Synology DS408 NAS

As a network administrator for several small and medium businesses, I am used to seeing pedestal servers with expensive Windows Server edition Operating Systems running for the sole purpose of serving files out to the workgroup or domain. Such environments has made it necessary to look for money-saving opportunities in the office environment. A few years back Network Attached Storage server hit the scene with a price tag comparable to the alternative, but the NAS products offered in today's market are far superior and cost far less than before. Synology has pioneered the NAS server into mainstream, and now offers devices to fit every range and environment from home to enterprise. Benchmark Reviews has the good fortune to performance test the 4-drive SATA Disk Station DS408 RAID NAS.

Every IT professional knows that time is money in the SMB and Corporate Enterprise sector, and any product that can cost less and deliver more while saving precious time is sure to be a popular commodity. The Synology Disk Station DS408 4-Bay SATA NAS is a Gigabit network appliance which offers more features and functionality than most Windows domain controllers... for less than the price of the Server 2003 R2 or Windows 2008 Server Operating System alone!

The Synology Disk Station DS408 NAS is designed with Windows ADS authentication, USB printer sharing, dynamic website hosting, and data backup in mind. With multi-terabyte competency and high-performance file sharing, the DS408 gives business users the freedom to store massive data quickly and efficiently. While Basic Disk, JBOD, and RAID-0 are supported, the additional RAID- 1/5/6 protection further prevents data loss from inevitable disaster.

Storing and Sharing Files via Internet
Both Windows and Mac users can easily share files within an Intranet or through the Internet. Unicode language support makes sharing different language files from the Synology Disk Station NAS server function very smoothly.

PC Data and Server Data Backup
The Synology Server provides various backup solutions to back up Disk Station data or back up PC data to the DS408 or other rsync compatible servers.

Transferring Data via FTP
Synology Disk Station DS408 provides an FTP service with bandwidth restriction and anonymous login. To transfer data safely, "FTP over SSL" or "FTP over TLS" is also available.

Managing Files through Web Browsers
File Station makes it possible for users to manage their files on the Synology Disk Station easily through a web interface. Simply point the web browser to Synology File Station, and you have one more access point to your files.

Sharing Photos and Videos with Photo Station 2 + video
"Photo Station 2 + video" provides intuitive user interface to share your photos and videos online in a snap.

Enjoying Entertainment Data Stored on Server
"Download Station" allows you to download files from Internet through BitTorrent, FTP, and HTTP to Synology Server. Moreover, if you have UPnP DMA connected in the LAN, you can enable "Multimedia Service" and share the multimedia files on Synology server. If you just want to share and play mp3 files stored on Synology Server, you can enable "iTunes Service", and enjoy the music through any iTunes clients on LAN.

Enjoying Music instantly with USB Speakers
"Audio Station" allows users to collate music stored in Synology Server into a play list, play music stored on the Synology Server or from the connected iPod, or even stream Internet Radio Stations. With USB speakers connected to the Synology Server, you're able to bathe in music at anytime you want.

Programming your Own Web Site
Personal or corporate website can be easily setup using "Web Station" function. By integrating with PHP and MySQL, user can also set up a blog or even an online shop.

USB Printer Server
You can share USB 2.0 Printer through Local Area Network.

About the company: Synology, Inc.

Synology Inc., founded in April of 2000, creates next generation Network Attached Storage servers for the international market. Providing a secure way of storing and sharing digital content, Synology products are stylish in appearance, compact in size and energy efficient. Customer's investment is enhanced with free software upgrades and 24/7 online support. This makes the Synology product an ideal choice for the Home, Small Business and Corporate setting.

Closer Look: Disk Station

Times are changing, and the way IT professionals have solved problems in the past will not make economic sense into the future. The corporate server landscape has become much more simplistic over the past few years. After visiting the recent SuperComputing Conference SC07 event I was surprised by how dull some of the server designs were. Server tasks are about the same, but the large cluster arrangement and daunting maintenance routines have created a demand for something much easier on the administrator- and budget.

Synology has been offering high-performance server alternatives for some time now, and their new Disk Station DS408 Gigabit 4-Bay SATA NAS server is straight-forward in approach while offering more functionality than any Windows Server ever has right out of the box. So while this is merit enough to consider a NAS, the real determining factor in this economic climate is price. Thankfully for consumers, every single NAS server Benchmark Reviews has tested in our Network section have all cost remarkably less than the alternative.

