The Synology RackStation RS212 is a well designed NAS server system, built from high quality metal materials with replaceable internal components, ideal for a small business environment.
The use of nippy 1.6ghz processor and 256MB of DDR3 memory means that the DiskManager Operating System is able to respond quickly to commands and can handle the multi tasking environment with a high level of responsiveness. I wasn't twiddling my fingers while a task was waiting to complete. This really is a testament to the highly optimised and low demand software overhead … which is one of the finest NAS oriented packages on the market today.
The internal design earns the RS212 bonus points, as we really like the layout, and easily removable, replaceable motherboard. The use of three tiny 40mm may raise an eyebrow, but the noise levels are well balanced for such a slim line design, only becoming audible when internal temperatures cause the triple fan configuration to speed up. Tolerances for an office environment are higher than for a home environment, so we see no need to raise a concern here.
Power consumption is efficient and overall bandwidth is ideal for the target audience … that being a small office environment for networked file sharing and backups.
The price of this product is around the £400 inc vat mark in the United Kingdom as we head to publication. At this price the RS212 is a very good investment and one of the better budget oriented business NAS systems we have tested in the last year. Bear in mind that if you need more performance, then Synology offer more expensive business solutions.
Pros:
- Great price.
- Quality materials used.
- Good cooling system.
- Fast performance.
Cons:
- Not fast enough for a more demanding business environment.
- Small fans.
- No key locking system for the hard drives.
Kitguru says: Yet another good product from Synology.
This is too slow, are you going to review the 812? I want a review of that please.
We have this in our office and it has worked well now for a week, too early to report on the life span, but most of these last many years and are designed to deal with humidity and high temperatures, even blocked fans!
nice looking NAS, not ideal for my new purchase however, due to the shape. hope to see more consumer models on Kitguru soon