NAS by stefan @ 2013-04-22
The new DS213+ 2-bay NAS from Synology is sporting a dual core processor at 1.067GHz with Floating Point, 512MB of DDR3 and a very low power consumption in both IDLE and Full Load. The chassis has a solid design like the more expensive 4-bay designs and operates with the latest DSM 4.2 version.
At first I would like to thank Synology for offering a sample of their DS213+ 2-bay NAS Server for testing and reviewing.
"Founded in 2000, Synology is a young and energetic company dedicated to developing high-performance, reliable, versatile, and environmentally-friendly Network Attached Storage (NAS) products. Our goal is to deliver user-friendly solutions and solid customer service to satisfy the needs of businesses, home offices, individual users and families."
Dual Core Performance with Smart Energy Management
With Dual Core processing power, Synology DS213+ delivers an average 84.31 MB/sec writing speed under RAID 1 configuration in a Windows® environment, and 110.36 MB/sec reading1. The built-in Floating-Point Unit makes for faster thumbnail processing to enhance photo viewing at different resolutions. Coming with USB 3.0 support which offers transmission speeds of up to 5 Gbps, namely 10 times faster than USB 2.0, DS213+ takes less time for data transfer for external hard drives and consumes less power.
Synology DS213+ delivers high performance when needed, but during low activity level it also uses very small amount of power. During System Hibernation mode, DS213+ consumes only 2.6 watts of power to listen for network activities, and resumes back to operation in very short amount of time upon demand. Compared to shutting off the whole system, System Hibernation brings a closer balance between smart energy management and system responsiveness.
Fit to Business Environment
Comprehensive network protocol support assures seamless file sharing across Windows, Mac®, and Linux® platforms. Windows ADS and LDAP integration allows the Synology DS213+ to quickly and easily fit in an existing business network environment with no need to recreate user accounts. Windows ACL support provides much finer-grained access control and efficient privilege settings, allowing users to enjoy native Windows experience.
Internet file access is simplified by the encrypted FTP server and the web-based File Station. HTTPS, the built-in firewall, and IP auto-block support ensure file sharing over the Internet is protected at a high security level.
Rich Office Applications
Synology DiskStation DS213+ runs on renowned multitasking operating system, the Synology DiskStation Manager (DSM). Offering a comprehensive list of business applications, the DS213+ can be customized to run multiple applications of your choice to fulfill the requirement of your business environment. The DS213+ replaces several pieces of traditional network hardware with rich features designed specifically for workgroups and offices such as antivirus, video surveillance, webmail, VPN, and LDAP directory services.
Applications are managed in the Package Center, an application portal that hosts applications as ready-to-use packages; to ensure high software integration as well as one-click-installation to eliminate guess work during installation. Additional approved 3rd party PHP web application such as content management, customer relationship management & e-commerce system can be hosted on DS213+ by using Web Station with support for PHP/MySQL® web content.
Effective Backup Solutions
Synology DS213+ offers a centralized backup target to consolidate fragmented and unstructured data across a network. PC users can back up their data to Synology DS213+ using Synology Data Replicator software, and Mac OS X® users enjoy native Apple® Time Machine® integration.
A backup wizard is provided for backing up data from DS213+ to another Synology DiskStation or any rsync server via an encrypted connection, or to an external hard drive via USB 3.0 or eSATA connection. The wizard also makes it easy to back up DiskStation data to the cloud via Amazon S3® or STRATO HiDrive. In addition, users can back up and restore DiskStation shared folders in multiple versions using Synology Time Backup package.
Shared Folder Sync allows users to synchronize a specific folder from Synology DS213+ to another DiskStation– a server-to-client backup mechanism that takes place whenever something is changed on the server side. Users will be able to share documents within their local office seamlessly and safely with encrypted connection. When your DiskStation is down, you will be able to have an immediate backup running in no time.
Hassle-free System Installation
Web Assistant is a web-based utility to makes every DiskStation as easy to install as possible. Installation is done inside your existing web browser by setting up all vital system components in few simple steps. Combined with a quick start widget, users can simultaneously tour the DSM operating system and setup to use right away.
Energy Efficient with Cool and Quiet Design
Synology DS213+ is designed with energy efficiency in mind. Not only does it provide a 92x92 mm fan and the smart airflow to keep the system running cool 24/7, its noise dampening design makes it really quiet compared to PC counterparts. The support of multiple scheduled power on/off and System Hibernation can further reduce power consumption and operation cost.
All Synology products are produced with RoHS compliant parts and packed with recyclable packing materials. Synology acknowledges the responsibility as a global citizen to continually work to reduce the environmental impact of every product produced.
