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Before performance testing, we wanted to refresh a look at the excellent Synology Diskmanager Software suite, which is multitasking capable. This is accessed via an internet browser and an IP address.
It is important to ensure that the newest software package is downloaded directly from the Synology website over here.
The Synology Assistant is a networking tool which can find all the Synology drives installed on a network. The DS1511+ needs to be configured once.
Using the software disc (or locating the file downloaded from the Synology support site) the .pat file can be located and installed to the NAS.
The complete procedure takes only a couple of minutes.
The DS1511+ is now ready for software configuration.
The default login is user :admin with no password. A welcoming screen awaits, once the software is loaded. The installed hard drive(s) can then be configured.
Once the drives are configured as desired (Raid 0) in this case, then the shared folder(s) can be initialised. Basic, JBOD, RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 5+Spare, RAID 6 modes are available.
This software can handle a maximum of 2048 user accounts. 256 user groups and 256 shared folders with a total of 512 concurrent connections.
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 ‘diskstation' meaning that the network will only recognise one of the NAS units.
It is therefore important to give each Synology device a ‘unique' name via the control panel. The windows network will then recognise the individual NAS devices.
Top right is an alert menu which flags anything that the software deems as an important notification. On the left is a popup menu for the plethora of settings available.
The control panel is the main window, leading into various subsections of the software …
… from configuring specific media support …
… to monitoring, or seeking an overview of the hardware inside the NAS.
There are also options to adjust the interface colour scheme and seek help on any aspect of the interface, via an indepth help system.
The Macintosh operating system is fully supported, allowing for a compliant mixed Windows/OSx networking experience. For those who seek maximum security and backup support, the system can also be hooked directly into a UPS device.
