Netgear revealed its ambitious network storage plans early this year, rolling out the red carpet for an eventual launch of a handful of ReadyNAS units that would complement the ReadyNAS Duo v2 that we reviewed in 2011. We got our hands on one of these new units, the ReadyNAS RN102, a 2-bay connected device that […]
With the latest deliverable in NAS technology we’ve got the LenovoEMC PX2-300d with Milestone Arcus Network Video Recorder software embedded, complete with hardware you might recognize as a rather close relative of the Iomega PX2-300d in both looks and function – to a point. This is because both PX2-300d units are essentially made of the same basics on the outside, working now with the company’s upgraded brand name (LenovoEMC) and taking on the mantel of big-power small-footprint NAS for SMB. Here we’ve also got the very first NVR (network video recorder) to feature Milestone Arcus; video management software that makes the whole process as quick and easy as possible.
While we’re not going to do a full-on comparison of this model to the PX2-300d we reviewed in the past, we can say this – even here seven months after we had that look, this NAS performs as good as ever. And for a machine that’ll be spending most of its time hidden away from the everyday eyes of the public, it certainly isn’t a half-bad looking unit to look at, either.
Inside the PX2-300d you’ll be working with an Intel D525 Atom dual-core 1.8GHz paired with 2GB of RAM. This architecture is paired with two enterprise-glass drives able to be configured at either RAID 0 or 1, both behind a lock-able door with an array of round holes for regular airflow.
With this door open you’ll be able to access two pop-out trays that are rather easy to work with while they lock in tight when you’re not making a switch. These trays support both 2.5- and 3.5-inch drives.
Also up front you’ll find an LCD display which shows off the basics – time and date when you don’t need the rest – network IP address or used/available capacity when your getting ready to connect or check your space. Display access is served by a single standard VGA out on this machine’s back working with MindTree software interface.
Also at this hardware’s back are two USB 2.0 ports, two ethernet ports (so you can connect two separate internet sources in case one fails, for example), and a power port. There’s also a teeny-tiny reset button there as well. The backside also features a rather silent-running fan that’ll blow air through the whole construct real slick – especially given the straight-shot openness from the back to the front. The front also features a single USB 3.0 port for good measure.
Configuration of this system is extremely easy, especially when you’ve got a set of eyes as simple as the M1011 Axis Network Camera unit we’ve been provided. This system is able to work with a total of 20 surveillance cameras at once, the system attaching to them each with Milestone’s Arcus system with a simple icon for each camera.
NOTE: This setup supports a wide variety of cameras from several major brands – Axis, Bosch, ACTi, Canon, Panasonic, & others, and several different connections work as well. IP cameras (both Fixed & PTZ), USB, and analog cameras (connected via IP encoder) are all set to work right out of the box.
Each camera appears (if connected to your personal network) automatically. You can also do a simple search for any “missing” cameras found by their IP address as well, while a single configuration button appears for each of them offering up a collection of controls for Video like Codec (H.264 or MPEG-4, for example), Frames per second, and Resolution.
Each camera is attached to its unique given name and also has options for Recording and Motion Detection where applicable. You can set a single camera’s retention time for a certain period of time for a week and another for a period of minutes, and each camera’s disk usage is made plain from the front.
In addition to Arcus working on the base beast here, there’s both Android and iPhone/iPad apps made to access your camera network on the go. NOTE: At the moment the Android app doesn’t appear to be active, but we’ll let you know when it’s back up and running – it works essentially the same as the iOS app, in the end.
As it was when we first reviewed the PX2-300d, complete with its software build back then, this configuration affords you the ability to access data in your personal cloud with Amazon S3, Mozy Pro, and EMC Atmos. Axis Video Hosting is also available while OS X users may want to opt for an Apple Time Machine backup solution – every test we’ve performed with each of these connections has worked just as well as the last so far – including massive files from one location to another inside our own personal network.
In testing this drive for raw speed on a gigabit ethernet connection, this LenovoEMC PX2-300d unit kicked out 80 MB/s write speeds and 75 MB/s read speeds on average. That should be plenty fast for your standard SMB or home network needs on a regular basis.
You’ll find this particular solution – complete with Milestone Arcus software – ringing in at $1,000 USD with four camera licenses attached. The majority of this cost kicked in with the drives and the Milestone Arcus software above the case on its own, but it’s the final amalgamation of software and hardware here that makes the case for a solid small network surveillance solution – you’ll want it all in the end.
