Introduction

We've been reviewing NAS servers for a very long time now and are now taking steps to bring in more manufacturers and increase our testing. To date we've seen units from QNAP, Thecus, Netgear, INEO and a few smaller companies, but today we're looking at a unit from Synology.

Synology is a large NAS manufacturer with several products. Looking at the numbers, Synology rivals both QNAP and Thecus in terms of the number of products available and in some categories outpaces them in truly innovative offerings. One such area that stands out is Synology's Disk Expansion products that allow you to double the drive count of your existing NAS with an add-on enclosure. I can't really tell you why Synology hasn't been a larger target on our radar, because I don't really know, but their blip is gaining more attention moving forward.

Today we're looking at the DS411+II NAS that's available at a modest price point, yet still offers over 100MB/s of data transfer throughput. With DLNA tipping up in many of the latest TVs, Blu-ray players and other devices, we've been on the hunt for quality systems that offer exceptional performance at low prices. On paper the Synology DS411+II meets the criteria. This compact NAS server is also designed for small business use, so it should also do well for keeping your work data secure and with the built in redundant RAID functionality, you don't have to worry about losing what's important.