About a year ago, Synology struck out in a new direction with the BeeStation. It was a huge departure from the comprehensive DSM (DiskStation Manager) foundation they have spent over two decades building. Recently they have launched the Synology BeeStation Plus.
tl;dr
The Synology BeeStation Plus is a solid evolution from the original, with better hardware, improved performance and expanded backup options. But with a higher price and some limitations still unresolved (single disk, no user quotas), it’s best suited for families and non-technical users looking for fuss-free personal cloud storage.
A Quick Recap of the Original BeeStation
At the time I had some reservations on the overall usefulness of the BeeStation, but I came to the conclusion that it is far more suited to “an average family with little tech knowledge, this would be an almost ideal way to go. Imagine your average non-technical household with two adults and two children, add the grandparents on and you are backing up their precious photo memories centrally and sharing important files such as school reports.”
I also flagged some concerns, such as the single disk inside the chassis which is a single point of failure, limited data protection support and no quota management.
At the time of the review, the initial release of BeeStation OS was version 1.1.
Over longer term use, some of the limitations of the BeeStation became more apparent. My original thoughts that it is not for a power user stands. The OG BeeStation really struggles with ingestion of large number of files.
What has changed with the BeeStation Plus?
Taking a look at the hardware specifications:
| Capacity | 4TB | 8TB |
| Processor | Realtek RTD1619B | Intel Celeron J4125 |
| Memory | 1GB DDR4 | 4GB DDR4 |
| LAN Port | 1 x 1GbE RJ-45 | 1 x 1GBE RJ-45 |
| Ext Ports | 1 x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1, 1 x USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 | 1 x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1, 1 x USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 |
| Power Consumption (HDD Hibernation) | 1.65W | 2.83W |
| Power Consumption (Access) | 7.85W | 14.75W |
| Weight | 820g | 1200g |
Storage has doubled, although it remains a single disk under the hood.
RAM has been given a significant boost, going from 1GB to 4GB. Even without offering Plex integration, the RAM boost is much needed. More on this later.
The big change here is the processor. Synology has pivot away from Realtek and ARMv8 architecture to an Intel Celeron J4125 x64 architecture.
If you look at the surface level, the Intel is a good year older than the Realtek, and uses double the power to run. The latter point is reflected in the table above where the BeeStation Plus consumes over 70% more power than the BeeStation.
But at the same time, the Intel Celeron has a base frequency of 2.0GHz and a boost to 2.7Ghz, compared to the 1.3GHz on the Realtek.
There are other also some significant performance gains on the Intel Celeron over the Realtek which I won’t geek out here.
The short summary is, Synology has gone with an older but more powerful processor. Not an unwelcomed move given the struggle I noted earlier.
Setup and Configuration
Synology has followed the same setup process as the original BeeStation.
Registration is done online via the BeeStation portable at portal.bee.synology.com/setup. You need the Quick Start card handy, or access to your serial number on the bottom of the unit. Keep that somewhere safe in case you ever need it.
It needs to be:
- connected to your network with internet access
- powered on
- displaying a solid orange indicator in the front
When prompted:
- enter the serial number
- press hold power for 4 sec until you hear a beep
Then it will show that it is:
- preparing the BeeStation Plus
- updating the BeeStation OS
Lastly you have the opportunity to name your BeeStation Plus.
The Heart and Soul of BeeStation OS
The core of the BeeStation has remained the same, and that is BeeFiles and BeePhotos.
I have covered off these in quite some details in the original BeeStation review.
In fact, there has only been an incremental update of the OS to version 1.3-65645.
The Release Notes is pretty short.
This version includes the following applications: BeeFiles 1.3.0-10921 BeePhotos 1.3.0-10110 What's new Added an option to configure the retention period for internal restore points, helping balance storage usage and data protection. Make sure to enable internal restore points to protect your BeeStation. Added support for selecting BeeProtect backup time slot. The system automatically schedules the backup within the selected slot to optimize performance. Added support for Plex Media Server, allowing users to organize and stream personal media collections across various devices. (Available on BeeStation Plus only) Fixed issues This version includes system stability optimizations and minor bug fixes.
What is interesting was that there was an update (Version 1.3-65644) which was recalled “due to the share quota on BeeStation Plus models might not be correctly applied.”
It was actually one of the first things I checked after firing up the BeeStation Plus. I can still invite eight users, and still no quota management. The good news is, it seems Synology is working on it in the background.
New Data Protection Features
In the original release of BeeStation OS, it would only support Synology C2 or an external local USB as a backup target.
In my original review I specifically mentioned that “It would be nice to be able to replicate to a DSM NAS, or another BeeStation elsewhere.” It seems Synology has paid attention because there has been a revamp in the data protection part of the BeeStation.
The first line of data protection offered is BeeProtect – a cloud backup target.
It offers automatic backup for the entire BeeStation regardless of storage size for a fixed subscription price.
Up to eight versions: daily backups from the past week and one from the week before.
Backups can be encrypted with your password before upload to the cloud.
It sounds pretty good, particularly when the BeeStation remains an all eggs in one basket kind of hardware deal.
