SmallNetBuilder

Introduction

Updated 9/19/2007 - Performance results updated with DS107e retest data.

It’s been a busy year for Synology. Over the course of this year, the company has revamped its product line with new models, new features, and in some cases, new case designs. Recently, I reviewed the new Cube Station CS407/407e four-bay BYOD SATA NAS and Tim Higgins reviewed the DS207 Disk Station two-bay BYOD NAS earlier this year. Now, Synology is completing their product line refresh with the introduction of three new single-bay BYOD NAS products. You’ve probably figured out by now that following the naming convention, the family name for the new single drive NASes is DS107.

Product Tour

Each of the new DS107s sports a completely new case design as compared to last year’s model, the DS106. The new case design is essentially a single bay version of the DS207. On the front panel, there are individual status LEDs for Status, LAN (Link/activity), Disk, and eSATA. There’s one USB 2.0 port on the front panel (plus two more on the rear panel), as well as an eSATA port for attaching an external SATA drive.

The power button turns on the device as well as performing a "safe" shutdown of the system. Finally, a USB Copy button will copy files from an external USB device to the root of a user-defined share on the internal disk. 

Figure 1: Rear view of the DS107

The rear panel of the DS107 (Figure 1) has two additional USB 2.0 ports. You can use the USB ports for up to three external drives, an external USB printer, USB connected speakers, or the receptor for Synology’s new remote control. In addition, though not mentioned in the manual, the DS107 also supports a limited number of UPSes. (see this page). There’s also a reset button, gigabit Ethernet port, power jack for the external power supply, and a security slot. The quiet, temperature controlled fan ensures that the DS107 won’t overheat.