Synology 8 bay RackStation RS1221RP+ (Diskless)

An upgrade on an older '+' style Synology box. The previous physical drives transferred over fine and the new PAT rebuilt the DSM without too much hassle. I forgot to delete the Bond setting from the previous Synology box (before backing it up) and thought I'd have to fry the DSM on the RS1221+ in order to clear that setting (moving from 2 ports bonded to 4 ports bonded) but I managed to use the reset and force it to delete and reconfigure. Only one Cat 5 could be plugged in while achieving this reset—not all four—once realised easily fixed. The password reset method isn't well described but otherwise everything is fine. Still running the drives back in on the new box without upgrading the RAM (32GB) or network connection (10Gb). It's nicely built, not over the top, and fits well into the rack. The fan noise has increased considerably over the smaller Synology boxes but not quite as loud as a dedicated server build (though this is only a quarter of the size). A two bay Synology is whisper quiet, a 5 bay had some fan noise but can be drowned out by drive chatter, this 8 bay unit has real fan noise (on it's lowest, 'quiet' setting) and has a presence in the office. Destined for a cupboard anyway but I'd suggest planning for isolation if you like peace and quiet. My last Synology box lasted for over 10 years without any huge issues but doesn't match this for pace of file delivery, build quality (much more metal involved) or simple storage capacity. It doesn't present the fastest preview yet (for really big files) but with plenty of upgrades to come it has the legs to be a powerful performer in a small form factor. It came double boxed and is well protected for transportation. It's a nice unit for those who just need things to work; have large storage needs; don't like constantly rebuilding backup solutions or having multiple drives rolling around. The Synology DSM has many reviews elsewhere. Thumbs up.

Solid performance. This is the first rack mount Synology I’ve owned everything else has been desktop (we have three 8 bay desktop NAS as well). This is excellent, although much louder than our desktops but it does have redundant power supply and a smaller form factor so to be expected.

Exceptional quality and easy to use. Can use any brand HDD's

My deskside 19" rack is only 12 inches deep! This Synology fits in the rack perfectly. It's dead silent and after about 6 months of use, has been flawless in operation. This is my second 8-bay Synology and I wish I would have bought this originally instead of the DS series that I bought. Why, you ask? Because this NAS works with the Synology 10gb/s ethernet adapter, which also has two M.2 2280 NVME drive slots. This allows you to use the NVME as write cache. The combination of the NMVE cache and the 10gb/s ethernet will make you forget that this thing is running spinning disks at all. Very fast, very quiet, very trouble free, and for that it has earned my 5 star stamp of approval.

Finally pulled the trigger and bought a NAS, synology has many useful features I was looking for - efficient use of the drives, monitoring and utilities, easy and quick upgrading and management of storage pools, UPS integration, ability to run Plex and other server types, replication, SSD caching, and more. The only downside is the loudness of the fans, if this is in the same room as you are. Fans are replaceable with quiet versions, then it’s very quiet. These are designed for server rooms, so noise isn’t a focus for this model understandably. I can see why these are so popular.

The form factor and ability to connect to a 10 GbE network are the biggest benefits on this series of NAS at this price point. You cannot upgrade the memory, and the fixed RAM limits it's performance / throughput under heavy usage especially when combined with the optional 10GbE adapter and connected to a 10 Gig network. Outside of that, the unit works quite well for almost everything else, and I'm happy with it. Too bad Synology didn't add a RAM slot, then it would be 5 stars. A similar priced desktop model offers the expandability so if you don't need the rack version, look there for better overall experience.

Added this synology nas to my home server rack. My server closet never got over 80° F before adding this, but now it regularly hits 90°+. Not totally unexpected, but it generates a bit more heat than I expected. Also the stock fans are a bit loud, consider replacing them with noctuas right out of the gate before you mount. I also added the 10Gbe networking card.

Bought as a replacement for a home theater pc that was also a gaming PC. The ability to run PLEX as an installed app directly from the NAS is great as well. There was some networking that needed to be setup to provide access from outside the local network but there's enough kb articles online to get it done. I've had no problems with performance (compute or network) on my home network. User interface is great for the price and updates are easily installed so no IT background is required, just simple smarts.