Synology is a Taiwanese company "dedicated to developing high-performance, reliable, versatile, and environmentally-friendly Network Attached Storage (NAS) products". And from what we have seen in previous reviews of their products (
DS409slim,
DS411+, and
DS411), we would have to agree that they live up to their goals.
Our previous reviews have all focused on 4-bay NAS devices that could fit in anywhere from a home, to a small office, to a business workgroup where Synology's DiskStations would be able to meet the varying requirements for capacity, performance, and special features. This time around we have a 2-bay device that may offer half the drive space, but might still be an excellent solution for any of the same settings. The Synology DiskStation DS212 is the product in question, and it is shown in the promotional image above. Before jumping in to the review, let's take a look at some published data on the DS212 as taken from the
official product page on the Synology website...
Features and Specifications:
» CPU Frequency : 1.6GHz
» Hardware Encrypted Engine
» Memory : DDR3 256MB
» Internal HDD/SSD : 3.5" or 2.5" SATA(II) X2 (Hard drive not included)
» Max Internal Capacity : 6TB (2X 3TB HDD) (Capacity may vary by RAID types)
» Hot Swappable HDD
» External HDD Interface : USB 3.0 Port X 2, USB 2.0 Port X 1, SD Card Port X 1
» Size (HxWxD) : 165 X 108 X 233.2 mm
» Weight : 1.25Kg
» LAN : Gigabit X1
» Wake on LAN/WAN
» System Fan : 92x92mm x1
» Wireless Support
» Noise Level : 19.0 dB(A)
» Power Recovery
» AC Input Power Voltage : 100V to 240V AC
» Power Frequency : 50 / 60Hz, Single Phase
» Power Consumption : 18.2W (Access) ; 6.8W (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 : 2 Years
From the information above we can see that the DiskStation 212 should have plenty of horsepower. It has the same 1.6GHz processor speed we saw in the recently reviewed DS411 4-bay unit, although it does have half as much DDR3 memory at 256MB. In addition to two drive bays which would provide up to 6TB of storage (at this time), you also get two USB 3.0 ports, one USB 2.0 port, and a single SD card slot for your storage and peripheral needs.
