Synology DiskStation DS411 Pro Reviews

The Synology DS411 is going to be a good choice as a 4-disk NAS for a home or office network that is expected to be under higher-than-average load. Based on the popular ARM platform and equipped with a large enough amount of system memory, it delivers high performance with such extra services as file downloads, media services and video surveillance. It features high quality of manufacture and an effective and quiet cooling system. Priced at $450 (without hard disks), the DS411 is about $100 more expensive than the most affordable 4-disk Synology NAS but Atom-based products cost much more. The price is not high because the DS411 lacks hot-swap bays and has a minimum of I/O ports, yet its connectivity options are good enough for most usage scenarios. The new firmware indicates that modern NASes are getting closer to entry-level servers. DSM 3.2 seemed to have everything necessary already, yet Synology’s programmers have managed to add a number of new and revised services into DSM 4.0 which, besides being very easy to set up and use, are indeed helpful. We’d single out such features as the new administrator notifications, browser-based file management, integrated VPN client, video surveillance system, Wi-Fi access point mode, antivirus, cloud services and the exclusive software bundle for mobile gadgets. Besides that, the web interface has just become prettier. The new firmware version will become available in the near future for all Synology products starting from the x08 series.

It's obvious that Synology wants to break into the consumer market, but it simply hasn't done enough to provide a decent graphical user interface that explains exactly what you have to do. Those who love tinkering with networks and setting up home IP systems will find a lot to love here – but for everyone else it's just a tad too complicated, and hugely expensive too.