Reviews

Review – Synology DS112j home NAS

Synology has been the leader in creating state of art NAS products for businesses, home offices, individual users and families. They showcase a myriad of products starting from a multi USB sharing station to large enterprise terra data NAS systems. What’s revolutionary about Synology is that they have NAS systems for home users like you and me. I am going to take a peek into one such product the DiskStation 112j, a mini NAS system that can get you on the cloud and more.   Quick overview The DS112j is the perfect partner for your home network. Just hook it onto your home router and follow some quick configuration steps and you’re all set for some versatile storage features. Let me run through some of the highlights which I felt were great. clip_image002

ADD A NETWORK BACKUP TO YOUR HOME

Simply backup your files to the DiskStation anytime you can access it like any other hard drive location from your computer. DS supports the WinFS, MacOS & NFS file systems so that you can access the files from PC, Mac or my favorite Linux. Automated scheduled back up facilities are supported in Windows through Data Replicator software and in Mac using the Native Time Machine support. The data can be backed up onto either the bay disk or on the external disk plugged via USB.

MAKE YOUR OWN CLOUD SPACE

The DS112j’s Cloud station application helps you enable the DS112j into your own personal cloud storage space. Whether at home or on the move you can access the contents on the cloud station in a jiffy. There are iPhone, iPad and Android applications that can help you reach your home cloud using the CloudStation app while you’re away from the desktop computer.

STREAM RICH MULTIMEDIA CONTENT

Store all your movies, music and pictures in theDS112j and your home media server is ready to rock your home with rich multimedia content. Start accessing the contents through DLNA/UPnP enabled devices like Playstation3, XBOX 360 or any other network enabled music/video players. It doesn’t stop there start accessing the media contents through varied mobile applications for iOS and Android devices to view videos, photos or even stream music over the air. I used one such app called ‘aVia’ android app and it worked awesome.

DOWNLOAD CENTER

Tired of switching on your PC/Laptop every time to download the epic finale of ‘Lost’ TV show over the torrent? Worry no more; The Download station app powered within the DS112j is so smart it starts downloading the queued torrent items at scheduled time. The in-built torrent search engine helps you search for your favorite contents and queue it for download. You can also set it to send notifications through emails once the download is complete.

CONSUMES LOWEST POWER

Not only does it add a huge space to your network but sure it does reduce the power consumption. Astonishingly it consumes just 12.1W while on complete operation which is totally a wow factor. Until the DS112j has fully booted up and you hear a beep sound you won’t believe yourself that it’s actually powered ON. That’s because the quiet design makes the fan operate so silently it reduces any noise while you’re streaming the movie to your big screen. The device also supports scheduled power on/off and UPS connectivity for uninterrupted network access.

Package Content

The package is a neat white carton with the NAS unit and the other contents placed in a side to side array. You will find the following inside the package: DS112j DiskStation Unit x 1 Installation Disk and User Manual x 1 AC power adapter x 1 Power cord for Adapter x 1 RJ45 Ethernet cable x 1 Screw sets x 2 clip_image006

 

Setting up your DiskStation

The DS112j comes out of the box with no pre-installed HDD; you have the choice of installing a Desktop HDD (3.5”) or a Laptop HDD (2.5”) which are based on the SATA interface. You can plug in more space on the fly via the USB ports at the back of the unit. Since DS112j supports only a single bay, you can have only one HDD inside the unit.

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The unit comes with 2 x USB 2.0 ports, a RJ-45 Ethernet connector, power adapter pin and a provision for Kensington lock. The rear also houses a super silent fan to siphon out all the heat generated within the unit. There is also a small pinhole for resetting the unit to factory settings.

INSTALLING THE HARD DISK

Opening the unit is a cakewalk, just remove the two screws at the rear (package comes with an unscrewed unit) and slide the sides in the opposite direction. If still not sure, see the bottom of the unit and you will find the directions specified correctly.

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With the case removed part of the motherboard is revealed and you can see the SATA interface to plug in the hard disk. Check the compatibility section of the Synology website for a list of supported hard drives which can be paired with the unit.

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Once you have your hard drive ready to be plugged simply slide in the disk with the connectors facing each other. Give an extra push to make sure the drive is docked properly to the unit. clip_image014

Make sure you have put the screws in place to avoid the drive from dis-mounting from the unit. clip_image016

Slide back the external casing and screw it as well and you’re ready to power on the unit.