The image above is a front view of the Synology Disk Station DS408 which comes available in one color: black. The DS408 is a 4-Bay SATA Gigabit network attached storage server (NAS) which offers everything from single basic-disk arrangement, to mission-critical data security RAID configurations. The disk array capability alone may be enough to sell this product, but you would be cheating yourself if you didn't learn about the many other features it offers.

As a product analyst, I get to research many products that most consumers may never see on store shelves. Even though I also own and operate a small business which manages corporate networks, the list of products I get to work with still pales in comparison to the items our sponsors send. So when someone in my position is blown away at the myriad of features and functions embedded into this extremely affordable product, it's worth taking to heart. The unfortunate downside to offering a myriad of features and functionality is that there's only so much that can be said about it before I lose your interest. In this review of the DS408, only the most important features will be discussed.

Given a solid-black finish and engineered to use a very small footprint, the Synology "Disk Station" delivers a lot more than you bargain for. The face of the DS408 NAS is simple and straightforward, but offers enough information to keep the most anxious Network Administrator content with status detail. If the power, LAN, and four hard disk drive activity lights don't relay the information you're after, there's a status LED that flashes in a specific pattern to match diagnostic codes located in the user manual.

The Synology Disk Station DS408 measures 9.06" long, by 6.61" wide, and 7.24" tall. Since the standard rack unit measures 1.75" tall by 19.0" wide per unit, the DS408 is just slightly taller than a 4U height rack case. I'm not sure if Synology took this into consideration, but had the DS408 been designed to be a mere 0.24" shorter and had reduced the width only 0.27", then this Disk Station could fit three units in the same space as a 4U server. This condition existed with the Cube Station CS407 NAS, and evidently it wasn't important enough to adjust for the DS408.

Since Synology has crammed so much inside the small DS408 enclosure, all of that compact space means that there isn't an integrated power supply unit. To power the NAS and four SATA disks, a Li Shin AC power adapter brick supplies a rated 12V / 8.33A maximum to the DS408.

Synology takes pride in the low power consumption of the Disk Station DS408 NAS. By using the Kill A Watt EZ model P4460 power meter by P3 International, I was able to determine exactly how much electrical power the DS408 consumed in idle and active modes. With a RAID-5 array configured using four 1.5 Terabyte Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 SATA Desktop Hard Drives (ST31500341AS) installed, the idle (not standby) power draw was steady at 50W, and once transfers began the demands increased to only 53W. It's evident that going green isn't difficult with the Disk Station series.

In our detailed features section on the next page, the DS408 will be disassembled and inspected for design flaws before we test for performance. Please continue on to learn more about this powerful little product.

DS408 Detailed Features

Synology has designed their latest Disk Station series with a single-core Freescale MPC8543 CPU operating at 800 MHz. This adds only a slight improvement over the 500 MHz Marvell Orion processor used in the past generation look-alike Cube Station CS407 NAS. Contrasting the differences more significantly, Synology has included 512 MB of DDR2 RAM on a single SODIMM module along with a base flash memory consisting of 4 MB. Paired together, the performance over previous generations is made evident as we'll soon see in the results section.

A single RJ-45 Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000 Base-T) network connection is available on the DS408, and utilizes the Marvell 88E1118 network controller. This does not provide the redundancy that some network administrators might desire, however Synology offers a dual-NIC redundant Gigabit Ethernet team on the DS508.

From this rear view, you can see the 80mm cooling fan mounted to the back panel door. Below this is the power brick input port, Ethernet port, two High-Speed NEC D720101 USB 2.0 ports, and a reset button. Also displayed in plain view is the MAC address information, which comes in handy for network routing, and the serial number for asset management. Removing four thumb-screws is all that's necessary to drop the back panel door down and expose the internal drive bays and components.

Synology has included everything you will need to get the four SATA hard disk drives loaded and ready for duty-use inside the Disk Station DS408 NAS. Synology doesn't include Hard Disk Drives with their NAS products, but very soon they'll be offering pre-loaded and pre-configured NAS servers with HDDs included. In this DS408 kit there are four custom-length SATA cables, which utilize the 90-degree connection boot at one end. There are also four power custom power connections, all which have two ferrite core chokes isolating leaked surface current. It was obvious to me that Synology took great care to ensure their connection cables and wiring was all built to premium-specification, but the CAT-5e cable which came with this kit that wasn't so impressive when most environments now use CAT-6 as a standard.