The DS213+ 2-bay NAS from Synology comes packed in a medium-sized cardboard box, with a white/green theme, pleasant to the eye. For easy transport, on the top side of the enclosure the manufacturer has included a plastic handle:
On the lateral sides of the box we will be able to find more in-depth details regarding the product:
When we start opening the box, we will see a small warning, telling us to check the guides and the list of supported drives before operating the product:
The NAS is separated from its bundle inside the enclosure:
The power lead is located outside the main box with the rest of the accessories:
As bundle, we will also receive some documentation, the necessary screws for mounting 2.5’’ or 3.5’’ drives, a LAN cable but also a power adapter:
Besides the DVD with software and manuals in electronic format, we will also get a leaflet regarding GNU General Public License and a small guide:
The power brick comes with an activity LED on top, and on the bottom we will be able to see the ratings. On output we have 12V at 6A:
The NAS itself is further packed with foam material:
The DS213+ comes with a pretty compact chassis which is also light (since the power supply is not included inside) and retains the same design lines as we have seen with the DS412+ or the DS413:
The frontal cover is further protected with a thin and transparent film and on the right we will be able to find multiple buttons, ports and LEDs:
Here is also a look of the enclosure with the top cover removed:
On the bottom right side we can find a Power button with LED, a Copy button with LED and one USB 2.0 port:
Moving further up, we will be able to see a card reader:
The activity LEDs for System Status, LAN, Disk 1, and Disk 2 are located on the top right side:
The HDD initialization sequence is signaled with small white dots:
On the lower right side we will be able to see another product name logo:
The trays can be removed from the bays easily by pressing the top clip:
On the back side of the removed cover we will find 4 rubber feet, with vibration dampening purposes:
After the complete removal of the trays, we will be able to see the small daughterboard which holds the SATA Data/Power connectors for both bays:
The laterals of the unit also come with the Synology logo, which also acts as a ventilation grill:
On the top we can see the same black plastic material, with a rough finish:
Moving to the bottom, we can see multiple additional ventilation holes, for the trays, but also in the motherboard compartment. The central sticker comes with the DC Input power rating specs:
On the back side of the unit we will find a single 92mm silent fan, but also some additional ports:
Speaking of the ports, we have two USB 3.0 and one RJ45, an eSATA port, the DC-IN and one Kensington lock port. On the left side the manufacturer has also included a Reset buttom. The small sticker attached here shows us the MAC and product serial number:
The black trays sport the same design as we have seen on the previously tested NASes and come with rubber rings in order to eliminate vibrations:
In several places we can also see tape with the same purpose:
On the back side of the tray we will be able to observe more clearly the holes meant for installing 2.5’’ drives:
Here are some photos with a mounted 2.5’’ drive:
And also a 3.5’’ drive:
In order to initialize the DS213+ NAS, we will download the latest DSM version from the Synology website:
Synology Assistant will help us detect the NAS on the network and will display relevant information:
By right clicking on the detected unit, we will select the Install option:
We will be welcomed by the Setup wizard and at the first step we will be prompted to search for the installation file, which we have previously downloaded:
Next, we can specify a password for the Administrator account, set a name for the NAS inside the network or create a SHR volume right after installation:
The network setup can be also specified in the next page:
During the installation procedure, we will be able to see all the steps the NAS will pass through:
When we login to the web interface, we will be prompted for an user and password; to login, we will use the admin account and the password that we have defined earlier:
Synology have updated the DSM to the latest 4.2 versions, which contains bug fixes, cosmetic changes for the well known applications and improvements regarding Cloud Services, a Video Station application for sorting multimedia content and more:
If a volume is not yet defined on our storage drives, we will have to define one or multiple ourselves:
The Volume Creation menu will let us choose the wizard type:
Besides the Single Volume on RAID option that we have found at most manufacturers, we can also choose to have multiple ones on a single drive:
We will be prompted to select the drive where the volume/volumes will be created:
Before creating the volume, we will be prompted that all previous data will be erased:
Since we have only one drive installed, we get to create a Basic volume, without data protection:
A disk check can be also performed in the process:
The final details will be confirmed before the actual volume creation:
During the volume creation process, we will be able to watch the status from the Storage Manager app:
Afterwards, we will be able to assign one or more shared folder to the newly created volume:
For each new shared folder, we will be able to set multiple options:
Permissions will be also set for the specific shared folder:
If everything went OK, we will be able to see the folder in Windows Explorer:
Besides the desktop icons, we can open up more sections from the top left side of the interface. From here we can also Restart or Shutdown the NAS:
Inside the Control Panel, we will be able to modify different settings regarding File Sharing, Network Services, System or Applications:
The Win/Mac/NFS menu, we can enable related file services:
The User menu will allow us to see and configure the current users, but also define new:
The Shared Folder menu allows us to define new shared folders for the available volumes:
The QuickConnect feature, when enabled, will let us connect to our DiskStation via Internet, without configuring specific port forwarding rules on the router:
In order to be able to access the DiskStation remotely, we also have to enable WebDAV:
The Network section will allow the user to configure the related settings in detail like IP, Gateway, Server Name and so on:
Inside the Network Interface tab, we can also enable PPPoE:
From the Hardware menu, the user can modify the speed of the fan by selecting one of the two available profiles (Cool or Quiet), control beep alert, enable UPS control, specify a Power Schedule or set a timer for Hibernation:
