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PC Magazine in Greece reviewed Synology Disk Station DS-106e.

DROP THEM ON THE NETWORK PUT YOUR DISK ON A CASE AND CONVERT IT INTO A "SMART" NETWORK STORAGE

Nowadays, we need more and more space for the storage of large data capacity (video, photo's, sound files etc). A typical average user reserves a lot of GB's in his hard disk for MP3s and personal videos. One of the common solutions to this, is the usage of extra hard disks if of course your PC have enough space for those, free disk controller ports, and a very powerful power supply in order to power up all of those disks.

Another solution is the usage of external hard disks which offers you the extra space that you need, without you having to access the internal of your PC.

Another more interesting solution, with many extra capabilities, if you have a network in your home, is the NAS devices which can be your extra network store. In this category belongs the Synology Disk Station DS-106e, an external case which you can use to convert your disk into an external network store device.

Furthermore, the Disk Station DS-106e can function as an automated network backup device for all the PC's of your network, as a download manager (even with your PC shut of), and as a Web Server since it supports PHP+MySQL. Let's see how you can use it.

RAM Magazine from Greece reported Synology Disk Station DS-106e: One (Disk) for All

This suggestion by Synology, belongs in the NAS category which accepts one internal SATA disk. The Disk Station distinguishes immediately from it's qualitative plastic components and from the completeness of it's available connections.

More specificaly, in the back there are 2 USB 2.0 ports and 1 eSATA for connecting external disks, while the network connection is Gigabit. In the front, there is one more USB port.

The strong point of the DS-106e is for sure it's capabilities, and the fastest data transfer that provides. The access to the rich configuration settings and services, is done of course by Web environment.

The first installation is done very easily, while we have to mention that when we connected it in a Windows Vista PC through ethernet connection, it appeared as a network disk without any configuration!

It offers a Web server (PHP/MySQL), Photo server, Multimedia server (UPnP AV), FTP server, and BitTorent client for file download without a pc. Without the need of a pc are also done, the data backup for all the network members and the print outs if the Synology machine is configured as a print server. As we mention the backup capability, we have to mention also the capability of the immediate data transfer from a USB stick in a folder in the internal disk. As a NAS that respects itself, it can manage external USB and SATA disks without disk capacity limitation, but for the time being it can accept internal disk of maximum 500GB.

It allows the creation of 128 user accounts with fully configurable access rights to the disk contents, and it can serve up to 32 concurrent connections.

Finally we have to mention the usefull capability of the disk sleep mode in case of idleness, in order to have less power consumption and lower levels of noise.

With few words, the Synology DS-106e is the elit of 1 bay NAS devices, since it offers rich technical characteristics, high performance, and a lot of usefull services in a network.

One weakness is that it cannot manage NTFS external disks.

Synology Cube Station CS-406 received Editor's Choice award (scored 9 out of 10) from MaXitmag.com in United Kingdom.

"The Synology Cube Station is a remarkable device offering so many features in such a small package. Terabyte server, multimedia server, web developer, picture gallery, file downloader, backup solution - it really is the king of NAS appliances. With RAID 0, 1 and 5 and support for up to four 500GB hard drives, it packs a real punch for Data storage and security. The system is a joy to use and might even show Apple a thing or two about user friendliness. With Synology's handy walk through wizards and software, even an inexperienced network user will be up and sharing files, backing up data, creating picture galleries and downloading files in a matter of minutes. The unit looks smart too, with clean lines and bags of style. Everything works from the front, so no fiddling round the back with on/off buttons. The CS-406 is controlled via a brilliant admin console that is accessed from any web browser installed on your computer. We loved the ability to set Bit Torrents downloading without the need for a PC and the Photo Station for creating picture galleries. These two features are worth the admission price alone!

