Synology8-Bay DiskStation DS1823xs+ (Diskless)

Fantastic latest development of Synology! The DS is very fast, not complaints at all, the internal speed exceeds all expectations, the LAN connection is more than great. The functionality is usual since all these stations are sharing the same software, but this is one has a very good CPU and uses it full value. It took just a few days to run through my entire few TB size 25+ or so years photo/video collection, create thumbnails, reorganize it by dates, recognize the objects, events, locations and faces, create custom groups for every person, using AI - very useful! It's also a very convenient way to share files, create family targeted servers, including video, audio, photo, chat and a lot more. If you add to all that a huge RAID storage, then it makes it priceless.

I'm coming from a hand-me-down QNAP NAS. I was originally going to update to another QNAP device because of familiarity. I decided to go big with Synology instead based on some positive reviews from others that I know. This NAS is probably overkill for home use, but my reasoning in buying this particular device was that it will provide for my needs for many years.Since my purchase, I've upgraded to 32GB of RAM. I plan to install the NVMe drives eventually, but it still runs great even without them.Lots of the reviews out there mention the warnings about non-synology drives being installed. Don't let that be a reason not to buy this. There is a config file that you can edit that eliminates the warning for "unapproved" drives. I'm running 4 10TB WD drives, and 4 8TB WD drives, and they work great.

Synology has let greed run rampant. If you don't pay extra for THEIR hard drives (which are just a mark-up from a mainstream brand), they will never show a healthy status, and will show all kinds of BS artificial warnings that your system is at risk. I'm using NAS-specific WD Red drives, and because they aren't SPECIFICALLY on their "approved" list, it gives warnings and recommends you REPLACE the drives immediately. Yes, the ONLY drives on their "approved" list is their own drives.I regret this purchace. Never again, Synology. You are screwing your customers, and losing them.

Users of Synology don't need convincing, and those who haven't decided yet will probably be convinced soon by a bad experience when they wonder what happened to their photo archive. Synology operates reliably and, in my opinion, has the best customer service. Many complain about the price, it's true, it's not low, but in return, we get a top-notch product. Previously, I used two DS1621xs+ models which pleased me and continue to help me to this day. The DS1823xs+ has become the successor to those two previous models, which are used every day, performing backups and snapshots. Without hesitation, I recommend it to anyone who wants to sleep peacefully and not worry about their data!

Synology is all about their software, which honestly is quite nice and comprehensive. They do make some odd choices here, which I understand from the perspective that they want you to have good performance in a higher-end machine, but really they should let me decide. (I'm talking specifically about array options and media lock-downs.) You pay a premium for their machines vs. DIY, but that could be worth it as it's a nice environment. But even tho it's a newer CPU platform, it's not going to win any awards for speed running VM's, and the stock memory is not enough even for the base 8 disks in ZFS - 16 would be much better, and go get yourself some dual SODIMMs and max this out at 32 and you will be happier. You CAN run VM's on an expanded memory, but be aware of that CPU and another problem setting MTU's on the virtual NIC's (You can't as of right now, even tho it will take the settings, but it will break.) But do set the MTU on the physical network cards if your router supports it - SMB work much nicer with at least double and more. Finally, no Thunderbolt here, nor USB 4, so external expansion is limited if you need the speed.

I've only just set this up so this won't be a great review, but it's working well. It was easy to configure.I'm looking forward to using this for backing up all of the computers and running a surveillance system.

Faster and cooler. I maxed out memory, did 2x NVMe and 8x 4TB drives - all Synology branded. It was more expensive but I'm looking for longevity and single support call.Runs really well!

I upgraded my 10 years old units with 4 third party HD from different brands, Seagate and WD. no issues migrating from old devices process was smooth 10 minutes of so.