Synology has just released their DiskStation Manager (DSM) version 5.1, the latest version of Synology’s NAS operating system. After about 6 weeks of public beta testing and user feedback, Synology was ready to roll out the update without the beta tag.
I’ve tested the DSM 5.1beta myself and it is awesome. Synology have added a lot of new features and improvements, enough that many other companies would have gone up a whole number on the version to 6.0 instead of just a fraction and going from 5.0 to 5.1.
Synology have added a lot of improved security features such as the Security Advisor that analyzes your settings and will let you know if you got any weak points. Another added feature is the AppArmor that checks for malicious programs and blocks them from accessing unauthorized resources as well as the introduction of digital signatures on packages, to check against tampering.
Having a private cloud-service is great, but sometimes you’ll want to sync with public offerings as well. Synology now supports OneDrive, Box, hubiC, Azure, SFT and hicloud. Additionally, the new explore feature in Glacier Backup allows you to browse and retrieve single files from Amazing Glacier.
While speaking of online functions, DSM 5.1 also has a built-in Proxy Server to increase security and speed up your local internet browsing by caching and filtering as well as authentication options. The File Station also allows for remote FTP and WebDAV connections and the new CardDav server allows you to synchronize all your contacts across compatible devices.
Another noteworthy new feature is the Note Station and DS Note. A web-based note system stored on your own NAS that allows you to have a synchronized location for all your notes and access them from all devices either via the web or one Synology’s apps. Video Station, Photo Station and Audio Station also got upgrades and updates on the functionality and their mobile apps.
Enterprises can look forward to the NFS Full File Clone and NFS Reserve Space to dramatically boost virtual machine storage performance. SSD reading cache is supported all the way down to one disk that increases the cost efficiency of your storage device.
Synology DiskStation Manager 5.1 is available for download now and of course it’s a free upgrade for anyone. The new DSM version is compatible with DiskStation and RackStation x11 or newer. If you’d like to test it before you apply it to your own NAS, you can head over to the official page and try out the live demo, or just download it right away.
Thanks to Synology for providing us with this information
Image courtesy of Synology
