabit Ethernet WAN, 1 x Gigabit Ethernet; Satellite: 1 x Gigabit Ethernet
  • Modem Support: VDSL/ADSL 2+ or cable

Be sure to check out our sponsors store EKWB here

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Analog Devices and Intel team up to combat 5G network design challenges https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/christopher-nohall/analog-devices-and-intel-team-up-to-combat-5g-network-design-challenges/ https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/christopher-nohall/analog-devices-and-intel-team-up-to-combat-5g-network-design-challenges/#respond Tue, 04 Aug 2020 14:14:04 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=480043 Analog Devices is back in the news this week, although this time we are focusing on a new partnership with Intel. Today, the company announced a collaboration with Intel to address 5G network design challenges and enable 5G networks more efficiently.  The new radio platform combines ADI’s radio frequency (RF) transceivers with Intel's Arria 10 …

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Analog Devices is back in the news this week, although this time we are focusing on a new partnership with Intel. Today, the company announced a collaboration with Intel to address 5G network design challenges and enable 5G networks more efficiently. 

The new radio platform combines ADI’s radio frequency (RF) transceivers with Intel's Arria 10 Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). The companies hope to give developers a new set of tools that will enable them to create more optimized 5G solutions. Analog Devices said that the communications market's rapid expansion is putting pressure on bandwidth and latency – creating a need for enhanced “capacity, performance and reliability of 5G networks”.

“This collaboration between ADI and Intel enables the development of new radio solutions for 5G networks,” said CC Chong, Senior Director, Head of Wireless & Access, Programmable Solution Group at Intel. “We look forward to working with ADI to expedite hardware development by offering FPGA platforms that are flexible to meet changing requirements, are easy to use, and remove many of the complex barriers of RF and digital product development.”

Additional information can be found HERE.

KitGuru says: Have many of you switched over to 5G yet? 

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QNAP Enters Strategic Partnership with ownCloud GmbH https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/christopher-nohall/qnap-enters-strategic-partnership-with-owncloud-gmbh/ https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/christopher-nohall/qnap-enters-strategic-partnership-with-owncloud-gmbh/#respond Wed, 29 Jul 2020 14:00:13 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=479328 Today QNAP has announced that it entering a global strategic partnership with ownCloud. This new endeavour will see QNAP's network hardware combined with ownCloud's software.  QNAP described the partnership between the two companies as “long term” and said that it focuses on providing ownCloud's solutions for file sync and share “on all QNAP’s NAS from …

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Today QNAP has announced that it entering a global strategic partnership with ownCloud. This new endeavour will see QNAP's network hardware combined with ownCloud's software. 

QNAP described the partnership between the two companies as “long term” and said that it focuses on providing ownCloud's solutions for file sync and share “on all QNAP’s NAS from QTS v4.4 onwards”.

Users will be given the choice to use either the free Community Edition or a paid Enterprise Edition. The Enterprise Edition is said to take “security and productivity to a new level” – with files being encrypted and file access protected by 2-Factor Authentication.

“We are thrilled about our strategic partnership with ownCloud. It allows us to provide our global userbase with an enterprise-grade yet budget-friendly Content Collaboration Solution,” said Meiji Chang, QNAP’s General Manager. “Our corporate users with specific data privacy regulations can also benefit from the highest standards of security and compliance with advanced ownCloud features.”

KitGuru Says: Do you use any products or services from either QNAP or ownCloud? What are your thoughts on this new partnership?

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QNAP launches its first 2.5GbE network switch https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/james-dawson/qnap-laucnhes-its-first-2-5gbe-newtork-switch/ https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/james-dawson/qnap-laucnhes-its-first-2-5gbe-newtork-switch/#respond Sat, 18 Jul 2020 12:04:29 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=477646 Network and storage specialist QNAP has revealed the company’s first 2.5 GbE network switch. The new QNAP QSW-1105-5T 2.5 GbE network switch offers a balance between performance and cost. With the QNAP QSW-1105-5T 2.5 GbE network switch, users can simply switch out their old hardware and connect the switch to existing cables, upgrading the network …

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Network and storage specialist QNAP has revealed the company’s first 2.5 GbE network switch. The new QNAP QSW-1105-5T 2.5 GbE network switch offers a balance between performance and cost.

With the QNAP QSW-1105-5T 2.5 GbE network switch, users can simply switch out their old hardware and connect the switch to existing cables, upgrading the network environment to take advantage of the improved transfer speed and connect “next-generation” 2.5GbE NAS devices and computers.

QNAP QSW-1105-5T 2.5 GbE switch is equipped with five 2.5GbE RJ45 ports and offers a simple plug and play installation and setup. Built-in features of the QSW-1105-5T 2.5 GbE network switch such as automatic loop detection, blocking and auto-negotiation functions offer users a simple and quick way to create a 2.5GbE network environment for the home or office.

