Synology RackStation RS3411xs Review (10 Bay NAS)

1. Introduction2. Synology RackStation RS3411xs3. The DiskManager Operating System4. Testing Methodology and Performance5. Acoustics, Temperatures and Power Drain6. Closing Thoughts7. View All Pages

The RS3411xs arrives in a backbreaking, gargantuan box which takes some effort to move around.

Inside the product is protected from all angles with heavy duty cardboard and Styrofoam pieces.

The bundle contains literature on the product, a quick install guide, mounting screws for 10 drives, a region specific power cable and a software disc which contains the product firmware.

The product is built to the highest standards and weighs almost 13kg (12.77kg). The complete outer shell is crafted from heavy duty, thick metal. Exactly what the corporate and business oriented audience demand. It measures 88mm x 445mm x 570mm (H x W x D).

There are no less than 10 drive bays on the front of the chassis. A 3×3 series of rows, and one single bay under the main LED readout section at the right. There is also a power and beep on/off button here.

The rear of the unit is home to a power supply with power on/off button and power connector. To the right are several LAN ports, USB 2.0 connectors and expansion bay connectors. There is a reset button between these for emergency situations.

Synology earn bonus points for the chassis design. It takes only two screws to completely remove the top section of the chassis, ideal for IT professionals who need regular access to the internal hardware. There are strong metal support beams across the center for added resistance and durability.

The hardware inside is based around a dual core Intel processor, clocked to 3.1ghz., which is actively cooled.

Synology equip the RS3411XS with 2GB of ECC memory. There are four slots which can accept 2GB each, for a total of 8GB. By opting for the maximum configuration you would need to ditch the 1GB modules supplied, aiming for a 2GBx4 specification instead. Synology use Apacer sticks rated at PC3-10600 CL9.

Synology use a custom Seasonic 500W 80 Plus Bronze Certified power supply, identical to the unit in the DS3611XS. This is a quality supply and it is reassuring to see no corners have been cut during the R&D phase.

Along the front, between the motherboard and hard drive bays, are four quality 80mm YSTECH fans. These form the basis of the airflow system between drives and system hardware on either side.

Between the cooling system and the hard drives is the daughterboard which takes power from the 500W Seasonic supply and feeds the data directly to the motherboard behind. It is an exceptionally efficient layout and there is plenty of space inside to keep the component sections isolated.

More bonus points for Synology. No shoddy plastic trays anymore. 10 Metal bays with an isolated felt coating to protect the sensitive drive circuitry underneath. Each drive has to be bolted into the bay for connection inside the RS3411xs NAS. The NAS system can accept 10 x 3 TB drives, for a total of 30TB of storage.

Part of the front facing daughtercard with 9 sets of data and power connectors for direct connection to the hard drives.

A stash of 12 hard drives from Samsung. We only need 10 of them for this review.

Populating the RS3411xs requires a little bit of work with a screwdriver, but 10 minutes later we are ready to test.

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