How easy is this to setup? I've never dealt with NAS setups before. Looking for low learning curve...
1992340
Foe me, it seems easy. My setup is quite simple - 3 users include a web cam user - windows backup will go to user's folder, web cam will upload videos to a folder in DS713.
1992341
If you are somewhat techie, then you shouldn't have a hard time setting it up. It helps if you know the basics of networking and RAID configuration (like striping vs mirroring). The configuration and management of the device is done via a web GUI, so it's not like you have to learn console commands in order to configure it. If you have no idea what RAID, Mirroring, or GUI mean, then it might be a little challenging for you.
1992342
Basic setup is easy using the quick start guide and Synology Assistant which you install on your computer. After that the unit is pretty much independant of your computer with access through your web browser. Some extra features can be complex to set up but Google and Synology tutorials are you friend. You should do a little research before purchasing. One reason for the complexity is the wide range of features available on these units. The OS is very much like a combination of Windows and Mac. If the initial installation does not go well, I recommend starting from scratch and doing it again. The Synology apps are useful and pretty easy to navigate. Good luck! Basic setup is easy using the quick start guide and Synology Assistant which you install on your computer. After that the unit is pretty much independant of your computer with access through your web browser. Some extra features can be complex to set up but Google and Synology tutorials are you friend. You should do a little research before purchasing. One reason for the complexity is the wide range of features available on these units. The OS is very much like a combination of Windows and Mac. If the initial installation does not go well, I recommend starting from scratch and doing it... » Read More Basic setup is easy using the quick start guide and Synology Assistant which you install on your computer. After that the unit is pretty much independant of your computer with access through your web browser. Some extra features can be complex to set up but Google and Synology tutorials are you friend. You should do a little research before purchasing. One reason for the complexity is the wide range of features available on these units. The OS is very much like a combination of Windows and Mac. If the initial installation does not go well, I recommend starting from scratch and doing it again. The Synology apps are useful and pretty easy to navigate. Good luck! « Show Less
1992343
Learning curve isn't horrible. If you know how to install hard drives, the rest is rather simple. The instructions in the box were *slightly* sparse when I received mine, but you wind up getting more up-to-date information online. This is because the full system software is downloaded, rather than included with the DiskStation, to avoid people running on horribly out-of-date stuff. You WILL need an internet connection during initial setup, since it downloads the current DSM (Disk Station Manager) software from Synology during setup (There is a way to do setup *without* an active connection, but it's not worth the hassle in my opinion). Once the DSM software is installed (which is pretty straightforward), you can go about playing with settings. The onboard help function is pretty solid, and there's a ton of information on the Synology forums. TBH, I don't really have to tinker with it unless I want to add features - it's pretty stable on its own. Everything is run via a browser interface, and you can control the IP address and other basic network features just like you would with a laptop or desktop. For more advanced useage: If you have a server (Windows Server, Linux), the system can be told to look to the server for instructions, access permissions, and other things - this would allow you to do more detailed system control without having to keep track of multiple settings.
1239160
As an owner of two Drobo's, I wouldn't buy another one of them. Look at the Synology NAS devices. I can't think of any aspect where the Synology isn't superior - especially the tech support. Or if fireproof, waterproof and bulletproof counts, look at ioSafe which runs the Synology software.
364346
In my opinion, this is one of the easiest machines to set up I have ever encountered; althouh, if you are not tech inclined... every thing can somehow become hard! Not sure your case though
489485
I would guess with about 99.998% certainty....no. You will need to back up those drives. I'd say preferrably, you will buy all new drives for this or any NAS enclosure you're setting up. HTH.
461501
You don't "get the fact that its diskless". This simply means that the NAS is not shipped with hard disks. They must be purchased separately. I would suggest the WD NAS rated drives. Make sure to get 2 of them. Same size.
2138931
This is a diskless NAS, so it has no storage. You will need to purchase your own HDD, and each bay supports 4 TB
1372202
use the Synology setup software and let it configure your raid (in this case it will likely use RAID5) ... if you are in need of extra redundancy due to high data security, switch to the manual setup and use RAID6 ... this configuration will use 2 spare drives and will reduce the amount of disk available significantly (the price to pay for very high data availability)DLLD
1292125
I believe the nas would have to be setup as storage space available to the host windows machine running this software.
1430933
The Vantec is not a NAS, if you don't know what that means then go with the Vantec. If you aren't sure the difference between 4 + 2 drives and 8 drives, go with 6. Seriously your question suggests you should take the least expensive path you can find. It really sounds like you are not looking for a NAS but for an external drive so that would be the approach you should take. If you have builod up a home network or small office network get back to us.
730811
The Synology interface is simple enough for my dad to use, so yes it's very easy to use/setup. I work in tech and like the Synology boxes because they are simple to use but they expose most of the same functionality that a regular server provides as well. In case you are wondering what I use my Synology NAS boxes for.... one is for important data that I want more redundancy and the big RAID 6 (13 - six terrabyte drives) is for my bluray collection that I rip 1:1 and serve up with Plex.
