Agentless Backup is Not a Myth
I then copied the same data, across the same 10/100 network and router, to a 1TB Netgear Stora drive for comparison and saw 9m17s and 8m38s, respectively. So, even though the transfer rate should be throttled by the speed of the LAN, the Sata-based Nas is still noticeably quicker, by around 8 per cent on average.
Simple, effective, but pricey
Other software supplied with the USB Station 2 includes Audio Station, for music housekeeping, Internet radio and iPod playback and Download Station for working with torrents when local computers are turned off overnight. There’s an iTunes server built in and DS audio enables streaming to iPhone, iPod and Android phones.
With an RRP of £85 and on-line price not far short of that, the USB Station 2 looks overpriced. Rival products, such as Seagate’s FreeAgent DockStar – which has three USB sockets and a hard drive dock built in – costs little more than half this Synology device.
If you need to add the cost of a suitable USB drive, you’re looking at £130-140. For that money you can get something like a Stora or Buffalo’s LinkStation Duo as a discrete unit, already populated with faster, Sata drives and with RAID options for improved security.
Verdict
The USB Station 2 works well enough, though its speed is restricted compared to a Sata-based Nas (particularly if you run a gigabit LAN) and it should be around half the price. If Synology wants to play in the consumer market, it should make Windows setup more straightforward, or even automatic, and be a bit more generous with the USB sockets. ®
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Synology USB Station 2
COMMENTS
USB Network Printservers
There are plenty of USB Network Printeservers out there for 50$ or so. Be careful, because many cheapo printers require the computer to run the printing so the printserver would be inadequate (think of WinTel modems of yester-year and why they wouldn't work in Linux).
However, the Belkin F5L009 seems a much better solution than this crappy hardware. 5 USB ports and they can be independantly used by network PCs as if the USB device had been plugged directly into the computer. I actually use one of these Belkins for USB modems for a couple VMs. Gotta love being able to virtualize a server that requires a modem, and still retain VMotion and the like. :)
Wot no wireless part 2...
Yes most people will have a wireless router, however this device is also a print server. Most routers are where the phone line terminates, most printers are on a desk somewhere else, maybe next to a wireless PC if the house isn't wired with CAT5/6. Given that this has to sit beside the printer for it's USB connection wirelss would have extremely useful to save having to use a PC as a print server. This isn't a NAS device only, it would seem to be most useful serving portable devices for combined NAS/print.
Wot no wireless ????????????
The lack of wireless connectivity makes this a non starter for most users.
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