Synology 5-bay DiskStation DS1522+ (Diskless),Black

Transcoding wasnt super crucial to me, It can still do it but if you have massive files, specially HEVC files, you are better off with offline transcoding or buying a different NAS. For me, my devices have HEVC support so I never need transcoding so not a big deal. EVERYTHING ELSE, runs AMAZING on this devices. It really feels super snappy without any bottlenecks. I use for DS Video, plex, synology photos, drive and hyperbackup and Love it.

What can I say, we all know why we consider Synology. They are basically the Apple of the NAS space. Positives: -User friendly interface -Robust options for safety nets (notice how I said how its not a backup) -A large userbase with many helpful resources to guide through some of the few nuances. -Optional NVME SSD expansion for caching -Optional RAM upgrade -Optional 2x 5 Bay enclosure (should only be used as its own, separate volume) for a total of 15 drives of storage. I love the features of BTRFS and SHR1, which are flexible safety nets that help protect you from losing all of your data from either a ransomware/crypto attack (BTRFS Snapshots), or a failed drive (SHR1 providing parity data). The advantage of SHR1 vs other RAID configurations is that you are not bound to replacing ALL drives in order to acquire more space. You can simply replace 2 drives with larger capacity drives, to start progressing into more space. These swaps into higher capacity must be done one at a time if using SHR1. Look into Synology RAID calculator if you need more info on how SHR works. Many of the integrations the Synology DSM software brings to the user are also nice (but could be improved on still, such as their Cloud sync application). Negatives: -I wish it had natively faster than 1gb ethernet connections, but it has the option for a 10gb expansion NIC. -If you are looking for a Plex server, this isnt the one you want, because there isnt integrated graphics. I believe the best one right now from Synology is the DS920+ but I have no intention of going this route so I did limited research on it. Do I recommend Synology? Absolutely Do I recommend this unit? If it suits your needs, absolutely. There are many options, which cater to different users/needs, so take your time and do your homework. I honestly couldnt be happier so far. If you want to learn more about this unit, I recommend a couple of channels on YT, which I watched for a couple of months leading up to my purchase. SpaceRex and NAScompares Good luck! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Just to elaborate on some of the features I am using as it pertains to my specific use case, this is not really part of the review, but more so for people interested in knowing how I use my Synology and why. System specs: i9-9900k 5ghz OC 32GB DDR4 3200 RAM RTX 2070 SUPER 8GB 1x M.2 NVME 2TB 2x SSD 2TB DS1522+ with 5x 8TB HGST Ultrastar He8, using BTRFS and a LUN (2TB allocated) I am using it to sync my Photography companys Dropbox files, create Lr catalog files from the files, and then store our active (not yet approved) client files. The Cloud Sync isnt as flexible as the Dropbox application in terms of visibility of Only online files. Your files can only be syncd as Available offline or in other words, stored locally. You do have 3 options of syncing, one way sync (either way) and two way sync. I didnt like being unable to view my Only online files and then choosing to sync them through my windows file explorer like I would have liked. This made me instead create a LUN through DSM, which created a drive that appears as local on my windows file explorer, so that I could set it as a target location for the Dropbox desktop application. My workflow is as follows: -Once dropbox is placed on a LUN, I syncd our entire photography file system to the LUN in Online Only mode. This took a while, since there were about 1.6 million files for just our photos. -I select which clients I want to sync that need to be built into a catalog, and download the files to the Synology LUN -Once they are downloaded, I copy these locally stored files to my M.2 NVME local storage (May not be necessary once I upgrade the Synology to have the 10Gb NIC), import the images to my master catalog file on Lightroom Classic, and build them into a seperate Catalog with Smart Previews. -I assign the catalog + smart previews to an editor by simply copying the zipped smart previews and catalog to the Dropbox folder assigned to the editor. -The editor then begins their edits to the catalog directly from their folder which syncs to me, and if they are not currently working on it with Lightroom running (which I know when they are clocked in or not), I can open the catalog and see their progress or make corrections if they are needing to be made, the next time they clock in, they see the changes I made to it. -Once the catalog is done I pull it from the syncd folder, open my master catalog file, import from another catalog (the one that was just turned in), and then export as JPEG. -Once this is done, I then move all of the RAW image files, off my M.2 NVME drive, to a home folder (accessible on Windows explorer using SMB share) on the Synology, then set the Dropbox files that they originated from, back to Online Only status. -In my master catalog file, I relocate the missing folder that was just moved from my local storage, to the Synology home folder (which is still viewable from Lr), and now I have access to all those RAW files in Lr still, without the need to keep them on my M.2 NVME local drive. -If during review from one of my admins, certain images are needing to be replaced due to a poor cull, I can still pull up the catalog, make the necessary changes, and export as a JPEG while the RAW exist on the Synology SMB Share folder. That is where I am at now. This is where I want go next in due time, and it highlights just a couple features that the Synology offers to improve my workflow efficiency, and save money. Once I upgrade the Synology with the Expansion slot for 10Gb ethernet, and add a PCI NIC for at least 5Gb (maybe Ill also go 10Gb there too), I may not even need to move anything onto my local NVME, since I will be able to access everything from the Synology at a fast enough speed that Ill be bottle necked by my CPU rather than the disk read/write. This will need to be tested once I acquire those 2 pieces of hardware. Another improvement I can make, is instead of syncing my editors catalog files and smart previews through Dropbox, I could do it through Synology Drive, which is their version of Dropbox. Whats the advantage? My editors will not require a Dropbox account to be able to use the Dropbox application sync feature. I could save some of them a monthly subscription (or save ourselves that money for the veteran editors on our team), by just using my NAS as the cloud provider for the editors. I have not gone this route yet because I have not yet had the time to research the best way to open my Synology up to the internet in that way. This is one of the few things that (from my understanding) Synology seems to be doing the best with in comparison to other NAS solutions, but its a risk that I am not willing to take without educating myself fully on the best approach. Who knows what other optimizations I will discover as I use the Synology more.

