After launching the entry-level DiskStation DS115j last year to take on the likes of WD’s (NASDAQ:WDC) My Cloud, Synology is announcing its successor, the DiskStation DS115.

The DS115 features beefier hardware when compared to the DS115j, and comes with a dual-core processor as well as faster reads/writes of 111 MB/s and 104 MB/s, an increase of 36%, according to Synology. The design has also received a much-needed from the DS115j, and is now more consistent with the rest of Synology’s NAS line.

Another issue with the DS115j was the lack of a USB 3.0 port, which has now been fixed on the DS115. Thanks to a single USB 3.0 port at the back, you can connect your external hard disk to the NAS and stream media.

This being an offering aimed at the entry-level market, the DS115 comes with a single hard drive bay, much like the WD My Cloud. What’s different with Synology’s offering is that the DS115 is a feature-rich NAS with access to DSM 5.1.

DSM is Synology’s web-based OS, which has its own app store for installing content onto the DiskStation. Synology is targeting home as well as business users looking for affordable file-sharing devices with the DS115 by touting its cloud services, security features and multimedia abilities.

The post Synology Introduces Single-bay DiskStation DS115 appeared first on VR World.

After beta testing for over six weeks, Synology is ready to roll out its latest operating system, DiskStation Manager 5.1. The update is now available for the vendor’s range of NAS products.

The major addition is Security Advisor, which runs a diagnostic to check your network preferences, password strength and other system settings to determine if your NAS is vulnerable. Synology was quick to roll out a patch after it was found that a hack allows remote users to access a user’s DiskStation earlier this year, hence the focus on increased security with this update. There’s also a new tool that automatically blocks malicious programs from accessing system resources.

On the productivity side, Note Station is a new addition that allows you to write, centralize, sync and manage all your notes across devices. Along with the ability to password protect notes, the feature allows you to share and collaborate with others and revert to previous versions. All notes are saved in your private cloud, and there is also the option of importing existing notes from Evernote. All notes can be easily accessed through a mobile device via DS Note.

The built-in file manager, File Station, has also received numerous additions, and now comes with built-in FTP and email clients. With DSM 5.1 users now have the ability to monitor and manage SSD cache.

Entertainment utilities like Video Station, Audio Station and Photo Station have all picked up updates, and now come with a better search interface that allows you to easily find content. You can sync your content to external cloud services such as OneDrive, Box, and hubiC, and as for data backup, you can configure Microsoft Azure, SFR, and hicloud.

Synology’s DSM is by far the best OS in the NAS segment thanks to the sheer number of features on offer, and with verison 5.1, it has gotten even better.

The post Synology releases DiskStation Manager 5.1 appeared first on VR World.