Single- or dual-drive NAS boxes are fine,
but they don't offer much potential for RAID drive organisations. RAID packs
can offer higher performance and greater resilience if you have three drives or
more, with four-drive NAS boxes being a popular configuration.
The typical catch is that four-drive
solutions usually cost more, as they need increased computing power to control
that many drive mechanisms.
Synology usually makes three levels of a
product range: a base version, an enhanced for business '+' model, and a
cheaper 'j' derivative. The '+' hasn't appeared yet, but the DS413 and the
DS413j have been released recently.
As this is a 'j', the first obvious
question is what was taken out to reduce cost. From the outside there are a few
clues: you only get USB 2.0 external ports not USB 3.0, and it has no eSATA
port. However, the real differences between this and the $640 DS413 are all on
the inside.
Where the base version uses a dual-core
Freescale P1022 PPC processor, this design is built around the popular ARM
derivative, the single-core Marvell Kirkwood mv6282. This is exactly the same
chip as in the Synology DS213 I've previously reviewed, except in this installation
it's only a 1,6GHz model, not the 2GHz variant that the dual-drive DS213 has.
If that seems a little odd to you, then we share something, because I can't
really follow the logic of that either.
Synology has also limited it to 512MB of
RAM, rather than the 1GB of DDR3 that's in the DS413. Again, DDR3 is cheap, so
why do this?
It may just be to differentiate the
products and it has relatively little impact on the functionality, because in
testing the DS413j runs very smoothly and isn't appreciably slower at file
serving with a small set of users than its more expensive DS413 big brother.
Where it's probably less suitable is if you start using more of the built-in
services, like the mail server, web server and print server (to mention just a
few), alongside the file serving functionality. In this respect the DS412j is
fine (for a small team of people, but it might start to show the strain
if your workforce rapidly doubles in size overnight, for example.
The problem is that choosing which is right
for you is a matter of some conjecture, but for the majority of home users the
DS413j is probably man enough for the job.
Where it also excels is in a business
context as a rapidly deployable solution to serve a website, or secure data
backup, or media serving. And when that job is done, it can be rapidly
repurposed into some other task, like a veritable Swiss army knife of network
storage.
You can take multiple approaches to
delivering business IT, and the DS413j is made for the 'divide and conquer'
philosophy.
What's provides this level of flexibility
to the whole Synology DiskStation product range is the DSM (Synology Disk
Station Manager), now at version 4.1. It provides a fantastic suite of
applications and service functionality, with the ability to download and add
additional tools when and if you require them. The DS413j comes with all the
standard ones each Disk Station gets, and another 24 or so apps can be selected
for installation from within the web interface.
By default, you get a DLNA media server,
Audio Station, Download Station (torrents), iTunes server, Mail Server, Photo
Station and Surveillance Station (for security cameras). There's also a very
sophisticated backup model, where you can synchronise multiple boxes, and even
an app for delivering your own cloud service.
In terms of built-in applications Synology
DSM is the authentic Rolls & Royce of NAS box operating systems, and the
continuous development brings a wealth of new things to the party on a regular
basis.
There are four drive NAS solutions about
that cost less than this one, but the DS413J does offer a very tempting
combination of Synology knowhow, excellent build quality, miserly power
consumption, all at a price that's survivable.
That makes it a very useful solution for
either a home system that's outgrown its hand-crafted origins or the small
business environment that desperately needs central storage without
administering a fully blown server.
If you can afford one, along with the
drives, then you won't be disappointed, and if you can't then you can still
dream of having something this well designed.
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DS413j Specifications
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Max Storage Capacity
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16TB
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HDD Interface
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4 x SATA II - 3Gbps
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HDD Form Factor
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4 x 3.5"/2.5"
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CPU
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Marvell Kirkwood mv6282
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CPU Speed
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1.6GHz
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On-board Memory
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512MB DDR3
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LAN Type
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10/100/1000
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External Connectivity
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1 x LAN (10/100/1000) 2 x USB 2.0 1 x Wireless LAN
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Noise Level
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18.9 dB(A)
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Max. Power Consumption
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31.56W (access), 7.68W (HDD hibernation)
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Dimensions
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168 x 184 x 230mm (WxHxD)
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Weight
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2.23kg
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Warranty
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Two years
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Details
Price: $435.3 (Scan)
Manufacturer: Synology
Website: www.synology.com
Required spec: Ethernet network and
computers
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