Overview
This article will discuss the options available to an IT Admin to replace their existing PC File Server with a Synology DiskStation, a modern PC File Server, or a DIY project.
Synopsis
Recently, a friend of mine asked for some advice with one his clients, a small lawyer’s office with thirty employees that was looking to replace their existing PC File Server. The existing server is a DIY AMD 800MHz computer with 512MB RAM, and two 500GB HDDs in RAID-1 handled through a PCI SATA Controller. The initial complaint from his client was that the computer is too slow to continue to serve the needs of his growing law firm. Subsequent criticisms of the server included how difficult it was to grow storage capacity and that business was previously interrupted due to an unnoticed RAID failure. This office had never heard of NAS – but after consideration, it was decided that using a Synology DiskStation would be the best way to proceed. The DiskStation meets the firm’s needs for scalable file storage and reliability. This article will discuss how the firm arrived at this conclusion, and the concerns that were brought up when replacing their existing PC File Server with a DiskStation.
PC File Server vs. NAS – Hardware Concerns
A few concerns were brought up in the discussion with using a traditional DIY PC File Server. These included the time required to assemble the hardware and dealing with frustration when it comes to checking clearances of mere millimeters when installing a 5-bay Hot-swap cage in a 3×5.25” of a tower. While off-the-shelf computer parts may be affordable, as a consultant or an SMB IT Admin, using off-the-shelf parts to build a replacement server will cost the greatest resource of all: time.
Time is often wasted when dealing with hardware integration issues. From my recent experience building an optimized high performance computer, it was frustrating to debug a motherboard issue with SATA 6Gbps drives, only to find out that the SATA Controller required a firmware update. On the same computer, another issue was that I had to head out to the local recycling center and acquire a PS/2 Keyboard and Mouse. The computer I was building required a BIOS update for the USB Controller, which is hard to conduct if I can’t use a USB Keyboard/mouse to instruct the computer to run the update. All of these interruptions when building a computer will cost time, both for the consultant and for the business. IT consultants will fall behind schedule to help as many clients as possible, while the business adds billable hours to their costs, which are frivolously wasted on non-productive work.
The hardware integration time can be mitigated by using a pre-fabricated computer. However, it may not be as affordable. Another concern is that using a traditional PC File Server (whether DIY or pre-fab) is that it’s still a large PC solely for a simple act of file sharing. Because it’s based on general components, it consumes more energy and physical space than an embedded appliance.
PC File Server vs. NAS – Software Concerns
While we were talking about integrating hardware, the topic of integrating software was also heavily discussed. For a DIY Server, the firm would need to spend at least $1000 for a Windows Server License, plus the cost of licensing fees for each Client Access License. In addition, the firm wanted to minimize on-site billable hours for my friend to deal with day-to-day duties of storage administration.
Synergy between Hardware and Software, the Synology DiskStation NAS
The ideal server would be integrated so well it would align to the old adage, “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” A general purpose PC File Server is not, by definition, an integrated device. As the components were not designed as server hardware, there will undoubtedly be hardware and software compatibility issues among the pieces. Instead of spending time in different interfaces to create just one user, Synology DiskStation Manager provides a simple, unified interface to conduct all storage administration tasks.
The DiskStation’s hardware and software is designed to function as one. Because of this heavy integration, integrated hardware offers a smaller footprint, consumes less energy, and generates less noise. The integrated software makes Synology DSM a lightweight and powerful OS, giving small businesses or small offices a wealth of powerful features.
