Synology DS713+ NAS and DX213 Expansion Unit Review

Today we are looking at one of the latest 2012 performance units from Synology, the DS713+. This NAS system can be further enhanced with the cost effective partnering expansion units, and we join the DS713+ up with the DX213, which supports an additional two drives. Synology's DS713+ looks to be a capable performer on paper with internal support for two hard drives. The company rate the NAS with maximum speeds of 202.3 MB/s read and 135.84 MB/s write. They include a dual core processor and USB 3.0 ports with dual-LAN fallover and Link Aggregation Support. The unit natively supports 8TB internally (2x4TB). Product Overview: 202.3 MB/sec Reading, 135.84 MB/sec Writing Speed. Dual Core CPU & Super-Speed USB 3.0 Ports. Dual-LAN Failover and Link Aggregation Support. Hassle-free Scalability Up to 7 Drives With Synology DX513. Extensive Surveillance With 20 HD IP Camera Capacity. VMware® with VAAI support, Citrix®, Microsoft® Hyper-V® compliant. Easy-to-Use Synology DiskStation Manager (DSM). Synology are using new white and green boxes, following a universal theme throughout the range. The model number of the device you bought is marked on the top of the box. The box contains a power adapter, LAN cable, power cable, locking keys, mounting screws and a user manual and software disc. We do recommend you get the latest software from the Synology download website however, as the version supplied on the disc may be out of date. The DS713+ is a small unit measuring 157 x 103.5 x 232 mm, It weighs only 1.69kg. You can't tell from the images, but the front and rear panels are plastic, but the main shell in the middle is metal. The DS713+ has two drive bays on the front which are easily removed by pushing in at the top. The little hole on each bay at the bottom is used to lock the drives in place. Along the right side are various lights which indicate status and LAN activity. There is also a power button and USB port. The rear of the unit has two Gigabit LAN connectors, two USB 3.0 ports and the power connector. There is also an eSATA header connector to hook up to the expansion units. A locking system is just above this. The underneath of the unit isn't painted black, with four rubber feet offering stability on a variety of surfaces. The two drive bays in the DS713+ are not metal, but a strong plastic. This is slightly disappointing, although to be expected considering the price range. When the drive bays are removed it gives us a better view into the front of the unit. We can see the main motherboard on the right side and the SATA header daughtercard which is linked into the drive bay trays. Removing the outer chassis takes a little time as there are multiple screws in both front and back panels. When these are loosened then the central section can be removed. Synology are using a high grade Y.S. Tech fan in the DS713+. This is the FD129225LL-N, a popular 92mm fan that the company have used in many of their units recently. The rear output board is slotted into the main motherboard. The motherboard is passively cooled, and there is an upgradable memory slot, which is quite easy to access. The 2.13ghz dual core processor is passively cooled and Synology include 1GB of DDR3 as standard. The two drives slide in from the front of the unit, and lock into place on the daughtercard which slots directly into the motherboard. Installing a hard drive is easy enough, simply slot into the drive bays and screw into place. The Synology DX213 ships inside a white and green box which looks identical to the other box. The small sticker on top shows the model number. The bundle includes another adapter for the DX213, a power cable and a user manual. There are also a set of screws for mounting the hard drives. The DX213 connects to the DS713+ (and other Synology NAS units) with the aid of this cable, which is supplied. This ensures the maximum possible transfer speed between the main unit and the bay. The DX213 Expansion unit has a status light, eSATA activity indicator, and Disk 1/Disk 2 activity lights. At the bottom is the power switch. The 'Synology' name is engraved into the chassis, which is all plastic. This unit is lighter than the DS713+, weighing 0.87kg and measuring 165 x 100 x 225.5 mm. The rear of the DX213 has a eSATA connector, 'default/normal' switch, power connector and 'reset' button. There is also a locking mechanism on the right. A large 92mm fan takes centerstage above this section. This unit is all plastic, and pulls apart by sliding one half of the unit forward, and the other backward. The DX213 is not meant to be accessed on a regular basis, so you need to screw the drive(s) into place. We unscrewed the main panel and removed the main board, which is protected underneath a metal plate as shown above. Synology don't list any of the hardware specifications, but we know it supports the DS710+, DS712+, DS713+, DS1010+, DS1511+, DS1512+, DS1812+; Use as independent volume: DS112, DS112+, DS212+, DS213+, DS412+, DS413 NAS systems. On this page we present some super high resolution images of the product taken with the 24.5MP Nikon D3X camera and 24-70mm ED lens. These will take