It's worth mentioning that Synology constantly strive to improve their products through updates and customer feedback. Firmware upgrades with new features are released regularly through their excellent website. There's even a vibrant community forum for users to share tips and tweaks. When you are spending this amount of money, it's important to know there is a company ready to support consumers with excellent customer service. Synology earn a big thumb up in this department.

So there we have it. The Cube Station CS-406 deserves super hero status as one of the most accomplished products in its class. Ideal for home and business networks. In fact anywhere data storage and sharing is required. If you're in the market for a great NAS appliance, the Cube Station should be you're number one choice."

Finansavisen, a finance newspaper in Norway, reviewed Synology Disk Station DS-106e, and reported it in December.

More than a Disk The Taiwan based company Synology has developed a device that has more in common with a server than a network disk. By Roland Berg Lie

Synology has gained a solid position in the network disk market. The company sells hardware without disk drives, but many distributors and resellers install hard drives so they are ready for usage.

But the Synology storage devices are fare more than just a disk hooked on to the network. The unit comes loaded with functionality, and more keeps being added. Synology has a great track record when it comes to firmware upgrades for their devices, even the older ones.

The newest Synology models have three USB ports and support for external SATA (eSATA). All external hard drives will automatically be added as available capacity in the Synology device.

In addition to backup functionality, the Synology device also assumes the role as a print-, web-, photo-, music- and video-server. In other words, the Synology device will make all digital content available throughout the network. Media players like iTunes, Photo applications like Photo Station and media devices like Pinnacle ShowCenter will automatically detect the digital content stored on the Synology device. This is as easy as it gets.

In addition the device can function as an FTP server. This means that the files stored on the Synology device can be accessed from the Internet for those with the appropriate access. In the same way, the device can give general read access to web pages stored on the device.

Downloads

Perhaps best of all is the solution called Download Redirector. For all those who have downloaded large files, it is annoying that the PC has to handle this task. Often the PC has to remain on the whole night in able to download files. In the daytime, these kinds of task consume PC-resources making it sluggish.

Download Redirector is a solution that handles downloads. All the Synology Device needs is a link to the files location and in some cases a user name and password. The solution supports FTP-, web- and BitTorrent downloads. At the moment, the solution can only be administered by users located in the local network, but in a couple of months Synology claims a solution will be in place allowing Download redirector to be accessed by Internet users.

Synology Cube Station CS-406是針對家庭、個人工作室與中小企業辦公室的桌上型NAS，可提供1.5TB以上的儲存容量），並能支援RAID 0/1/5，適合沒有獨立機房的中小企業辦公室使用。

CS-406是群暉科技的4Bay桌上型NAS，可安裝4部3.5吋SATA硬碟，提供RAID 0/1/5等三種RAID層級。產品具1個GbE乙太網路埠與2個USB 2.0埠，支援CIFS、Apple Talk與FTP等網路傳輸協定，可用於Windows或Apple Mac OS 9/OS X環境。

體積小巧、功能齊全

"就桌上型NAS這個領域來說，CS-406的功能頗為完整，用戶可方便的將CS-406設定為PHP+MySQL 網頁伺服器、以SSL加密連線存取的FTP伺服器、透過USB埠轉接分享印表機資源的印表機伺服器，以及最基本的檔案伺服器功能。 CS-406另外還有備份功能，透過Synology Data Replicator II工具程式，可將個人電腦上的資料自動備份到CS-406上；或是使用網路備份，可將CS-406的資料備份到另一臺Synology伺服器上。系統的安裝與各項功能的設定十分簡便，我們只花了不到5分鐘的時間，就完成了系統的硬體安裝，並登入系統設定硬碟空間使用帳號與權限，其他功能只要透過滑鼠勾選就能完成。"

支援Active Directory Services

"對微軟Windows ADS（Active Directory Services）的支援是CS-406的一個特點，只需輸入對應網域名稱以及網域管理員帳號/密碼，當CS-406加入指定網域後便會自動更新權限組態，系統管理者只需將分享資料夾設定給對應的使用者或群組。"

