Asustor vs Synology NAS

[ShanonHeller]

I completely get where you’re coming from. Synology makes rock-solid hardware, and DSM is the best in terms of user-friendliness. But yeah, the whole “Synology-branded drives only” approach and some of their locked-down decisions have been frustrating for a lot of people. If you want an equivalent or better alternative to the DS1522+ that gives you 10GbE upgradeability, ECC RAM support, and flexibility, here are a few solid options:

1. QNAP TVS-h674 (Best Performance & Expandability)
Intel Core i3-12100 (Upgradeable to i5/i7)
10GbE upgradable (PCIe slot)
Supports ECC RAM (when using ECC-compatible memory)
Runs QuTS Hero (ZFS-based) or standard QTS
M.2 NVMe slots for caching or storage
This is probably the best alternative to a DS1522+, especially since it doesn’t force proprietary drives and has way more upgrade options. Plus, you already have high-capacity Seagate EXOS drives, and QNAP handles third-party drives much better than Synology.

2. Asustor Lockerstor 6 Gen2 (AS6706T) – Budget-Friendly Option
Intel Celeron N5105 (Not as powerful, but power-efficient)
10GbE upgradable via PCIe
Supports up to 16GB RAM (non-ECC)
ADM OS isn’t as polished as DSM, but it’s functional
If you’re considering Asustor, this is a solid mid-range choice, but ADM is nowhere near DSM in terms of polish. If you mainly just need file sharing and storage longevity, it’ll get the job done.
Raft Wars

3. TrueNAS/UnRAID?
Since you already have a Beelink SEi 12th Gen Mini PC running Proxmox, you’re in a great position to offload CPU-intensive tasks to that, meaning your NAS can focus purely on storage and reliability. TrueNAS Scale would be ideal for rock-solid storage, but it’s more hands-on than QNAP or Synology. UnRAID is much easier to manage but still requires occasional maintenance.

If you don’t want to mess with OS updates, drive configurations, and RAID tuning, stick with QNAP or Asustor for a simpler, plug-and-play experience.

Thanks for your reply