Introduction:
Networked attached storage (NAS) devices range in price from sub £100 home units offering basic network storage up to large corporate NAS servers that can serve entire companies that run in to the £1000s. The latest we have to review is the Synology Diskstation 712+ (DS712+) which offers a step up from the last Synology NAS server we reviewed the DS212j, which was primarily a small business/home server. The DS712+ offers a far more scalable server conformation than the DS212j with data encryption as well as a far more powerful processor and system spec that allows for sharing data across a intranet as well as the internet faster and more securely.
Specifications (Skip to review here):
Hardware
CPU Frequency : 1.8GHz
Floating Point
Memory : DDR3 1GB
Internal HDD/SSD : 3.5" or 2.5" SATA(II) X 2 (Hard drive not included)
Max Internal Capacity : 6TB (2X 3TB HDD) (Capacity may vary by RAID types) (See All Supported HDD)
Hot Swappable HDD
External HDD Interface : USB 2.0 Port X 3, eSATA Port X 1
Size (HxWxD) : 157 X 103.5 X 232 mm
Weight : 1.69Kg
LAN : Gigabit X2
Link Aggregation
Wake on LAN/WAN
System Fan : 92x92mm x1
Wireless Support
Noise Level : 19.2 dB(A)
Power Recovery
AC Input Power Voltage : 100V to 240V AC
Power Frequency : 50 / 60Hz, Single Phase
Power Consumption : 27.5W (Access) ; 17.6W (HDD Hibernation)
Operating Temperature : 40 to 95°F (5 to 35°C)
Storage Temperature : 15 to 155°F (-10 to 70°C)
Relative Humidity : 5% to 95% RH
Maximum Operating Altitude : 10,000 feet
Certification : FCC Class B, CE Class B, BSMI Class B
Warranty : 3 Years
Applications
File Browser
File Station
FTP Server
Bandwidth Control, Custom FTP Passive Port Range, Anonymous FTP, Transfer Log
Mail Server
Supported Mail Server Protocol : POP3, SMTP, IMAP
Web Station
Virtual Host (up to 30 websites)
PHP/MySQL
Alternative HTTP Error Page
3rd-Party Applications Support
Surveillance Station
MAX IP cam # (Licenses required) : 16 (1 Free License) (See All Supported IP Cameras)
Total frame rate (FPS) : 160 FPS @ D1 (NTSC：720x480, PAL：720x576), 60 FPS @ WXGA (1280x800)
Recording Modes : Manual, Continuous, Motion Detection, Alarm, Motion Detection and Alarm
Event Playback : Sync Mode (4 Channels), Time Slicing Mode
Centralized Management
Compression Formats : MJPEG, MPEG-4, H.264
Photo Station
Supported Image Format : BMP, JPG (jpe, jpeg), GIF, RAW (arw, srf, sr2, dcr, k25, kdc, cr2, crw, nef, mrw, ptx, pef, raf, 3fr, erf, mef, mos, orf, rw2, dng, x3f)
Supported Video Format : 3G2, 3GP, ASF, AVI, DAT, DivX, FLV, M4V, MOV, MP4, MPEG, MPG, QT, WMV, XviD, RM, RMVB, VOB, RV30, RV40, AC3, AMR, WMA3
User can click and download the following video formats: RM, RMVB, VOB, RV30, RV40, AC3, AMR, WMA3, but not able to play it in Photo Station as compressed Flash video.
Audio Station
Supported Audio Format (USB Mode) : AAC, FLAC, M4A, MP3, Ogg Vorbis, WMA, WMA VBR
Supported Audio Format (Streaming Mode) : MP3, M4A, M4B
Supported Playlist Format : M3U, WPL
Internet Radio : SHOUTcast, Radioio
DLNA/UPnP Media Server
PS3/Xbox 360 Support
Supported Audio Format : AAC, FLAC, M4A, MP3, Ogg Vorbis, PCM, WAV, WMA, WMA VBR, WMA PRO, WMA
Supported Video Format : 3GP, 3G2, ASF, AVI, DAT, DivX, DVR-MS, ISO, M2T, M2TS, M4V, MKV, MP4, MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4, MTS, MOV, QT, SWF, TP, TRP, TS, VOB, WMV, XviD, RMVB (The actual playback capabilities may vary depending on the DLNA/UPnP client)
Supported Image Format : BMP, JPG (jpe, jpeg), GIF, ICO, PNG, PSD, TIF (tiff), UFO
Download Station
Supported Download Protocols : BT/HTTP/FTP/NZB/eMule
Custom BT Port Range
BT / eMule Bandwidth Control
iTunes Server
Supported Audio Format : MP3, M4A, M4P, WAV, AIF, The music in WAV and AIF format can be streamed, but the metadata (ex: title, album) may not be indexed on the iTunes
Supported Video Format : M4V, MOV, MP4
Supported Playlist Format : M3U, WPL
Print Server
Max Printer # : 2
Printing Protocols : LPR, CIFS, AppleTalk, Appel AirPrint, Multi Functional Print Server (Only PostScript USB printers are supported in MAC environment)
Packages Center
Directory Server
HASP
HiDrive Backup
Mail Station2
phpMyAdmin
VPN Server
Webalizer
Squeezebox Server
Syslog Server
WordPress
Time Backup
iPhone/Android Applications
DS photo+
DS audio
DS cam
DS file
DS finder
General
Networking Protocols
CIFS
AFP
NFS
FTP
WebDAV
iSCSI
Telnet
SSH
SNMP
File System
EXT4
EXT3(External Disk Only)
FAT (External Disk Only)
NTFS (External Disk Only)
Storage Management
Max Volume # : 512
Max File System Size : 108TB
Max iSCSI Target # : 32
Max iSCSI LUN # : 256
Supported RAID Type : Synology Hybrid RAID, Basic, JBOD, RAID 0, RAID 1
RAID Migration : Basic to RAID 1
Volume Expansion with Larger HDDs : RAID 1
Synology Expansion Unit Support : DX510
File Sharing Capability
Max User Accounts : 2048
Max Groups : 256
Max Shared Folder : 256
Max Concurrent Connections : 512
Windows Access Control List (ACL)
Windows ADS Domain Integration