Gigabit Ethernet will still perform well over CAT-5e, especially at short patch-cord lengths, but most IT professionals agree that this is yesteryear's standard and has since been replaced by CAT-6. The manufacturers cost is a difference of about two to three pennies per cord at 100-unit prices, so I really can't find a valid reason as to why every network product Benchmark Reviews has seen still comes with the old cables. For more than two years I have seen all new network construction and retrofits utilize CAT-6 infrastructure and patch cords, so let's hope the manufactures catch on soon.

Installing the hardware and cables was super-simple, and even the least-experienced novice can make it this far (but instructions are included anyway). With the thumb screws removed, the chassis cover can be pulled away if desired while you work. Since this is not a hot-swap NAS, the drives are installed with the assumption it will be long-term or permanent. If hot-swappable SATA drive bays are something your project requires, Synology offers this functionality in their larger 5-bay DS508 NAS.

As you can see from the images above and below, the drives align directly in-position with the 80mm cooling fan. Paired with SMART monitoring, the DS408 reports temperature and other statistics in the Disk Station web interface. For the duration of testing, the temperatures were very low (identical to those of the spare 7200.11 HDD inside the test workstation).

Clearly the design of the DS408 is very much identical to the CS407, with exception of a mainboard (and related) component. I recall suggesting that Synology replace the 80mm fan on the CS407 with a 120mm version; which would improve airflow while reducing noise levels. It appears that we'll have to wait for the next iteration of this chassis for my suggestion to become reality.

Looking a little closer you can see that Synology has made use of many new solid-state electronic components, such as solid capacitors. You don't have to be an IT professional to appreciate the effort placed on maintaining years of stable use our of the DS408. For corporate buyers, this translates into fewer maintenance and repair cycles and a lower total cost of ownership.

Looking down into the Disk Station you can clearly see the DS408 mainboard housing a heatsink-covered 800 MHz Freescale MPC8543 air-cooled processor. Along the left side of the mainboard there's a single 512 MB DDR2 SODIMM DRAM adorning a warranty label protecting from tamper. I have no basis to speculate how performance might change with the increase (or decrease) in the installed memory, so it's not worth the risk to void the warranty and potentially anger the asset management department.

When it's all said and done, Synology has done a great job of producing another quality product with long-lasting internal components. In our next section, the detailed features and specifications are revealed. Normally this is something most readers would scan over on their way to the next page, but I sincerely think you will see that there is a lot more to the Disk Station DS408 than just 4-bays worth of SATA hard drive storage.

Disk Station Features

Speedy & Flexible
DS408 provides speedy data transmission and powerful computing capability, which is not only suitable for corporate environments that demand on efficiency, but also a great choice for power users who massively access data on the server.

Work with Windows ADS
DS408 is compatible with Windows ADS domain. Windows domain users are able to access data shared from DS408 when they pass the Active Directory authentication. This will greatly save your time on creating large amount of accounts for the domain users.

Flexible Storage Management
DS408 allows you to create Single, RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 6 volumes on it. For budget-sensitive users, DS408 has the flexibility to assemble smaller hard drives first, and expand RAID 1, RAID 5, or RAID 6 volume by replacing existing hard drives with larger ones one by one when the budget is allowed.

When the hard drives on DS408 are full, you can expand more storage simply by attaching an external hard drive to the USB port of DS408.

Security Enhancements
Encrypted FTP allows you to transmit data using "FTP over SSL" or "FTP over TLS" option. HTTPS support encrypts all HTTP connections with SSL transport mechanism. Encrypted Network Backup ensures Network Backup is done with encrypted data transmission. You won't be worried about critical data being exposed in danger.

Even more, File Station is a great way for you to remotely access and manage files stored on DS408. Simply use a web browser to connect to DS408, and you'll have total control over the files. With File Station, moving files among shared folders will now be only seconds away!

Network Video Recording
When connecting IP cameras to the network and recording the videos to the DS408, Surveillance Station provides you an economical network video recording solution. On Surveillance Station , you can watch the camera-monitored area on a real-time basis, and also view and manage the recorded video clips. Feel free to choose either the continuous or motion-detection recording mode that best fits your need.