The five 2.5GbE/NBASE-T RJ45 ports of the QSW-1105-5T are also backwards compatible with 1G/ 100M devices. In addition, the device supports auto negotiation to optimise transfer speed and performance of connected devices with a built-in management mechanism to ensure the transmission of network packets are handled smoothly.

Built-in network loop detection can automatically lock looped ports to allow the network environment to resume normal operation. The device also operates at near silent noise output levels due to the fanless design and unique ventilation assists cooling.

The QNAP QSW-1105-5T 2.5GbE network switch is available to purchase from Amazon UK now, priced at £108.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: Although 2.5GbE has been around for several years, it is only just beginning to filter into mainstream motherboards regularly now. Will you be upgrading your home network to 2.5GbE any time soon using one of these new switches from QNAP?

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GIGAIPC launches industry’s first 5G enabled embedded computing system https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/christopher-nohall/gigaipc-launches-industrys-first-5g-enabled-embedded-computing-system/ https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/christopher-nohall/gigaipc-launches-industrys-first-5g-enabled-embedded-computing-system/#respond Thu, 16 Jul 2020 12:13:33 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=477124 This week, GIGAIPC announced the QBiX-Pro-KBLB7100HD-A1, A new IoT device from the subsidiary of Gigabyte, which is said to be the “industry’s first 5G enabled embedded computing system”.  GIGAIPC, a GIGABYTE subsidiary, has introduced a 5G industrial embedded PC, called the QBiX-Pro-KBLB7100HD-A1. The company hopes that the system will aide “Machine Vision, Automated Guided Vehicle, Factory Automation, and …

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This week, GIGAIPC announced the QBiX-Pro-KBLB7100HD-A1, A new IoT device from the subsidiary of Gigabyte, which is said to be the “industry’s first 5G enabled embedded computing system”. 

GIGAIPC, a GIGABYTE subsidiary, has introduced a 5G industrial embedded PC, called the QBiX-Pro-KBLB7100HD-A1. The company hopes that the system will aide “Machine Vision, Automated Guided Vehicle, Factory Automation, and other applications” – a collection of technologies known as Industry 4.0.

GIGAIPC said that the technology behind its new device is able to support “smart cities and smart transportations; remote medical care and wirelessly connected Industrial devices”. The company continued to discuss how the computer systems I/O interface enables  “Internet of Things edge computing, and enable the high operational efficiency and service quality required in the 5G era”.

Additional information can be found HERE.

Kitguru says: The QBiX-Pro-KBLB7100HD-A1 could be a step in the right direction as the push for 5G connectivity continues in industrial settings. How long do you think it will be before we have fully transitioned into using 5G both in industrial devices and as consumers?    

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Synaptics to acquire Broadcom’s wireless IoT business for $250 million https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/christopher-nohall/synaptics-to-acquire-broadcoms-wireless-iot-business-for-250-million/ https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/christopher-nohall/synaptics-to-acquire-broadcoms-wireless-iot-business-for-250-million/#respond Wed, 08 Jul 2020 11:07:50 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=475984 This week, Synaptics announced that it will acquire Broadcom's wireless IoT business – including assets and manufacturing rights – for approximately $250 million in an all-cash transaction. The $250 million agreement between the two companies lets Synaptics acquire certain rights to Broadcom’s existing IoT technology as well as “future roadmap devices designed in advanced process nodes”. …

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This week, Synaptics announced that it will acquire Broadcom's wireless IoT business – including assets and manufacturing rights – for approximately $250 million in an all-cash transaction.

The $250 million agreement between the two companies lets Synaptics acquire certain rights to Broadcom’s existing IoT technology as well as “future roadmap devices designed in advanced process nodes”. Synaptics expects that the deal will bring the company approximately $65 million per year in sales and also provide “significant” growth potential. The company said that it hopes that the acquisition will accelerate its position in the consumer IoT market.

“Expanding our offering in the high growth IoT market has been one of the major focus areas for Synaptics and the addition of best-in-class wireless connectivity technology to our portfolio significantly enhances our overall position,” said Michael Hurlston, president and CEO, Synaptics. “This acquisition complements Synaptics’ ability to sell into a broad range of devices such as IP cameras, smart displays, speakers, home automation, and gaming consoles – all of which require cutting-edge technologies including Wi-Fi 6 and 6E, Bluetooth 5.2 and GPS L5.”

The acquisition is expected to finish in Q1 of the 2021 fiscal year. Synaptics said that it will provide the payment of $250 million from its existing on-hand cash balance – meaning that the company doesn't need to take a loan to finance the deal.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: This was an acquisition that flew under the radar, but a big, $250m deal has now been reached. Now regulator approval is needed before the deal officially closes in the months to come. 

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ASUS ZenWiFi AC (CT8) AC3000 Mesh Wi-Fi System Review https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/james-morris/asus-zenwifi-ac-ct8-ac3000-mesh-wi-fi-system-review/ https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/james-morris/asus-zenwifi-ac-ct8-ac3000-mesh-wi-fi-system-review/#respond Mon, 06 Jul 2020 09:43:49 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=464818 Building a new wireless network? do you want this ?

