Synology DSM 2.2 Beta

Synology America Corp.‘s Disk Station Manager 2.2 Beta adds DNLA, iSCSCI, iPhone and Time Machine support. DSM 2.2 Beta is next generation firmware for Synology Disk Stations adding a built-in firewall, SNMP support and other new features. DSM 2.2 Beta is available as a free download on Synology’s website.

"DSM 2.2 enhances the rich multimedia experience on the Synology Disk Station by adding DLNA interoperability and iPhone support," says Doug Self. "We are excited about the upcoming release of our iPhone/iPod Touch applications that will leverage the new features in DSM 2.2 to access photos and media on your Disk Station. With all the digital media and devices that are in the average home or office, we’ve taken great efforts to make sure that everything works seamlessly together on the Disk Stations across Windows, Mac and Linux," adds Self.

Mac OSX users will be delighted with new enhancements of DSM 2.2 that now support Apple Time Machine backup solution to use the Synology Disk Stations as a backup target and iTunes Server now supports video playback.

"The ability to create virtual file servers and virtual storage is an important feature of growing and managing your data," says Franklin Hua, technical product specialists at Synology America Corp. "This is why we have introduced iSCSI support with DSM 2.2. Our Disk Stations will now be able to support up to 10 iSCSI targets on a single Disk Station offering a huge variety of configurations for virtual file management," adds Hua.

Additional features include auto-block support, which extends its original FTP coverage to management UI, File Station, SSH/Telnet, rsync and mobile devices. Surveillance Station 2 also now supports 50 additional new camera models with an increased flexibility of the layout management.

Highlights of DSM 2.2 Beta Release

iSCSI: Designate a portion of your volume space to be an iSCSI target, and expand it later at your preference. Up to 10 iSCSI target on each Disk Station can be assigned.
Apple Time Machine Support: Simply choose a destination folder on Disk Station, Mac OS X users can easily back up their desktop data to their Disk Stations.
iPhone Support: Two iPhone applications will be available on Apple App Store. ‘DS photo’ allows users to upload photo stored on their iPhone/iPod Touch to Disk Station easily while instantly sharing it with anyone online. ‘DS audio’ allows users to access music stored on Disk Stations through their iPhone/iPod Touch when Internet access is available.
Mobile Photo Station and File Station: Users can use a mobile device running on Windows Mobile 6.0 (Internet Explore Mobile or Opera 9.0 and onward) or iPhone OS 2.2.1 and onward (Safari) to view photos and read supported file formats stored on Disk Station when Internet access is available.
DLNA Compliant Media Server: Interoperability between Disk Station and other DLNA home devices is ensured. DMA browsing menu now allows customization. Three default menu styles are provided and three more styles can be customized. Streaming of music, photo and video with Windows Media Player on Vista is also supported.
Firewall: The built-in firewall function allows users to decide which service or IP address are allowed to access Disk Station and prevents uninvited connections.
SNMP: SNMP protocol support allows users to monitor Disk Station with network management softwares.
Auto Block: Auto block function protects Disk Station from hostile attacks. IP address with pre-defined number of failed login attempts will be blocked and cannot access the server until manually removed from the block list by admin. The failed login attempts include connections via management UI, File Station, FTP, SSH, Telnet, rsync and mobile devices including iPhone.
Resource Monitor: Resource monitor allows administrator to easily monitor Disk Station’s CPU usage, memory usage, network flow and volume usage.
SMS Notification: By setting up SMS notification, users will be notified immediately if any critical event occurs on their Disk Stations.
Windows ADS Support Enhancements: Disk Station now supports large size domain environment with up to 100,000 domain users and 100,000 domain groups, sub-folder privileges setup for domain user/group with File Station 2, and user home for domain users.
Surveillance Station 2 Enhancements: 50 more camera models from 10 renowned brands are newly included in the support list, making the total 189. SMS notification allows administrator to receive an immediate notice upon the occurrence of designated critical events. Live view, event playback and live view layout management are also enhanced.
Download Station Enhancements: RSS and RapidShare download are now supported. Users can create multiple eMule download tasks at once and assign the download service location to an external hard drive. An email notification will be sent to admin upon a download task completed.
iTunes Server: iTunes Server now supports video playback and music album artwork.

Availability
Synology Disk Station Manager 2.2 Beta firmware is available for the following Synology models: RS409+, RS409RP+, RS409, DS509+, DS409+, DS409, DS209+II, DS209+, DS209, DS209j, DS109+, DS109, DS109j, DS409slim, RS408, RS408-RP, DS508, DS408, DS108j, RS407, CS407, CS407e, DS207+, DS207, DS107+, DS107 and DS107e

The official release is expected to be available in September 2009 and will be offered as a free upgrade for Disk Station’s users.

Beta Reward Program
Synology will award 5 valuable beta users with a DS109j when the beta program ends.