At time of publish, the pricing for BeeProtect is as follows:
| Model | Annual | Monthly |
| BeeStation (4Tb) | USD $59.99 | USD $5.99 |
| BeeStation Plus (8Tb) | USD $119.99 | USD $11.99 |
It is also worth noting that BeeProtect automatically schedules backup times to optimise upload bandwidth to the cloud. The backup schedule cannot be edited.
Other data protection options include Synology C2 Storage and External Drive, which were both previously available.
The other new backup target is Synology NAS, via the HyperBackup application. This one in particular I think is a very welcome addition. It is available in the BeeStation line as long as you are on a current version of the BeeStation OS.
Fire-time subscribers to BeeProtect receives three months of protection free of charge. Can’t hurt to try it out.
Synology does not give any details on the cloud infrastructure, I suspect it is likely to be part of their C2 strategy. Also since the BeeStation is geared for home users, data jurisdiction is unlikely to be an issue but I am just mentioning it here in case it is of concern to anyone.
New Data Restore Feature
Also new to the latest version of BeeStation OS is the Internal Restore Points.
The BeeStation can automatically take snapshots of your BeeFiles and BeePhotos to create restore points. Not dissimilar to what Windows offers. This allows you to restore your system to a specific point in time if they are accidentally modified or deleted.
A key thing to note here is that that affects the entire storage. It restores all the data stored internally on the BeeStation to a chosen point in time.
An example being, if you deleted a file yesterday at 1pm and you also created three new files after that event. A restore point to yesterday noon will remove the three new files.
This is not a granular per file restore!
Also users need to be aware that Internal restore points will compete for space with your files, as they exist on the same physical hard drive.
New App Integration – Plex
There is a new section in the BeeStation settings called Integration, and it seems Synology is setting it up for expansion down the track.
Right now though, only Plex Media Server is available. And no, there is no option to sideload or manual install other applications.
What is Plex you might ask. Plex is a “frontend” for a media library. The official site calls it a one-stop destination to stream movies, TV shows and music. It is kind of like a personal aggregate of your own media that you can stream to your devices. Probably the simplest way I can explain it.
If you are familiar with Plex, then you will find the setup on the BeeStation a little different. Not terribly so but you are locked into a specific root folder for your media. The Plex instance will simply not recognise or scan any other folders outside of this.
I am in two minds with the inclusion of Plex. On one hand it is logical given the intended shared nature of the BeeStation.
On the other hand if you want to share media stored on BeePhotos, you have to copy or move them to the PlexMediaLibrary folder. And this can become a really ineffective use of space, and a nightmare for file management.
I have not thought about it too hard, but removing the root folder restriction for Plex Library could be a way forward, but then again, do you want to share every single photo or video in your collection?
System Performance
One of the drawbacks of the OG BeeStation was performance. At just 1GB of RAM, it struggled to handle processing photos in particular. If you push too many photos in at the same time, you could lock up the system for a long time.
This was something I was keen to test with the BeeStation Pro. 4GB of RAM, more powerful processor.
I was throwing tasks at the BeeStation Pro. Copying 20GB of data onto the system whilst accessing and configuring Plex. Accessing the BeeStation and cycling through the interface. It didn’t pause or timeout.
Next was to stream from Plex and send 100 photos to the BeeStation to process at the same time.
I picked Star Wars Despecialized Edition (V2.5), a 18GB file, streaming via Plex running on the BeeStation. At the same time I uploaded a hundred 23MB CR2 photos to BeePhotos for processing.
Where the BeeStation would have had a bit of a hissy fit with the upload, the BeeStation Plus handled both tasks with no issues. The stream did not stutter during playback. The processing of photos may have been a little throttled, but it still got through in reasonable time.
I did notice that starting a stream on Plex can take a little longer, if the photos are in the process of uploading first.
But otherwise, the performance improvement over the original BeeStation is chalk and cheese.
Where It Still Needs Work
Three of my original gripes still stands.
At the end of the day, the BeeStation is still a single drive unit with no onboard redundancy.
Storage quota management, which thanks to the release notes we know Synology is working on it.
The second one is the BeeFiles mobile app. As I have said previously, if Synology add local file system support at least on Android, then it can easily replace file managers for most users.
Final Thoughts: Is It Worth It?
The design philosophy behind the BeeStation series lends itself to limitations, most notably the risk of the single disk failure.
To mitigate that risk, Synology has expanded the number of ways to protect your data. All of which requires some additional outlay or a subscription service.
The bump in hardware specifications has significantly improved the performance and stability of the system. It also allowed for some future growth with ability to add approved software integration – at this time, Plex media server.
The downside however, is that the pricing has received an approximately A$300 bump from the OG BeeStation. For a retail price of about A$750, Synology is pushing into their low-end DSM J-series marketspace, including chassis that have two bays for redundancy.
That said, the BeeStation comes “internet connected” with a simple zero to ready to work process. I still think it suits the average family with non-technical users, and certainly can offer savings if multiple people in the family need a subscription to Apple or Google to keep their photos.
DRN would like to thank Synology for providing the review unit.