豐富的檔案下載與娛樂支援功能

"除了基本的NAS功能外，CS-406還可在不開啟電腦的情況下，透過內附的Synology Download Redirector工具程式，讓CS-406自動的從BT、FTP或HTTP持續下載檔案"

"另外CS-406的影音功能支援也頗為豐富，具有網路照片分享功能，還可設定瀏覽照片的帳號與瀏覽權限。並能支援 DMA數位媒體播放器，可讓使用者透過區域網路讀取並撥放CS-406內的影音檔。"

Synology Disk Station DS-106e received Editor's Choice award (scored 4.5 out of 5) from winmag, The Netherlands.

Synology is still relatively unknown within the computer industry. Truly unfair according our editors after testing the Synology Disk Station DS-106e.

This all-in-one product had a friendly price-tag because it's delivered without a hard disk. When you choose for a 300 GB-Disk the price increases rapidly: 300 Euro. For an extra 100 Euro you'll get the 500 GB version. Despite of these higher prices you'll get the disposition of a complete miniature server.

Websites, supported by MySQL and PHP, are easy to install and the built in bittorent client is especially for children an interesting outcome.

Naturally, the Disk Station DS-106e includes the possibilities to set up a FTP-server and by the built in web server it's possible to place web applications for adding more functionality into your website.

Disk Station DS-106e has expanded opportunities for installing rights on shared file maps and if desired: to make them invisible for other users. Besides the customary connections for extra USB-disks, Disk Station DS-106e has an eSATA-connection to connect hard disks directly. In theory that results in less time loss. Furthermore the Disk Station DS-106e is the only NAS with a built in ventilator.

Disk Station DS-106e is the fastest NAS in our test, with LaCie as a good runner up. The supplied software is complete and their website continuous provides you with the newest versions.

Synology Disk Station DS-106e scored 4 out of 5 in the review of PC Magazine from Greece.

"In today's digital days, the requirement for storing big volume of data keeps growing. The solution to this problem is given, mainly in networks, by NAS devices. One of these NAS devices is the Synology DS-106e. But the manufacturer does not call it simply DS-106e but Disk Station, since we are talking about a station, which except from the data storage, it can provide a collection of functions such as the downloading with the embedded download manager. This means that you can shut down your pc, and the download continues. Furthermore, the Disk Station DS-106e operates as a backup device for selected pc and directories. In it's innovative capabilities, is included the support for PHP+MySQL, which allows you to build your own web site, something which, in combination with a DSL static gives you the ability to host your own web site. Several, will find useful the capability of sharing and organizing digital photo's which provides the DS-106e. Specifically, you can share your photos in your network, or via Internet, and furthermore you can set which user can see what."

中時電子報：使用網路硬碟（NAS）下載BT 檔案更方便

"Synology 產品在英國專業電腦雜誌MacUser 2006年評比中，以Disk Station DS-106e機種拔得頭籌。成熟的產品功能，以及優異的效能表現，讓Synology 在眾多國際同型產品製造大廠中脫穎而出。"

"由台灣廠商群暉科技所推出一款型號為DS-106的網路硬碟(NAS)，它是專為SOHO族設計的NAS。DS- 106主要特色，除了儲存、備份之外，離線抓檔也是它的主打項目之一，使用時它能讓自行抓取BT以及放置於HTTP、FTP等路徑的檔案；它同一時間內只會開放其中十個抓檔任務進行下載，而多出來的排程則會先行暫停，直到前面的檔案完成之後，才會陸續開放。"

"Synology 產品涵蓋IDE、SATA硬碟介面，以及單顆、四顆硬碟等多種機種。企業等級的Windows網域以及RAID儲存空間管理技術也都在支援清單裡，方便使用者挑選適合需求的機型。在歐州已經造成熱賣的Synology新世代網路伺服器，在2006年下半年已正式登台。"

Synology Disk Station DS-106e received "Gold Award" from Presence PC, Frace.

