DiskStation

Avantages

Il est appréciable d'avoir autant d'options d'utilisations avec ce matériel, d'avoir de nombreuses applications pour tirer parti de toutes les diverses utilisations possibles. On peut par exemple créer un serveur multimédia, un Synology Mail Server, un web station (pour son site internet) ou un vidéo station.. etc. On peut simplement s'en servir comme serveur local de sauvegarde ou de partage de fichiers.

Inconvénients

Les logiciels dédiés, l'interface générale et l'utilisation manque d'érgonomie. Certaines mises en place demande certaines compétences spécifiques et assez pointues en informatique. Heureusement il y a des tutoriels sur internet.

Avantages

I use Synology for hosting files at home. It is relatively easy to set up and get going, even for someone completely new at using it. The software comes with numerous utilities for managing files, processes, resources, and user permissions. There are also many more apps out there that you can install. Hosting my videos and pictures has never been easier, and with my redundant harddrives, my data is safe in case a drive is lost. The interface is very clean, and the functions are easy to use and simple to understand.

Inconvénients

This is not a problem with the software itself but a limitation with the hardware. I have a bare model with a weak cpu, and so every now and then I experience latency issues, or slow ramp up times.

Avantages

DiskStation systems are a mix of software and hardware. The hardware can come in different set-ups eg. space for 2 or 4 hard disks, different CPUs and memory, different form format… The software is what will make you a happy “expert” in managing NAS. DiskStation makes easy to set the system up. It will ask you how do you want to configure the disks (like, sum the capacity of the disks, use ones as backup copies of the others, or a mix of both). The software will do all the work of setting the underlying OS for you. There are tools to create users, groups, share folders and control services.

But DiskStation does not end here! It has lots of softwares and services you can install for free (or a little price sometimes). If you are using it in an office environment, you will find some jewels: VPN service, backup to another NAS or external service, LDAP, Mail server, Dropbox.com-like service for your users, backup-time machine service, a suite of office and collaboration online tools (like Google Suite) and other Open Source apps (CRM, ERP).

For domestic and home office, check the Video (home theater, Kodi-like) app, music server, photo gallery, P2P background download, auto-copy an USB pen drive when connected, and many more. Every service has a ton of nice features (eg. forget Dropbox, upload a file to the NAS and share it via an expirable URL).

Many DiskStation services have a counterpart in app version. For example. DS Photo uploads the photos in your mobile device to the

Inconvénients

Some times you are short on information when things “happen”. Eg, there appears a symbol of “indexing” but you don’t know why it’s indexing now and how much it takes.

Avantages

The power to run multiple applications for those who use to monitor networks, servers, is very worthwhile

Inconvénients

a little heavy when you use virtualization on a computer or notebook of a lower configuration, but it can be solved by choosing the amount of ram and number of process cores by the program

Avantages

Was a decent product. Did what we needed it to do. Hyper backup was a feature we used often and also being able to access it offsite became a godsend once covid hit.

Inconvénients

Initially it was a pain to set up especially if you have a novice that is not that familiar with network set up.

Avantages

Diskstation is very easy to setup and use. The interface uses the DSM OS which gets regular updates and all the controls can be accessed easy. The ability to install apps is a big plus.

Inconvénients

The interface can sometimes be little slow and take up huge amount of resources.

Avantages

What I appreciate the most about the Synology DiskStation is the versatility. It is not a simple NAS drive. Through the comprehensive, yet easy to use extension system, the disk station can be expanded with Email server, Git server, VPN server, Media server among other functionalities.

Inconvénients

The firmware upgrades could be simpler. Sometimes it is not as straightforward as I would have liked.

Avantages

Many features available in an invisible appliance. I use 2 disk stations, one at our dental office and one at home. I have them linked to back up to each other, so offsite backups are painless. Essentially I control my own cloud. Accessing data via mobile is very easy using my iPad so I can get a needed file quickely. The hardware has been rock solid over the years, and the software updates come regularly, eliminating threats and adding features, while not being buggy. Truly a great product that keeps getting better. They continue to support the units I have with software updates even though they are several years old. So far no feeling of obsolescence.