Domain Users login via Samba/AFP/FTP/File Station
Backup Solutions
Network Backup
Local Backup
Desktop Backup (using Synology Data Replicator 3 or Apple Time Machine backup application)
Shared Folder Sync - Max task number : 8
Time Backup - Max task number : 8
Time Machine Backup (Mac)
Security
FTP over SSL/TLS
IP Auto-Block
Firewall
Encrypted Network Backup over Rsync
HTTPS Connection
Management
Auto DSM Upgrade
Administrator Group
Email Notification
SMS Notification
Customized User Quota
DDNS Support
IPv6 Support
PPPoE
Resource Monitor
UPS Management
Scheduled Power On/Off
Custom Management UI HTTP/HTTPS Ports
HDD Management
HDD Hibernation
S.M.A.R.T.
Dynamic Bad Sector Mapping
Utilities
Synology Assistant
Synology Data Replicator
Supported Clients
Windows XP onward
Mac OS X 10.5 onward
Ubuntu 9.04 onward
Supported Browsers
Chrome
Firefox
Internet Explorer : 7, 8, 9
Safari (MAC) : 4, 5
Supported Mobile Devices (Photo Station, File Station)
iPhone OS 2.2.1 onward
Android OS 1.5 onward
Windows Mobile (IE Mobile or Opera 9.0 onward)
Symbian OS 9.1, S60 3rd Edition onward
Language : Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese Brazil, Portuguese European, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Swedish, Traditional Chinese, Turkish
Review:
As with all Synology NAS servers, the diskstation comes without hard drives installed, however the DS712+'s drive bays are easily accessible via two sliding trays (lockable for security) and hard drive installation is a doddle using the included screws, with the unit supporting up to two 3.5" or 2.5" drives. The "Synology Assistant" software is then used to install the operating system, Disk Station Manager (DSM), which then allows for full management of the device and any installed or externally connected drives through the excellent cloud-like browser interface. The internal drives can be run in a number of standard RAID configurations including the Synology Hybrid Raid configurations that allows for hard drives of different sizes to be run in a RAID array. If you want to run external drives or devices, the DS712+ sports 3 USB2.0 ports as well as a single eSATA port that can be used in conjunction with the Synology DX510 (an optional expansion unit) that allows the addition of a further five hard drives and a maximum of 21TB of data storage (certainly enough to run a fari sized business!)..
The DS712+ we tested was running on the DSM3.2 (although it is worth noting that there is a beta program for DSM4.0 which looks even better if that's possible!) which provides a simple interface to manage the NAS. There is a basic menu system that provides access to a control panel providing access to every configurable option for the device. Each option from setting up the inbuilt firewall to setting up a web server are all very easy to setup (normally simply a case of a single mouse click or a wizard). As regards applications, the DS712+ gives access to the all of the standard Synology applications, including file and multimedia sharing, web hosting (up to 30 websites) and mail server, as well as network backup (encrypted if required). All work seamlessly and are very easy to setup, with clear instructions, tutorials and support available from the Synology website.
We tested the DS712+ with a couple of 1TB drives and the setup procedure was as painless as other Synology NAS servers we have reviewed. In comparison with the DS212j we reviewed previously (here), the increased specifications were evident with the NAS clearly benefiting from the faster processor and everything felt more responsive. Even though the router we used didn't support link aggregation, the two gigabit connections make the upload and download speeds significantly faster (~96MBps and 100MBps respectively) especially for upload speeds, which is perfect for small business environments where it is plausible that a relatively high number of connections will be in use at any given time (even more so if you choose to host a website through the DiskStation).
With the increased server specifications in comparison to other 2-bay NAS ervers from Synology, every aspect of the DS712+ is better than previous NAS servers we have reviewed, from user interface and support through to file transfer performance and we really had no problems with setting up any of the features that the server can host.
Price:
£399 (available from Amazon
Verdict:
5/5 - In terms of NAS servers, Synology rarely disappoint and the DS712+ is no different. With the applications available, the Diskstations can handle a number of different jobs (therefore replacing existing servers and services) beyond simple file sharing and shared folders which is why in our opinion they offer, despite the initial costs, excellent value for money. The DS712+ is one of the more expensive of the home/small business range but the specifications and performance entirely justify the cost.
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