Synology Disk Station 101g+ review

Synology isn't a well-known brand even to most PC users, but that hasn't stopped the Disk Station from winning this Labs. It might be more expensive than others, especially considering the 160GB capacity, but it offers everything you could want from a NAS appliance.

For a start, it isn't a noisy device (27.5dBA when idle) and the upright form factor means the footprint is minimal too. However, the real attractions are the functions on offer. Not only will the Disk Station sit on your network serving files to Windows and Mac clients, it can also be your web server, FTP server, print server and photo server.

Plus, you can connect an additional USB disk to one of the rear USB ports and use it either as extra storage or to back up the contents of the Disk Station at intervals chosen by you. There's also a handy front USB port for plugging in a USB flash drive, digital camera or single card reader - push the Copy button and the contents are copied onto the hard disk inside.

As a file server, the Disk Station allows you to create up to 128 individual user accounts, 64 groups and up to 100 shares. Public, web and photo shares are already created, and the well-designed setup application (which runs from CD) finds the Disk Station, steps you through the initial setup and asks you whether you want to mount each share as a network drive in Windows.

The web browser is also well designed and lets you easily manage the device over a network. You can choose options such as when the disk spins down after inactivity and whether emails are sent upon events such as the disk becoming full or any errors.

A unique feature is the eSATA port on the rear, which lets you add storage via an external Serial ATA disk. Next to this is a Gigabit Ethernet connection, but we found transfer rates were similar to the 10/100 devices on test. Write speed averaged 6.3MB/sec, while read speed was quicker at 8.7MB/sec.

If we have one gripe with the Disk Station, it's the one-year warranty - most other manufacturers offer double this. And it's true that we'd have preferred an internal PSU - like the Buffalo's - but this is a common complaint this month. Ultimately, the Disk Station's features and performance make it well worth the price and, if its capacity isn't enough, you can opt for the better-value 250GB version for £272 or even 400GB for £426.