PC File Server Replacement, the DiskStation NAS
Ultimately, the firm chose the DiskStation DS1511+ to address the needs of the office. These included
- Higher Performance
- Smaller footprint
- Affordable solution
- Lower learning curve to learn how to manage the storage system
- Simple scalability
- Notifications of errors, including disk drive failure
- Time-saving Operating System
The biggest benefit the firm realized was the amount of time saved using the DSM, given that it was relatively easy to deploy. My friend took less than 15 minutes to unpack the DiskStation, install 5x1TB hard drives and get the DSM to start building a SHR Volume. After letting it build overnight and conducting the consistency check, he moved it to the firm’s office where he joined the DiskStation to their ADS Domain. After Domain integration, he proceeded to conduct migration of existing data on the retiring server, including migrating the ACLs to the DiskStation. All of these tasks are done from one unified interface, making for a quick and easy deployment. Considering the lack of effort required, both my friend and the firm are pleased with the DiskStation’s performance. Easy to setup, easy to deploy thus far, and requires very little “human-input” to get the DiskStation started hosting data.
DiskStation NAS Provides Simplicity
A few weeks after deployment of the DS1511+ in the firm’s office, their employees couldn’t be happier. A simple change to their map drive scripts and they’ve noticed a serious difference. Suddenly, no one was yelling or grumbling their frustration due to an aging server responding to multiple file requests. Massive legal documents, accounting spreadsheets, database files, and images were all accessible without a hitch.
In a few years, the office plans to upgrade to 2TB drives when their 5x1TB drives are filled to capacity. With the convenience of front-loading drives, SHR for volume expansion, upgrading storage in the future will be a simple process. With notifications enabled, my friend and the law firm can rest easy as any disk error will be noted by the DSM and will send out alerts if needed.
The DiskStation is an elegant device for a more civilized age of computer data storage – something that truly meets the needs of what businesses need. As both hardware and software are designed to work together, the office can rest easy knowing that their data storage nightmares are over.
Have you switched from a PC File Server to a NAS? Share your experience below!
The DS712+ just came out, it’s perfect for starting out small and scaling out when needed; an ideal choice for replacing a PC File Server. We’re conducting a DS712+ giveaway, details here.
I’ve switched from a PC File Server (linux-based) to a NAS (DS1511+) a few moments ago, and must say that it was a smart move to make
H’ve switched from HP Mediasmart Windows Home server
It was quick, easy and realy fast to transfert data.
I will never change my NAS DS2211+
I used freeNAS with an old PC. But, as it was not flexible, and i spend times for HW issue or software installation i have decided to switch to synology to reduce the place and eletric cnosumption of the NAS and to have a rich integrated interface.
But for personnal use, software likes openmediavault or freeNAS could give them (old PC) a second live to backup data stored on a synology.
regards
Personally, at the end of the day, I don’t want to deal with administrating anything at home. I would just get another DiskStation for backups, and recycle or give away the older computer. I know of a couple of schools around the area that are always willing to take used computers, and have students that are eager to learn computers.
oups, i think that i was not clear : we can use a synology as a main file server system (as i do) and a old PC with freeNAS just to make a backup of data stored in the synology with RSYNC service (so not many administrative tasks to do on the freenas server)
I am an architect / unofficial IT guy at a small architecture firm of 15 employees. We have a Windows Server 2003 server that is all of our servers in one (i.e., ADS, file, exchange, etc.) and we use a DS410 as a backup device. Our Windows 2003 server has a 5 drive RAID array for a total of around 700 GB of storage available and we use a gigabit LAN as some of our building model files can get quite hefty. I’ve always been curious about completely replacing our Windows 2003 server with a synology diskstation to serve as our domain server (and move email outside the office with something like Google Apps). Do the new DSM 3.2 LDAP features help make this possible? Could someone point me to the correct documents for this?
Hi Nick
Depending on what functions of ADS you use, yes, it is possible to replace your ADS server with an LDAP server for handling user authentication duties. But if you use other management aspects of ADS, such as controlling all your computers at once from a single terminal, handling policy updates, then you need to remain with ADS.
Note that when using LDAP Authentication, the clients will need to be able to use transparent passwords, or you need to install a package on every single computer that allows for encrypted passwords to authenticate against a LDAP environment – from what I read thus far. I personally haven’t done LDAP Authentication; I do plan on doing it myself and documenting all of the steps necessary for authenticating against a LDAP server though.
