DS1513+ Future / Current Owner's Thread

[hungarianhc]

So... who else is going to be buying this? I have had the money set aside for a while now, and as soon as I can find a reputable retailer with it in stock, I'll pull the trigger! Very excited... the only feature it's missing for me is a better CPU to handle more advanced transcoding... the rest seems fantastic. I'm buying another SODIMM so that it runs with 4GB RAM from the very beginning. I'm gonna start with 3 4TB drives. I think that storage should last me for at least a year or more.... probably longer.

 

[jas2000]

i think nobody else

for my opinion it's useless spend more money (compare to the ds1512+) for having just few different things

ds1512+ and ds1513+ are the same machine besides

4gb of ram vs 3gb of ram (do u really need 4....?!?)
4 ethernet ports vs 2 ethernet ports
22.1 db vs 25.1 db (u will not hear any difference)
51w vs 50.6w


the ds1813+ and the ds1513+ are just useless.

 

[hungarianhc]

Haha @jas,

Everything you said is 100% correct! I was hoping for a better CPU in the update as well. However, some counterpoints...

- it isn't that much more expensive than the DS1512+ (I don't already own that one) so I don't see why I would want to get the old one
- cosmetically, it looks better, and now the drive bays are screwless
- I do want the RAM increase. I will be using symform and zarafa, both of which are a bit RAM intensive, from what I've heard.

To call the DS1513+ "useless" if you already own a DS1512+ may be accurate, but I don't see how it is useless to someone new to Synology... For $100 more, I do want the better casing, extra RAM, and screwless entry.

 

[stevech]

I agree. In a similar manner, I chose the DS212 rather than the DS212+. The CPU is rarely 100%, and when it is (such as when writing to a USB3 drive with NTFS rather than a Linux format), the small speed difference with the "+" product upgrade wouldn't make much difference.

But then, my wife says I'm cheap.

 

[XFalconX]

Is it possible to upgrade the CPU on the ds1513+? I wish they would have atleast an i3 or i5 to justify that price


Sent from my iPhone

 

[JoeB]

Ok, I'll throw my name into the hat of new owners. First off, I'm new to the forum.

I purchased it from SimplyNAS. My configuration is 4GB onboard memory and 5x WD Red 3TB HDD. Going to use SHR.

I went this route because for the past 9 years or so, I've been using an HP MediaSmart Server. It was the earliest EX470 which I upgraded the CPU and Ram. Never touched the OS, however.

I was all set to purchase the 1512+ and saw this come out and thought I'd press ahead with new hardware. We'll see how it goes. I've got to get smart very fast on Link Aggregation (in conjuction with NetGear ProSafe GS110TP).

In any case, I hope I can ask some really basic questions going forward without wasting anyone's time.
Joe

 

[milo]

I was waiting for the new DS1513+ but wasn't sure if I was going to get it or the DS1512+. The new features of the DS1513+ really weren't anything that was going to help me (other than possibly the memory upgrade) so I went with the cheaper DS1512+.

Happy with my decision but I wish I waited 5 more days for the price drop. Either way I got it with a 10% educational discount so it was still better than the new retail price.

I love the unit so far! It's loaded with 5 3TB Seagate drives in Raid 6.

 

[hungarianhc]

Just wanted to post in here that I got my DS1513+ this past Friday. I LOVE it. Well, to be honest, I haven't had enough time to play with all of the features, and I'm on the road for the next 7 days so it will be a while. However, it was very easy to get some encrypted shares set up, get Time Machine going, etc. I also set up port forwarding on my router so I can FTP into it remotely - I know i'm not even scratching the surface. Before I ever turned it on, I installed the RAM expansion... I got a "used" stick of RAM on eBay for like $7. Worked like a charm. Nice to see my NAS w/ 4GB of RAM in there - I wish I could set a percentage of RAM to be a RAMdisk for caching...

I've got a SHR setup w/ 3 4TB drives for 8TB usable... and spots for two more drives if I fill it up!

 

[JoeB]

Congrats on your purchase. I've been setting up and transferring data off my old server. I've found that the some 11,000 pictures have slowed it down tremendously. A known issue with discussions centering around CPU demand to create thumbnails. I believe I'll allow it to complete but after two days, it's only 30% complete. This may take a couple of weeks.

Also had some issues with download speeds which may relate to using web browser interface rather than windows file transfers.

Still, a great system. I've got a lot to learn yet.

 

[stevech]

There's a Synology-provided PC program to compute thumbnails instead of doing it on the slower CPU of the NAS. Much faster way when you have a large batch to import.

