I've currently had my DS213+ Diskstation for about 10 months now and let me tell you, it's one of the greatest purchases I've EVER made! Before this I didn't really know too much about them. None of my "techy" friends had them. I had tons of music and movie media stored on my PC, but never thought of getting a NAS (Network Attached Stoage). One day at work my coworker was in the process of ordering one and started telling me about Synology (we always enjoy talking about electronic gadgets and toys, he's pretty into it for an older guy). I was instantly hooked and determined to get one for myself. After convincing myself it was a life or death situation to have one of these I pulled the trigger and ordered it.
The two-bay diskstation I purchased can be seen here. This thing is basically it's own computer that you can access from anywhere in the world. And sure, there are lot's of NAS's out there, but what really sets Synology apart from everyone else is their software package that comes with it. It's absolutely incredible and loaded with features. I will go through some of the things I use it for on a daily basis.
When you log into your DiskStation Manager (DSM) from your web browser you will be greeted with your DSM Desktop. You can customize the desktop anyway you would like it, basically like your PC. On the right you can have different widgets that give you information on how your system is running, who's logged into the system, system logs and several other options. I've placed on my desktop the apps that I use the most (there are many other app available along with 3rd party apps).
My main use of the DiskStation is downloading torrents. It has it's own torrent application similar to μTorrent, or BitTorrent, but my favorite feature of this app is that is searches from all of your favorite torrent sites. No more googling around to different sites trying to find the torrent that you want. It's all right there. If your on the run or out of town you can log into the Download Station phone app and get the torrent started so it's ready when you get home. Once a video finishes downloading I move it to one of the DLNA folders and now I can stream it from anywhere. Even from my phone or tablet using the Video Station app!
The other reason for getting this NAS was for their Surveillance Station. I've always wanted to have a camera system for my house and they've made it easy to do so. With their software you can use tons of different brand cameras and monitor them on one system. They have a compatibility chart so you know if the camera will work before you buy it. You can do virtually anything you would be able to do on a standalone monitoring system. Record 24/7, record when motion is detected, set a patrol path for PTZ capable cameras, get email/text alerts when motion is detected, analyse synced video between the cameras, the features are endless. Oh! And I forgot to mention their Surveillance Station phone app that you can control and monitor everything from.
Everything I just talked about barely scratches the surface of what the Synology Diskstation is capable of. It's a daily part of my life and I don't see why anyone wouldn't want to have one of these toys. I will probably do some more posts on Synology in the future. If you have any questions let me know and I will try to help you out.
No comments:
Post a Comment