Conclusions and Other Thoughts
If I had unlimited time and resources, I could publish a book on the DS210+, or most any other NAS device to fully show-off a particular model and associated software set. About all I do for a review is document the features, and make use of the machine for a week or so to see how it works in my little home environment.
So, what do I think about the DS210+?
- It is almost dead silent, which is always a good feature to have.
- For what the DS210+ is designed, it works quite well.
- If you need additional storage, you have three USB ports and an eSATA port.
- It has the same software feature set as it’s little brother DS210j. Most Linux NAS boxes that I have had the opportunity to work on have almost always had an excellent rich software feature set for the target audience. When the same feature set is used across the entire product line, that is a nice bonus for users of the consumer and SOHO versions.
- As a mini-comparison to Windows, Linux is different in some respects, and similar in other ways. Windows has a tendency to hold your hand more than Linux, while there are some aspects of Linux that outshines Windows (PHP and MySQL).
An NAS box is there to make use of, not be used as a normal workstation. In that respect, it is a very capable machine. While possibly not a highly sought feature by an large or small business, I did play with the media capabilities and I found the DS210+ quite capable, as long as I did not use my powerline adapter. It can deliver the goods in much the same way as a Windows Home Server.
As I indicated earlier: driver-wise, I was OK with what I found. It does not have the wide driver coverage that Windows has, but I doubt many would find that a liability.
The one question that I have not answered to this point is: what does this machine have that would justify a premium price over the DS210j? A short list is:
- faster CPU
- 64-bit hardware
- more memory
- eSATA port
- faster/better NIC
all of which would be a plus for a multi-user business environment. Perhaps a consumer and/or SOHO user might not justify the additional cost of the DS210+ over a DS210j, but an IT manager for a corporate environment just might.
If you are looking for an advanced NAS device for a small or large business (or even a SOHO!) that includes a wealth of software capabilities, and higher performance that it’s little bother (the DS210j), you just might want to take a good look at the DS210+. For around $400 (without drives), or a bit over $600 with 2TB of hard drives, we are looking at a machine with around the same overall cost as an HP MSS. And it you need more space, you could always take a look at some of Synology’s larger capacity machines, the DS1010+, for example.
