ganda doc!
review naman jan
Congrats Doc, review nga naman. Merry Xmas!!
Aba pinepressure ako ng mga ito! Don't have any NAS to compare it with. Actually I'm just a noob with regards to this. Baka pagtawanan pako ng mga Systems Analyst dyan.
I installed a 1 TB Samsung Spinpoint HDD in it. Simple to install even my wife can do it. I attached the NAS to my router via LAN cable.
After installing the Synology Assistant CD (Windows or MAC, Linux version is downloadable), your computer identifies the NAS. Then you get to log-in as a user or as an administrator.
Then you get to choose what application you would like to use:
As an administrator, here are your options:
In this screenshot, you can can create a user, shared folders, make a website, make a photosharing application, etc. This is also where you get to change and personalize your settings based on your usage. You can make a filestation such as rapidshare which you can share to whoever you want to give access to. What I've noticed is when I download a file from the server, I reach speeds up to 650kb/s compared to my usual 250kb/s in a 2MBPS internet connection. So I guess the speed would definitely be faster if you access and download your files wherever you get to access the net.
Here's a screenshot of the Audio Station:
You can attach USB speakers to the NAS and you can set a playlist in the audio station and have music playing from the NAS.
Here's a screenshot of the Torrent Downloader:
The GUI looks like your Torrent client and it is easy to navigate if your downloads would come from torrents. It has also the option to download from rapidshare. Just input your Premium account user name and password then just copy and paste the files and your set to go. While downloading, you can already turn off your PC and just turn it on again to check the progress of your downloads. No need to leave your PC on the whole time. And with only 22W power consumption, it wouldn't hurt your electric bill.
What I only noticed is that the download speed from torrents or from rapidshare is slower than my usual download speed. Maybe I haven't tweaked the system yet such as port forwarding to increase my download speeds. This I still have to figure out.
I bought this mainly for local networking and for consolidating my files on just one place. I am not a networking expert that's why until now my PCs in the house aren't networked yet. My problem is that some machines have Windows installed and others have Linux. I know there is a workaround with this but I think that the process is too technical for my limited knowledge.
The Synology solved my problem. In local networking without the Synology, you need to turn on at least 2 computers which you want to share files with. With Synology, just turn on the PC you are using then you can access shared files from the server. How did I do it? I just have to install the Synology Assistant in every PC that I want to include in the local network be it Windows or MAC. The assistant identifies the server for you and it gives you the option to choose what Folders you want to be shared with that particular PC. When it comes to Linux, just click on Menu or Places/Network and all of your shared folders from the server will be accessible.
So with this, I can now access my video files from the server to my HTPC or NMT with Wifi access and stream my videos. No need to transfer external drives which I was doing before.
You can also attach a printer in one of its USB ports so you can print files from any of your PCs connected to the network.
The NAS has 3 USB ports. 2 at the back and 1 in front. I have tried attaching an external 1 TB to one of its USB ports and the files can be easily accessed and shared.
The USB port in front has a file transfer button to easily transfer files from a flash drive or external HDD to the NAS.
The file server is not really a necessity for everybody but it sure makes life easier once you have set it up running. It really depends on your needs. Hope this helps to those who are contemplating in buying.