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Software

Synology is known for including an extensive and exotic software package with their products. We will be talking about some of the better ones and the opportunities they provide with this NAS.

RAID:
There is support for several types without data encryption

- Basic
- JBOD
- RAID 0

The most exciting are the RAID that do have data encryption, however

- RAID 1
- RAID 5
- RAID 5 + hotspare
- RAID 6

To use RAID 5, RAID 5 + hotspare or RAID 6, you have to connect one or more drives of the same size as the existing ones, either via USB or eSATA.

Connecting external storage devices
As mentioned earlier, there are two ways to connect additional storage devices, namely USB and eSATA. That way you can actually connect more hard drives to a NAS, even though it only supports two as standard.

Backup

- Back up your NAS either by connecting an external storage device or over a network.
- Back up your computer directly on your NAS via a network.
- Do a quick backup with your USB pen or MP3 by pressing the backup button the server.

There are plenty of options, and many software makers charge tens of £’s for backup software that compares to what Synology offers.

Platform
Do not be afraid to change platforms, for it supports Windows, Mac and Linux. SMB and FTP can be utilized by all platforms, but CIFS, NFS and AFP are all optional as well.

File Station
An interface to handle files and allows you to remote control. You can download, copy, move or delete files or folders via the internet, and the interface is easy to use with drag and drop.

Web Station
You can run your own website from the device, which comes with an Apache-web server along with PHP and the newest MySQL.

Audio Station
This program gives you the possibility to enjoy the music library stored on the NAS on any PC, as well as listen to music directly connected to the device via USB. You can create your own playlists easily with a single drag and drop. There is also a search engine that gives quick results, even with a large amount of music files.

Photo Station
With this program you can share photos and videos directly from the unit. An album is automatically created, to which you can add titles and descriptions. The slideshow is externally available.

Once a picture is opened, you have several options like rotate, zoom in and add comments. A search function makes it easy to find photos and videos by searching on specific words.

Download Station
This section allows you to download files. Even when the PC is turned off, you can use it as a download station for BitTorrent, FTP, HTTP, eMule, NZB and RapidShare. It is possible to configure things like limiting the amount of hours it can download, the amount of concurrent connections, schedule, and receive messages via mail.

Monitoring Station
This is a good solution for the guy who wants to monitor his office while away; all you have to do is connect IP-cameras and follow the simple steps to configure the web interface of the NAS. Adding a camera is very simple too – there are two types of settings, as well as quick and comprehensive search functions that automatically find the available cameras on the net. There is a wealth of options here, and you can even set it to record or film on a schedule.
Printer Server
Make your printer available on the whole network by connecting it with USB to your NAS.

3rd party applications
Synology has even allowed you to install programs yourself or use 3rd party applications.