When Synology recently released their new DiskStation DS211 network attached storage (NAS) device, we were eager to put it to the test and share the review with our community. As previous versions, the DS211 is also a two-disk unit ideal for home and/or small businesses uses. The price tag on DS211 is $320 (diskless), although there is also DS211+ that includes an SD slot and goes for around $420 (diskless) our review today will focus only on the DS211 unit.
Before we dig in with our findings below are the official specifications provided by Synology:
Specifications
| CPU Frequency | 1.6GHz |
| Encryption | Hardware Encryption Engine |
| Memory | 256MB |
| Internal HDD | 3.5″ SATA(II) X2 or 2.5″ SATA/SSD X2 (with the Disk Holder) |
| Max Internal Capacity | 4TB (2x 2TB hard drives) |
| External HDD Interface | USB 2.0 port X3 |
| Size (HxWxD): | 161mm X 88mm X 218mm |
| Weight | 0.98kg |
| LAN | Gigabit X1 |
| Fan | X1(70mmX70mmX25mm) |
Synology DiskStation DS111 is an affordable and full-featured 1-bay NAS server designed to increase productivity for business workgroups. Cross platform file sharing, rich office applications, data backup and security are easily achieved in a flexible solution. Running on DiskStation Manager 3.0 (DSM 3.0) operating system, it delivers ease of use and variety of features.
Unboxing
As usual, we like to show our readers the packaging of the units we review, because if the company does a flimsy job at boxing their units then most likely they also cut corners on the device itself.
From the images below you can see that Synology invests into keeping their units protected while in transit by providing a padded interior and a convenient carry handle on the packaging box.
Package Contents
The unit ships with the standard power cable, Ethernet cable, power supply, software disc, user manual, and extra screws.
- 1x DS211 Main unit
- Installation CD for PC and Mac
- AC power adapter
- AC power cord
- 2M RJ-45 LAN cable
- Assembling Kit (screws for fixing hard disk)
Hardware
The front face of the DS211 has 4 indicator lights used to display the status of the internal disk and the system, 1 USB port, power and copy buttons.
The USBCopy Button is not an original idea but handy nonetheless, simply attach a USB Device such as USB HDD, digital camera or flash disk to the front USB port and press the copy button. The NAS will copy the data from the connected USB device to the DS211 internal HDD.
The backside has a fan (a little less than 3” wide), a power plug socket, gigabit Ethernet and USB ports, a reset button and a Kensington lock slot.
The DS211 sports a shiny white chassis with a Synology logo on both sides. The unit does not appear to highlight fingerprints, so that’s a plus.
Underneath along with the rubber feet there are vents for cooling down the unit.
Hard Drive Installation
Our review unit provided by Synology shipped with 2 drives (1TB each) already installed, but when you get the diskless unit it only takes a few screws to put the drives into the HDD racks, no-worries of any over complication – it’s simple, just be sure to use the right screwdriver and not to strip the screws in the process.
The DS211 requires at least one 3.5” or 2.5” SATA hard disks to be installed. In order to use the 2.5” SATA HDD one would require the Disk Holder (Type C) accessory which is sold separately.
Heads up: the system will format the hard disk and erase all data in some cases. If you use a hard disk with data on it already be sure you back up the data beforehand, otherwise you may loose your pre-existing data.
To open the DS211 chassis, flip the Disk Station onto a flat sturdy surface. Notice the Open|Close sticker on the bottom of the unit. Position the unit so that the rear panel is facing you and push the case forward to slide it open.
Then lift the upper case and place it aside.
Synology Setup
To start things off, plug in the power and the Ethernet cables and use the Synology Assistant software disc in your PC or Mac to run the initial configuration of the DS211. The CD contains the Synology Assistant, Data Replicator 3, Download Redirector, Quick Installation Guide as well as the User’s Guide
Synology Assistant
Normally, one would expect the setup of a NAS to be very ugly, but this one was as simple as can be. The Synology Assistant will guide you through the prompts up to the login menu.
Once the log in is authenticated a Quick Start window will let you set up the volume, add users, access files, among other things.
DSM 3.0 Software
The DS211 runs the Disk Station Manager 3.0 software which mimics the Windows Operating system in the way that it utilizes a desktop area and contains applications inside of windows which can be minimized and maximized. The DSM software is web-based, which means that I can be accessed from any machine on your network or via the Internet. The DSM software is where you configure the NAS, setup media streaming, budget video surveillance, PC backup, Remote Access and more.
Much like the Windows Home Server can be extended in the form of WHS add-ins, the DSM OS can be extended by means of packages. Packages are third party applications (not authored by Synology) that can be installed and managed easily to extend the baseline functionality provided by the Synology DiskStation Manager.
