Conclusion:

Speaking of the hardware alone, the Synology DiskStation 411+ NAS is fantastic. I cannot think of any issues one might have with the unit. It would take a serious number of users to fully tax the hardware; more people than you would typically find at the DS411+'s target market of small to medium-sized businesses. The only hardware feature I would like to see changed is swapping the dual 80mm fans for a single 120mm.



The issues I did discover in the review related to the new DiskStation Manager. DSM 3.0 beta was released a few weeks ago and is a major release. The entire user interface is redesigned, along with a few new features. I do hope Synology tweaks the UI a bit, allowing for more customization with how everything is organized. I would prefer the UI to only have search, notification area, and a large panel with everything organized in categories. So basically as an admin, I would prefer the Control Panel with everything contained.

When using the DLNA (tested via PS3) avi files (xvid/divx) show as unsupported. I did test m2ts and mp4 and m4v files which play just fine. This is a definite bug with DSM 3.0 beta because I use it all the time with DSM 2.3. I also hope they do get the Windows ACL feature squared away when DSM 3.0 is out of beta. I asked our contact at Synology about the Windows ACL issue:

"I don’t have an answer regarding the ACL issue, but I know there will be improvements with the production release of DSM 3.0 and ACLs were a primary feature so I’m sure our developers are addressing that."

According to the Bigbruin.com Shopping Engine, the Synology DiskStation DS411+ NAS can be purchased without any hard drives for under $650 (US) at places like Newegg.com. SATA hard drives are pretty cheap these days, where you can buy a 1TB unit for about $75 and a 2TB for $130. You could mirror (RAID 1) two drives, and when/if you need more space grab another hard drive and change the RAID type to RAID 5.

If you are going to invest over $800 in a NAS, you want to make sure it will be in service for years to come. In saying that, Synology updates the firmware frequently, and the DS411+ is ensured to have updates for two years as that is the length of the standard warranty.

All things considered, the Synology DiskStation 411+ NAS has to earn the Bigbruin.com "Highly Recommended" award.



Pros:

» Massive storage capability
» Great performance
» WebDAV is great feature for remotely accessing & modifying data
» Android apps for Audio, Photo, and Camera
» New user interface looks nice and works well

Cons:

» New user interface could be improved
» Windows ACL needs tweaking for enterprise environments
» Still no domain user access to applications (Audio/Photo/Surveillance/WebDAV)

My DSM Wishlist:

I have used DSM for more than a year and it is a very good package of services and applications. But there are some features I would love to see in future versions.

» LDAP for user management/authentication - would allow other devices for user authentication
   of DiskStation
» Password Policy - enforce strong passwords on a workgroup environment (a must for internet
   accessible DiskStations)
» View open/active files - the DSM admin can see who is currently working on what files
» Application Privileges for domain users/groups - currently only local DSM users can use
   WebDAV, Audio, File, & Surveillance Stations
» Mount ISO file support - directly mount an ISO image file to a shared folder
» CRON support - schedule tasks on the DiskStation
» Transcoding for Audio Station - play FLAC, OGG, etc files on Audio Station 2
» Android App for Download Station - Imagine managing your downloads on the go

Please drop by the Bigbruin.com Forum and feel free to post any comments or questions.