Inconvénients

A few things that require set up can sometimes be a bit confusing. Unless you are willing to read a bit online and think it through, it's a bit of work to get the most out of this highly capable system. If you happen to be experienced in setting up NAS systems, then I'm sure it's not that hard. For me, however, even though I'm an electrical and computer engineer, I still have to relearn some things each time I interact with the software. This is probably a complement since it means that it runs well enough that you end up not interacting very often to make adjustments.

Avantages

I used the D-Link web application, but Synology is much better. It is easier to orient in it, it's overall faster and more intuitive. App receives regular updates. As usual, I appreciate the super mobile application (tested on iOS). In case of interest, you can choose from a list of add-ins and plugins for extensions.

Inconvénients

I had a problem playing content on Samsung Smart TV, but after a proper study I managed to. It would be nice to have a faster initial setup.

Avantages

This software allowed us to create a NAS system to be shared with users in the office. We were able to set and configure rules and install applications as needed to fit our needs.

Inconvénients

There is a learning curve to the software.

Avantages

The suite is so fully featured. At one stage we were dropping data onto it, and it was synching with Dropbox in the background. Another time we used it to have 2 boxes on 2 continents synched together. Really convenient.

Inconvénients

Bit of a learning curve and expensive for equipment to run it on.

Avantages

The pros of the Synology software are that you don't need to be an IT professional to use it. It is basic enough for the average person to figure out yet robust enough to really dig in deep and get some really great features and apps working for you. It's super easy to set up a new DiskStation using the Synology software. This is coming from someone who has set up and administrated 4 for my company over the last 5 or so years. Before that I has set up and administrated Linux servers for my company's file sharing needs. With all of the learning and time I had to put into figuring out how to do what needed to be done in Linux I could have just spent few more dollars to buy a DiskStation and let it do most of the work for me. The Synology software is setup a lot like a computer desktop, with apps and a taskbar and the option to show your system health (similar to to Task Manager on a computer). There are lots of helpful utilities built in with lots of add-in app options for anything from music sharing to web hosting to file sharing. There is good built in security as well but the less the outside world is able to reach your server the better. I now use it completely offline as a backup for a Windows server as our needs changed after using it for a simple file server for years. It is still a vital part of our business and the versatility is a HUGE strong point with these machines and this very powerful software.

Inconvénients

The biggest cons would be that it is hard to learn how to do certain things and the support is minimal unless you pay for a support package. Fortunately there is a large community of users that you can query for answers to your problems. My biggest headache was setting up remote backups with Synology DiskStation to DiskStations. This is slightly more of an advanced function but one that I think many people use this for but the documentation on how to accomplish this is very simplistic and not detailed enough. If you follow the directions given (even in the forums) you get basic instructions that don't accomplish what you need to. Not sure why they didn't think to give better instructions on how to do something so needful.

Avantages

The UI is amazing to me. I love how easy it is to use. It looks just like a modern operating system but it runs inside the browser so it's very intuitive. I also love all the apps you can install to handle many different needs. I use it for Plex for managing my media and doing all my TV recording and playback. I also use it for Docker to run containers to manage my wifi network as well as using NodeRed to do some custom data work.

Inconvénients

The stated max memory for the unit I use at home, the DS 920+, is 8GB. That's very limiting if you want to run multiple virtual machines and docker containers. It will technically support more, I added a 16GB stick so I have 20GB and it works without problems but if I have any trouble I will have to take out the extra memory to get support.

While my DS920+ supports two M2 style SSD drives, you can only use them for read cache and write cache. You can't allocate any of the storage for any other purpose. It would be really nice if I could put in one or two large SSDs and then use parts of them for fast storage.

