Synology DiskStation DS211j NAS Review

Performance

Streaming these files to various devices throughout a home environment proved to be easy with solid performance. We tried this with a MacBook Pro, a Windows 7 notebook, a Boxee Box, a WD TV Live Hub, an Xbox 360 and even an iPhone and iPad. Though there were slight hiccups here and there, we later assumed that these might have something to do with the UPnP protocol, rather than an issue specific to the DS211j. The reason why is because the hiccups were random, and affected files that were vastly different in size and bitrate.

The good news is that, as stated above, these hiccups are random. The DS211j proved more than capable of serving up files and media content, and we can honestly say that it is adept at being a media or file server for a home or office.

Copying files over to the unit is also very handy. For example, it took about 90 seconds to copy over a 550 MB video file to the DS211j over a home network running on a modestly fast cable Internet connection, and a Cisco Linksys E4200 Wireless-N router. When a computer was connected to the same router via Ethernet, the copying process was even faster, at about 60 seconds. It should be noted, however, that we didn’t find much of a speed difference between RAID 0 and 1.

Reading smaller files topped up at about 18-20 MB/s, but larger files saw a further bump as higher bitrates demanded. Two movies totaling 5 GB copied over at a top speed of about 40 MB/s, while streaming each one gave us speeds of 61 MB/s and 66 MB/s, respectively. This was more a case for video, whereas music, photos and documents were always streaming at more than respectable levels. Copying over one folder with 1 GB full of documents and photos slowed the NAS down to just over 22 MB/s.

Having a dedicated media server, along with iTunes, audio and photo servers helps simplify everything, too. Configuring all of this is really just clicking a checkbox to turn on the features. From there, the unit does the heavy lifting in opening up ports to stream the content to any compatible device you have.

Backing up files from a USB storage device is also quite fast, and the DS211j can be set up as a Time Machine backup for Mac users, while Windows users can point any backup or syncing software to the NAS as well. This can be very ideal for both home and office users, particularly since you can schedule the timing for backing up and for telling the DS211j to power on and off on its own.

Should you have your own website for your business, or to store work-related files under different protocols, the NAS has a Web server and MySQL functions specifically for those purposes. Setting up a print server was also a breeze, yet another feature that would be perfect for an office. Add in the Mail server, and some indispensable office tools are packed into one box. Even setting up surveillance IP cameras through the NAS is possible.

The Download server is another win for the DS211j. Rather than have files download directly to a computer, they can instead be queued and downloaded directly into the NAS. This way, you can download files or use the included BitTorrent client without even keeping the computer on. If the downloaded files were meant for the NAS anyway, this saves the step of having to copy them over afterward.