"Synology DS-106e is without question a very good NAS. Its basic functions are very well thought and rather complete. A good additional point is of course the clearness of the assistance. We thus have here an elegant, powerful and effective NAS at a correct price. Moreover the follow-up of Synology is exemplary (regular updates with their batches of innovations each time). There is thus no reason to be deprived, if you intended to offer a NAS to you, you will not be disappointed by this model."

Synology Cube Station CS-406 received "Recommended Award" from TrustedReviews.com, UK.

Synology Cube Station CS-406 received Editor's Choice award and Best Buy award from MPC Club.

"Synology must have thought "what they could do extra" to deliver more at an even cheaper price, resulting in the Synology NAS CS-406. A truly devastating price/feature balance is the result with above all mentioned features, support for Photo Station (Web Server for your photos stored on the device), Download Station for Torrent and FTP/HTTP files without the need of having your PC online all the time and off course, especially for us who like to develop, PHP and MySQL support!"

Synology Cube Station CS-406 receives 4 stars out of 5 from PC Magazine, Singapore.

Synology Disk Station DS-106e receives LABS WINNER award (5 mice out of 5) from MacUser Magazine, United Kingdom.

L'acheteur Micro in Frence reviewed Synology Cube Station CS-406 in the November issue.

"CS-406 features everything which has made Synology product line successful. In addition, it has great performance and a lot of never-seen-before functions, such as BitTorrent downloads, PHP+MySQL web server..."

Synology Disk Station DS-106 received Best Buy award from MPC Club.

"The Disk Station is referred to as a 6in1 device. I reserve the right to say it is more in some ways and less in others... FTP, Web, Dev (MySQL and PHP), Media Server, Backup, Photo Station and more... No matter of the limitations that can be improved, it is offering a lot of functions one expects if not more..."

"I don't find the extra edge everywhere. The Disk Station will please you if you can put it to good use for the different features it has on board compared to other devices which is the main advantage against the DS-106 "not" being that appealing. From the moment I unpacked the unit until now, where I'm writing the end conclusion to this review, I kept the feeling the unit is a little too big and might have been smaller. Like I said, a Swiss Knife, but we do wish some more tools or options integrated so we have better control over it. Great device, OK price and considering the Disk Station does exactly do what the full NAS CS-406 can do, it's a great way of getting it all if you don't have the budget or need for the CS-406."

Synology Cube Station CS-406e scored 8 in 10 in the review of PCGuia Magazine from Portugal.

French Magazine Divx & Mpeg4 reported Synology Cube Station CS-406e and Disk Station DS-106e top servers.

Synology CS-406e and DS-106e: Top Servers on this Range of Products

"The UPnP server is really good at serving video content. With a Quartek WHD500-V9 player, we've been able to playback all kinds of movies (Divx, Xvid, WMV, Mpeg2...), in both standard and high definition, and with external subtitles (srt, sub and ssa) ! And there is more for the film enthusiast: the "Download service" allows you to download movies directly from the Internet, with your computer turned off. Supported protocols are HTTP, FTP and, of course, Bittorrent. A computer is just needed to set up the downloads with a specific - and easy to use - application, called Download Redirector."

Conclusion: DS-106e and CS-406e are the easiest among the greatest NAS I've ever reviewed.

Synology Rack Station RS-406 received "Editor's Choice" awards from PCShopper Magazine, Taiwan.

RAM Magazine in Greece reported Synology Disk Station DS-106e is a distinguished product that connects everything in the network.

Synology DS-106e: Everything in the Network

"It is a NAS, that can accept 1 internal SATA disk. It connects to the network via a Gigabit LAN card, and it can accept additional external disks via the USB and eSATA ports. Except of the completive file server, DS-106e offers automatic backup procedures for every member of the network, it allows the creation of a Web server with PHP/MySQL support, while it could not be missing the embedded media server which follows the UPnP standard. This means that it has the ability to share music, pictures and video to any Media Player of the network or to any application that is compatible with the UPnP standard. For further details you can call at INFOTECH 210 4521600, or visit www.synology.com."

