Synology DiskStation DS1812+ offers a high-performance, scalable, and full-featured network attached storage solution that meets the needs of small and medium-sized businesses that require an efficient way to centralize data protection, simplify data management, and rapidly scale storage capacity with minimal time spent on setup and management.
High Performance, High Data AvailabilityWith the Link Aggregation enabled, Synology DS1812+ delivers an average 194.48 MB/sec writing speed under RAID 5 configuration in a Windows environment, and 202.20 MB/sec reading. Coming with USB 3.0 support which offers transmission speeds of up to 5 Gbps, namely 10 times faster than USB 2.0, DS1812+ takes less time for data transfer for external hard drives and consumes less power. Synology DS1812+ brings you the high performance that your data-intensive applications demand for a storage system, and offers the ability to scale the storage capacity.
High ReliabilitySynology DS1812+ is now introduced with the fanless CPU heatsink to prevent the single point of failure. With the CPU passive cooling technology, Synology DS1812+ achieves the high reliability system design. When one of your system fans malfunctions, the built-in system fan redundancy mechanism can extend service uptime by keeping the remaining fan running and your DS1812+ performing basic operations until the replacement fan arrives. The 2 LAN with failover support and hot-swappable drives will ensure continual service uptime should the drives need replacement or the unexpected LAN failure occurs.
Robust & Affordable Scalability Up to 72TBWhen the storage capacity of the Synology DS1812+ is nearing its limits, it can easily be expanded with the Synology DX5102. The Synology DX510 securely connects to the Synology DS1812+ via an eSATA cable of specially-designed connectors on both ends to ensure maximum throughput. The Synology DX510 can directly expand the existing storage on the Synology DS1812+ to a maximum 72TB capacity.
Unified-Architecture and Virtualization ReadySynology DS1812+ runs on the novel operating system, Synology DiskStation Manager (DSM), which integrates file-level and block-level storage in one unified storage system. Comprehensive network protocol support (CIFS/SMB, AFP and NFS) assures seamless file sharing across Windows, Mac, and Linux platforms. Affordable and cost-effective iSCSI is also supported allowing large scale business to consolidate storage into data center storage arrays while providing hosts with the illusion of locally-attached disks. With the iSCSI support, DS1812+ provides a seamless storage solution for virtualization servers, such as VMware, Citrix, and Hyper-V. Thin Provisioning is available for file-level iSCSI, enabling administrators to oversubscribe provision and then grow storage space as needed in safety.
Full-featured Business ApplicationsThe operation system Synology DSM offers applications and features designed specifically for SMBs. Directory Server package can turn DS1812+ into an LDAP-based directory server within minutes. Windows ACL support on DS1812+ provides much finer-grained access control and efficient privilege settings, allowing IT staffs to set up privileges to files and folders on DS1812+ through their familiar Windows user interface. Internet file access is simplified with the included encrypted FTP server and the web-based file explorer, Synology File Station. HTTPS, the built-in firewall, and IP auto-block support ensure file sharing over the Internet is protected at a high security level.A wealth of additional features allows the Synology DS1812+ to replace several pieces of network hardware including Synology Web Station with support for PHP/MySQL, Synology Surveillance Station, built-in mail server and USB printer sharing capability.
Energy Efficient DesignSynology DiskStation are designed and developed with energy efficiency in mind. Compared with the average PC counterparts, Synology DS1812+ consumes only 50.6 watts in operation. The support of wake on LAN, scheduled power on/off and hard drive hibernation can further reduce power consumption and operation cost.
Pros: I've built many file servers, but this is my first "storage appliance." The web-based interface is absolutely fantastic (and I'm a professional web developer). This thing is so easy to set up, you don't even need to be a technical person. I thought the system locked up when I connected four USB hard drives directly to the Synology unit. Turns out I had just unplugged the network cable.
Cons: You are paying for the software and support. The price point is a little high for the hardware that you get.
Overall Review: Set up with three 3TB WD RED hard drives. It is important to use drives designed for a NAS system, regardless of any stories you hear about other drives working "just fine." The reason is that hard drive manufacturers like Western Digital intentionally disable features that allow proper error recovery in a RAID array. The unit itself is a headless PC with a Linux-based operating system that uses software RAID. No, software RAID is not necessarily slower than hardware RAID.