Question 1

Does it include raid Technology?  What protects the data if I disk crashes

Accepted Answer

Yes, it does.  It supports RAID versions 0, 1, 5, 6, and 10.  There's also the Synology Hybrid Raid (SHR) versions that are similar to different RAID versions but allow for a little faster speed.  You have to pick which RAID/SHR version you want to use based on the number and the size of the disks you use.  I have (3) 2TB drives in mine and am using SHR as my RAID type.  That allows for -1- disk failure while allowing the other two disks to maintain the data integrity for all three.  If I added an additional 2TB drive, I would 6TB available for use with 2TB worth of protection.  If I switched to SHR-2, that would allow for -2- disks' worth of protection, so I would end up with 4TB available and 4TB of protection.

I'd recommend going to Synology's site and under "Support" clicking "RAID Calculator."  This is an interactive site that allows you to put in different size drives and you can see exactly what you can expect from any of the RAID configurations available.   Remember when using a RAID-style backup, your smallest drive is your biggest problem when it comes to protection.  Use the calculator to see how different sized drives will affect your system.

I went from WHS2011 to this and haven't looked back.  There IS a learning curve of where things are and how they operate, but it's all desktop based and works very well.

Question 2

ARE THE DRIVES HOTSWAPABLE?

Accepted Answer

I have only swapped out 2 2tb drives for 2 4Tb drives. I shut down the unit to do that as they were a matched set being replaced.  I did it one at a time and let the system rebuild in between drive changes.  I was going from 2 4Tb and 2 2Tb to 4 4Tb system.  I don't know if you can swap the drives while it is running.  I probably wouldn't try.

Question 3

What are max disk size that can be used? 4TB, 6TB etc.

Accepted Answer

According to DS416j specification from Synology site:

Maximum Internal Raw Capacity 32 TB (8 TB HDD x 4) (Capacity may vary by RAID types).

Question 4

One reviewer said that the USB 3.0 port is NOT for connectivity to a PC.  That connectivity to the drive was network only.  Can someone confirm this?  I would love to have it directly attached to my media server via the FAST USB 3.0 port, but still be able to connect to it via the Gig port as well.

Accepted Answer

The USB port is only for attachment of peripherals to the NAS (hard drive, USB drive, printer, UPS, etc..)  No PC connectivity through the USB port.

Question 5

Can you restore a PC that's been backed up on this? Meaning, if I lose all hope of getting a connected PC to work (e.g. hdd failure) can a backup on this device completely restore the PC (OS and all)? I have an HP X310 series data vault running Windows Home Server which is capable of this but I'm looking to replace it. Thanks!

Accepted Answer

I don't see why not, I guess it would depend on the SW you used to back up your computer. If you are asking if Synology makes SW that does that, I have not seen it in the standard apps.

Question 6

hi, can I install plex and hdhomerun dvr?

Accepted Answer

I had installed plex on mine. It wasn't directly available and I had to have someone create a package for me on the plex forums, but it worked flawlessly.

Question 7

Can you use SSDs with this?

Accepted Answer

Yes

Question 8

Can this be used as a SAN?

Accepted Answer

Although it "can"   ( Support Via NFS and ISCSI) it's not recommended by Synology.  With Only 1 NIC, it's your single point of failure and also throughput can suffer.   I'd recommend the DS416 instead.

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