ioSafe N2: A Disaster-Resistant Synology DS213
by Ganesh T S on March 4, 2013 12:00 PM ESTMiscellaneous Aspects and Final Words
The ioSafe N2 is a 2-bay NAS, and the applicable disk configurations are JBOD, RAID-0 and RAID-1. Synology makes the RAID level transparent to the user using the Synology Hybrid RAID (SHR) feature. SHR can be set up with either single or dual disk failure resiliency, but, in the case of the ioSafe N2 / Synology DS213, only single failure resiliency is supported. Most users of the ioSafe N2 are either going to use RAID-1 (manual) or SHR (which essentially turns out to be the same). Hence, we performed all our expansion / rebuild duration testing as well as power consumption recording with the unit configured in SHR mode.
The disks used for benchmarking (WD4000FYYZ - Western Digital 4TB RE) were also used in this section. The table below presents the average power consumption of the ioSafe N2 as well as time taken for various RAID-related activities.
| ioSafe N2 / Synology DS213 RAID Expansion and Rebuild / Power Consumption | ||
| Activity | Duration | Average Power Consumption |
| Single Disk Initialization in SHR (4 TB) | 11h 27m 17s | 19.44 W |
| RAID-0 to RAID-1 (4 TB to 4 TB / 1 to 2 drives) | 9h 8m 52s | 31.37 W |
| RAID-1 Rebuild (4 TB to 4 TB / 1 to 2 drives) | 9h 9m 17s | 31.00 W |
Coming to the business end of the review, it is clear that there isn't much to complain about with respect to the ioSafe N2. A point-wise summary of the pros and cons of the unit is presented below.
Pros:
- Excellent performance and feature set (including hot swap, multiple iSCSI LUN support etc.) for a non-x86 based NAS
- Hard disks are user-accessible while maintaining disaster resistance
- Reasonably priced
Cons / Nitpicks:
- No in-built support for 2.5" drives
- Restricted pool of HDDs to choose from
- Floor mount / physical theft protection could have been integrated in the chassis (like it was done in the SoloPRO) instead of being made optional
As one can see, the cons listed above do not really affect users who purchase the ioSafe N2 with pre-installed hard drives. Even the physical theft protection aspect can be easily handled with the Kensington lock feature.
Before the ioSafe N2 was announced, I was using the SoloPRO connected to a NAS unit as a centralized disaster-resistant storage device. The only drawback in that configuration was the fact that a failed hard drive in the SoloPRO would have rendered the chassis completely useless for further use. The ioSafe N2 solves this problem in an elegant manner. As such, we can definitely recommended it for users looking to protect their electronic data against unforeseen circumstances. My only regret is the lack of competition for ioSafe in this area to drive down the pricing further.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
26 Comments
View All Comments
zepi - Monday, March 4, 2013 - link
"Even the physical theft protection aspect can be easily handled with the Kensington lock feature."Considering that 12mm (half an inch) steel-cables / U-locks are unable to prevent bicycle theft, I really doubt that anything a Kensington lock could be attached to would prevent anyone from stealing the thing.
Cstefan - Monday, March 4, 2013 - link
I've enjoyed demonstrating the worthlessness of these to company bigwigs that about 1 minute with medium duty snips is all it takes.ganeshts - Monday, March 4, 2013 - link
Point noted, but it does act as a first-level deterrent. The unit is really heavy too, and combining these two factors, I think a casual break-in will probably result in the N2 being left alone.Penti - Monday, March 4, 2013 - link
It's actually more a insurance thing from what I gather. As they wouldn't cover something left unattended. It has nothing to do with actual physical security, especially not for server side equipment. Companies tend to lock the computers in computer security cabinets itself in a locked room at the end of the day if they care or has any policy regarding security/theft.robb.moore - Tuesday, March 5, 2013 - link
Penti-You're right. Most companies that care about physical theft security have their equipment in a closet or locked room. That being said, we're releasing a floor mount locking kit for the N2 which allows the N2 to be bolted to the floor or wall. It'll also allow the block all access to all ports and screws (front and back) with a steel panel that can be padlocked into place.
In regards to physical security, it's an issue as with anything - you get what you pay for. Class 3 Bank Vaults cost more than an Ace Hardware padlocks. With ioSafe, we are constantly thinking about what makes the most sense from a cost, weight and user's perspective.
We consider the N2 a building block to help with businesses dealing with vulnerable data. Multiple N2's hidden and synchronizing on the LAN might be a good solution for some businesses. Using a combination of N2's, traditional cloud and offsite vaulting also might work for some businesses. No one solution works for everyone.
Great discussion.
Thanks!
Robb Moore
CEO
ioSafe
sphigel - Tuesday, March 5, 2013 - link
The odds of a bike thief having a bolt cutter are pretty good. The odds of a home burglar having a bolt cutter are significantly less I would think. Without a bolt cutter these Kensington locks would be a pretty strong deterrent.BrokenCrayons - Tuesday, March 5, 2013 - link
I've had to remove Kensington-style locks at my office from laptops when combinations are forgotten or keys are lost. All that's required is a folding multitool (Gerber, Leatherman, etc.) and couple of minutes to gnaw at the cable after using the knife or saw blade to slice away a bit of the plastic jacket (which isn't necessary depending on cable thickness. Of course, taking out the hard drive and protecting the laptop from metal fragments when cutting down the actual lock to take it apart is a little bit more of a pain, but that can happen at someone's leisure after a theft has happened.secretmanofagent - Tuesday, March 5, 2013 - link
That, and I'm pretty sure they're just going to yank it really hard if they don't want to wait.bbomb - Monday, March 4, 2013 - link
No physical testing of the waterproofness or fireproofness?Samus - Tuesday, March 5, 2013 - link
There are some pretty ridiculous videos on YouTube, one involving it being driven over by a bulldozer.