After buying more than 3 external hard drives to store media files, Ive decided to go down the private cloud path. I did research many manufacturers, including QNAP, Western Digital, and TerraMaster. As I wanted to take a baby step before engaging in a massive cloud for home users, I decided to go with this Synology DiskStation. Few things to keep in mind if youre thinking of buying this device: - It is just a 2-bay case for your drives. I was initially interested in DS420+ but could no longer find it. - Its a 2020 release. You may want to consider a 2023 release. - It needs at least 1 drive to operate. Make sure to include it in your purchase. - I also recommend a UPS backup in case of a power outage. Ive had no complaints so far. It runs pretty smoothly, and I can barely notice the fan. Synology provides much documentation and plenty of tutorials that I found helpful, especially for those with little to zero experience in setting up private clouds. Word of advice: you need some budget for that. Make sure you do your research.

For quick reference, we previously had a Drobo 5N (gigabit ethernet) for 10 years, and a Drobo 2nd Gen (Firewire 800) before that. This Synology unit destroys them in every way, and is expandable in ways appreciated. Notably, some people are really bummed that newer Synology units like this dont have hardware transcoding for movies, etc like older ones. For us this was a non-issue since we have an NVIDIA Shield Pro in the house we use for this...which we already had beforehand. As far as upgrades to the unit, I did purchase the 10GbE add-on module, and it was marvelously easy to install and runs great. With regular NAS hard drives populating the unit, were pulling around mid 500s to 600s in MB/s. It would have been nice if the unit shipped with at least 2.5g ports on it, but ah well -- things worked out and we now have a mix of 10gb and 1gb throughout the house. We also have a NAS NVME drive installed for a read cache, and that went in without hitch as well. Its definitely accelerating workloads for my job quite a bit (visual effects). The interface is more involved than the Drobo was, but it also has vastly more functionality and apps available. Very highly recommended!

