Hi, I've been watching your YouTube videos. I am an older geek. I used to work as a Network Engineer years ago. Remember Novell? I'm certified for that. I worked at McGraw-Hill recently renamed to S&P Global! Yes that S&P!
Anyway, I have an older Buffalo LS441D. Its been running for years. But I wanted to get a new more advanced NAS something that can do Virtualization. To run maybe Windows in VmBox. I purchased the Synology DS1520+ without much investigation. After watching your vidoes I think I should have gotten a Asustor or QNAP? Seems the QNAP is better to play with. But I want something with a powerful CPU & 8GB RAM. (I already have two M.2 cards). Probably 4 bay system. But what model? Can you suggest please?
Thank you!
Rob

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Hello. Earlier this year I filled out this form and was suggested a Synology DS218j for a personal NAS solution. I held off making a purchase back then, and have since been taking my time to consider what my needs are for a NAS are.

The Synology DS218j seems like a fine model which was recommended based on my asks for 1-2TB storage for backups. Now I find myself looking for a host of expanded functionality, and with all of the models available I've found myself struggling to figure out what the best option is. I'll break down what I'm looking to achieve with a NAS based on setups I've seen others run.

Firstly, a storage and backup solution for my data.
— A macOS TimeMachine backup of my system (200gb) for which I'm aware Synology NAS systems have native apps and tools to run and automate this
— Photos library to dump personal photos with at least some barebones management, which I hear Synology's apps are nailing at the mo
— Storage space to offload inactive project files which will be accessed a few times a month (currently only taking up 1-2TB, though from what I've seen I suspect it's smarter to purchase and shuck larger size drives purely for price/value, as well as future-proofing).
— Archive of documents, admin files, and general cold-storage that will be accessed rarely.

I've also no idea what HDDs I should be looking out for to buy for the NAS - after reading a few SMR vs CMR discussions, I've found myself more confused than when I started.

Secondly, a machine to download content and media to, and then access from my other devices (mainly a macbook)
— Downloading large files, sometimes simultaneously (which brings up the question for CMR vs SMR)
— Streaming the media content to macOS (I prefer the media player available instead of something like Plex) or something like an Apple TV or android box.

And lastly, I'd like to set up the Synology NAS with a Docker environment to run a variety of containers that will assist in downloading aforementioned files (through different RSS feeds and such), running an online backup to something like Backblaze, managing the content on the drives, and possibly other tools I've not yet realised I'd need.

Thank you again for continuing to provide such a generous service.
Best

Hi. I have a Sonos system already, but have never ripped all my CDs and want to so I can listen to my &quot;CDs&quot; via my Sonos. I have figured out I need a NAS, and that if I'm spending that much money, will want one that holds two drives and replicates in case one fails. I read the NAScompares &quot;best-2-bay-nas-drive-of-the-year&quot; article and didn't understand most of the pros/cons. I also realize that you have to buy the NAS plus the two drives. If I bought a QNAP TS-253D for $368 and two Western Digital Red 2 TB drives for $130, that's $500. WD also has a My Cloud Home system, for $150 for 2 TB and it says it works with Sonos though it's not technically a NAS and doesn't look like it has the RAID feature (but the option to buy a monthly subscription for backup?). I have the $500, but am wondering if there's really no way to get the RAID feature unless I buy a bona fide NAS. [I said 500 GB because that should cover my music; I figure if I'm going this route, I may as well go for 2 TB because the storage seems to be the cheap part of this.]

Hello,

Can I use 2 x 4TB WD Red Plus (WD40EFRX) in DS220+ ?
This HDD is not mentioned in Synology's compatibility list, however I red some positive reviews.

Thanks.

Hi
I have a DS211j with mirrored 2Tb drives, 1.6Tb used, mainly by photos. NAS now running much slower than previously so thinking about upgrading. Mainly it is my photo archive, which was sync'd to Amazon until Amazon closed that interface. Only got 256Gb on my laptop so have to edit there and then move files to the NAS for long term. Don't know if SSD cache, Link aggregation, more RAM, or 4 disc RAID would provide enough performance to be able to edit photos stored on the NAS. typically I'm the only NAS user. Like the Synology DSM, so happy to stick with that, so, DS220+, DS420+ or something else?... and if its DS420 would I be better physically moving the existing discs over and add additional or move the data to new larger drives?

Many Thanks in Advance

Hi, I'm very tech-impaired but I've managed to get by with a synology DS216+II for the last several years but am looking for an upgrade. My current NAS is way too slow at loading and retrieving pictures. Your website is impressive and full of great info (though it's hard for me to understand everything...what I really need is a website for total beginners if you know of one). Anyhow, I'm thinking of going big and and getting the Synology DS1621+. It's probably overkill for my needs but I think I will grow into it. My question is, if cost were no limit to you, how would you &quot;accessorize&quot; it? Specifically what hard drives would you recommend for it? Also is it worth the money to upgrade to the 10GBe cable? I don't really know if that's something I would benefit from but it's just my wife and I using the system at this point for storage of photos and home videos so I was thinking I don't need that but am open to suggestions. So if you were going to build an awesome NAS system using a synology device and my money what you do? (and do you have any resources of where I can go to learn how to build it and use it's full potential). Thanks for you time and for the great website and service you provide.
Doug

Hi, I am not expert in nas, pc etc..
I need to move from synology ds 2413 to a new nas with much more capacity.
I cannot expand mine because of lack of space in the room where the nas stands.
I use nas to storage movies (blurays and ultra hd blurays) to watch them in a home cinema.
Now I’ ve configured raid 5.
Well, I was buying a ds2419 with 16tb iron wolf pto hdd ( n3 hdds at the beginning to get raid 5 to go further with
16 tb hdds)
But
I am not sure if this is possible..?!
I read 108tb is max size for each volume.. then I read from you 168tb (12 x 14tb)...
I am confused..
Help me please

Best regards,
Luca

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Hello,

Love your content!!!!!!

I am planning on buying the DS1520+ and I want to use 18TB drives (Seagate Inronwolf). Will this work???

Can't find any information anywhere and on the synology's site Hdd compatbility list, there are no 18TB drives listed.

Thank you