Conclusion: DS-106e: Devices that We Distinguished

NetAdmin Magazine in Taiwan reported Synology Cube Station CS-406 as a multi-functional economy NAS.

Synology CS-406: Speedy, Flexible RAID5 NAS

"I really like the CS-406. It is a well-designed product that has been through enough revisions so that its firmware is solid and fast.

The CS-406 is certainly easier to use than one of my home-built NASes. It is smaller, quieter, saves significantly on power (Synology says the CS-406 costs $3 a month to run while it is in stand-by mode), and it can be installed on a bookshelf with books on both sides!"

"But unlike a lot of the appliance NASes, the CS-406 has respectable speed. Synology is a good company to keep your eye on. Their software is backwards-compatible and you're less likely to be stuck with the capabilities that it came with on day one.

Finally, as I said, with all that the CS-406 does, I would have predicted it to be at the bottom of the performance heap. But, when I checked it out in the NAS performance universe, it was near the top in performance. Table 5 shows that of the devices Tom's has tested, the CS-406 does very well overall."

Synology Cube Station CS-406: Truly an all-purpose NAS solution.

"With an impressive write performance, compatibility with HTML, PHP scripting, and MySQL, photo and video sharing, and large storage capacity, the Synology Cube Station CS-406 is truly, an all-purpose box."

Synology Cube Station CS-406 received 5 stars out of 5 for quality, and 4 stars for Price/Performance from CHIP Magazine, Italy.

"Cube Station, a cube 20 cm wide, hides a powerful server that is able to host 4 HDD SATA RAID giving 2GB of data at disposal."

Synology Cube Station CS-406 and Disk Station DS-106e received "Editor's Choice" awards from PCM Magazine, Hong Kong.

RUN!PC Magazine from Taiwan reported Synology Cube Station CS-406 as "All-in-1 Terabyte Server".

Synology Disk Station DS-106e received "2006 PChome BEST Recommended" award from PChome Magazine, Taiwan.

Synology Cube Station CS-406 received a "Gold Award" from Hardware Magazine, Singapore.

Synology Disk Station DS-106j is reported as All-in-1 multifunctional server by PC3 Magazine, Hong Kong.

Synology Disk Station DS-106j received the PCM Recommended Award from PC Market Magazine, Hong Kong.

Synology Cube Station CS-406 received Gold award from Hardware-test, Denmark.

Synology Cube Station CS-406 received "Advance" award from PCHome Advance Magazine, Taiwan.

Synology Disk Station DS-106e received the Excellent Award (6 mice out of 6) from PCtipp magazine, Switzerland.

File Server: Power in a small package

By Janis Berneker. The Disk Station DS-106e from Synology is a miniature file server. It requires a SATA disk, which is easy to install. Connecting the Disk Station to your local network only took our tester a few minutes. After a few mouse clicks you see an additional drive z: which you can use as any other network drive.

This little wonder has quite a few additional features. For example, it will allow you to make USB devices available in the network (e.g. printers, memory sticks or disks). The Disk Station offers a wide range of backup functions. You can use it to save data from connected PCs, or you can automatically backup the Disk Station contents to an attached disk. Other features are a photo presentation utility and an integrated web server. The download manager function, which also supports Bit torrent, lets you schedule after hours download jobs.

Conclusion:The Synology Disk Station DS-106e is silent, fast and offers many easy to use functions.

Synology USB Station received Silver award from Hardware-test, Denmark.

Synology Disk Station DS-106e received positive comments from HK Golden, Hong Kong:

1. Faster speed, more functions. 2. Functions increased, more practical. 3. Power-saving, environmental-friendly. 4. Perfectly meets backup needs.