This configuration includes a full year of Milestone Arcus software updates for free, and as the case is made to allow a variety of drives flipped in-and-out with ease, you can rest easy knowing you’ll be ready for any hardware upgrades you need in the future as well. While LenovoEMC lets it be known that several solutions are available for those with larger needs, this most “basic” package is exactly the place we’d be sarting. Unless of course you need a four-drive PX4-300d with 8TB and 16 camera licenses, of course – they’ve got that configuration available immediately if not soon, as well.
LenovoEMC PX2-300d with Milestone Arcus NVR Review is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
If backup and external storage had a hope of ever being fashionable, then Drobo would probably be the industry icon. Trying its level best to make data devilishly interesting since 2007, the company’s primary claim to fame from its glossy black obelisks is their packaging of drive redundancy to an audience who either doesn’t understand, or who doesn’t want to be bothered with, RAID definitions. Now, there’s the Drobo Mini, a compact version intended to take four drives mobile and give them a shot of SSD speed along the way. Read on for our full review.
The Drobo lineage is clear in the Mini, though unlike its siblings it spreads its drives horizontally rather than vertically. At 7.3 x 7.1 x 1.8 inches it’s a squat square of matte and glossy black plastic, tipping the scales at 2.2 pounds without drives; that also doesn’t include the power brick, which is compact though still something to consider if you’re planning to make the Drobo Mini a mobile storage solution.
Up front there’s a magnetically-attached front cover, which hides four 2.5-inch drive bays. By switching from the more common 3.5-inch drives, as in the rest of the Drobo range, the company has been able to reduce size, noise, and power consumption (though since you provide the HDDs yourself, that will in part depend on which models you pick). However, it also places new limits on capacity, since 2.5-inch drives aren’t available in the same huge sizes as their bigger brethren.
In fact, 1TB is basically the maximum per drive, though since the Drobo Mini uses the company’s BeyondRAID data redundancy system, you won’t actually get 4TB of total storage even if you slot a full terabyte into each bay. Drobo has a useful calculator to figure out exactly what you’ll get, but if you stick to the 1TB maximum and expect complete data safety even if one of the drives dies, you’ll have 930GB to use with two HDDs installed, 1.81TB with three installed, and 2.72TB with all four occupied.
It’s worth noting that you needn’t install four drives of the same size: you can mix and match, then take advantage of Drobo’s auto-rebuilding of the array by swapping out a smaller drive for a larger version. Another option is dual disk redundancy – where the Drobo Mini can handle up to two drives failing simultaneously with no data loss – but then, with four 1TB HDDs installed, you’ll only have 1.8TB to use.
Fitting the drives themselves is incredibly straightforward: no caddies, rails, or other attachments, simply push the HDD in port-first and, like clicking a pen, it slots into place. No tools required, and swapping out a drive is as simple as clicking it in and pulling it free; you can even do it with the Drobo Mini running, and rebuilding the array begins automatically. Four green LED strips around the corners of the fascia correspond to the status of each drive, while status lights and a useful capacity gauge run along the bottom, showing you roughly how much space you have left.
However, there’s also a fifth bay, on the underside of the Drobo Mini, which takes an mSATA solid-state drive. These flash drives, having gained in popularity thanks to ultrabooks, basically offer a chunk of speedy storage in a small footprint, and work with what Drobo calls “data-aware tiering technology”; offered until now only on the company’s enterprise-spec B1200i, that uses an SSD cache to speed up file access by storing frequently accessed data (such as thumbnails) in a dedicated area of faster capacity. Drobo offers a $169 60GB mSATA, though you can shop around for a better deal, and using the bay is optional.
The Drobo Mini’s other surprise is a battery. Non-removable (but expected to last the lifetime of the unit, Drobo says) it works as an emergency power supply rather than as a true mobility provision: basically, if you lose AC power, the Drobo Mini is designed to have sufficient internal power to make sure all the data in use is stored safely before the drive switches off.
Ports are all on the back, sandwiched between two non-user-removable variable speed fans, which spin with a noticeable hum. As well as a single USB 3.0 port there are two Thunderbolt ports, the second Thunderbolt intended for daisy-chaining drives and other peripherals. The obvious omission – as with most of Drobo’s earlier products – is a network port, with the Mini really intended for use with a single machine at any one time.
We fitted the Drobo Mini with four 750GB Seagate Momentus drives, as well as a 32GB mSATA flash drive in the Drobo Accelerator Bay on the underside. Drobo’s Dashboard app – available for Windows and Mac – automatically builds the BeyondRAID array and uses the mSATA for caching.
