Page 5: DiskStation Manager 4.0 Part 2
DiskStation Manager 4.0 Part 2
The good thing is that you don't need to go into the terminal to do everything you expect. Want to run a PHP enabled web server with MySQL? Simply enable the Web Services in the control panel and setup some websites. It is really that simple to get up and running.
The file manager allows you to manage your files, obviously. Unlike doing the file management through a share, this allows you to do everything with one screen and to copy and manage as if you are on the device itself.
One of the first things you will probably do is make sure the network settings are correct for your network. The DS712+ supports gigabit Ethernet, but it also supports 802.3ad link aggregation to use two connections to get even faster speeds. If your network supports this, you're good to go. Like the older software, you can tunnel IPv6 over IPv4 connections.
Sharing is setup through the control panel. You will want to enable the Windows File Service (Samba/CIFS) and give it a workgroup name. The DS712+ supports Active Directory as well, if you have that setup. You can also enable the CIFS recycle bin to save people when they delete files off the share by accident. This is a good feature, really.
Creating a share is very simple. You tell the software what you want to name the share and the wizard guides you through the process of setting it up with the permissions. You can grant and restrict by user and by group. It also supports Windows ACLs.
Moving on to the Audio Station, this is nearly the same as the previous version. It allows you to stream music from the internet as well as your own playlists on the device itself. The software uses flash to play audio, so if you have Flashblock installed, make sure it is disabled. One nice feature that Synology provides is the ability to attach USB speakers to the device and play music through them.
The Photo Station is a really nice way to manage your photos. Sure, it may not be as easy to use as desktop tools, but for a multi user experience, this is a great thing to have. If you have multiple people uploading pictures, you can grant them access to different folders and even give public access to allow everyone to view them. The software manages the creation of thumbnails with the entire user interface. It is as simple as dropping files on a network share.
The Download Station seemed to only have a face lift on first glance, but there are some nice options added since the last version. One of my favorites is the ability to set a queue folder to drop .torrent files into and have the DS712+ grab those and start the download automatically. No more logging into the UI to start download tasks! You can also set limits for bandwidth and connections.
One of the best features of Synology products is the NVR (Network Video Recorder) aspect. The Surveillance Station has all the functions of the big NVR players in the market in an easy to use interface. There are smart phone applications to allow you to see what's going on when you want to from anywhere. The DSM software supports dynamic DNS servers, including one from Synology.
The help system had a good overhaul. The sections are laid out very well and information is given in a useful manner. You can drill down and get to what you need, quickly.
The DSM 4.0 software comes with Linux 2.6.32.12 (Linux ASEDS712p 2.6.32.12 #2228 SMP Thu May 10 02:29:45 CST 2012 x86_64 GNU/Linux synology_x86_712+). The 2.6.x branch of Linux is pretty old, but I'm pretty sure that Synology and team are backporting any needed changes to support the newer device. You can easily get shell access by granting terminal access in the control panel of the UI. This allows you full control over the entire Linux based system.
The good thing is that you don't need to go into the terminal to do everything you expect. Want to run a PHP enabled web server with MySQL? Simply enable the Web Services in the control panel and setup some websites. It is really that simple to get up and running.
The file manager allows you to manage your files, obviously. Unlike doing the file management through a share, this allows you to do everything with one screen and to copy and manage as if you are on the device itself.
One of the first things you will probably do is make sure the network settings are correct for your network. The DS712+ supports gigabit Ethernet, but it also supports 802.3ad link aggregation to use two connections to get even faster speeds. If your network supports this, you're good to go. Like the older software, you can tunnel IPv6 over IPv4 connections.
Sharing is setup through the control panel. You will want to enable the Windows File Service (Samba/CIFS) and give it a workgroup name. The DS712+ supports Active Directory as well, if you have that setup. You can also enable the CIFS recycle bin to save people when they delete files off the share by accident. This is a good feature, really.
Creating a share is very simple. You tell the software what you want to name the share and the wizard guides you through the process of setting it up with the permissions. You can grant and restrict by user and by group. It also supports Windows ACLs.
Moving on to the Audio Station, this is nearly the same as the previous version. It allows you to stream music from the internet as well as your own playlists on the device itself. The software uses flash to play audio, so if you have Flashblock installed, make sure it is disabled. One nice feature that Synology provides is the ability to attach USB speakers to the device and play music through them.
The Photo Station is a really nice way to manage your photos. Sure, it may not be as easy to use as desktop tools, but for a multi user experience, this is a great thing to have. If you have multiple people uploading pictures, you can grant them access to different folders and even give public access to allow everyone to view them. The software manages the creation of thumbnails with the entire user interface. It is as simple as dropping files on a network share.
The Download Station seemed to only have a face lift on first glance, but there are some nice options added since the last version. One of my favorites is the ability to set a queue folder to drop .torrent files into and have the DS712+ grab those and start the download automatically. No more logging into the UI to start download tasks! You can also set limits for bandwidth and connections.
One of the best features of Synology products is the NVR (Network Video Recorder) aspect. The Surveillance Station has all the functions of the big NVR players in the market in an easy to use interface. There are smart phone applications to allow you to see what's going on when you want to from anywhere. The DSM software supports dynamic DNS servers, including one from Synology.
The help system had a good overhaul. The sections are laid out very well and information is given in a useful manner. You can drill down and get to what you need, quickly.
The DSM 4.0 software comes with Linux 2.6.32.12 (Linux ASEDS712p 2.6.32.12 #2228 SMP Thu May 10 02:29:45 CST 2012 x86_64 GNU/Linux synology_x86_712+). The 2.6.x branch of Linux is pretty old, but I'm pretty sure that Synology and team are backporting any needed changes to support the newer device. You can easily get shell access by granting terminal access in the control panel of the UI. This allows you full control over the entire Linux based system.