Pros: Using version 2.3 of the firmware (browser-based) and it is very easy to use. Very fast up/down transfer speeds on my home wired/wireless LAN using a WRT320N Linksys router. Included client backup software works well. The 80cm fans are almost noiseless (this sits on my desk) and, depending on your disk selection, is a very quiet unit (the deathstars I use can be heard, but are not intrusive).

Cons: Currently, iTunes server is broken with iTunes 10 (worked well with iTunes 9) Synology website says this will be fixed soon as a patch to the current 2.3 version of the firmware and in the initial 3.0 version release. Documentation is limited, but there are tutorials, a dedicated wiki page, as well as a robust user forum. Apple timemachine works well, but if any Win7 clients are of the Home Premium flavor, you have to install the client backup program to run on each of those machines, as the backup program in the consumer version of Win7 will not recognize network locations by design (this will hold true as well for Vista machines). You have to choose to run on startup (should be by default) and you can't disable an anoying popup selection window (but at least it closes automatically after 20 seconds).

Overall Review: Populated with 4 x HITACHI Deskstar (7K2000 HDS722020ALA330) in a RAID5 configuration, which took a while to format (didn't look at the log, but it was done when I woke up). I bought this primarily to backup a half dozen home computers (1 x apple, 5 x Win7) containing huge music and picture collections. My previous solution was an internal RAID5 array on a tower, but this required a level of dedication the female family members of the household lacked (none have Win7 Professional installed on their laptops).

Pros: Stable and reliable Very Quiet Fast streaming

Cons: none

Overall Review: My previous NAS solution was a Windows Home Server box which I had a very poor experience with. I did a ton of research on NAS boxes, Q-NAP, Drobo, Buffalo and all the reviews and recommendations kept leading me back to Synology. I purchased this box along with 4 HITACHI Deskstar 7K2000 2TB, and they work flawlessly together. I use this box to store my photo collection which I access over the network with Lightroom, movies stream without a hitch, copying files to the NAS is really fast over cat6 gigabit One thing I would suggest is that you buy the largest hard drives you can afford. With 4 x 2TB hard drives I got 5.36 TB using the synology hybrid raid. I highly recommend this device.

Pros: Use: safely store my music and movies libraries. Meets this need perfectly and more. I care more about power consumption than raw speed since it is a home always on NAS, however, the speed is very quick compared to other NAS storage devices I have purchased before. Also, it is quite nice not to have to mess with remembering to back things up after adding movies or songs. I looked long and hard before picking this solution and I am very happy with it.

Cons: None as of yet but I will post if I find something in the future.

Overall Review: FYI, I used WD30EZRSDTL 3TB disks. I did not set any advanced pin settings; just used the disks as they came. When selecting remember you will have a % loss for format a % loss for raid (I used raid 5). That % loss can add up; especially with very large disks. For example, I have 4 disks @ 3TB = 12TB. After formatting that was 11 and change. After raid I was left with 8.1TB. Also, remember that raiding that volume of size takes awhile. I kicked off the building of the volume @ 6pm one evening and it was complete when I got home @ 6pm the next evening. I have heard this taking up to 40 hrs but mine took less than 24. I thought I would mention it since I thought something was wrong after around 10hrs it went to 200% then flipped to 30% agian. Just give it time and it will complete.

Pros: Very easy to set up and use, had hard drives installed and running in about an hour. Software is great, unit is quiet, compatible with 3 TB drives, will hold up to 4 x 3TB drive for total of 12TB. It is rated as one of the fastest 4 four drive units on the market. Has some other great features like the Surveillance station to control cameras, software to set up a FTP site (File Transfer Protocol) so a client, vendor or employee can download large file eliminating the need to break down files into pieces and email. Then there are the mobile applications to access files, photos and surveillance cameras. This is the system for the first time user or a seasoned pro.

Cons: No cons found to date, system does everything I need it to do.

Overall Review: I spent countless hours researching and kept being pointed back to this unit. DS411+. This was our first attempt at a to network together four office computers so that we could share files, I have little computer skills and was able to set this up and connect all four computers in an afternoon. If your in charge of picking out a system for your office this one will make you look like a pro. I purchased 5 Western Digital drives (one for a spare).

Pros: Does pretty much everything Synology advertises. It is very easy to use and most importantly for me, fast. I bought the small business unit for home use as I wanted the extra horsepower and it delivers.

Cons: Only 1 minor con I have found so far is the "Download Sation" is slow. If this is your main driver for getting this unit then you need to re-consider. Other then that I have found no issues.

Overall Review: I bought this unit to replace a competetors unit. There is simply no comparision. I definitely would recommend any of the Synology units. The reason I say that is they all run the same software. You just need to pick your unit based on the speed and capacity you require, unless you are vein enough to be more worried about the color.

Pros: Very fast and software that comes with the unit makes it much easier for none Network savy people to manage and is built to manage almost any type of file you could have. I rarely do reviews but I can say if you are looking for a NAS for your small business or home you would not regret this unit.

Cons: Only real con I see is the disks are not hot swapable if you need this feature.

Overall Review: Transfers are very fast (>100mb/sec) over Gb network. Never seems to get loaded down with multiple users.

Pros: 1. Web interface looks like a Windows Remote Desktop connection, not just a web page with settings. The UI is very responsive, easily accessible over Internet, clean, good-looking and the context-based help system is actually very useful and to the point even though it's not too technical. 2. File transfers are fast (100 MB/s either direction) 3. Very easy to set up DDNS for easy access over the Internet. 4. Lots of useful features I didn't expect, like a server to share photos and videos with friends and family over the Internet (flexible account permissions and very easy to set up) where users can view your photos and stream videos straight from your NAS and download the originals (if you permit), well-working media streaming server, web server, email server, automatic file syncing/backup, etc. 5. Synology Hybrid RAID format: Can be used with 1-4 hard drives and allows you to mix hard drive sizes and still use all storage space. Allows one drive to fail if you have 2+ dri

Cons: Expensive. Doesn't support hot-swap.

Overall Review: I use the latest 3.0 firmware and have three 1 TB Caviar Black SATA2 hard drives in it. I access the NAS locally from 3 computers (Windows 7 / Vista), Xbox 360, PS3, SageTV.

Pros: software has faster transfer rate than windows or other software (DSM); e-sata capabilities, decent transfer speeds @ RAID 5 (25 mb/s esata, 15 mb/s usb, and ~ 10 mb/s wireless N-300); this unit is choice - if you have the means, i highly recommend picking one up

Cons: doesn't serve breakfast taco's, even though its the one that says "bad motha f*&^er" on the side

Overall Review: DON'T USE THE "power saver" feature, or whatever it is called - i got an email (from the NAS box) at work stating a disk went down - then another, and by the time i got home ALL disks were down - dumped some data (which i already had backed up fortunately), but still takes about 6 - 12 hrs to rebuild a 4 disk array for RAID 5, single volume