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Today we have a Synology NAS device for testing and it’s not a new 4-bay, 2-bay or even 1-bay device, in fact there are no bays. Instead what we have is the EDS14 which is an Embedded DataStation featuring no internal storage, rather it relies on SD cards and external USB devices...
For many home users a NAS seems like a good idea and it is, they are a reliable, flexible and easy way of sharing data both locally and remotely. The only down side being the cost, as basic 4-bay models usually sell for hundreds of dollars in diskless form.
 In an effort to make network attached storage servers more attractive to home users Synology released their latest budget 4-bay model, the DS414j, a few months ago. As the best budget 4-bay NAS available right now in our opinion, the DS414j is a good thing. Still at a cost of $400 without hard drives, spending another $600 - $800 to max it out with storage is a big investment. There are of course 2-bay and even single bay versions of the DS414j, but what if you want to go another way? The typical home user generally has an abundance of external storage, such as USB hard drives, thumb drives and even SD cards, lying around that are used to backup and store data. Unfortunately there isn’t really an easy, effective and affordable way to share all this data across multiple machines and devices. This is why Synology came up with the USB Station. Unlike a typical NAS the USB Station didn't feature any internal storage, rather all it offered were a pair of USB ports and a single Gigabit Ethernet connection. This allowed users to quickly plug in their external USB storage and instantly share it on the network, while also enjoying many of the other features that come along with a Synology NAS. Improving on that concept is the new Synology EDS14, ED stands for Embedded Station. Like the USB Station 2 before it, the EDS14 doesn't accommodate for any internal storage, instead it relies on USB ports and an SDXC card slot for storage space.
 Designed not just to be used in the home office, but rather in a variety of environments, the EDS14 is tiny (Synology refer to it as palm-size). It can be powered from any DC source between 7V and 24V, and can even be powered from a PoE (Power over Ethernet) switch when used with a power splitter. It’s clear from this short list that the EDS14 is designed to be used in pretty harsh conditions. Just spit balling here, but it could be used in a car or even a boat. Imagine having instant access to a library of videos, playable via the DS Video app on a tablet or smart phone. Ideal for the kids on a long trip. |
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