The initial Login screen can be also modified via the DSM Settings icon:
When we have a Bluetooth USB dongle connected to the NAS, from the Bluetooth menu we will be able to see the discovered devices and connect to them:
The DSM Update menu will search for a newer software version automatically and prompt for an update if necessary. The DSM version can be also updated manually:
The File Station app has been slightly redesigned so now it is more pleasant to the eye and from it we can access the file system of the current computer, a feature we haven’t seen frequently at other manufacturers:
Here are some options that we can perform to a file or folder:
The Package Center has been also redesigned in the new DSM version and new the packages are better organized:
The packages can be installed are either from Synology or 3rd party; during the installation of some packages (like the Antivirus), a progress bar will appear and some others will show the installation steps right on the Package Center interface:
If we upload photos to the folder for the specific application (Photo Station), thumbnail generation will begin in the background right away:
The System Information menu will also show us some important data regarding the product inside the General tab like serial number, model name, installed memory, software version, operating time and more:
From the Network tab, we will be able to see the current LAN configuration:
The Storage tab will show information regarding each available volume like remaining free space, but we will be also able to see the status of the installed drives:
A list of available Services will be found in the next tab:
The Antivirus Essential application from Synology will help us keep the server contents virus free:
The Audio Station GUI has been also redesigned; from it we can browse the internal contents, but also access online radio services from services like Shoutcast:
Cloud Station application will allow file sync on multiple computers and the previous file versions will be also kept:
The Download Station app allows us to work with different protocols in order to download the files of our choice directly to the NAS. Before using the application, the interface will ask us to specify a download folder:
Media Server app will automatically create a “photo”, “music” and “video” folder, which will be shared on our network to DLNA/UPnP digital media adapters:
The Photo Station 5 application retains the previous functionalities and we also have several views available now like Blog or Timeline:
Inside the Video Station app, we will be able to specify the folders for each type of video content and after they will be indexed, they will be displayed on the right side with photos and small descriptions:
When clicking on a movie from the list, we will be able to see more details like Genre, launch date, Duration, Cast, Writer and more. The file can be launched by clicking on the Play button:
The Movie will start running in a separate browser window:
TV Shows can be indexed in the same way:
From the 3rd party packages, we could enumerate PrestaShop, which is really easy to install by following the instruction steps:
From iOS/Android OSes, we can launch the DS Audio app, which allows us to play content from our NAS; the login can be completed easily by entering the NAS address or the QuickConnect ID, along with the user/password:
The Music found will be listed in the next window:
The Audio Station functions are also available here, like online radio:
The DS File application follows the same login procedure and with it we can browse the DiskStation with ease:
We also have available DS Photo+ which shares the functionality of the Photo Station application:
With DS Finder, we will be able to see the currently detected Synology NASes, check out General Information, Network Status or Storage details:
From the same mobile application, we can also login to a mobile version of DSM, in order to have access to even more functions:
CPU : Intel I7 3750K Retail @ 4.7GHz
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14
Motherboard : ECS Z77H2-AX Black Extreme
RAM : GeIL EVO CORSA 16GB 2400MHz C11
Video : Sparkle GeForce GTX 560 Calibre
Power Supply : Cooler Master 850W
HDD : Seagate Barracuda 500GB 7200.11
Case: Cooler Master ATCS840
To test the NAS performances, the DS213+ was populated with a single OCZ Vertex 4 SSD, formatted with a single volume and the NAS was connected directly to the computer, to avoid any limitations by implying additional hardware like a router. The first simple test was performed by loading the test file onto a RAM drive and then it was copied to the NAS, at its shared folder. The speed was recorded with Total Commander:
The second test was to copy the same file back to the computer; for eliminating any HDD speed limitations, the file was copied back to the RAM drive:
For performing a more advanced test, the Intel NAS Performance Toolkit was used, for performing 5 different test runs. Here are the results:
While the DS213+ NAS from Synology is not from the same league as the last Atom D2700 4-bay NASes that have passed though our labs, the product sports good performances for both read/write transfers and includes a Dual Core processor at 1.067GHz with Floating Point (Freescale QorIQ CPU to be more exact) and also 512MB of DDR3 (not upgradeable). The DS213+ is concentrated on low power consumption and after the OS initialization, with only a single 320GB 2.5’’ Western Digital Scorpio Black installed, we have recorded a value of 17.62W so we won’t have to worry about expensive power bills.
The chassis of the DS213+ looks like a compact version of the DS413 or DS412+, is very light and comes with plastic trays equipped with vibration dampening properties. Also, the included fan is silent and can be barely heard even when we have SSDs installed into the NAS.
DSM is one of the most advanced a user friendly NAS operating systems and from version to version we are used to see improvements and new available applications. From the apps that we enjoy most we can enumerate Antivirus Essential, Audio Station, Photo Station or Media Server. 3rd party apps can be also installed with ease, one example would be Prestashop.
We have seen that companies like ASUSTOR and QNAP have started integrating video outputs on their NASes for connecting the product right to our Full-HD TV and watch movies. In the future revisions, we will see ports like these for Synology NASes too (like they have been presented at CeBIT 2013) and we are really curious how their media center interface will look like.
The Synology Disk Station DS213+ NAS Server can be found online for about 315 Euros.
We would like to thank again to Synology for offering the sample for review.