In the post about RoundCube e-mail over https you have read that I have purchased a new NAS system. And I can tell you this: I was up for it. Here’s why.
Around 5 years ago I decided to purchase a NAS system from Netgear called the SC101, where SC is the abbreviation of Storage Central. This was a NAS device capable of housing 2 IDE drives, in a RAID1 configuration. That sounded perfect to me, since I intend to use my NAS for storing the more important documents such as pictures etc. Stuff I do want to access and want to keep safe.
The Netgear SC101
Recently I have upgraded my PC to Windows 7. Also, I decided to install the drivers for the SC101, under which the famous Z-SAN driver from Netgear. It did not work. Hence, I scavenged the web and all forums etc, but still no dice. It turned out, and this was the official answer of Netgear, that the SC101 and the SC101T were not supported in Windows 7 or higher. A faint conclusion: Netgear was not going to produce new drivers. Frankly, I found this really lazy of Netgear, and really disappointed me.
Hence, I decided to look for a NAS device with the same specs: at least RAID1, 2 drives (SATA3), affordable (price for the housing, excluding the disks, below 200 Euro) and should have proper reviews I can build upon.
I ended up deciding to purchase the Synology DS211j. A really cool and nifty device.
The Synology DiskStation DS211j is designed to provide a cost-effective file storage and backup solution with RAID protection for your home environments. The operating system, Synology DiskStation Manager, delivers rich features for multimedia enjoyments, worry-free backup, Internet sharing, and energy-saving options.
- 24/7 PC-Less Download Server
- DLNA Certified Media Server
- 3.5” and 2.5” HDD Support
- Secure RAID Data Protection
- Cool and Quiet
Sure, I copied this from the Synology site, but there’s more to it.
Synology DS211j
But wait, there is a hell of a lot more to it. It has a very rich feature set such as a built-in e-mail server, webserver, MySQL database server, iTunes/media server, web access, remote access, firewall, FTP server, HTTPS access, audio station, Torrent client, audio station and much, much more.
The setup was very easy, but also provided me, as a more advanced IT specialist, more features to fine tune and to configure and modify. It were the best 170 euro’s I have spent so far.
I stuffed the unit with 2 Western Digital Green drives of 1 Tb each. My size, after the RAID1 configuration is therefore 1 Tb. But that will conver my needs. I do not want to store downloads on this unit, nor movies etc.
Great feature, very good quality…. Best Buy!