That said, we were in fact a little overwhelmed at the DSM software’s versatility which includes out of the box Power Management, Wake-On-LAN (WOL), UPS support, SNMP, built-in Firewall, Audio Player and pretty much anything you would ever need – wow!
Performance Tests
Initial performance, media streaming and file transfer tests are favorable. In theory any device connected to a Gigabit LAN will have maximum read and write speeds of ~125MB/sec but a lot of factors affect the performance such as the number of files, file fragmentation, controller chip and network bandwidth to name a few.
On my gigabit LAN I was able to write a 4GB single movie file to the DS211 at around 50 MB/second and transfer back at around 72 MB/second. As expected the write speed was slightly slower than the read speed. Overall the 1.6GHz Marvell processor and 256MB DDR2 Memory ensured that the DS211 was a particularly fast NAS box for its class.
Wrapping-Up
In our opinion, the DS211 is worth its sticker price and then some. It was easy to set up, versatile in its uses, small in physical size, quiet, well ventilated, and does not have overpowering LEDs all over it.
I am truly amazed at how seamless the administrative web interface a.k.a the DiskStation Manager (DSM) performed and multitasked with multiple windows open. For example, I was able to format two hard drives at once and continue on to access other administrative settings without delay.
While the DS211 runs on 256MB of RAM and a 1.6GHZ CPU it gets the job done without any hiccups for basic file sharing and media centric tasks. However, for business centric usage we feel that the 256MB of is slightly under-powering and we would therefore recommend the DS211+ instead.
More: synology.com
Great review. Does the DS211 support the longer 12mm 2.5″ HDD or just the standard 9mm 2.5″ ?
How does it differ from the DS111 and DS209 which retails for less?
Remmy
I was looking at the specs and the biggest difference i see with the DS211 vs the DS209 is the DS211 has a faster processor and can use the new 3TB drives. As far as the DS111, the DS211 can hold 2 drives which allows for a RAID configuration where as the DS111 is a one drive bay NAS.
I’m am starting to toy with the idea of using a synology product to replace my WHS V1, is it up to the task?
@Dennis I will look into it
@Remmy the DS209 ships with 128MB RAM whereas the DS211 ships with 256MB Memory
@jvk great question, no easy answer as there are too many variables and not sure exactly what your needs are? The way I am looking at it; not comparing apple and oranges… a Synology product i.e. the DS211 is made up out of two components:
1) the hardware
2) the DSM operating system
Arguably a WHS is made out of the same building blocks (hardware + OS) and too keep it short, focusing on the OS I would say that for basic backup and file sharing a.k.a (NAS) the Synology DiskStation Manager has the edge. However, since the WHS is based on Windows it could potentially tap into the richness of the already existing Windows ecosystem and ultimately perform more roles/functions than the DSM OS. That said, the DSM already covers more ground out of the box than WHS v1, it really does a lot but that could add in complexity.
You mentioned “Wake-On-Lan” in your review of the DS211, but my understanding is WOL is not available on either the DS211 or DS211+. I am considering purchasing one of the two, but require WOL functionality. I know it was available on the DS210+, but is not listed for the DS211/+ on Synology’s website. Were you able to get this working on the DS211? If so, were you using DSM 3.1?
If it’s not available, I fear more time “invested” researching NAS boxes…
Thank you!
Hi Andrew, I am pretty sure DSM 3.0 had WOL options in the GUI as well as power scheduling etc. I will attempt to verify and test WOL (if it has it) and will report back.
Alexander
Thank you Alexander, that would be much appreciated!
Hi Andrew,
Bad news, I was wrong – I was so sure that the DSM 3.0 on the DS211 would support WOL as I recalled playing with it but I guess that was on a different model. The WOL options are not in the GUI, only to shutdown and start the server per a set schedule. I am in the process of downloading the DSM 3.1 to check that as well.
Alexander
Alexander,
Thank you for the update. I appreciate you following up! I was hopeful but afraid that would be the answer. I think that fact may push me over to a QNAP 219P+. Which I understand may have “better” hardware, but slightly inferior GUI to the Synology.
Thanks again,
Andrew
The media player cannot play AVI, XviD or many other common video types onto a DLNA certified TV. The fact sheet claims it can but finally their technical support have admitted that the built in media plater cannot transcode these files
I have a Sony bravia EX503 which is DLNA certified and can play any video format on the TV when I use my dell windows 7 laptop with WMP, however, the DS211 is useless so do not buy if you want to stream videos.
Also support is appalling & takes 24 hours to respond to any query. It took them 2 weeks to finally admit the units media player wouldn’t play the video formats listed on the spec sheet.
I am streaming Avi files from ds211 to my DLNA enabled Samsung TV and it is fairly seamless and consistent.
The “avi” file extension is simply a container for many different possible file formats. Anthony’s problem is likely due to the way his avi’s are encoded. Deb – your avi’s are likely encoded in a Synology-compatible format.