Build Up Dynamic Website
Web Station runs Apache web server that allows you to publish website with only few steps. With pre-installed PHP+MySQL, you are free to install popular blog or bulletin board programs on DS408. No advanced IT knowledge is required to build up your community.

Total Backup Solutions
Data backup is so important but people tend to ignore it, DS408 makes data backup so complete and automatic that backup always be done without your attention. You can always find the backup alternatives that fit your needs.

• Network Backup is designed for you to back up data from DS408 to another Synology product that also supports Network Backup function or rsync-compatible server.
• Local Backup allows you to back up data from DS408 to external hard drive attached to DS408 via the USB port.
• Desktop Backup simplifies desktop backup with Data Replicator 3. PC users will enjoy the easy-to-use backup tool to back up important data automatically.

DS408 Specifications

I know that most times the testing methodology is skipped over by readers like a legal disclaimer. But hopefully, I can persuade you to read it through. You see, I will do something more people should do in their work: I will educate you. It's almost guaranteed.

Please continue on to the next page to learn the difference between a Megabyte, and a Mebibyte. You probably had no idea there was such a thing, but it's time to correct our slow-learning industry with the facts.

Network Terminology

You're about to be confused, or educated; or both. I'm warning you now, because it has become apparent that most consumers don't know the difference between a Gigabyte, and a Gigbibyte. Essentially it boils down to binary versus metric measurment, but testing is deeply impacted without carefully separating the two. For example, the difference between the transfer time of a one-Gigabyte (1000 Megabytes) file is going to be significantly different than a true binary Gigabyte (referred to as a Gigbibyte) that contains 1024 Megabytes.

In case you're not up to speed with modern network terminology, our you're just new to the technology, here is a little refresher for you. The basic unit data measurement is called a bit (one single binary digit). Computers use these bits, which are composed of ones and zeros, to communicate their contents. All files are stored as binary files, and translated into working files by the Operating System. This two number system is called a "binary number system". In comparison, the decimal number system has ten unique digits consisting of zero through nine.

Have you ever wondered why your 500 GB hard drive only has about 488 GB once it has been formatted? Most Operating Systems utilize the binary number system to express file data size, however the prefixes for the multiples are based on the metric system. So even though a metric "Kilo" equals 1,000, a binary "Kilo" equals 1,024. Are you confused yet? Don't be surprised, because even the most tech savvy people often mistake the two. Plainly put, the Kilobyte is expressed as 1000 bytes, but it is really comprised of 1,024 bytes.

Most network engineers (myself included) are not fully aware that the IEC changed the way we calculate and name data chunks when they published the new International Standards back in December 1998. The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) removed the old metric prefixes for multiples in binary code with new prefixes for binary multiples made up of only the first two letters of the metric prefixes and adding the first two letters of the word "binary". For example, instead of Megabyte (MB) or Gigabyte (GB), the new terms would be Mebibyte (MiB) or Gibibyte (GiB). While this is the new official IEC International Standard, it has not been widely adopted yet because it is either still unknown by institutions or not commonly used.

Personally, I think the IEC took a confusing situation and simply made it more of a mess. As I mentioned earlier, the Kilobyte was previouslyexpressed as 1000 bytes, even though it was really comprised of 1,024 bytes. Now, the Kilobyte really is expressed correctly as 1000 bytes, and the Kibibyte is the item comprised of 1,024 bytes. In essence, the IEC just created a new name for the binary item and left the existing name for the metric item. Hopefully that clears things up, and you can thank Benchmark Reviews for training the next generation of Network Engineers.

In this review, the Synology Disk Station DS408 Gigabit 4-Bay SATA NAS server was compared against the QNAP TS-409, D-Link DNS-323, and the older Synology CS407 NAS. All three of these NAS products are Gigabit-speed Ethernet network devices, and offer Basic Disk and RAID configurations.

NAS Testing Methodology

Although each of the devices we tested can accommodate several different disk configurations, it was decided that basic (single) disk and RAID-5 configurations were the best way to measure data throughput on the Synology DS408.