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Mesh wifi has proven ability to extend your wireless networking a much greater distance around your home than a standalone router, and ASUS has been producing products to take advantage of this technology almost as long as the pure networking brands like NETGEAR and Linksys. The original Lyra was a capable triple-unit system from nearly three years ago, but with the ZenWiFi range ASUS is upping the specification, offering WiFi 5 and 6 versions. Here we're taking a look at the WiFi 5 AC (CT8) AC3000 option.

It might seem a false economy to be opting for an AC mesh system when AX ones are on the market, but they're at a huge premium. NETGEAR's Orbi WiFi 6 AX6000 is a whopping £700, and while ASUS's equivalent is cheaper, it's still over £400 when this AC version is £280. Its performance may be all you need, and WiFi 6 clients are still few and far between.

Unlike the Lyra, the ZenWiFi AC only uses two units. However, the tri-band radios have been upgraded from AC2200 to AC3000, which is the same as NETGEAR's original Orbi, so it potentially offers similar or better coverage. This is broken down into 1,733Mbits/sec 5GHz with 4×4 antennas dedicated to the 802.11ac “backhaul” between the two units, plus 400Mbits/sec of 2.4GHz 802.11n and 866Mbits/sec of 5GHz 802.11ac for the client devices on the router and satellite.

We say router and satellite, but the two units are identical. Both have a Gigabit Ethernet port labelled for the WAN, and three further Gigabit ports for wired devices. Both also have a single USB 3.1 Gen 1 connection, which can be used for network storage or printer sharing – a handy bonus that is lacking on NETGEAR's Orbis.

They're compact little units and at £280 not hugely pricey considering the top-of-the range specification. NETGEAR's Orbi AC3000 is still a bit more expensive at over £300. So the ASUS ZenWiFi has a fair bit going for it on paper. Let's find out how it performs.

Price: £279.99

Specification:

Wireless protocols: MU-MIMO with 802.11b/g/n 2.4GHz, 802.11a/n/ac 5GHz
Performance: AC3000 (1,733 + 866 + 400 Mbits/sec)
Antenna Configuration: 2×2 internal antennas for 2.4 and 5GHz; 4×4 for 5GHz only (6 total)
Ports: Router and Satellite: 1 x Gigabit Ethernet WAN, 3 x Gigabit Ethernet, 1 x USB 3.1 Gen 1
Modem Support: VDSL/ADSL 2+ or cable

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Synology launch new two and four bay Plus series NAS https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/featured-tech-news/james-dawson/synology-launch-new-two-and-four-bay-plus-series-nas/ https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/featured-tech-news/james-dawson/synology-launch-new-two-and-four-bay-plus-series-nas/#respond Sat, 20 Jun 2020 08:58:08 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=472951 Data management specialist Synology has announced the launch of a new generation of two and four-bay Plus series NAS enclosures, designed for home or business deployment. New additions to the Plus series include two new four-bay and two-bay enclosures equipped with Intel quad-core and dual-core processors. New additions to the Synology Plus series include the …

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Data management specialist Synology has announced the launch of a new generation of two and four-bay Plus series NAS enclosures, designed for home or business deployment. New additions to the Plus series include two new four-bay and two-bay enclosures equipped with Intel quad-core and dual-core processors.

New additions to the Synology Plus series include the DS920+ four-bay NAS and DS720+ two-bay featuring an Intel Celeron J4125 quad-core processor and dedicated SSD cache slots for 2 x M.2 NVMe 2280 drives. The DS920+ is equipped with 4 GB DDR4 memory – upgradeable to 8GB while the DS720+ has 2 GB DDR4 that can be upgraded to 6GB. Both NAS enclosures are also outfitted with 2 X Gigabit RJ-45 LAN connections, two USB 3.0 Type-A ports and a single eSATA port on the rear.

Launching alongside the DS920+ and DS720+ are another two NAS enclosures powered by Intel Celeron J4025 dual-core processors. The new DS420+ four-bay device and the DS220+ two-bay NAS are both equipped with 2GB DDR4 memory, upgradable to 6 GB, however, only the DS420+ features dedicated M.2 cache slots.

“Plus series is one of our most popular and versatile product lines, The series offers an ideal mix of processing power and advanced capabilities such as containers and virtualization support, in compact and quiet desktop form factors,” said Hewitt Lee, Director of Synology Product Management Group.

Synology claims that the new Plus series NAS offer up to 133% faster website responsiveness and over 15% increase in compute-intensive tasks. In multi-user environments, the addition of two M.2 NVMe slots accelerates I/O performance and allows users to complete tasks faster and more efficiently. These new Synology Plus series NAS devices are available to purchase from Synology resellers now.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: Synology Plus series NAS offer high performance and seamless access and synchronisation of data anywhere, with M.2 NVMe SSD cache for faster I/O response. What do you guys think of the new Plus series NAS enclosures from Synology?

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