Oh, by the way, out of concern of your data privacy – you may wish to consider whether or not you wish to have Google to have a copy of every single email of your business, something to consider when moving to 3rd party cloud services.
Hope this helps
Hello Franklin. Have you been able to test the LDAP server functions on the Synology as a way of replacing ADS for a small 10 person office? I have a client that I would like to get rid of their Windows 2003 file server and just go with a Synology unit.
Thanks.
We bought DS1511+ regarding similar comparisons. We chose between Qnap and Synology and we pick Synology because of lover price. But after installation we found out that there are two big differences – QNAP support RAID 10 + spare, while Synology support only RAID5 + spare (we missed this, but there was so much similar information …) and so we have 5 disks in 5 bay unit while we are using only 4 disks
.
Another much more important and problematic issue is support of ntlmv2, which is not supported on Synology, but it is supported on QNAP. The result is that we cannot connect from Windows 7 directly to NAS. We must do workaround with host on every single PC which uses this NAS. We are truly disappointed and we are thinking of buying another NAS, but this time from QNAP.
So you prove this Slovenian sentence – little bit of money, little bit of music.
I also found this forum:
http://forum.synology.com/enu/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=32438&start=0
I really don’t understand how can that new NAS is still using so bad security.
Hi Jure
Thanks for the comment, just to let you know, support of NTLMv2 is planned for a future DSM Update. If in the future, you have any further questions about the Synology DiskStation, feel free to contact our Pre-Sales Team here.
How does the DS212J or better play with my Denon 3312ci or PS3?
Can I stream 3D 1080p with DTS-HD?
Would this all go across LAN or USB connect to Denon?
Pretty exciting product if it can do what I need. More than happy to donate AMD box to library.
Hi Van
Hope this helps.
@Franklin – “for a future DSM Update” – what does this mean, next DSM update or somwhere in the future?
I already use Pre-Sales Team for question about RAID10+spare – the anwser was similar in the future release …
Hi Jure
What I mean is that the feature you’re looking for, NTLMv2, is in the development process of being integrated into the DSM. As it’s under development, we cannot guarantee a release date when which version of the DSM will feature NTLMv2 compatibility.
Hope this helps, and have a good day.
Is there a way to install an antivirus on this NAS? —–> NO
Thank you!
Greetings Angele
At this time, there is no supported method of installing Anti-virus software directly on the DiskStation. May I ask why are you looking for this ability? The ability of having Anti-virus software on the DiskStation itself may be available in the future.
Bonjour,Pouvez-vous svp nous détallier pourquoi selon vous vous nous encouragez à choisir le DS212+ plutôt que le DS212 ? Leurs performances en lecture/écriture semblent proches, pour quel usage pensez-vous la supériorité matériel dur DS212+ pourrait faire la différence ?…Cordialement,David
Greetings Tomas
Please allow me to respond in English, the DS212+ is available for those who need to run more memory intensive applications, such as running a MySQL server, or using additional cameras with Surveillance Station. If you do not foresee the need for these abilities, then you may stick with the DS212 as your DiskStation. More performance information is available on our 2-bay Performance Charts .
Hope this helps!
== Commencez Google Translate ==
Salutations Tomas
S’il vous plaît permettez-moi de répondre en anglais, le DS212+ est disponible pour ceux qui ont besoin d’exécuter des applications de mémoire à plus forte intensité, tels que l’exécution d’un serveur MySQL, ou en utilisant des caméras supplémentaires avec Surveillance Station. Si vous ne prévoyez pas la nécessité pour ces capacités, alors vous pouvez coller avec le DS212 que votre DiskStation. Plus d’informations rendement est disponible sur nos 2-bay les graphiques de performances .
espérons que cette aide!
== Fin Google Translate ==
Funny. Did exactly the same thing. Had a Ubuntu DIY server and the thing was broken all the time.
Bought the 1511 and almost all of my troubles disappeared.
Good choice.
Current DiY environment:
Web application description: fairly simple application reading MySql DB and generates pages with links to *.mp3 files that can be downloaded one at a time (file size 10 -20 Mb/file).