Connected directly to the Realtek RTL8168 Gigabit Ethernet NIC by a three-foot CAT6 patch cable, the NAS products received one test transfer followed by three timed transfers. Each test file was sent to the Seagate 1.5 TB 7200.11 SATA-II HDD installed in the NAS for a timed write test, and that same file was sent back to an identical Seagate 1.5 TB 7200.11 HDD drive (ST31500341AS) in the test system to record the read test. Each test was repeated, and the first three identical results were recorded and charted.

The two transfer tests: read and write, were conducted on each NAS appliance using the 100 MiB file and then the 1 GiB file. Additionally, a second set of tests were conducted with Jumbo Frame enabled. While the Synology Disk Station DS408, Cube Station CS407, and QNAP TS-409 Pro/TS209 Pro each offered 9000K MTU Jumbo Frame settings available, the D-Link DNS-323 did not. In the Jumbo Frame tests the Realtek RTL8168 Gigabit NIC was set to use the 4K MTU value with Jumbo Frame enabled. For the sake of benchmark results, the Synology DS408 was also tested in the RAID-5 configuration (four disks), and included 10 GiB file transfers.

NAS Comparison Products

• Synology Disk Station DS408 Gigabit 4-Bay SATA NAS server
• Synology Cube Station CS407 Gigabit 4-Bay SATA NAS server
• QNAP TS-409 Pro Gigabit 4-Bay SATA NAS Server
• D-Link DNS-323 Gigabit 2-Bay SATA NAS server
• QNAP TS-209 Pro Gigabit 2-Bay SATA NAS server

Support Equipment

• (4) Seagate 1.5 TB 7200.11 SATA-II 7200 RPM Hard Disk Drives
• 3-Foot Category-6 Solid Copper Shielded Twisted Pair Patch Cable
• Realtek RTL8168 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller (Driver Version 5.682.1122.2007)
• 100 Binary Megabytes Test File (100 MiB / Mebibyte = 104,857,600 bytes)
• 1 Binary Gigabyte Test File (1 GiB / Gibibyte = 1,073,741,824 bytes)
• 10 Binary Gigabytes Test File (10 GiB / Gibibyte = 1,073,741,824 bytes)

Test System Hardware

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-X48T-DQ6 (Intel X48 Chipset) with version F6 BIOS
Processor: Intel E8400 Core 2 Duo 3.0 GHz (Overclocked to 3.6 GHz)
System Memory: Corsair PC3-14400 DDR3 1800MHz
Primary Drive: Mtron Pro 7500 32GB SATA-II SSD MSP-SATA7525
Secondary Drive: Seagate 1.5 TB 7200.11 SATA-II Hard Disk Drive ST31500341AS
Optical Drive: ASUS BC-1205PT SATA Blu-ray Disc Optical Drive
Enclosure: Lian Li PC-B25B Black Aluminum Mid-Tower ATX Case
PSU: ePower Technology EP-1200P10 xScale 1200W PSU
Monitor: SOYO 26-Inch Widescreen LCD Monitor DYLM26E6
Operating System: Windows XP Professional SP-3 (optimized to 16 processes at idle)

NAS Testing Results

When I first began testing our collection of NAS server products, I wasn't sure how well the Synology Disk Station DS408 NAS server would compare to the already-impressive Synology Cube Station CS407. I knew the D-Link DNS-323 NAS Server wouldn't be posing any real threat since it's rather old technology, but the newest QNAP products looked impressive when we tested them a few months back. In the charts below, we compare our five test products in a Basic Disk configuration (single HDD).

Starting with the 100 MiB (100 binary megabytes / 104,857,600 bytes) read test the Synology Disk Station DS408 Gigabit NAS proved to be a real contender. Boasting a phenomenal 2-second transfer time at 50.0 MiB/s, I was stunned at how quickly the test ended. With Jumbo Frame enabled, the read performance was identical to the older CS407 it replaces, and closely matched to the QNAP TS-409 Pro. However, in normal 1500 MTU mode with Jumbo Frame disabled, only the DS408 could perform at 50 MiB/s. While the D-Link DNS-323 does not offer Jumbo Frame configuration on the NAS itself, there was also no improvement to be had by adding Jumbo Frame settings to the system-side NIC for its tests. The Synology DS408 was the clear winner in the 100 MiB read bandwidth test.