much longer to open due to the dimensions, especially on slower connections. If you use these pictures on another site or publication, please credit Kitguru.net as the owner/source. On this page we present some super high resolution images of the product taken with the 24.5MP Nikon D3X camera and 24-70mm ED lens. These will take much longer to open due to the dimensions, especially on slower connections. If you use these pictures on another site or publication, please credit Kitguru.net as the owner/source. You can right click and ‘save as’ to your computer to view later. We have looked at the Synology DiskManager Operating System many times in the past, but today we are looking at the latest revision which was released recently. It is one of the finest operating systems on the market for a NAS system/server, and doesn’t need a high specification list of hardware to run well either. The multitasking support means that multiple tasks can be handled simultaneously. It is important to ensure that the newest software package is downloaded directly from the Synology website over here. It would take a dedicated indepth review to cover all of the options in this software, but we will recap over some of the interface now. We used two hard drives from a previous installation and the Synology Assistant found the DS713+, but noted that the software installed was incompatible. We downloaded the latest version of the Disk Manager Operating System software - these are tagged as '.pat' files. The software takes a few minutes to write, after the initial setup is completed. One of our drives failed during setup, so we can show the error messages - something you don't want to see! The Synology DS713+ unit will beep continuously to indicate a problem, although this can be manually turned off. Setting up a volume doesn't take too long and the options available will vary depending on how many drives you have available. Options are available for single volumes on RAID, or Multiple volumes on RAID. With only one drive in our system we can only have a 'BASIC' setup. The screenshot above shows the other options however, Raid 1, Raid 5, Raid 5+Spare, Raid 6, Raid 10, JBOD and RAID 0. This stage of volume creation is important. If you are using an older drive which you aren't sure about, it is best to use the longer disk check and select 'Yes'. Be aware this can take a serious amount of time, as the system has to remap bad sectors, if found. The format process will vary depending on how many drives you are using and the RAID mode. When the drive is ready, the system health will change to indicate a 'good status'. This is a new addition in the latest revision and will help inexperienced users who may find the wealth of settings confusing. It is important to set up a shared folder at this stage, so you can access the storage across your network from multiple computer systems. The main settings can be accessed from the control panel options at the top left. The NAS will also flag updates and alerts top right. The Package Center is the main area for downloading and updating the NAS, if you want to use third party software. This is a nice touch, although we found this panel rather slow to update for us. This section of the interface is expanding on a regular basis. The main control panel window gives access to the main settings and configuration options. These are all labelled clearly and easy to navigate and find. If you use a network of mixed devices then this panel is important, as you can configure Windows, Macintosh networking and the NFS service. FTP can be set up in a dedicated panel. We recommend you give the server a unique name. If you have several Synology NAS systems in the same network, they default to the same Diskstation name, which means your Windows network will only see one of them. The Control Panel has dedicated Media Indexing options. It can scan for multimedia files including videos, photos and music. The NAS system can be used for automated backing up of special folders. There is also the option to set a speed limit, if it has a negative impact. You can restart the NAS system automatically after failure and adjust the fan speed mode between three settings. External devices can be connected and accessed via this panel. USB printers can also be connected to the DS713+ NAS. 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. We have looked at this in detail before and if you missed it before you can read it here. We are testing the Synology DS713+ NAS within our gigabit network which is pretty much as good as you will get for a home or small office environment. It is a mixed network with several 1GBit switches for ultimate performance. The DX213 is able to push the same levels of performance through the DS713+ as the native drives inside the DS713+. All tests are performed ten times to ensure that no abnormalities can creep into the final results. We copy across several files at the same time. Overall performance is excellent, ranging close to the top of the chart. The fast 2.13ghz dual core processor can handle small data files quickly. On the last page we tested the DS713+ with a single cable attached. The product however