2013 generation of Synology NASes

[TempEC]

With the Synology 213 and 413 being out I'm wondering about a couple of things :

• What will the 1513 be like and when will it be available?
• Will there be a 1513+ or 413+ because I have the impression the current 412+ is better than a 413?
• What is up with the change in processor technology? Isn't it still ARM? I heard that the currently available software for the 213 etc is limited because it's a different processor architecture... is this correct? Is it no longer ARM then?

Is there more information available on the new generation and is it worth the wait?

Personally I'm torn between the 412+ and the 1512+, it's only a 100€/$ difference and you get expandability and a bunch more tiny improvements.

With the new generation coming I'm worried that buying now means I'm stuck with a processor architecture that is being phased out and within 2 years will lack community support.

 

[stevech]

Read the synology user forum. Lots of people there with 3-5 year old products.
I think the latest software (DSM) is compatible back that far... the web site says.
http://forum.synology.com/enu/viewtopic.php?f=221&t=55971
Bottom of that page, I see some older products.

Browse the user forums... remembering that like most product forums, you see problems and happy customers are silent.

http://forum.synology.com/enu/index.php

I read this for a while before I purchased a DS212.

When picking a NAS, be sure you have the backup strategy defined, e.g., USB3, eSATA, Amazon S3, etc.
RAID is not a backup, we preach.

 

[Jeffspears]

I own a 1812+ for about 6 months now and it was worth the investment


Now talking about the difference between xx12 and xx13 , i would personally go for the old models the new ones arent better they are downscaled.

Examples 413+ has a lower processor and 1 network port (no duel agg) howeverthe older model had a stronger processor and 2 ports, i think they are doing this to force the consumer to higher products for more utilities or to have better power usage rating,

The price of synology has been increasing especially 1-2 bay market, its either because of their reputation or demand

2 bay i would suggest u go for 212+ notice the plus!

 

[hungarianhc]

Yeah on this note...

I'm going to be in the market for a Synology NAS... I'm thinking mid January. Leaning toward the DS1512+. I haven't been following their product cycles. Am I essentially buying right before an update then? Should I wait til Feb or so? I know they're great about supporting older NASes with the most recent versions of DSM, but I still prefer buying the new and improved versions of things.

 

[Jeffspears]

If we are talking about the 1512+ , the only way I could see an improvement is by reducing power, and I dont think there will be a price drop for the old module just like 412+.

If u want more power I only see that by a new Atom and its not coming until mid 2013 by my expection or 3rd quarter.

See if there was a Freescale strong enough to power the 1512+ they would have upgraded it this year.

 

[iwod]

Why Back to PowerPC

While the review for 413+ and 213+ are great. I wonder why Synology are back to PowerPC instead of ARM. So now they have to support 3 different type of ISA, PowerPC, ARM and x86.

I was under the impression someday Intel Atom will be cheap enough to replace every NAS SoC. Or ARM SoC will move up the ladder.

 

[Jeffspears]

Notice Synology didnt produce any successor to the 1512+ or 1812+ plus and I dont think there is something in the pipline yet, cause if there was it would have been demonstrated in the CES thats being held at the moment.

 

[stevech]

I was under the impression someday Intel Atom will be cheap enough to replace every NAS SoC. Or ARM SoC will move up the ladder.

Atoms seem still underpowered versus things like high end ARMs and the APUs like AMD E350 and its successor (ID I've forgotten).

But most NASes don't need a super-FAST CPU. Just good disk and ethernet I/O speeds. My cheapie dual drive NAS with my new fast Intel I5 APU, via gigE, can do 60MB/s writing and 90MB/s or so reading. That's about all I can expect from gigE due to the file systems' overhead, disk head movements, and TCP/IP overhead on the LAN.

 

[XFalconX]

When will Synology produce a nas with better processors (intel Haswell i5.. i wish) to be able to simultaneously distribute/ stream HD video?? I wish we can configure them


Sent from my iPhone

 

[stevech]

faster more costly CPU? Perhaps in high-end home and SOHO, it's just not needed. The only time my DS212's CPU is busy is the few times I tried out Photo imports and thumbnail generation- When I run the thumbnail / import on a PC, targeting the DS, it was of course much faster.
But so far, I find the on-line photo sharing servers have much better photo browsing and slide shows.
I don't think people want the cost of video transcoding within a NAS.

So, CPU speed may not improve the user experience for most.

 

[Jeffspears]

When will Synology produce a nas with better processors (intel Haswell i5.. i wish) to be able to simultaneously distribute/ stream HD video?? I wish we can configure them


Sent from my iPhone

Who said anything about not being able to suppory multipile HD streams, Unless you buy a small low powered limited NAS that may limit you to 3-4 which makes sense as a home consumer product. I dont see a 1512+ being limited and could even support 20-25 streams atleast.

I would say that the Network becomes a bottleneck before the unit itself especially if we are speaking wifi, as most Access Points have a 100Mbps connection which would limit you, but as i said this is a network limition not a NAS one.

 

[stevech]

Most often, streaming 1080i is marginally acceptable on WiFi. Need excellent signal and choose a channel # in 2.4GHz with no busy-traffic from neighbors' WiFi that's within 3 channels of yours.

Streaming 1080p (not 1080i) is, IMO, beyond what will be statisfactory long term, if using WiFi.

Some will disagree. Yes, it can work with short distances, few walls, and a favoring moon phase.

Always better to use a wired media: Cat5, MoCA, PowerLine, vs. wireless.

 

[preacher]

I have the ds209 and the new update is going to be the last my unit will take. My dad is in america soon so might give him a shopping list with a new one on..

The ds 213 is the same CPU and ram as the 212+ so I would look out for a reduced older model.

 

[preacher]

While the review for 413+ and 213+ are great. I wonder why Synology are back to PowerPC instead of ARM. So now they have to support 3 different type of ISA, PowerPC, ARM and x86.

I was under the impression someday Intel Atom will be cheap enough to replace every NAS SoC. Or ARM SoC will move up the ladder.

Just read this!

http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/04/intel-launches-atom-ce5300-based-storage-platform/

 

[stevech]

I have an Intel Atom (gen 2) in an ITX PC. Not good.
I'd not spend a premium for an Atom or any super fast CPU in an NAS as they are usually I/O bound, not CPU bound.

 

[blakemiller]

Not wanting to hijack threads, but this post interests me because I just posted in the General NAS forum my question about a Synology vs Netgear NAS Duo over here: http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showthread.php?p=63539#post63539

Not sure if I should have posted here in this more active forum. MOD, feel free to move if so. I would love feedback. Thanks!