Moving on to the 100 MiB write bandwidth test, the collective results confirmed that it is still faster to pull a file from the NAS servers then it is to push a file onto it. The Network Attached Storage servers we tested did not degrade bandwidth performance by much, when compared to their respective read test results. The Synology Disk Station DS408 kept it's 50 MiB/s performance with Jumbo Frame enabled, but reduced to 33.3 MiB/s at standard 1500 MTU. The next closest competitor was the QNAP TS-409 Pro, which reached 27.5 MiB/s write performance using Jumbo Frame, and 16.5 MiB/s without it. The older Synology CD407 performed at roughly half the speed of its newer predecessor, and the remainder of the bunch trailed distantly behind. Again, the Disk Station DS408 prevailed, giving a substantial performance boost over the nearest competition. Let's move on to the larger file chunk testing...

Next up was the 1 GiB (1024 binary megabytes / 1,073,741,824 bytes) read test, which was offered results very similar to the 100 MiB read tests. Using only a single hard drive for testing in each NAS, network throughput would be put to the test.

Right away the Synology DS408 pulled ahead of the pack with 48.8 MiB/s in normal mode, and improved to 56.9 MiB/s read performance with Jumbo Frame enabled at both ends. The QNAP TS-409 Pro was close behind, followed in step by the Synology CS407 and QNAP TS-209 Pro; however all three were still trailing behind by 57% or more. The D-Link DNS-323 was the slowest performer, offering its best at 18.6 MiB/s.

Finishing off our Basic Disk bandwidth readings was the 1 GiB write test. Unlike the previous three benchmark tests which proved that all five products would perform at about the same ratio irregardless of file size, the 1 GiB file chunk write-to test indicates a different story. The Synology DS408 clearly dominates the field with 49.4 MiB/s write performance utilizing Jumbo Frame, while the next nearest competitor is Synology's own CS407 at 20.9 MiB/s. QNAP's TS-409 Pro manages to settle a very close third place position, with 20.3 MiB/s Jumbo Frame performance.

Taking the entire test section as a whole, one thing becomes abundantly clear: Synology has raised the bar for NAS performance with their Disk Station DS408. So with the competition out of the way, our next section will focus on the benefits of RAID-5 over Basic Disk configurations in terms of bandwidth throughput performance.

NAS Comparison Products

• Synology Disk Station DS408 Gigabit 4-Bay SATA NAS server
• Synology Cube Station CS407 Gigabit 4-Bay SATA NAS server
• QNAP TS-409 Pro Gigabit 4-Bay SATA NAS Server
• D-Link DNS-323 Gigabit 2-Bay SATA NAS server
• QNAP TS-209 Pro Gigabit 2-Bay SATA NAS server

RAID-5 Test Results

Unless someone has so many files that they require the raw storage space of four individual drives, most DS408 owners will likely take advantage of the available RAID-5 (or RAID-6) configuration. In a Basic Disk configuration, each drive is partitioned similar to the drives on most desktop computers. However, when three or more drives are combined into a RAID-5 array, the size of two disks is combined while the third (or forth) disk holds bit parity information. In RAID-5 each disk rotates responsibility, so one disk holds the parity bit for each cycle while data is written to the others. This improves performance in most circumstances, but there are drawbacks under the right conditions.

Testing the Synology Disk Station DS408 4-drive SATA RAID NAS server in both single-disk Basic mode, and four drive RAID-5 mode, the read and write performance was measured for a 1 Gibibyte and 10 Gibibyte file transfer. Here's how it breaks down:

The RAID-5 disk array offered 56.9 MiB/s under normal transfers, compared to 48.8 for the Basic Disk configuration. Using Jumbo Frame, the DS408 produced 60.3 MiB/s in RAID-5, and a respectable 56.9 MiB/s in Basic Disk mode. Reading a single 1 Gibibyte file from the DS408 showed that the performance was close, but RAID-5 proved to be the better option. In the chart below, we see that things have changed for the write-to testing.

Writing a single 1 Gibibyte file from the DS408 indicates reversal of benefits for RAID-5 over Basic Disk. The RAID-5 disk array offered 30.1 MiB/s under normal transfers, compared to the impressive 39.3 MiB/S for the Basic Disk configuration. Using Jumbo Frame, the DS408 produced 31.0 MiB/s in RAID-5, but was easily beaten by 39.4 MiB/s in Basic Disk mode. For writing a 1 GiB file, Basic (single) Disk claims the performance advantage by 27%. Next we'll move a 10 MiB file for comparison.

