Thread: The Synology Disk Station DS209

At first glance the Disk Station DS209 from Synology looks like a fairly run-of-the-mill small NAS (Network Attached Storage) appliance. But that's far from the case, the compact DS209 delivering a high level of performance plus a whole raft of unexpected features beyond simple file sharing.



Designed to take either one or two drives, the DS209 is housed in a smart white plastic casing with an external AC adapter. Disks aren't included, but most 3.5-inch SATA drives can be used (there's a compatibility list on the Synology website) leaving you to choose your own capacity (up to 2TB per disk) and spin speed. You can even go for 2.5-inch drives using special carriers, available separately.

Fitting the disks can be a bit fiddly because of the lack of space inside the device. You'll also need a screwdriver, but the necessary screws and cables are provided, with the cables just the right length so that it all fits together quite neatly.