313951
I get ~30-40 MB/s via iSCSI (NAS' CPU is maxed...) with all other services disabled, can't comment on SMB performance since I dont use it. These are definitely not the fastest units. (for anyone else reading this, that is megaBYTES per second, not megaBITS)
1510554
Yeah, I fell for it, too. I thought I was getting 2x 4TB drives -- and it is TB, btw...not gb (which is 1000x less). I found it's only 2x 2TB drives. I believe you can change the Raid to 0, though...which will stripe data across both of them and you'll get nearly 4TB of storage. The only downside to this is if one fails, you lose the data on both. Make it more fun then...and add a 2nd one to the network and have them back each other up =)
2010762
Its only going to use what it needs. I got this for a HTPC and a 256 GB SSD, this is sized as just enough to run it. Have eSATA and USB drives attached sometimes but they are powered independently. This is a strange choice for NAS as this is a server with several HDDs usually requiring a much bigger PSU.
1628944
It isn't a NAS box; no Ethernet, no file services that I am aware of. It's as esata or USB housing for four drives. Mine is USB connected to a synology NAS box and exposes each of the four drives inside as a separate device to the synology nas head which then makes those available on the network via smb, nfs, etc. am pretty sure this box will work when USB connected to OS X. I have used other devices with the same innards as this one with OS X successfully. This box may also concatenate drives (make four 2 tb drives look like 1 8 tab drive) but I wouldn't recommend using that feature; lose one of the four drives and all your data is lost. It isn't a NAS box; no Ethernet, no file services that I am aware of. It's as esata or USB housing for four drives. Mine is USB connected to a synology NAS box and exposes each of the four drives inside as a separate device to the synology nas head which then makes those available on the network via smb, nfs, etc. am pretty sure this box will work when USB connected to OS X. I have used other devices with the same innards as this one with OS X successfully. This box may also concatenate drives (make four 2 tb drives look like 1 8 tab drive) but I wouldn't recommend using that feature; lose... » Read More It isn't a NAS box; no Ethernet, no file services that I am aware of. It's as esata or USB housing for four drives. Mine is USB connected to a synology NAS box and exposes each of the four drives inside as a separate device to the synology nas head which then makes those available on the network via smb, nfs, etc. am pretty sure this box will work when USB connected to OS X. I have used other devices with the same innards as this one with OS X successfully. This box may also concatenate drives (make four 2 tb drives look like 1 8 tab drive) but I wouldn't recommend using that feature; lose one of the four drives and all your data is lost. « Show Less
825243
The software is not very good, how the files are displayed on the TV is not very good either. The software locks up if you have too many shared folders or too many files. Fast forward does not appear to work. I live with the limitations because I don't have to buy a media server just yet. Check Sagetv for a real media streamer, i hear they work well.No NAS yet, but a usb external disk should work just like a usb flash drive.Like Raybert says, it's not ready. But it is free.
101219
Ok Good Question. I personally feel that if you have the technical ability, that you should build your own. These units use a disk on module to hold the operating system. That item and a good NAS case are hard to come by. The rest of the components can be easily found and researched on the internet. New Egg dot com. Also the original project that Freenas is based from is nas4free which I think is better in a lot of ways. That is available on sourceforge's website. Now if you don't have the time or desire to build a NAS I would suggest Synology's line of products. Rock Solid performance and a ton of features. Ok Good Question. I personally feel that if you have the technical ability, that you should build your own. These units use a disk on module to hold the operating system. That item and a good NAS case are hard to come by. The rest of the components can be easily found and researched on the internet. New Egg dot com. Also the original project that Freenas is based from is nas4free which I think is better in a lot of ways. That is available on sourceforge's website. Now if you don't have the time or desire to build a NAS I would suggest Synology's line of products. Rock Solid performance and... » Read More Ok Good Question. I personally feel that if you have the technical ability, that you should build your own. These units use a disk on module to hold the operating system. That item and a good NAS case are hard to come by. The rest of the components can be easily found and researched on the internet. New Egg dot com. Also the original project that Freenas is based from is nas4free which I think is better in a lot of ways. That is available on sourceforge's website. Now if you don't have the time or desire to build a NAS I would suggest Synology's line of products. Rock Solid performance and a ton of features. « Show Less
2207812
You could definitely do that, but for less tech-savvy users this is very good. Additionally, it is power-efficient, the software is very solid, and set-up is easy. I got one because i didn't want to fiddle with FreeNas. The community that supports the DiskStations is massive, too. In essence, this thing is simlpy a NAS, and a very stable one at that. A dedicated PC like what you mentioned could and would be much more that a NAS, and if you were only using it as a NAS you would be wasting a whole lot of power. Go to the synology website and check out the DSM 5.0 demo. The software that they made for this hardware is quite slick.