Testing a 10 GiB file is a lot to ask from any server, let alone a NAS. There aren't too many occasions that call for file transfers of this size, but these occasions are on the rise. For this series, Benchmark Reviews has uploaded this large test file in both 1500 MTU standard and 9000 MTU Jumbo Frame to see how well the NAS performed with a single disk versus a four-disk RAID-5 array.

In our read benchmarks, the results were extremely close just like we discovered in the 1 GiB tests. The RAID-5 array performed best in Jumbo Frame mode, reading at 53.6 MiB/s. The Basic Disk setup was close behind with 48.8 MiB/s with Jumbo Frame, but actually scored better at 49.5 MiB/s with Jumbo Frame disabled. Things change in the write-to tests, which we chart below.

A strange thing happened while testing upload speed to the DS408, and my results were so unexplainable that I repeated my tests five times to be sure. So after testing for the initial three benchmarks, I tore down the disk configurations and rebuilt the RAID-5 array. However, the results remained the same, and I am still a little confused by them.

Charted in the image above you'll notice that the RAID-5 write-to bandwidth is extremely good using Jumbo Frame, scoring 44.1 MiB/s for the best of the series while Basic Disk Jumbo Frame was good for only 36.8 MiB/s. However it was when Jumbo Frame was disable that things began to take on another shape. The DS408 scored 36.3 MiB/s with a single disk receiving our upload, but with a RAID-5 array catching the data we noticed bandwidth sink to only 28.7 MiB/s.

The best I can think of is a bottleneck in the RAID-5 array when it receives an extremely large file such as the ten Gibibyte chunk we tested with. Gigabit Ethernet proved itself good for over 60 MiB/s, so the network connection is ruled out; especially since the single disk configuration had no problems. For now, I suspect this will be considered an item to be corrected by a future firmware updates. But thankfully for anyone using the Disk Station series, Synology release these free updates very often.

NAS Comparison Products

• Synology Disk Station DS408 Gigabit 4-Bay SATA NAS server
• Synology Cube Station CS407 Gigabit 4-Bay SATA NAS server
• QNAP TS-409 Pro Gigabit 4-Bay SATA NAS Server
• D-Link DNS-323 Gigabit 2-Bay SATA NAS server
• QNAP TS-209 Pro Gigabit 2-Bay SATA NAS server

Disk Station Final Thoughts

It's not going to make a lot of sense for resellers and IT professionals to outfit a client with a Windows-based server if it's only going to be used for serving out files, sharing printers, and controlling Active Directory; one inexpensive NAS does all this in its most basic form. When you consider that the Synology Disk Station series offers a full LAMP package for web servers, along with FTP and media tools, the list of items this NAS product can potentially replace is very large.

So where do I begin? This is supposed to be my final thoughts, and quite frankly I just barely touched the surface of features this DS408 offers. So let's recap the highlights that will most likely capture interest:

• Four SATA-II hard disk drive storage, with Basic (single) disk and RAID 0/1/5/6 capability. Both the DS408 and slightly larger DS508 offer RAID-6 functionality with firmware DSM2.0-0722 or later for protection against two drives failing.
• Windows Active Directory Services and NT4 support with login via Samba/AFP/FTP for domain users.
• Web Station runs Apache web server, and the pre-installed PHP+MySQL allows you to run your own dynamic web site from the DS408.
• Two High-Speed USB 2.0 ports capable of connecting external hard disk drives or flash storage, as well as compatible printers.

The HTML User Interface offers a tremendous wealth of features and functionality, and as of firmware DSM2.0-0722 it gives hardcore Linux admins the ability to add NFS support using the NFD Priviledges button.

Obviously the list could go on and on, especially if you noticed two pages worth of features and functionality. Taking into consideration that the Disk Station feature set reads like a chefs shopping list, it's no wonder these NAS products are quickly replacing Windows Server products. After all, for the price of the DS408 and four 500 GB SATA-II hard disk drives you are still well beneath the cost of a single Windows Server Operating System and additional client access licenses (remember that the CS407 comes with 50)!

