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Synology Cube Station CS407 NAS
Web Station
The embedded web server for the administrative interface isn’t the only web page you can get to. In addition to the Photo Station, which is a pre-configured web service, the CS-407 also includes Web Station, which enables a web host on the device. Placing an index.html file into the newly-created "web" shared folder starts the process. It supports both regular and secure HTTP. The CS-407 also has the ability to host MySQL and PHP. I was able to dig up an old copy of Microsoft FrontPage 2000 and create a quick web page without any problems. FTP Service The FTP service is almost a given on any NAS worth its salt, but the implementation of this FTP service seems incomplete. Yes, you can enable FTP, and set up specific ports and passive port ranges. There is even a method to restrict bandwidth as well as enabling an anonymous FTP. A block list can be created for hosts that fail repeatedly to login as well. But where it falls short is security. The Cube Station can do FTP over SSH, but it is not enabled by default. I would also like to see the ability to restrict specific folders from being accessed; as it is, FTP users have access to all the information in the NAS.  iTunes Server The Cube Station includes a built-in iTunes Server. Any music in the “music” folder which it creates will be shared out to iTunes clients on the same subnet. I tested iTunes 7.2 and the Cube Station showed up immediately. Besides the ability to share files, you also have the ability to create “smart” playlists. Essentially, through a series of search rules, a playlist can be generated. These rules can sort through genre, artist, title, album, file path, bitrate, year, and date added. You can add multiple rules to create a highly specific playlist for your tastes. You also have the option to password-protect your music. The iTunes Server performed as I expected and I really did not have any complaints. Active Directory Services Any NAS fit for competition in the small business market needs to support Active Directory Services. I tested this by connecting the device to a simple Windows 2000 domain. Connecting to the domain controller with a properly credentialed account, the Cube Station immediately added all the domain's users and groups to its account manager. Granting read and write privileges was just a matter of clicking tabs and checking boxes. Access was restricted or granted almost immediately after changing permissions. I couldn't find any problems with the Active Directory Services support at all.
Page 1: Introduction & Features
Page 2: First Looks & Setup Page 3: PhotoStation, Download Service & Backup Service Page 4: Web Station, FTP Service, iTunes Server & Active Directory Services Page 5: Testing Page 6: Quality Check Page 7: Conclusion 
Add Comment
5 User Comments 1 - Posted by
NAS Shopper
on August 23, 2007 - 11:40 pm Thanks for the great review. I was all set to purchase a ReadyNAS NV+ until I discovered that diskless versions were no longer offered, so now I'm looking at alternatives like the cube station.
2 - Posted by
Rich
on August 26, 2007 - 10:53 pm Yes, I was impressed with cubestation. Something I think I did fail to mention in the original review is the apparent lack of SMART info from the drives. I know my ReadyNAS X6 reports this information, but the cubestation appears to be missing it.
3 - Posted by
Looking at a NAS
on August 27, 2007 - 9:05 pm I'm in the same boat as NAS Shopper, wanted a ReadyNAS until I found out I couldn't get a diskless version. Synology is a possibility.
4 - Posted by
thany
on August 10, 2009 - 9:52 am Wouldn't you say it's rediculously slow for a RAID5 box connected via Gb LAN? I mean, any modern SATA disk can easily read in excess of 80MBps, and Gb ehternet is capable of running at a practical speed of mor than 950Mbps. So I would expect transfer speeds around 80-90MBps. 5 - Posted by
Max Slowik
on August 10, 2009 - 11:41 pm Sure, /two years from now!/ Wait. Shit. Something's two years off ;)
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