REVIEWS / NAS / SYNOLOGY (ESDEE BUSINESS MACHINE PVT. LTD)

Synology DS212 Review

01 Dec, 2011, 12:17 pm IST | by Aaron Almeida | NAS

NAS

Has an all black finish

Has an all black finish
Memory card reader and USB port on the front
USB 3.0 ports at the back
LED indicators line up the front of the device

PRICE IN INDIA

28,000

TECH2 RATING

7.0

AVERAGE USER RATING

8.0

How we test

CONTACT

Synology (Esdee Business Machine Pvt. Ltd)

 info@ebm.in

 +91 22 2566 7070

 www.ebm.in

Synology is a brand that is well known for their Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices. Having a NAS device allows one to store data on a relatively smaller device as compared to a server. Advantages of NAS devices are that they are relatively cheaper and easier to setup. Synology recently launched a two bay NAS device, the DS212. Synology, uses DS as an abbreviated form for Disk Station and the device is based on the model, which the brand launched last year, the DS211. This product is designed for homes or those have small business.

Memory card reader and USB port on the front

Memory card reader and USB port on the front

 


Design and Build Quality
The DS212 has an all black design and is made with a combination of plastic and metal. There is a cover that conceals the two bays on the front that has a glossy finish. The rest of the NAS device has a matte finish. The chassis on the inside, which houses the drives is made of metal and the trays slide in easily. Even though they get slotted in place without any difficulty, the drives are locked in with screws, ensuring that the drives do not slide out. 

On the front are two buttons which are a reset and a power button. Other than this on the face of the DS212 are LED indicators for status, LAN, drives, a memory card slot and a USB port. The rear features a 92mm fan that occupies most of the area. Below the fan are two USB 3.0 ports, an Ethernet port, Kensington lock and a power connector. Branding is located on either sides of the device and the overall build quality of it appears to be quite sturdy.

Features
Hardware and Software
The Synology DS212 features a 1.6GHz processor, along with a DDR3 256MB RAM. The device can support hard disk drives that are of the 3.5-inch or even the 2.5-inch type. One can use up to 6TB of storage, which can be up to a maximum of 3TB per hard disk drive. Hot swappable hard drives are supported. The DS212, like most other NAS devices, is based on the Linux operating system. All major file systems are supported - FAT, NTFS, EXT3 and EXT4. There’s no native support for HFS though. NAS devices from Synology come with a bundle of apps and services. The software CD that was bundled up with the DS212 is the Synology DSM 3.2 that is loaded with a bunch of applications. Here is a look at some of the key features.

The setup process

The setup process

 


Installation
The installation process was very simple. All instructions are onscreen making the setup process easy to understand. The setup of Synology DSM 3.2 took approximately 10 minutes to complete the five steps. After the installation procedure, one can set user accounts or user groups. Permissions as well as privileges can be set for users. These permissions include the ability to read, write or the ability to do both on the drive. Setting up users need not necessarily be done at the start and can be done at later times as well.

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Design and Build Quality - Features


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Would you buy it?




 


How We Test

The Tech2 Labs receives many products every single week and each of them is tested with the utmost care and highest level of objectivity. There’s a constant effort to reduce and totally eliminate subjectivity. Each product is tested according to set test processes so the same test scenario is used.

Verdict
The ratings awarded to a product are derived from a number of tests and calculations, keeping certain important factors in mind. These factors consist of features, performance, quality and value for money. In case of software and some other categories, build quality might be replaced with ease of use or ease of installation. Products are compared with other products in a similar price range or product category.


Features
The features component of the score is rated based on the kind of features present on a particular product. Features are a big part of what people look for when they’re buying a new product such as a phone or a camera.

Performance
The performance score is derived from the benchmarks and tests run on the product. In case of the subjective scores, an average of the scores given by the group of reviewers is considered.

Build Quality
The build quality of a product is important so that it doesn’t fall apart after some use. The build quality scores from the way the product is designed and the kind of materials used in the product.

Value
Value for money comes from the fact that a cheap product is able to provide most of the performance of a higher priced product. Once again, value for money is judged by comparing pricing and performance of products in a particular price range or category. 

There are many other aspects of the product that are looked at such as the bundled software and accessories. All of these scores are aggregated together to form the final score.

What do the ratings mean?

Ratings are simple - higher the score, the better the product. A brief listing of the features and what they mean are given below.

1 - 3

The product is bad in almost every aspect. We strongly advise against purchasing this product.

4 - 6

An average product that isn't the best you can buy, but isn't the worst either.

7 - 8

Product with this rating is highly recommended because it's priced sensibly, has a good set of features and performs well.

9 - 10

Exceptionally excellent product with features and performance unlike any we've seen in the past. A must-have for everyone!

What is the Average User Rating?

We at Tech2 take product reviewing very seriously and every product is tested with the utmost care and level of objectivity. The end user who buys a particular product and uses it over an extended period of time has his own take on a product and there might be nuances that he or she can shed light on. The Average User Rating is present to help readers get the complete picture of how good or bad a product is. The Average User Rating is calculated by averaging the ratings by the thousands of readers visiting Tech2.com every single day. To record your own rating of a product, simply click on the user rating bar. If you disagree with our ratings or our community's product rating, please don't hesitate from voicing your opinion in the comments section below the review.

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