supports 802.3ad dynamic link aggregation which enables multiple connections to be linked in parallel to increase the link speed beyond the limits of any one single cable or port and to increase the redundancy for higher availability. Most implementations now conform to what used to be clause 43 of IEEE 802.3-2005 Ethernet standard, usually still referred to by its working group name of “IEEE 802.3ad”. The definition of link aggregation has since moved to a standalone IEEE 802.1AX standard. For this page we have removed all mechanical drives and are using a Solid State Drive, kindly donated by ADATA. The XPG SX910 256GB which we reviewed in the past. We copy across several large files to maximise the bandwidth. Good results from the DS713+, delivering around 195 MB/s in the read test, and around 132 MB/s in the write test. Not quite at the levels Synology quote, although this could be down to our specific equipment. We take the issue of noise very seriously at KitGuru and this is why we have built a special home brew system as a reference point when we test noise levels of various components. Why do this? Well this means we can eliminate secondary noise pollution in the test room and concentrate on components we are testing. It also brings us slightly closer to industry standards, such as DIN 45635. As this can be a little confusing for people, here are various dBa ratings in with real world situations to help describe the various levels. KitGuru noise guide 10dBA - Normal Breathing/Rustling Leaves 20-25dBA – Whisper 30dBA - High Quality Computer fan 40dBA - A Bubbling Brook, or a Refridgerator 50dBA - Normal Conversation 60dBA - Laughter 70dBA - Vacuum Cleaner or Hairdryer 80dBA - City Traffic or a Garbage Disposal 90dBA - Motorcycle or Lawnmower 100dBA - MP3 player at maximum output 110dBA - Orchestra 120dBA - Front row rock concert/Jet Engine 130dBA - Threshold of Pain 140dBA - Military Jet takeoff/Gunshot (close range) 160dBA - Instant Perforation of eardrum Noise was measured from a meter away. The YS Tech fan in the DS713+ doesn't emit much noise, even when it spins up slightly when ambient temperatures rise inside the chassis. With only two internal hard drives, the fan never has to work that hard. The unit is rather efficient, demanding only 18 watts when idle. With two drives fitted, this rises to around 32 watts under load. These temperatures show that the cooling system is capable, and the airflow through the front and out the back ensures the drives are running optimally. The Synology DS713+ NAS has proven to be a worthy addition to the excellent Synology lineup. The unit is well built, with tough plastic front and rear panels connected to a metal subframe in the center. Performance of the DS713+ is really as good as you would expect for a home or small business environment. It can deliver over 100 MB/s when dealing with large data files, and link aggregation reaps noticeable rewards, if your network is up to the task. With our dedicated Gigabit switches, we were able to push performance to almost 200 MB/s when reading data across the network. There are no shortage of drive configurations supported, such as Synology Hybrid RAID, Basic, JBOD, RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 5+Spare, RAID 6 and RAID 10. The 2.13ghz dual core processor is able to handle complex, smaller data streams without suffering from dramatic performance losses and it noticeably outperforms our long term DS710, which we have used in an office environment now for a very long time. The DS713+ is enhanced with the addition of one of Synology's DX expansion units. Today we tested the DX213, and it was able to match the internal performance of the main unit while doubling the storage capacity. If this is not enough, then Synology also sell the more expensive DX513, which can house five additional drives for more demanding storage environments. The DS713+ has adopted a key locking system, which will appeal to a smaller business wanting additional security protection for their data. The drive bays are plastic and not metal, although this is a lower priced business model so we can expect a few compromises to meet a specific price point. Power consumption of the unit is noteworthy and will not inflict noticeable damage to an electric bill, consuming between 20 and 30 watts most of the time with both drive bays populated. The inclusion of a high grade 92mm YS TECH fan ensures that noise emissions are never a concern. We highly recommend the DS713+ for a demanding home or small business environment. It is capable of very quick data transfer speeds, doesn't drain a lot of power at the socket and is whisper quiet. The basic unit can be bought for around £450 inc vat. Or you can buy it prepopulated with drives. Check this link out for more details. The DX213 can be bought for around the £140 mark - Amazon have stock for £136.78. Pros: Great build quality. quick processor helps transfer of mixed files. low power consumption. almost silent. Scalable to support more storage with optional DX units. Reasonable price point. Cons: Parts of the unit are plastic. Kitguru says: A well priced NAS system for performance environments.