INSTALLING DSM AND CONFIGURING FOR INITIAL RUN

Before you start the installation procedure make sure you have the latest version of DSM (DiskStation Manager) OS downloaded from the following link Latest DSM OS: http://www.synology.com/support/download.php?lang=enu&b=1%20bays&m=DS112j Install the Synology Assistant software which is available in the CD which came along the package. Please make sure the computer and the DS112j are connected to the same network. For the first time setup the computer must be connected through a wired Ethernet port and not with wireless. Follow the installation wizard and the unit will be installed in minutes. The whole process will take up to a maximum of 30 mins or less. Once the DSM installation is done the unit will reboot and the blue light on the front panel starts blinking. Once the DS has booted up completely then the blue light will be stable and a beep sound will audible. This means the DiskStation is booted up completely and is ready to be accessed.

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User Interface

The port 5000 of the DiskStation allows you to interact with the Management UI. Before I really experienced the UI, I felt it’s going to be some simple form web page where you modify the properties of DS. But after 10 mins I felt I was working altogether inside a new OS. I really love how the screen transitions and the dialog pop-ups are smoothly maintained. You can feel the speed how it responds to your interaction and clicks. The main UI looks more like a Desktop with a taskbar kind of layout on the top which has buttons to list down the user installed applications and other shortcuts. On the right end you have icons for search, user options and pilot view. The desktop has a few icons already and more can be dragged and dropped onto the Desktop from Apps list or Control panel. On the right side of the screen you can see the System Health monitor window which can be popped down if you don’t need it.

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The Package center is more like the Add/Remove programs section of the Windows OS, here you can see two tabs for each Installed and Available. The Apps appear as services which need to be started after installing. You can either choose from available apps for installing more apps or external application packages can be downloaded separately and installed.

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The installed applications appear in the click to show desktop button on the left side of the task bar. This makes the desktop management clean and make the desktop look cleaner and tidier. The interface is totally customizable so you are allowed to change the login and desktop wallpaper to your personal preferences.

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The Task bar has a live preview of the running applications that are minimized; it will let you know if any windows are open. This is a great work since all these stuff run on your browser window and behaves more like an OS.

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If you are using a mobile browser then the management UI gets changed to a mobile version of the page. However it will lack some options that you would get through a regular computer browser. clip_image028 clip_image030

MOBILE APPS

The mobile applications support extends to Android, iOS and a few for Windows phone. I tried a few on my SGSII. Some of the applications are DS photo+, DS video, DS audio, DS finder and on. clip_image032clip_image034

They are all great ones though, but practically you may only use the DS file app to access your files remotely often and maybe the DS audio if you want to listen to music from your mobile which is accessed from the DiskStation. And the one other important application which will be useful would be the DS Cam if you have a IP cam hooked onto your network, this will be a great one if you want monitor your home from a remote location. The UI of the apps are okayish and not that fluid smooth, probably the iOS ones might have a great UI experience.

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Wrap Up

The Good

+ Good to start NAS for a Home setup + Almost compact design and good build quality + DSM is utterly brilliant stuff + Acts as a good media server with DLNA capabilities + Integrated DDNS registration support + Wide application support + Upgradable OS + Mobile Apps support + Zero noise heat sink + Hibernation mode is a big plus to save power

The Bad

– The unit form factor could have been slimmer – Lack of internal memory, at least a few gigs for installing the DSM – No Wi-Fi network connectivity support – Lack of pluggable SD card slot – The DS lags at times majorly because of a mere 128MB DDR2 RAM – Compatible accessories are less – If not eSATA at least a USB 3.0 port would have added glory – 2.5” holder is optional and doesn’t come out of the box

Verdict

There are the good ones and then there are some bad ones. But considering the overall big picture, I would give thumbs up for a device which is fairly affordable and can be used by the home user. The build quality is good and has the required ports; however a front panel port and at least a USB 3.0 port would have done a fair impression. The CloudStation will help you break the limits of Dropbox and makes you expand your cloud space to the limits. I would rather pay a one time charge for the device instead of having yearly payment options for cloud space. I am more of a media junkie and love to watch movies on my XBMC. DS112j makes it much easier by scheduling downloads of my favorite TV shows and movies and play them back on my XBMC via the uPnP protocol. Not to mention the scheduled data backup which keeps your important data secured and makes them accessible on the go. The mobile apps are impressive but, the UI could have been slicker and smoother. There is no Video Station app for the Android OS, which is on the downside. I would be really impressed if they can come up with an APP which has a fling to play option so that it allows the files from the DiskStation to be played on the DLNA/uPnP devices in the same network. I am not sure how the Surveillance station will be of a great help for the home user but what I can think of is this can be used as a Baby cam to watch over the young ones at home when you are busy at the work. Haven’t tried this personally since I don’t have an IP cam to plug in. Price is not on the high side however 13 K might feel high for some, but sure it’s worth the buy. Overall this is a great product for the home and hope Synology comes with a sleeker version of this without a hike in the price.

Amarendra

Co-Founder of GadgetDetail, gadget lover, addicted to American TV shows, fan of Ferrari and Federer, Bengalurian, FOOD LOVER, multiplex hater.

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