Hooked up via Thunderbolt to a 2012 MacBook Pro with Retina display, itself with a 256GB Apple-fit flash drive, we saw transfer rates from the computer to the Drobo Mini of 98.12 MB/s when dealing with 5GB files. In the opposite direction, from Drobo Mini to Mac, that increases slightly to 101.1 MB/s.
Drobo includes USB 3.0, of course, for broader compatibility, though you’ll pay a penalty in speed: almost half of the rates, in fact. Transferring to the same MacBook Pro with Retina display over USB 3.0, we saw 62.71 MB/s, and then 53.1 MB/s sending 5GB files back from the Mini to the Mac.
Drobo has never been the cheap option for data storage, and the Drobo Mini doesn’t break with tradition. At $649 with no drives, it’s clearly on the expensive side for a portable storage caddy (though you do get both a USB 3.0 and a Thunderbolt cable included in the box). Factor in four 1TB HDDs at $80 apiece, and you’re looking at $969 and still having an empty accelerator bay. A quick look online turns up 64GB mSATA drives for around $70 (you can find slightly cheaper, lower capacity alternatives, as we did, but then you’ll see less benefit from the data-aware tiering technology), bringing the fully-loaded price to $1,039.
Count on another $49 if you want the official carrying case, and expect to spend a small fortune if you want to use SSDs rather than HDDs. With solid-state drives currently sitting at the $180 point for around 240GB, you’re looking at $1,679 for roughly 680GB of space, albeit blisteringly-fast space.
There are cheaper ways to use 2.5-inch drives. We’re fans of Synology’s DiskStation DS411slim, which is $300 empty. You don’t get an mSATA bay or the backup battery, and it uses gigabit ethernet rather than USB or Thunderbolt (there’s an eSATA port and two USB 2.0 ports, but they’re for adding extra capacity not directly hooking up to a computer), so data transfers are inevitably slower, and making it more suited to backup than for storing files you’re working on currently.
If Thunderbolt is a must-have, then there’s LaCie’s Little Big Disk, which uses the high-speed port and two preinstalled drives (either HDD or SSD depending on the model). The good-looking external drive isn’t inexpensive, however. The HDD-based model has a street price of roughly $319 for 1TB, though that’s combining two 500GB drives with no data redundancy; opt for single drive redundancy, and you’ll only have 500GB with no room for expansion. The SSD version comes in 512GB or 1TB capacities (street price from around $665), though again you’re looking at half that space if you want single-drive redundancy. There’s also no other connectivity, unlike the Drobo Mini’s USB 3.0, which makes accessing data tricky if you’re using one of the (many) computers that lacks Thunderbolt.
The Drobo Mini is wasted on backup. There are far cheaper ways to keep a safe copy of your digital life, and far more convenient methods than taking a single Drobo unit around every computer in your home or office and backing them up one at a time. If we’ve learned anything about backup, it’s that even the slightest hurdle to the process and users simply won’t do it; a set-and-forget NAS handles such duties far more readily.
Where the Drobo Mini succeeds, then, is in day-to-day use: solid data access rates, and the flexibility and convenience of the BeyondRAID system. As we’ve found with Thunderbolt drives before, the Drobo Mini is sufficiently swift that you can effectively treat it as another internal drive, keeping project files – whether photo, music, or video editing, or something else – stored externally, rather than having to copy them onto your main drive and then archive them again afterwards.
That makes particular sense when you consider the shifts we’re seeing in computing, particularly from Apple (though arguably where the Mac goes, the PC tends to follow), with traditional HDDs phased out in favor of faster solid-state memory with generally smaller capacities. A $1k loaded Drobo Mini starts to look far more flexible in comparison to a factory-fit storage upgrade for a new Mac, and the external drive is sufficiently portable that you could drop it into your laptop bag alongside your MacBook Pro and set up a powerful studio wherever there’s an AC socket spare. That balance of performance, flexibility, and data security puts the Drobo Mini into a category of its own, and while not the cheapest external storage, you do get plenty for your money.
Drobo Mini Review is written by Vincent Nguyen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Iomega’s StorCenter px2-300d is a NAS unit aimed at businesses and the prosumer crowd, offering features beneficial to both types of user. This particular unit is the 4TB model, but the device is available in up to 6TB varieties, all of which share the same features. While one would initially be tempted to view the px2-300d as a NAS device tailored to the SMB environment, I contend that it also makes an excellent personal server, offering a pleasant mix of appealing design, quiet hardware, easy-to-use software, and high-end functionality. Whether you’re a business owner looking for a way to keep your data safe or a prosumer in need a sophisticated personal server, read our full review of the px2-300d to see how the device holds up.
