Synology's DS218+ is a perfect (and affordable) home NAS solution

Synology DS218+

Synology offers a number of NAS solutions, but the DS218+ is an interesting unit due to its price, features, and how it'south positioned in the marketplace. Starting at around $299, as a diskless packet (without any hard drives included), it appears to offer solid value for the money on paper. But does it deliver on that promise? Read on.

For the dwelling house

Synology DS218+

Starts at around $299

Bottom Line: The DS218+ is a great, cost-effective selection for almost people looking for a NAS for habitation use.

Pros:

DSM is excellent.
Sleek and meaty chassis.
Great software support.
Quick eject bays.

Cons:

Only one Ethernet port.
Can get very expensive with HDDs.

What you'll like near the Synology DS218+

The DS218+ is an overall excellent bundle, thanks to the sleek and compact design that tin business firm two full-size mechanical hard drives and a software solution that offers many features wrapped upward in a convenient interface. The build quality is solid, and a 90-mm fan on the rear ensures the internals remain within safety thermal functioning limits.

Category	Specs
Processor	Intel Celeron J3355 (two.0GHz)
RAM	2 GB DDR3L (6GB max)
Transcoding	H.264 (AVC), H.265 (HEVC), MPEG-2 and VC-ane
Drive bays	Two (hot-swappable)
Ports	Ii Ethernet, three USB 3, and one eSATA
Weight	1.30 kg
Dimensions	165 mm ten 108 mm x 232.ii mm

A NAS is a handy device that essentially allows yous to store files and media on the network in a single identify. This makes it possible to access said files and content on a number of devices connected to the same network. Instead of relying on your PC'southward internal storage, you tin can take advantage of a unit that draws less ability and has a more convenient interface to get started.

Setting up the device is a breeze. It takes literally 10 minutes, at the very most. All you demand to do is hook everything up (following the well-laid out instruction booklet), plow on the unit and follow the wizard in the spider web browser. After setting everything upward, the DiskStation Manager (DSM) volition handle most of the tasks behind-the-scenes, including the automatic download and install of updates, should yous activate this feature.

The DSM is very easy to use, acting like an Bone within your web browser. Synology also offers a QuickConnect service that tin permit those with user accounts for the NAS to connect while away from dwelling house, without the requirement to mess around with router settings. It's all seamless and works as you'd imagine. You and then have great AES-NI hardware encryption to protect your data and RAID support to foreclose loss.

Two USB 3 ports can exist found on the rear, with another i on the front end. The eSata port is on the back. Joining the front-mounted USB port are iv LED lights, dictating the status, LAN action, and deejay activity. It delivers everything you demand in a domicile NAS, and y'all can just set up it up and forget virtually it.

What you'll dislike about the Synology DS218+

With both disks running and the fan in total spin, you'll notice the noise level increase, especially if the unit is located nearby. This isn't a bargain-killer, and yous tin really dispense settings to have the disks shut downwardly during periods of inactivity and prepare fan profiles, but information technology'due south something to consider if yous prefer a silent environment. (If noise is your enemy, you'll likely desire to use a solid-state drive [SSD] solution.)

The Celeron CPU included is dual-cadre, but it's not a powerful processor from the Intel Core serial of chips. While it provides aplenty power for general storage and the like, y'all may discover information technology difficult to run virtual machines and transcode. There's likewise the issue of but ane Ethernet port being available on the rear of the DS218+. Finally, in that location's the issue with price; when you add together pre-installed drives, the toll of the DS218+ can quickly shoot up into the $1,000 region.

Lesser line on Synology DS218+

The DS218+ is a worthy successor to the DS216+Two and offers homeowners a great choice for setting up and managing a dwelling house server for file storage and media streaming. There are some odd choices here, like the omission of a 2nd Ethernet port and the rather flimsy removable front panel, just overall it's an excellent NAS for the price.

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