It’s crystal clear why Synology remain a dominating force in the NAS storage sector. Whilst at the hardware level subtle changes are made, it is their persistence at the software level that realises the true success.

The decision to integrate a dual-core processor in this 2014 edition of the 2-bay series is a welcome one. It makes perfect sense in the natural develop of the product line to utilise such a component for multi-tasking purposes which are fundamental to the NAS and Synology’s DSM.

We’ve seen Synology’s DSM operating system mature from as early as version 2.0 and having used the new DSM 4.3 extensively, we can whole-heartedly say that using it is a very satisfying experience. The 4.3 update brings with it ADS Trusted Domain Support, TRIM Support and enhanced SSD caching as well as allowing Cloud Station to sync up to 30% faster than previously.



As we demonstrated in this review, making use of the features is easy thanks to the helpful and intuitive GUI. It would be impossible to cover all the features but our demonstration reveals just how versatile and feature-rich Synology’s NAS and DSM really are.

Priced at £216inc VAT (GBP) the DS214 is considerably cheaper than its predecessor at launch and we think it’s a great buy for the price considering everything you can make use of – all backed by a 2 year warranty.

Synology have made some subtle alterations to the new DS214 which actually, in turn make significant improvements to an already outstanding product and we’re confident the DS214 will be a great success for them. It is our pleasure to hand out our prestigious GOLD award.