 

[JoeB]

Steve, where is this program?

Thanks,

Joe

 

[JoeB]

Found it. Man I wish I knew where that was about 4 days and 11,000 photo's ago. I'm trying to figure out if there is a way to delete those that haven't processed yet and complete it with this loader. Ahh, too much trouble, I'll just let it run it's course.

It's essentially taking about 8% a day, so another 9-10 days.

Lesson learned. Thanks, Steve.

Joe

 

[hungarianhc]

A known issue with discussions centering around CPU demand to create thumbnails. I believe I'll allow it to complete but after two days, it's only 30% complete. This may take a couple of weeks.

Yeah I'm not sure yet how many photos I'm going to put on this... My wife and I are both heavy iPhoto / Aperture users so we have our libraries local on our machines (and of course, backed up), and I'm not sure how much of that functionality I want to give up in the name of having nice shared storage.

So far I really don't have too much set up...

- I'm starting to rip / organize all of my movies...
- I have a shared folder set up for backups. All of our macs back up to it.
- I'm still playing with which cloud backup service I want...
- I have Cloudstation set up - I wish there were an AeroFS client.

I love the Synology admin UI!

 

[stevech]

I like/use/rely-on the time backup app in the synology. In mine, a separate drive/volume is used by time backup. Once a day it adds to history of file versions whatever changed today. The UI is good too. It has saved my buns several times- usually when I hose up the data in a file and have to go back a day. (I could have it run several times a day).

I do firmware development for a living (among other things) and it's saved me lots of time and money.

 

[JoeB]

The thumbnail creation has completed. I managed to figure out which files were still being created and delete them. Then using the Synology uploader software, I copied the deleted files over. My CPU is back down to minimal use for current status.

What program do you use to RIP your movies and do you use it for Blu Ray as well?

I haven't set up backups yet, but was using my old server for that via HP Connector. I'll figure that out soon as well.

May I ask what you guys use for setting under the control panel?

For example, have you set up SMB2 and Large MTU under WIN/MAC/MFS?

Do you use link aggregation?

Thanks...

 

[stevech]

Link aggregation? No. Can't even fill up gigE with ordinary hardware.
DVD rip software: I don't. I read a log about "Handlebar".
Here's where a lot of aficionados hang out
http://www.avsforum.com/

Backup: "RAID is not a backup!". My NAS is just two drives, each a separate volume, with one backing up the other, and a USB3 drive backing up again in case the NAS is stolen or the mainboard goes poof.

 

[JoeB]

Understand re: RAID. I was referring to the reach out programs that backup your documents, photos, and other files...etc...

I'll check out AVSForums, great reminder of that site as I've been there many times but forgot about them.

I did set up LAG simply because I like to tinker. My understanding is that this will help when multiple users in my home are jumping on the NAS. I'm trying to push my two primary users to store primarily on the NAS, and leave the choice to local storage with them. Seems it will make computer upgrades, OS upgrades that much easier if the data is elsewhere.

Thanks, Steve.

 

[stevech]

On PCs, I use SecondCopy from Centered Systems. Very mature softwarwe.
It watches selected folders and dupes changes to the NAS. Automatically. Upon change or upon time schedule. Been using it for years.
I also use SafeHouse software to manage sensitive data - very easy to use. Free. Easier than TruCrypt.

I tried Synology's similar Windows program - but it was not as easy to use or versatile, and it crashed a few times.

 

[dombera]

DS1513+ and DSM 5 beta event London

Hi guys,

Got myself DS1513+ few weeks ago.
Upgraded RAM to 4GB straight away after unboxing.
Running 5x 4TB WD Red in Raid6.

I have found the device a little too noisy for me. It was due to a PSU Synology is now using.. They have moved from Seasonic to Delta for some reason.. ;(
I've replaced stock Delta PSU with Seasonic SS-250SU APFC F0 (80+ Bronze) which is much more quieter in the operation (it was hell of a mission as the PSU got non standard connectors).

I must say I now LOVE the device!! The performance is great!!

And btw- can't wait for the DSM 5 beta to begin. Synology has got a DSM 5 beta event in London on 16th Jan 2014. If you happen to be around that time just register and come along http://www.synology.com/en-uk/events/2014_dsm5.0_beta_uk

Regards,

 

[Kris404]

I think Synology should get with the Intel EvanSport platform sooner rather than later.

That could give real-time transcoding, media playback, encryption capabilities etc without putting in a dedicated Core i3 processor.