Web stats: 100-200 visitors/day downloading files 1-10 GB/day. Several concurrent users.
Disk: Western Digital WD1200JB 8 Mb buffer 7200 r/min
CPU: Intel Pentium 2Ghz 256 Kb cache
Ubuntu 9.10
Apache 2.2.12
MySql 5.2.10
PHP5 5.2.10
Network via ISP fiber 100/100 Mb
Router: Netgear WNDR3800 Gigabit Router
Coming new environment:
Synology DS212+
Disk: Seagate Barracuda 1Tb 7200rpm Sata-III/600 64mb
Would this new environment match the current environment? Bottlenecks? Other problems? I have seen questions in the forum regarding slow response time in PHP. In general – are there issues using the NAS as a web server for this kind of web application?
Other Synology DS that better match the performance need for my app?
Thanks
Greetings yse
If I were to make an educated guess, I believe you would be looking at using a DS712+ instead of the DS212+, as the DS712+ has a more powerful processor and more RAM, which provides more processing capability for handling your web load. Considering that you’re using a MySQL Driven application, processing capability will become your bottleneck before your storage array.
There’s the potential for two bottlenecks in what you’re looking for, at the storage array (not enough IOPS) or at the processing capability of the DiskStation. The later issue can be resolved by using a DS712+, which I’m more comfortable recommending. With regards the former, I would suggest that you run iostat on your Linux System to determine how many IOPS your system is running. More information about IOPS can be found on the IOPS: Performance Capacity Planning Explained article.
Just for reference, the blog site you’re on, SynologyWiki, Synology Forum, Synology Corporate Website, or even our download mirrors, is operating on Synology RackStation RS810+, which uses very similar hardware to the DS712+.
Hope this helps!
Thanks for your prompt reply.
I had to upgrade my ubuntu installation to be able to install iostat. I have started to collect some statistics.
Kind regards
yse
Hello Franklin,
Thanks for this article.
I have a similar environment that I am looking to deploy a NAS and Synology DiskStation 5-Bay (DS1512+) is one of the solution I am considering. I have a few questions though…
There’s no Active Directory or Domain Controllers in the picture – just a simple Workgroup provided by Windows 7 dominated operating system. Can this Synology DS provide some kind of access policy for this kind of environment to create some kind of restricted access to certain docs on the system.
Can this do real time back up for end users pcs with access to the device?
Greetings espaceinc
1. Yes, the DSM does have NTFS-Style ACL capability, which can be adjusted through the Windows Environment, or through File Station of the DSM. Using ACLs, you can set it up where only certain users will have access to certain files, or folders. Please refer to Windows ACL page for further information
2. With regards to backups, for Windows Clients, using Data Replicator 3 can backup user generated content, such as Office Files, music, photos, etc. For Mac Computers, Mac Users can use Time Machine to backup their Mac Computers. You may refer to the Desktop Backup page for further information.
Hope this helps
Nice Blog.
I have just started supporting a new client that is using a Windows 2000 (!) server as a file server/dc. They outsource their Exchange and will, in fact, be moving that to Office 365. That being said it appears all they need is a file server and I would like to use your 1512 to replace it. The don’t really need a domain, just need to create maybe 3 groups and restrict access to HR and Accounting files to 2 of the groups. Your product appears to satisfy that. I have some questions though:
Can you deliver DHCP?
Is there a way to “sync” 2 1512′s over the WAN? I’m thinking that if their office loses power I could have a mirror of the 1512 at my site that they could then connect to from home.
Is there a document somewhere that describes the Cloud Station functionality? This might satisfy my previous question.
What happened today was they lost power in the office,so they went home to work but of course the VPN wasn’t working and the server was still down, so this did nothing. So I’m looking into ways to have redundancy in a case like that.
So this is an office of about 25-30 people, half of which are remote. Sharing a 36Gb file share and about 1Tb of graphics files sitting on a Mac. I want to replace all of it with your device.
