Nas server Synology DS112 is a single-drive

The Synology DS112 is a single-drive network attached storage (NAS) device that actually has three siblings, all of which are aimed at slightly different markets. The baby is the DS112J, which is aimed at the SOHO market; the DS112 reviewed here is aimed at advanced home and workgroup setups; and the DS112+, in distinctive black, targets SMEs. The primary differences between the units are a CPU frequency bump, as well as an increase in onboard RAM.

The DS112 clocks in at 1.6GHz, between the J-variant's 1GHz CPU and the DS112+ model's 2GHz CPU. In terms of memory, the DS112 has 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM, while the DS112J and the DS112+ sport 128MB of DDR2 SDRAM and 512MB of DDR3 SDRAM, respectively.

In the enterprise, a network storage device (NAS) is usually implemented to allow for a centralised and managed pool of storage, while leveraging the performance and security of multiple drives in a RAID configuration. RAID 5 is perhaps the most popular implementation due to a good overall balance of cost, performance, storage capacity, data security and management.