Pros: - It has been 100% Reliable for me. I have never lost any data. I use RAID 5 w/ 4 Samsung 750GB HDs. I removed a drive just to see if it worked and it worked fine. - I use almost all the features: BT downloading, FTP Server, Web Server, Photo Station, and the backup features. (The only feature I don't use YET is the surveillance server - but I will next month!) - It streams my 1080p content flawlessly to my Vista machine. - Synology has frequent firmware updates, extensive forum support, and a reliable technical support team. - The built-in backup utilities work fine (although I use SyncBack SE). - It uses standard Linux RAID. In case of a hardware failure, you could recover the data with any PC in Windows using UFS Explorer Pro (or any similar proram) or install the drives into another Synology drive. - Synology has released a free "package" which adds an email server feature to the drive.

Cons: - When using all the features simultaneously, the machine gets bogged down a little. - Even though it has gigabit LAN, the transfers are a little slow (about 5-7 MB/s write, 8-11 MB/s read). I use ALL of its features, though. Would probably be faster if I disabled some.

Overall Review: - I own 2 other Synology drives (DS107e) and love them. I use one for business purposes and have it automatically backup its content to my other DS107e kept at my brother's as an offsite backup. Works great. - As mentioned by other users; the system can get boggy if you use many of the advanced features. If you can afford it, I would recommend upgrading to the CS407 (has faster processor and twice the memory) or the newer 408 and 409 series. - I purchased a 1.5TB external HD and have the CS407e backup to it every night using its internal backup software. - It seems to handle two large-file transfers simultaneously without lag, but when three or more users are pulling from it (or if it's performing a backup) it will lag some, but it has never failed to finish any transfers for me.