Synology Cube Station CS-406 received positive comments from PC Office Magazine, Taiwan:

1. Small in shape, large in capacity. 2. Integrates various server functions. 3. Outstanding performance.

Synolody Disk Station DS-106e outperformed in PC World Magazine, Norway.

Synolody Cube Station CS-406 received Top Hardware Award from hardwareexperts.ch, Switzerland.

English Translation

Installing and configuring the Cube Station it is a breeze. Also, its very easy to create and map network drives and to access data via the network. User administration is well designed. The bundled software helps to manage some of the special features like data backup or deferred Internet downloads.

The performance of the Cube Station definitely stands out. Copying a 1 MB file we reached 12.5 MB/s on FastEthernet and a whooping 40 MB/s on a Gigabit-LAN (FTP download with RAID 5 enabled).

The manufacturer's website (synology.com) users can find lots of support resources like product details, an FAQ and a download section as well as an online support request form. There is also a small Swiss website (synology.ch) which shows examples on how to use the different functions.

Because of the quality of the Synology Cube Station we give it our first "Top Hardware" award! Our satisfaction rate is 89%, which equals to the mention "exceptional".

Synolody Cube Station CS-406 received "Editor's Choice Award" from HK Gorden, Hong Kong.

Synology DS-106e: One very full-featured NAS

"DS-106e easily outperforming the others by wide margins in all tests."

"I found a lot to like about the DS-106e. It had more features than any other off-the-shelf NAS that I've worked with and also has multi-OS support. Its performance was top rate, both with and without the use of its gigabit Ethernet features with jumbo frame support. The user interface is also well thought out and executed.

Synology's firmware support deserves special mention. The first Synology box I reviewed last February, the DS-101, has been discontinued. But Synology continues to release updates that add new features to this discontinued product. The next release, scheduled for this summer, will add MySQL, a Multimedia Server, the download station, etc. bringing it up to par with its newer siblings. This free software-upgrade support for discontinued products is a definite plus for Synology."

Synology Disk Station DS-106e received the PCM Recommended Award from PC Market Magazine, Hong Kong.

Synology Disk Station DS-101g+ received "Best in Test" award, and DS-101j received "Best Value" award from PC World Magazine, Norway.

Synology Disk Station DS-106e received positive comments Ezone Magazine, Hong Kong:

1. "Speed is greatly increased" 2. "Supports PHP+MySQL" 3. "BT download without PC"

Synology Cube Station CS-406 received the PCM Recommended Award from PC Market Magazine, Hong Kong.

Enter magazine from Macedonia reviews Cube Station CS-406 on Edition 18.

Plugin 63 from Macedonia reviews Synology products:

1. iUSB 2. DS-101j 3. DS-106e 4. USB Station

PC Magazine from Czech Republic reviews Synology Disk Station DS-106e in May.

"NAS server Synology is offering DMA support Digital Media Adapter is a box, which translates music, pictures or video from PC to your home theater. Basically, it's electronics component connected to your home LAN or WiFi network and the Audio and Video output is connected to your home theater. As a data source you can use a PC with special software. Then you can just sit at DMA, choose favorite pictures or movies with remote control and it play it on TV. But the PC has to be switched on all the time.

New All-in-one server Synology DS-106e implements also new multimedia functionality and it is compatible also with DMA. DS-106e can effectively work as a multimedia files central storage offering them to share throughout the network. DS-106e does also great job when downloading requested files from internet instead leaving this work on the PC."

Synology Disk Station DS-106e received "Advance" award from PCHome Advance Magazine, Taiwan.

Synology DS-101g+ received the "Better Performance" pick from L'ACHETEUR Magazine, France.

Synology DS-101g+ receives the LABS WINNER award from Australian PC Authority magazine.

"It's very easy to share network resources with Synology USB Station."

"Network products not only require rich features, but the outlook is also important. Synology USB Station is small in shape, and is with many functions suitable for those who need to share printer and data in the company."

Synology DS-101g+ receives 90 out of 100 from Denmark website TweakUp.