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A very important aspect of a NAS system purchase is the operating system. We have covered the Synology DiskManager Operating system many times before and it is a pleasure to use. It is a multi threaded, multi tasking configuration which is continually improving.
Today we are looking at Version 3.2, released only a few days ago, which offers the following improvements:
- Business convergence and management efficiency – Synology’s comprehensive LDAP service incorporates the abilities to create an LDAP directory server and to integrate a DiskStation into users’ existing Mac® or Linux environments for easy account & privilege control. Syslog Server gathers all logs aggregated from multiple devices and facilitates troubleshooting with different types of search criteria. CIFS files in different servers can be shared via the same access portal using Remote Folder. Virtual Drive makes it convenient to mount distributed ISO images onto a DiskStation.
- Business’ mobility – DSM mobile realises server management mobility. IT administrators can slide fingers left or right to enable or disable services as well as manage accounts and privileges of DiskStations on their iOS or Android™ devices. DSM 3.2 supports Google Cloud Print™, with which users can print documents from their mobile devices to distantly located printers over the Internet, without installing any drivers.
- Rich multimedia experience – The brand new Photo Station 5 features a theme designer for album customisation and accelerates thumbnail generation. Users can strike a balance between their privacy and social life by protecting selected albums with passwords and importing photos to Facebook with support expanded to major file hosting sites, Download Station accelerates file hunting.
- Mac-friendly solutions – Synology is among the first in the NAS industry to support Mac® OS X Lion and provides a reliable backup destination for Time Machine®. Surveillance Station has taken the lead by operating on the latest Safari® browser, delivering an easy to deploy and cost effective NVR solution on Mac. Moreover, camera grouping and batch editing as well as common privilege profile grants rapid large scale deployment.
- Enhanced user experience – The revamped Package Centre allows users to discover and install latest applications in a snap. Package Centre also makes it easy to update users’ selected applications after they receive desktop or e-mail notifications. DSM 3.2 incorporates advanced HTML5 capabilities and CSS3 style, engaging users through drag-n-drop support in File Browser and Download Station, and allowing them to upload files from their PC desktop. Synology Hybrid RAID makes volume ready for use 95% faster than before.
When the NAS system is first started, it is in an unconfigured state as shown above via the Synology Assistant. Simply download the latest PAT file – which at time of publication is ‘DSM_RS2211+_1922.pat'.
The PAT file can be browsed to directly from the Assistant software.
The install procedure takes around 5-10 minutes and then the system can be assessed directly via a browser with the default login of ‘admin' (no password). The software supports all major browsers, such as Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Opera and Chrome. All screenshots are taken from Firefox on Windows 7 64 bit.
The control panel is the main interface panel, however we need to first configure the installed hard drives and then set up shared folders.
Setting up drive configurations is straightforward. Depending on how many drives are installed, the software allows for Basic, JBOD, RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 5+Spare, RAID 6 and RAID 10 configurations. Raid 5, Raid 5+ Spare and Raid 6 can be expanded on the fly, by adding new drives to the system. We have 10 drives installed in the images above.
Thanks to the multi tasking operating system and powerful dual core processor, multiple RAID configurations can be set up simultaneously.
There are many options to tune and configure, including audible alerts and blocking DOS attacks. There is also a handy resource monitor which can be set to run all the time. The software is multitasking capable so multiple windows and tasks can be run simultaneously. The more expensive RS3411xs was shipped with a 3.1 ghz dual core processor, the RS2211+ has a 1.8ghz dual core, and it feels almost as responsive.
Folders and users can be set up within specific panels. 4096 users can be configured and 512 groups can also be set up with 512 shared folders. This unit can handle 1024 concurrent connections, which is double the count of the excellent DS1511+. Ideal for a demanding business environment.
Shared folders can be accessed across the network after the configuration is set up. A point worth noting is that every Synology device on a network defaults to the identify of ‘RackStation’ or ‘DiskStation’ meaning that the network will only recognise one of the NAS units if the names are left to the default setting. A simple renaming is needed if you are using more than one Diskstation across the same network. Synology should really use the identity of the PAT file to give each NAS system a unique identifier, automatically.
There is a theme manager to allow the interface to be adjusted to suit personal tastes. The default blue is our favourite however.
The RS2211+ has two gigabit lan connections, unlike the more expensive RS3411xs, which has four. This unit also supports link aggregation however.
The DiskManager software offers many applications for media and networking support. Photo station supports BMP, JPG (jpe, jpeg), GIF, RAW (arw, srf, sr2, dcr, k25, kdc, cr2, crw, nef, mrw, ptx, pef, raf,
3fr, erf, mef, mos, orf, rw2, dng, x3f image formats and 3G2, 3GP, ASF, AVI, DAT, DivX, FLV, M4V, MOV, MP4, MPEG, MPG, QT, WMV, XviD, RM, RMVB, VOB, RV30, RV40, AC3, AMR, WMA3 video formats.
The DNLA/UPnP Media Server can support both Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 with AAC, FLAC, M4A, MP3, Ogg, Vorbis, PCM, WAV, WMA, WMA VBR, WMA PRO, WMA Lossless audio formats. 3GP, 3G2, ASF, AVI, DAT, DivX, DVR-MS, ISO, M2T, M2TS, M4V, MKV, MP4, MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4, MTS, MOV, QT, SWF, TP, TRP, TS, VOB, WMV, XviD, RV30, RV40, AC3, AMR and WMA3 video formats. It also can handle BMP, JPG (jpe, jpeg), GIF, ICO, PNG, PSD, TIF (tiff), UFO, RAW (arw, srf, sr2, dcr, k25, kdc, cr2, crw, nef, mrw, ptx, pef, raf, 3fr, erf, mef, mos, orf, rw2, dng, x3f ) image formats.
iTunes Server is also supported with MP3, M4A, M4P, WAV, AIF audio formats, M4V, MOV and MP4 video formats and M3U, WPL Playlist Format. Two printers can be hooked into the system supporting LPR, CIFS, AppleTalk and Multi Functional Print Server.
If all this isn’t enough it also offers the following iPhone and Android applications.: DS Photo+, DS Audio, DS Cam, DS File (iPhone only) and DS finder (iPhone only).
Survelliance station is a useful feature, especially for a business. Users can hook an IP camera into the unit with support for up to 40 cameras (licenses required).
The software really is indepth and we have touched on many of the major features, but a new user would be advised to carefully read through the literature, as there are many features to cater to a wide audience.
The package center allows for third party software to be installed, directly into the unit, from the browser.
