Synology DS410 NAS will back up your files, won't incite a passionate response
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted March 25th 2010 5:42PM
posted March 25th 2010 5:42PM
The last time we laid eyes on Synology's DiskStation line it was in the form of the DS409Slim -- a diminutive NAS without the 'zazz of lots of your flashier network storage solutions. The newly announced DS410 also keeps it pretty simple: features include four bays of RAID-5 storage, 256-bit encryption, Amazon S3 cloud backup, Apple Time Machine integration, media streaming, print server, and web hosting with PHP/MySQL. Don't worry, you Big Brother-types don't get left out either: the included Surveillance Station 4 software allows the deployment of multiple IP cameras and support for H.264 video. Available now for $500.
Pretty sweet.
BYOD though, so final price is steep.
@Slaarg Exactly. More like $700-800 to get started right.
@Slaarg For that price, I rather use HP's home server. More functionality, still low power draw, and much more W7 friendly.
Another cool product from Synology.
I got a DS210j w/ 2x1.5TB HDs and it's the best NAS/Media station I ever had (used to own homemade NAS, HPMSS).
!
@xDRAN0x
I've got a Synology DS107, and damn it does everything. I stream HD movies to my 360, download off Rapidshare using my premium account overnight, and run a web server for code testing.
Only issue is network speed is a bit slow, but I heard the new ones are much faster.
Excuse my ignorance, but I've little experience with these. You buy this, but then you also have to buy hard drives to put into it? Is that right?
@sirthought Yes that is correct.
@sirthought Yep. So this takes 4 SATA hard drives, then combines them with a RAID 5 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raid_5#RAID_5). It's geared towards your small business or hardcore home user.
The benefit of these units are their small power draw.
@sirthought Yes, but just look at the features you get (no matter what model Synology) and you will see it is worth more. Plus performance is better than most NAS boxes.
http://www.synology.com/us/products/features/index.php
@sirthought
Not ALL!
But this on in particular, yes you do.
There are others that come with hard drives built in. You may want to be careful with those if you want to upgrade the hard drives because some of them have the system OS installed and you may not be able to flash it onto another drive. Just do your research
@Screwdriver
I couldn't agree more. I had a 409 for over a year and it does more stuff than i could ever use. I shopped for enterprise class OEM disks on newegg and got more functionality than any of the $20k boxes we have at work @ under $800 for 4tb.
Just make sure you are running anything but Windows 7 Home Premium.
Native capability to support a NAS is absent.
XP fine, Vista fine, Win7Pro and above fine.
Just went through this nightmare with a DS210j.
You can map a drive back out from the NAS, but it's a work around at best. Native Win7 functionality like Libraries support and Win7 native backup support is not there.
This is a Microsoft issue, not a Synology \9or other NAS vendor) issue.
Much discussion on the webs about this glaring omission in Win 7.
Punchy
Addendum to earlier post.
Here is a workaround for Win 7 Libraries support for your NAS.
http://zornsoftware.talsit.info/
Works very well.
Punchy
I love Synology, despite the price. Quiet, reliable and feature-packed. I have two of the now-discontinued DS207+ and use them for everything from backups to streaming to computers, Xbox 360 and PS3. If the four (and five) bay solutions were priced lower I'd dispense with on-the-spot HDD plug-ins like BlacX and use Synology for all my archiving and active storage. Whether price ends up being an issue for you or not, you owe yourself at least a little time to browse Synology's lineup.
@clubside
I shopped around for a "cheap" NAS solution for a long time, having access to enterprise NAS devices, I guess my expectations are high but I would claim that Synology is one of the best bangs for the $.
Preloaded NAS' may look cheaper per TB but I always consider the quality of drives as well, having terabytes of data, I don't want them dying every 6 months.
How is Synology's support for Squeeze Server? Is performance reasonable, or what?
This actually seems like a really good deal!
Right now, Im running a WD My World Book Edition 1TB that I got for $90.
Its great and all, but lacks some features I might like...this has the ability to do some of the higher end $1000 NASes for half the price. Just dont like that its only RAID 5. Should be configurable.
PS HDD prices are soo much cheaper now, a good setup shouldn't cost much more...especially with all the extra HDs one might have lying around.
One thing - in looking at their product pages, I don't see where I can configure incremental vs. differential backups for client(s). Anyone familiar with this version sw? Also - is there a client licensing cost? Or does it support unlimited simultaneous connections... bandwidth limited, of course.
@TrumanHW I'm afraid I haven't used their backup software which is free for the PC (since Time Machine comes with OS X and Synology has two ways of acting as a Time Machine device, Mac users are set), but yes, it is unlimited clients using those two options. If those backup options don't meet your needs you'll have to factor in the cost of the tool you do like, using the Synology device as the destination (with at least four network connection technologies available, you should be set no matter the program).
All its missing is a Thermite self-destruction mechanism.
That power switch needs a molly guard sooo bad.
@bjs
It only powers off when pressed for a while and even then it may take some 30 seconds to 1 minute to finally power down as it performs its shutdown routines.
@Andie I agree it's not an issue. I have the 409 and my cat sits against the unit occasionally and I panic, never does anything. You have to depress it with some force for it to work and even then you need to hold to shut it down.
One nice feature to not overlook in Synology products is the new ability to do Hybrid RAID. Starting with firmware DSM 3.2, hybrid RAID is supported in all their current and older 4+ drive boxes. It allows you to not have to match the size of the drives in the box because it can use a combination of RAID 1 and 5 to set up the array. This is essentially what the Drobo does, but it uses actual RAID to accomplish this and not a proprietary BeyondRAID solution. Also, the Drobo is ungodly slow and not actually a NAS without the extra attachment.
Synology does lead the performance charts by a significant margin on most of their products.
They also update and add lots of new features to their firmware like this hybrid RAID. Cant wait to see what DSM 2.4 brings next!
In having researched synology's wiki page, its shockingly absent; incremental or differential backup, native. How could a manufacturer charged with safeguarding data not find this to be one of the first objectives? For now, I'm going to remain interested in the BlackArmor series.. which DOES include it. As well... check out this mode:
The Seagate BlackArmor Backup Try&Decide feature allows you to perform potentially dangerous operations such as software installation or opening e-mail attachments without putting your PC at risk. It does this by creating essentially a controlled, secure, temporary workspace that is insulated from the rest of your computer. If the system crashes or your computer stops responding during these operations, you should revert the system to the previous state by discarding changes made in the Try&Decide mode. If operations are successful, you have a choice of applying the changes to the real system. (For more details see Chapter 7. Try&Decide.)
Is it just me or does this thing look like it should have an HP logo on it. It looks very HPish in the button layout and label font/location.