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To make life easier for consumers Synology uses their DiskStation Manager to manage the NAS through a browser.
We connected the DS1513+ and accessed it through http://find.synology.com/. Zardon recently took a closer look at the most commonly used features of the DiskStation Manager and not much has changed since. The DS1513+ does have a slightly different interface in some areas.
The initial set-up can take some time and Synology kindly advises users to grab a cup of tea while the NAS does all the hard work. We were up and running after approximately 15 minutes.
Upon entering the DiskStation Manager the Quick Start Wizard is the fastest way to quickly configure a volume, create a shared folder and apply general settings such as firewall rules and ports.
Along the right side of the screen we can see the System Health Monitor and Resource Monitor as well as a quick view of the logs. These widgets can be minimised, removed entirely and configured to display other information such as disk usage and more detailed network statistics.
We used the Storage Manager utility to confirm that our drive functioned correctly. The Parity Consistency Check is time consuming but luckily the system can be used while the check is performed.
After completing the Parity Consistency Check we set up a shared folder called Test Files. Setting up folders is a quick and easy process. Synology has done a great job simplifying the interface and available options to help newcomers come to terms with the system.
Changing folder permissions is just as easy and can be done with a couple of clicks for individual users and groups.
The Package Center is still growing with plenty of applications available to simplify network management and flexibility.
Users who skipped the Quick Start Wizard can still make use of the EZ-Internet Wizard to quickly configure the system's network settings.
Finally, the resource monitor offers detailed insight into bandwidth usage, system load, disk usage and more. The clean interface will help new users easily identify any issues that might arise within their networks.