Upon picking up the px2-300d, the first thing you notice is that it feels durable; so durable, in fact, I imagine it could take a swift kick and come out of the attack unaffected. The body is constructed from sheet metal, while the faceplate and hard-drive cover are constructed from matte plastic. The back of the unit is solid metal, as is the bottom, which is adorned with four large rubber feet. Overall, the px2 feels like a battle tank of a device, more than durable enough to handle being placed in a potentially precarious location, such as under a desk or atop a busy work surface.
The unit measures 8.91-inches x 4.97-inches x 8.18-inches, and weighs in at almost 9lbs with both hard-drives in place. The NAS is a two-bay unit, with both hot swappable hard-drives housed behind a grated door. You can lock the door, but you cannot lock the individual drives in place; this is rather disappointing, as the door is flimsy, and offers little protection from someone with a sturdy prying tool and ill intent. The hard-drives are server class, while the drive carrier supports both 3.5-inch and 2.5-inch drives.
The LCD is large enough to display a decent amount of information, but not so large as to be bothersome; you can place the px2 in an entertainment system setup between the DVR and Blu-ray players, for example, and its display won’t stand out obtrusively among the other devices’ displays. There are two buttons to the right of the LCD that allow for toggling through the various screens and options. When left alone, the display casually alternates between displaying the network IP address, used/available capacity, and the date and time.
The px2 runs an Intel D525 Atom dual-core 1.8GHz processor with 2GB of RAM, which gives it a combination of decent power and low energy consumption. You have access to one USB 3.0 and two USB 2.0 ports, as well as two gigabit ethernet ports. There is both IEEE 802.3 and IEEE 802.3u LAN standard support, along with RAID 0, 1, and a rotational vibration sensor. Helping make the px2 an all-around accessible device is a VGA port, allowing the device to be used with an external monitor via the MindTree software. There’s a USB port conveniently located on the front of the device, as well.
Setup is simple and fast; the time from when you plug the device in and turn it on to when you’ve transferred your first file is about five minutes. For the px2 itself, it has an exceptionally long power adapter and includes an ethernet cable, which you’ll plug into your router or modem. The device connected to the network almost instantaneously, displaying the IP address on its LCD. From there, users can access the drive via their browser by going to “http://px2-300d,” where they can configure the device, install apps, and more. The device supports multiple network file protocols, including NFS (Unix/Linux), AFP/Bonjour (Apple), SMB/Rally/CIFS (Microsoft), FTP, TFTP, and SFTP.
Users will need to install the Iomega Storage Manager application, which can be done via the installation CD included with the drive or by downloading the application from the company’s website. Once installed, the application found the px2-300d immediately. A variety of categories are provided under “Shares,” including Backups, Documents, etc. Each category is assigned its own drive letter. You can transfer files via the Storage Manager or directly via Windows Explorer. Either way, transferring a 300MB file took only a few seconds.
Configuring the device is done via a Web browser by going to “http://px2-300d.” It’s from here you can install various applications to the device via Application Manager and access the different features. One of the first things I installed was McAfee, a process as simple as clicking on the McAfee icon and verifying that I wanted to install it. Once installed, users can configure system events and schedule tasks, among other things; this provides real-time McAfee VirusScan Enterprise protection, and, according to Iomega, is the only NAS in its class that does so.
Users can set up the px2-300d to function as a cloud storage solution using the Iomega Personal Cloud, which allows individuals to remote access the NAS via the Web from wherever they are located. Included is a variety of other cloud solutions, including Amazon S3, Mozy Pro, EMC Avamar data duplication, and EMC Atmos. Apple users will be pleased with the ease at which Time Machine integration can be set up.
One particularly nice feature is the complete implementation of social networking tools. With the px2, users can parse their various files into folders that are tied to social networking accounts, such as Facebook, where the files will then be automatically uploaded. As with the ix2-200 and other Iomega NAS devices, the px2 has UPnP DLNA for media streaming. The unit is compatible with virtualization environments, as well, including VMware and XenServer.
