Synology DS409 slim 4-Bay NAS

Synology launched the new 2.5" 4-bay Disk Station DS409slim, a highly anticipated addition to the 09 series product line that brings lower power consumption, virtually quiet operations and an extremely small footprint both physically and financially while providing the same reliable data sharing and backup solution that Synology is well known for.

The DS409slim is equipped with a 1.2 GHz CPU, 128MB DDRII RAM, one Gigabit LAN port, two USB2.0 ports and one eSATA port. The snap-in disk tray requires minimal effort to install and replace disks. Supporting up to 2 TB with the combination of four 2.5" SATA or SSD hard drives of 500GB which is the largest capacity on the market, it remains stylish and compact (120 x 105 x 142 mm).

The adoption of 2.5" hard drives helps to increase shock tolerance and MTBF and reduce power consumption. The DS409slim consumes only 19 watts under normal operation with four hard drives installed. The smart fan design keeps the DS409slim's fan off under normal operations and brings quiet operation.

"The DS409slim fulfills of the desire to be eco-friendly while enjoying a quiet and reliable NAS server with rich business and multimedia applications," said by Edward Lin, marketing director of Synology. The Disk Station Manager 2.1 firmware supports Windows ADS integration, cross platform data sharing, RAID data protection and several backup alternatives. As for multimedia applications, Download Station 2 functions as a 24x7 BitTorrent, FTP, HTTP, eMule and NZB download center. Audio Station supports music, Internet radio stations, and iPod playback with connected USB speakers. UPnP support allows users to stream multimedia files with an UPnP DMA on a stereo system or a TV-set. Sony PS3 and Microsoft Xbox360 are also supported.

Synology will release the beta version of Disk Station Manager 2.2 in July 2009 and the official version in September 2009, further catering users' desire for hassle-free digital content sharing and storage. The new DLNA compliant Media Server ensures interoperability between DS409slim and various DLNA certified CE, PC and mobile devices. The iPhone support allows users to upload photos to DS409slim or to browse photos stored on DS049slim with iPhone/iPod Touch. Streaming music stored on DS409slim with iPhone/iPod Touch is also supported. The DSM 2.2 firmware, with many more to discover, will be free for download on Synology's official website. The DS409slim is now shipping.