If youre used to Synology DiskStations, it is no surprise that the software and management is excellent. Theres not a lot to say about it that hasnt been said on many reviews. For many years I had a Synology DS1511+ on my desk. Ive replaced the hard drives several times over the years. It has been reliable and quiet. I bought this DS1522+ to replace the DS1511+ as it was 11 years old and I wanted some of the new features like VMM. I swapped my WD Red 4TB drives over and turned it on. I was shocked at just how loud the new DS1522+ is with the exact same drives. I tried for a few days to deal with it. I couldnt. I bought some long ethernet cables, a long power cord, and moved it off my desk to the other side of the room. I can still hear it but it isnt driving me nuts any more. I decided to upgrade to 3 12TB WD Red Pro hard drives to replace my 5 4TB WD Red hard drives. That didnt solve the noise issue either. I dont know why Synology decided to make their case so terrible on the 1522+. It is all plastic, feels cheap, and looks cheap. My 1511+ had a metal case and looked like a premium product. Synology has made a couple of other questionable choices in an obvious cash grab. Only their drives and their memory are officially supported. I get a warning using the WD drives. I looked at buying their Synology drives. I was expecting a 10-20% upcharge. Instead I found the Synology drives are more than double the price of WD Red Pro drives. The RAM is more than four times the price of other RAM vendors. That is an unacceptable and disgusting cash grab. It is a much different mindset than what they had when I bought my 1511+. I dont understand why theyre still using 1GB network ports. Their competitors are using 2.5GB ports. I know there is a 10GB expansion port available. The 10GB port shouldve come with the 1522+ for the price they charge. Especially with not providing 2.5GB ports. Despite all of the issues with the new version, it is still a very nice NAS. Especially after I moved it across the room. Setup was a breeze and the interface remains excellent. I wish theyd remember the great company they once were and stop trying to gouge their customers.

It did not work with my sonos House system. Could not view videos that I put on it. From my point of view it did not work as I needed. I returned the unit wasnt worth it would not buy again.

I’ve had several Synology NAS devices over the years but think I’ll be keeping this one until it dies! I run Docker, Photo Station, and Synology Office. 80TB + Read/Write cache drives and 32GB Ram.

This product is excellent, easy to use and install. Hard drives are a bit noisy but if youre not going to have it in your room its fine.

I bought the DS220+ to replace a comparable Qnap NAS. I thought I would like the Qnap better, but it was kind of glitchy from the start and the mobile apps really didnt work right. When it stopped working, I decided to replace it with a Synology. After doing some research, I settled on the DS220+. For the same price as the Qnap, this thing is so much better. Setup was easier, upgrading the memory, etc. Everything was easier. And it works. Im using it for a home server, cloud storage, virtual machine, and eventually, video surveillance. So far, running several items at once on different devices hasnt slowed it down. It has some kind of processing management software that is fantastic. Running an HD movie on two devices, music on another, plus photo station and a virtual machine all at once only used ~52% of the cpu. Thats a 2 core processor. The only thing I am having trouble with is Audio Station. When I stream music on my phone when Im no on my home network, it plays about 4-5 songs, then stops. I can press play/pause, but nothing happens. Same if I select another song. I just have to shut it down and restart the app. I simply cant figure it out. Anyway, its not such a big deal, but I did take a star away because of it. In short, if you are looking for a reasonably priced NAS and are going back and forth between Synology and Qnap, I would recommend this Synology.

If you are not going to be adding a lot of data, your needs are fairly static or will increase very slowly, then the 220+ is a good starting point. It has enough features to make rival most NAS models, and a economical price if bought on sale to warrant its purchase. However, I quickly realized my needs were greater and I needed a 4bay NAS. I returned to Amazon the 220+ and purchased the DS920+ essential the same NAS just more bays. Well there are more features. I am seriously happy with my purchase, both the 220+ and the 920+ I can tell you the support, at least what I received was exceptional. I had an initial problem, and I couldnt understand a basic system issue, and the support person was FANTASTIC. These are not perfect NAS, there are features that should be considered necessary. i.e. 2.5gig ethernet capability. Having just built out my home network to support 1-10gig, I would have liked this feature, but I was sold on the Synology brand and these fit my budget. I will upgrade to 2.5g in 2 years. I expect to sell the 920+ on ebay for at least 75% what I paid considering how much electronics are climbing in price. A lesser brand wouldnt sustain its resale value.