Quieter Storage With Synology DS211+ NAS Server

Data storage specialist Synology launched the DiskStation DS211+ designed to provide a quieter working environment and give even more reliable storage. The storage server is a secure, two-bay NAS machine that allows SMBs to share files, centralise backup, and protect critical data.

The DS211+ incorporates a number of hardware upgrades from its predecessor. Synology claims its hot-swappable hard drive design is configured to minimise the financial loss due to system downtime and increases reliability, while the 92mm low-rotation fan and efficient airflow design provide airflow to keep the system running cooler than its predecessor, while ensuring a low noise level.

Vibration-Absorbing Design

The special material of the snap-on front cover absorbs hard disk drive (HDD) vibration, which further ensures quiet operation. The DS211+ was measured at 19.4 dB(A) in operation, which the company said is much lower than office background noise that is about 40 dB(A). In addition, the SD memory card and USB slots offer a plug-n-save solution to store data with just one touch of the Copy button on the front panel, the company said.

“The brand new hardware design of DS211+ realises our promise of providing satisfying solutions. We designed DS211+ to be hot-swappable for higher reliability, and also cool and quiet to ensure the best user experience,” commented Chad Cheng, product manager of Synology.

For fulfilling the requirements of SMBs, the DS211+ delivers an average of 108MB/sec reading and 55MB/sec writing speeds under RAID 1 configuration in a Windows environment, according to data released by the company. Its performance is further ensured by the 256-bit AES hardware encryption engine, which is designed to prevent unauthorised access attempts to hard drives, while at the same time boasts read speed to be 200 percent faster than the pure software engine.

Cheng said Internet information security is a critical issue for SMBs and explained that other than the hardware encryption engine, the DS211+ provides encrypted file sharing, HTTPS, firewall and IP auto-block support to increase the security level. “Furthermore, users can efficiently control and set privileges with Windows ACL support,” Cheng said.

The DS211+ offers a list of features and applications with the DiskStation Manager 3.0 operating system, which can replace hardware equipment in offices. Its network protocol support is designed to implement seamless cross-platform data sharing and backup.

Users can back up data to sync servers, external hard drives via USB or eSATA connection, or the cloud via Amazon S3. In addition, businesses can use Synology Time Backup to back up different versions of files, and flip through to find the most recent changes. The Web Station application allows hosting of up to 30 Websites. With a few setup steps, the DS211+ can also act as mail server, printer server, FTP server and centralised interface to monitor the office environments.