Please advise. Also, you guys don’t do eval units do you?
Jim
Greetings Jim
colocation facility , where you can access this server anywhere around the world, and you can use the colo’s facility battery backups and auxiliary generators.
I hope this answers all of your questions, and have a good day.
Hello. I just purchased the DS213. First off, I want to congratulate the Synology engineering team for building what appears to be a first class piece of equipment; very well built. I’m hoping I will be able to use this with my Lion Server (OSX), but I’m having a big problem that I hope you can help me with.
I am a healthcare provider. My practice is just myself, and two administrative assistants. I need to use the server as the connecting point to all drives (USB or otherwise)—including the DS213. I will be storing documents on the DS213, but I need to control access to these documents directly from the server. One of the biggest reasons is the DS213 does not support at present L2TP VPN, which required by HIPAA guidelines when logging in remotely (which I and one of the support persons routinely do). Therefore I need to set up a sharepoint on the server itself to the DS213 (or to folders on the DS213) with the appropriate ACL’s.
I would appreciate any advise! Many thanks.
George Drew
Greetings George
I’m confused by your question…? Can you clarify what you’re asking for?
SharePoint is requires a Windows OS to run correctly, therefore, it will not function directly on the DiskStation.
For HIPAA Compliance, we support user authentication, NTFS-ACLs, and Shared Folder Encryption. To access the DiskStation remotely, the DiskStation natively supports HTTP over SSL/TLS, FTP over SSL/TLS, and SSH FTP. With regards to VPN Access – the DiskStation can dial an existing PPTP or OpenVPN Network.
Depending on if your infrastructure currently supports it, what you can do is setup a L2TP VPN Server, where you would dial in remotely to the L2TP server, and from there, access the DiskStation.
I hope this helps.
Thanks for this excellent article… I have just used it to migrate an aging 2003 Domain Controller that was just being used as a file server to a Synology RS812.
I am wondering what your advice would be on completely removing the pre-existing server?
How would I go about moving all the users from a Domain to a workgroup?
I assume their profiles would all have to be copied over to new “Workgroup” profiles, and I would need to re-create their username/passwords on the Synology as actual users…
Currently it’s getting all their user privileges via the domain and ACL.
I am just worried that the server may die… it’s RAID array is using very old expensive SCSI drives that I don’t want to replace…. it’s operating system is unstable after years of neglect and things being ripped in and out of it (Exchange, web services, virus infections, etc)
I would like to totally remove it from operation…. and then once it’s all working smoothly I could reload it up and us it to backup the Synology right?
Thanks for any and all advice.
Hi yourguide
With regards to removing the ADS Server completely – that is dependent upon what ADS Services are in use. To be fair, there’s really no way for me to provide accurate consultation unless I see the environment that you’re running. Last I check, we have yet to figure out how to build a Heisenberg Compensator.
If you’re using the ADS Server strictly as User account authentication, and each user in your network uses only one computer in your office, then moving the User Account information to the RackStation is as simple as you have described. If you’re using ACLs on each individual file, then each file ACLs will have to be recreated, as the ACL name is no longer the same.
However, if each user shares a computer, or shares every single computer in your network, I would suggest that you keep the ADS Server, given that your office is set in their ways of using every single computer on the network. If you use ADS Management tools, such has deployment of updates to all of your computers via ADS Management, a different method of handling all of your software updates to each terminal will need to be employed.
As you can see, removing an ADS Server can be a complicated task, given how much a network depends on its capabilities.
Hope this helps!
I just received a DS213 and LOVEEEEEEE IT. I installed in less than 15 mins.
replacing a windows server.
The NAS is so easy to operate. It’s all in “plain jane english”. I would not say I am completely computer illeterate but it has been a challenge working a server whereas the Synology system is so easy to operate by someone who has limited computing skills.
We are a small 10 people office and this is going to work great.
I am having our IT person come in and take the “old” server down – so that it is gone and there are no conflicts with any systems.