Synology DS 216. Home cloud.

The modern world is generating content in the hundreds of gigabytes per second. Not all of it worth preserving for the ages. But for people whose work is directly related to content, the preservation of that content is a priority issue.

I’m a traveling photographer, and I have more than just an emotional attachment to my archive. The photos I took years ago are often still relevant today, becoming part of new photo stories and fitting well into the makeup of new articles. So for me the question of archive safety is as important as reliability of photographic equipment and lens cleanliness.

Many photographers are often inattentive about preserving their archives. It seems, for example, that storing photos on a scattering of external drives is convenient, inexpensive and quite reliable. From my experience I can say that this is not a good idea. I had such disks were dying in piles. After I lost some important footage because of that, I decided to reconsider my approach to archive organization.

Nowadays one of the most effective and secure ways to store data is through an external network attached storage NAS . It is essentially a computer with a disk array. Such a NAS can be assembled and configured by yourself or you can choose one of the ready-made solutions. Like the Synology DS 216.

The DS 216 is a black box with a set of LEDs, a couple of buttons, and a USB port on the front. Everything is simple and minimalist, not just in design but in installation as well. Under the glossy front cover there is a slot for two hard disks of format 3.5′. Remember, how in the 90’s we collected computers with a tambourine dance and a screwdriver? Forget it, you will not need a screwdriver. To install the disks to the DS 216 it is sufficient to attach a pair of slides, which are included in the package, and insert the disks into the NAS. It’s simple, fast and straightforward.

And now that we are talking about disks, it is worth saying that it is necessary to choose disks for NAS responsibly. Unlike a normal computer, NAS operates 24/7 with short and occasional nap breaks. That means you should choose disks developed specifically for this operating mode. For my archive I chose Seagate IronWolf drives. Quiet, fast and reliable, these drives were designed specifically to work in network attached storage. But no matter how reliable the drive is, nobody can predict its sudden death. But Seagate has created a Health Management System for its drives that analyzes a number of drive parameters and warns of impending drive failure.

After installing the drives, the DS 216 connects to your home network and power, and goes somewhere inconspicuous. By the way, many people advise to put the NAS on the floor, not on the table, to protect yourself from the unpleasant vibrations. I have DS 216 on the table, so it pulls less dust and is protected from the not-so-jumpy growing up daughter, and I do not feel any strong vibrations from it.

Then comes the process of installing the operating system to the NAS. Once the DS 216 is connected to your local network, simply log into your browser, type /data/away/ba66ee7203179e1ea99fd9c1cb147179/ in the address bar, and the system will find your NAS, determine its type, and help you install the DSM operating system, assign an ID to the NAS that it will be visible under, as well as setup an administrator account. When the installation is done, your NAS is ready to go.

And here comes the fun part. Once installed, the DS2 16 will appear on the list of devices on your local network. It is important to understand that you can’t work with the DS 216 just by connecting it to your computer via USB. Networking only. So if you want your NAS to be fast and comfortable, get your network in order. For example I had to change my router for a faster one, supporting Wireless-N format.

You can of course use the DS 216 as if it were a regular remote drive, but this would severely limit your NAS options. If you access the storage via web-interface you will find out that it can do much more than just store data.

The web-interface of the DSM operating system is the usual windowing system. By default, the “desktop” immediately displays several widgets, the most important of which shows the status of the system. It’s important to say that while everything works fine, it doesn’t dump a bunch of service information like hard drive temperature on the user’s head though it’s constantly measured and monitored . As long as the widget shows you a big green checkmark and says “Your device is running fine” you have nothing to worry about. By the way, by default the two disks installed in a NAS work in the full mirroring mode which makes the system even more reliable.

The DS 216 features a package system that lets you expand the functionality of the DS 216. Backup system for files from other devices to Synology, torrent tracker, video and photo server, memo and document manager, even corporate chat. Yes, there is even a program to manage ip surveillance cameras and automatically save data to NAS.

User and group system allows to assign roles and limit access to certain programs and folders. All this allows you to organize your company work exclusively on one NAS. This can be especially important for those who do not want to entrust corporate secrets to messengers or Google docs.

At the moment there are dozens of different programs, both Synology and third-party, in the package center.

But for me, as a photographer, these settings were more of a nice bonus. More importantly, I can use QuickConnect to connect to my home NAS. This feature is available under the appropriate menu item in the control panel and allows you to assign a unique identifier to the storage. Further this identifier can be used for quick access to the NAS via browser address bar.

So, if your NAS ID looks like test_NAS, you can connect to it by typing test_NAS into the address bar.quickconnect.to. After entering your username and password you have full access to your NAS through the web interface. This is especially important to me, as I often receive requests for photos when I am away from my archive. With DS 216 I can not only get the file or folder I want, but also share a download link and the owner of the link can download the file directly from my home NAS. By the way the link can be password protected.

I can access all the functions of DS 216 not only from my computer, but also with a cell phone using special software. So with the DS file app for iOS you can browse, download or share files on your NAS.

There are three USB connectors on the DS 216, one on the front and two on the back. Any storage device connected to any of these ports will appear in File Station as a separate folder. That can be handy if, for example, you didn’t have time to copy some files from an external drive to the NAS. Then you can just let the folks at home know to connect the hard drive to the DS 216. Of course, it’s a crutch, and it’s better to keep all the necessary files on NAS, but this function helped me a couple of times.

In addition, the front USB port of the DS 216 can be used to quickly copy files from a USB device connected to it. You can fine-tune the system’s copy settings, specify in which folder to copy files and how to deal with takes. It can be useful when you come from the shoot and you do not have time and energy to merge photos manually, and soon you are back in action.

The DS 216 designers also thought about those who would eventually want to upgrade to a system with more drives. Simply remove the disks from the DS 216 and put them in a bigger storage space. The system will be installed automatically, preserving all user settings. It is worth noting that the older models have the ability to scale the NAS with additional proprietary garbage cans via E-SATA, InfiBand, or SAS interfaces depending on the type of device . In the case of the DS 216 this option, unfortunately, does not work.

Conclusion

The Synology DS 216 is a cloud-based E-SATA, InfiBand, or SAS service with lots of obvious and not so obvious features in your home. Of course, along with this you take on the responsibility of maintaining your archive.

No one can protect that precious little box from a spilled glass of wine, an inattentive maid, cat, or children’s clingy hands. Yes, in the end you have to clean it from dust regularly. But the speed, the convenience of access, and the ability to have your data on your own device in your own home is worth it.