Avantages

We first introduced Synology diskstation into our environment about 3 1/2 years ago to solve a specific problem. We were running our file server on a windows server in an environment where we have windows and mac devices. Mac devices were struggling to connect, have poor performance when using SMB, and other less pressing issues. We needed to do something. It didn't take a lot of research to find Synology and be convinced to give it a try. Not only did it solve our file server issue, but it solved our vpn issue too. We were using a certain vendor for vpn which posed many problems and once we setup the vpn server on the diskstation and migrated the users to it, All vpn issues went away. We have had minimal issues since day 1.

Inconvénients

The support. When you reach out via their site for chat support, it is very level 1 type support and there's not a lot they can assist with. Maybe this is typical, but it's not always convenient. You can file tickets from the interface which puts your ticket in a queue of higher tiered support which communicates via email. While the support has been able to resolve 99% of our issues, you do have to wait via email. Just not my favorite support but this would never stop or prevent me from continuing to use Synology.

Avantages

the built-in apps are some of the best in the industry. they also provide updates to the native OS with regular frequency. iSCSI work well. Like the ability to backup MS365. We migrated to a new Diskstation from an older Diskstation for one client and they process went so smooth.

Inconvénients

SMB pricing is good, Enterprise pricing increases exponentially. Would like to see even more third-party integrations.

Avantages

Clean interface. Ease of access. Customizable. 3rd Party App support & security. It just WORKS, ALWAYS.

Inconvénients

I do not have anything that I would attribute to a Con in all truth.

Avantages

DSM is the most feature-rich and versatile NAS management software.

Inconvénients

More licenses should be included.Move toward proprietary hardware for full feature set.

Avantages

Easy to use NAS manager software
3rd party software packages available
Easy to implement
Lots and lots of features available
Stable , never crashed in more then 12 years
Good customer support
Frequent software updates available also for older models.

Inconvénients

I have a hard time thinking for the cons because to be honest I really do not know. Ok maybe the price can be a con.

Avantages

I was skeptical when deciding about a new NAS. Synology was for sure an expensive solution, but all reviews I've read came to the conclusion that it works due to having the best OS out there. So I got it and I have to say that I'm really impressed with the OS, it's set of features are also endless. It has all kinds of NAS-related features, but also a lot of features you can use in a small business, it pretty much can replace a small server.

Inconvénients

Nothing so far, no issues, no problems. Only thing that comes to mind is that it's expensive compared to other similar devices in terms of hardware.

Avantages

- Very powerfull an easy to configure for a novice user (0 prior experience in server instalation).
- Very stable and reliable. We start with a small size server, and after 3 years we move to a bigger solution. We decide to remaing with Synology primearly because of the features and ease of use of it operating system.

Inconvénients

- There are some bugs that have to be solved by commandline, which it´s something kind of nerve-raking.
- The Drive integration still need improving.
- The online tutorials and guides could be better.

Avantages

A lot options to customize the experience to fit my needs.

Inconvénients

Permissions are not straightforward. This could be a problem for less tech savvy users.

Alternatives envisagées 

Avantages

Rock-steady reliability. Have used DiskStation for years and it has never failed me. For prosumers and small/medium businesses nothing else comes close - you'd need enterprise-level budgets to be able to get anything more reliable / powerful.

Inconvénients

Learning curve might be a bit high for someone with zero experience. It's worth the time investment learning though!

Avantages

Reliable backup. We deploy Diskstations to our customer for their server backups and have never failed.

Inconvénients

It's easy to set up and configure so no complaints.

Avantages

Diskstation is both software and hardware for enterprise or personal sever use. The hardware comes in different configurations like 2, 4 or 6 drive bays with different ram and CPU options as well. The software allows you to configure your NAS to the exact needs for your solution. It’s extremely useful when the hardware throws an error (like we have experienced due to bad drives and not anything due to the diskstation hardware). The software tells you the error immediately on login and what time it happened. There’s a reason synology is the industry leader in storage, the diskstation platform is smart, easy to setup even for those who are new to networks and network storage, and it’s smart.

Inconvénients

The interface can be cluttered sometimes and a little hard to find a specific setting.

Avantages

It has seamlessly integrated into my daily use for my computer. All files are stored on the Synology and easily accessible over the internet portal

Inconvénients

I have nothing bad to say about this software