While the bulk of the features given to the DS408 and DS508 NAS products are inherent to Corporate Enterprise and SMB environment, the Disk Station series is not "all work and no play". Because the Disk Station is capable of delivering an equal amount of entertainment value, it becomes the best to both worlds. As much as I like the idea of plugging in USB speakers and using the DS408 as an iTunes server or as a Torrent download station, it really seems to fit best in the Corporate Enterprise sector which is more likely to utilize the four drive bays on this Gigabit NAS.

Synology DS408 Conclusion

Benchmark Reviews believes that manufacturers should be educating consumers with their product packaging, which is why we rating the retail presentation. For the Synology DS408 this rating is somewhat high, as Synology has done an excellent job of informing buyers with plenty of on-the-box specifications and feature information so they'll (hopefully) make an informed purchase. The concept of truth in advertising is getting further and further away every year, but for once I can see that not every company is out to cover their product with catch phrases and slogans. Synology dresses the DS408 in an appropriate retail package which matches the sophistication help inside.

While the Disk Station DS408 looks nearly identical to the Cube Station CS407, the breadbox-like shape and overall appearance remains appealing and surprisingly modern. The ventilation grill at the top and bottom of the front bezel help to add dimension as the green LED lights keep things in motion. Keeping the home users happy with a design that doesn't look boring isn't easy, just as it is difficult to keep the corporate image intact without too much pizzazz.

Synology has built one solid little NAS out of the DS408. The plastic front bezel is thick enough to sustain direct impact without suffering damage, while the rest of the unit is constructed of steel. Not that a network appliance will see a lot of careless handling or harsh environments, but the DS408 appears to be built prepared for the worst.

Since Gigabit Ethernet has found its way into the mainstream, bandwidth throughput has gradually grown for all products involved. The Synology DS408 is no different, and it handily outperformed the competition in our benchmark tests. With tremendous read-to bandwidth peaking around 57 MiB/s for a 1 Gibibyte file, and dropping no lower than 39 MiB/s in write-to performance, the Cube Station proved itself to be a real top- performer. The list of functionality features is nearly endless, and could almost be considered too much for one device since it might overwhelm the average home network enthusiast or even a trained IT professional. But as the saying goes: "It's better to have and not need then to need and not have".

While most home users might not be interested in paying over $800 for something they will use to store music and video, the Corporate Enterprise segment has never seen so much value. In a market where everything seems to cost more than a should, the DS408 could please everyone from the accountant to the IT/IS manager. In all regards, the Disk Station is far more valuable than the going street price; but I admit there aren't too many consumers who will actually use it for everything it offers.

The Synology Disk Station DS408 Gigabit 4-Bay SATA NAS server is going to be an excellent alternative to the basic workgroup and domain level file servers most resellers use for small business networks, and the additional functionality should not go overlooked. Home users might be better suited to the single drive DS107+ or twin-drive DS207+, but it's clear that there's certainly a welcome home for the DS408 (or even the five bay hot-swapping dual-NIC Disk Station DS508) in the storage-space intensive Enterprise market. Whether you find yourself positioning the DS408 in a home, SOHO, or Enterprise environment, just remember: this little workhorse could be your next web server as much as your next file server.

Pros:

+ Most versatile NAS on the market!
+ 60/44 MiB/s Gigabit Ethernet read/write performance
+ Offers Single, JBOD, RAID 0/1/5 disk arrays
+ Convenient compact footprint and size
+ High-quality metal enclosure
+ Elegant yet simple black appearance
+ Windows ADS compatible
+ Two High-Speed USB 2.0 ports
+ Simple HTML administration interface
+ Frequent firmware development and free software support
+ Pre-installed PHP+MySQL and Apache web server
+ Multi-Terabyte storage capacity
+ Sufficient cooling and ventilation
+ Supports IP camera monitoring

Cons:

- Does not offer eSATA connectivity
- Large AC power adapter brick adds to overall footprint
- Product dimensions are just short of 4U rack mount constraints
- Rear panel could support a 120mm cooling fan
- Package includes obsolete CAT-5e Ethernet patch cable

Ratings:

• Presentation: 9.25
• Appearance: 9.00
• Construction: 9.50
• Functionality: 10.0
• Value: 7.25

Final Score: 9.0 out of 10.

Excellence Achievement: Benchmark Reviews Golden Tachometer Award.

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