While the software options are plentiful, perhaps one of the top features is the integration of SecureMind Surveillance Manager. With this application, the NAS can be used as part of a rather sophisticated surveillance system, supporting up to 16 cameras (the ix4-300d only supports 8 cameras). Via the SecureMind software, users can live monitor multiple channels, record videos, and quickly playback a recorded video. Included with the px2-300d is a single camera license to get you started. Combining it all together, the px2 makes a nice, cohesive, and easy-to-use surveillance base upon which a business (or private user) can setup their security system.
While the px2-300d ran very well, it did have this particular habit of restructuring data protection seemingly every time the device was powered off, then turned on again. If you remove one of the drives while the unit is running, you’ll get an error (obviously), followed by restructured data protection once you reinsert the drive. This is fine. However, multiple times upon leaving the drives in place and shutting the unit down properly, it stated that it was restructuring data protection upon turning the device back on. Fortunately, this can be skipped manually by pressing the top button on the button panel, because total restructuring time averaged three hours. This isn’t much of an issue, considering that the NAS device will be up and running most of the time.
There are many cloud storage options aimed at every level of need. While the 4TB px2’s price ($999) will be prohibitive for many users who need a storage solution on the personal level, the benefits of using a NAS unit rather than cloud storage are relevant. Aside from the obvious issues of security and being in possession of the physical hardware harboring your data, you get faster transfer speeds and the ability to easily make data available to users on your network. Businesses will find the px2-300d particularly appealing because, as far as the level of features go, the price is rather modest, and the unit does what it claims to do, and it does it well. For the prosumer, the px2 offers a host of features that make it more than some network-accessible hard drives.
Overall, the px2-300d is an all-around excellent storage device. It runs relatively quiet when not crunching away at data, looks nice intermingled in with other hardware, and, most importantly, offers many different features that cover a broad enough spectrum to make this NAS an ideal choice for a variety of different users. The small business looking for a way to store files and run surveillance, the medium-sized business that needs a way for a subset of workers to access files via the cloud, and the prosumer who wants a personal server that covers all the bases of home-network storage needs will find the Iomega px2-300d suitable.
The diskless model is priced at $499.99; it is also available in 2TB ($699.99), 4TB ($999.99), and 6TB ($1,199.99) varieties.
Iomega px2-300d NAS Review is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Backup. It’s more often than not the guilty omission in homes and small offices, and the hassle of setup – finding a place to plug in for both power and network – is often cited as a key hurdle. Synology wants to change all that with the DiskStation DS213air, the company’s first WiFi-equipped NAS: up to 8TB of storage, all the media streaming a modern home might demand, and in a small and affordable footprint. Does wireless overcome that big barrier to backup? Read on for our full review.
Synology hardware is generally subtle and solid, and the DS213air is no different. 165 x 100 x 225.5 mm of glossy white plastic standing on four black rubber feet, it’s discrete if relatively uninspiring. Sticker price is $299.99, though Synology’s choice of plastics seems a little cheaper than some of its more expensive models. Not so bad as to leave us worried as to its durability, however.
The lower cost also likely explains the absence of slick drive caddies, with Synology instead requiring users open up the casing in order to access the two internal bays. The two halves of the NAS slide apart, leaving plenty of room to access the SATA II slots (which will accommodate either 2.5- or 3.5-inch drives, of up to 4TB apiece); you can optionally secure it together with included screws.
In addition to the internal bays, there are two USB 3.0 ports for hooking up external drives or printers for network sharing. There’s also a gigabit ethernet port, while inside there’s a WiFi b/g/n radio, though only with support for the 2.4GHz band, not the often-faster 5GHz band. It would’ve been nice to have seen WiFi ac support too, though that’s yet to be ratified and probably at odds with the DS213air’s budget tag; the first breed of WiFi ac routers generally cost two-thirds of the NAS alone, for instance.
At the back, there’s a 92mm fan which, even when the DS213air was under load, was generally quiet though spins with a noticeably higher-pitched tone when under load. You could have the NAS in your lounge and probably not notice it with the TV on. Up front there are LEDs to show status, WiFi activity, drive activity for each HDD, and a power light integrated into the power button. Unlike other models in Synology’s line-up, there’s no front USB port and quick-sync button, for quickly offloading photos from a digital camera.
Synology’s well-esteemed DSM 4.1 OS makes its expected appearance, running on a 1.6GHz processor with 256MB of RAM. It’s one of the best platforms for network devices, resembling a blend of Windows and OS X, and organizing the DS213air’s dozens of features into an approachable layout.
