Synology launches BeeStation: a personal cloud set up in 5 minutes

This is the second device from the manufacturer Synology to set up a private cloud, the first was the Synology BeeDrive and it is basically a small external drive that allowed us to set up a personal cloud. With this model, we will have exactly the same but a greater capacity since it incorporates a large capacity hard drive inside, in addition, we will be able to connect it to a local network, something that the BeeDrive did not have.

BeeStation Features

The Synology BeeStation is an external hard drive that has basic personal cloud functions, perfect for domestic use at home. He Built-in hard drive has a capacity of 4TB, although only 3.5TB are really usable since the operating system and the built-in software take up some space. This device has a processor Realtek RTD1619B and 1GB DDR4 RAM, so that all the software works properly and fluently. This model has a Gigabit Ethernet port for the LAN, so we can connect it to the local network very easily and quickly, to access it from anywhere. We also have a USB 3.2 Gen 1 5Gbps type A port and another USB 3.2 Gen 1 5Gbps type C port.

Thanks to the built-in operating system, we will have the Samba (SMB) service on a local network, it is compatible with up to 8 concurrent connections with SMB, and supports the SMB2 and SMB3 protocols. It is also compatible with macOS Time Machine to make backup copies. The file system used is Btrfsthe file system that Synology has been betting on for years on its NAS servers.

The dimensions of this device are quite small, since it is still a 3.5″ “vitamined” external hard drive. The dimensions are 148mm x 62.6mm x 196.3mm, with a weight of 820 grams.

As it could not be otherwise, Synology has taken great care of the software to provide the best possible user experience. This equipment has a program called BeeStation Desktop for Windows 10, Windows 11 and MacOS 12.3 or higher operating systems. We also have two applications for smartphones with Android and iOS, they are called BeePhotos to make a complete backup of our photos, and also BeeFiles to manage all the files and folders on the BeeStation.

Installation and commissioning is really easy, we simply have to scan a QR code and connect the necessary cables for it. The operating system will allow us to create private clouds for all members of the home, in this way, we can create private storage spaces for each member of the family, in this way, we will be providing privacy to different individuals.

The most valuable thing about any smartphone user is the photographs and videos they take, for this reason, these applications are designed specifically for ensure automatic backups succeed. This device incorporates a fairly advanced photo organizer, which is powered by AI to manage the photo library in a very simple way, and we can configure different specific albums or images. In addition, we have the possibility of making external backup copies to the main cloud storage services, for example, we can make backups to Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox and even to external hard drives connected by USB.

This device will be available next March at a price of €300. As you can see, this equipment is a “vitamined” external hard drive, or a small NAS server with file sharing and backup features. It is clear that this equipment is halfway between a normal external hard drive and a NAS server with the possibility of installing a large amount of software.