First step is setting up your drives, which can be done in various levels of RAID. There’s the choice of creating one big volume spanning both – though without any data redundancy, so if one drive dies you lose the whole volume – as well as mirroring data, which gets you the storage of a single drive but the security of having a second copy should one unexpectedly expire. Synology’s Hybrid RAID is offered as the default, as well as more traditional Basic, JBOD, RAID 0, and RAID 1 options, though with only two bays there’s less room for some of the more creative arrays of the company’s larger models.
If you’ve a network cable to hand, then plugging in as a wired connection is straightforward. Alternatively, the DS213air can scan for WiFi networks and connect that way. Even if you don’t use the WiFi to get the NAS online, it can be turned on as a hotspot to open up wireless internet access, useful if you’ve a deadspot in your house or office. Alternatively, the DS213air can be used as a full wireless router, complete with a NAT firewall for security.
Beyond that, the NAS world is pretty much your oyster. The DS213air supports PC and Mac backup (including native Apple Time Machine support) with the option of different user accounts, multiple volumes, and per-account storage limits. You can drop your photos, videos, and music onto the drive, and have them shared out via DLNA/UPnP to your laptop, tablet, Xbox 360, PS3, or other device; Synology also offers iOS, Android, and Windows Phone apps for streaming media, as well as accessing files remotely. You can share two printers – using Apple AirPrint, Google Cloud Print, or regular old Windows printer sharing – and set up remote access for files or even host your email server or website.
Synology also allows for third-party functionality to be installed, including Logitech Media Server, hosting a WordPress blog, running a Plex Media Server, Asterix virtual PBX, and more. If you want cloud-based reassurance for your data, there’s support for HiDrive mirroring too, along with Symform cloud backup. You can even use the DS213air to monitor and record IP webcams as an impromptu security station.
That could get intimidating, if it wasn’t for the relative simplicity of DSM 4.1. If you can navigate through your PC or Mac, you can figure your way through Synology’s system; the more complex features stay out of your way unless you actively want to use them.
We slotted in a pair of 1TB Western Digital WD1002FAEX Caviar Black 7,200rpm 3.5-inch drives and ran through Synology’s default setup, which creates a single volume with one drive failure tolerance under the company’s own Hybrid RAID (SHR) system. The whole setup process took around 10 minutes to reach the DSM 4.1 desktop – at which point we could begin setting up user accounts and other settings – with the RAID taking a further 8 minutes to establish (and then running a background verification check, during which we were able to copy data to the drive, albeit at slightly reduced speeds). After formatting we had 912.12GB of space: roughly the equivalent of a single drive.
Synology suggests the DS213air is capable of 108.07 MB/sec read speeds with a RAID 1 array, and 58.66 MB/sec write speeds, based on transferring a single 5GB file over a wireless network. In a real-world environment, performance unsurprisingly takes a hit
Over a wired gigabit ethernet connection, we saw 83.08 MB/sec read rates and 32.4 MB/sec write rates. Switching to wireless, meanwhile, with a direct link between the DS213air and our test computer, those figures dropped to 9.82 MB/sec read and 8.34 MB/sec write.
More concerning, the DiskStation’s range proved a significant factor in speed drop-off. We achieved those wireless rates with DS213air and computer in the same room; with two walls between them, speeds fell to roughly a quarter of what we’d been seeing. Experiments with locking the NAS into 802.11n-only mode and switching channels had little effect, and there’s no 5GHz support.
Convenience comes at a cost. As a standalone NAS with a traditional wired connection to your home or small office network, the DS213air performs much as we’ve come to expect from the budget end of Synology’s range. Wired speeds are solid though not outstanding, certainly sufficient for small scale backup and media streaming purposes, and the twin-drive capacity offers a balance between performance, redundancy and price.
Wireless, however, is a more mixed bag. Placing the DS213air is made significantly easier – all you need is power, rather than an ethernet cable – but there’s a cost in performance. Accessing the odd file or streaming music is fine, but it’s a painful experience if you’re doing large backups over WiFi. Synology could’ve addressed this, in part at least, if it had opted for a dual-band 2.4GHz/5GHz radio, as the 5GHz band is generally less congested, but that would have presumably added to the price of the NAS.
Being able to repurpose a NAS as a wireless router is useful, though those looking for the greatest flexibility in where they store their backup system are likely to find better results with a Powerline adapter rather than WiFi. The Synology DiskStation DS213air is capable for an affordable NAS, but WiFi is still not the panacea to cable-phobia.
Synology DS213air Review: Your home cloud goes wireless is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
