Synology4-Bay DiskStation DS923+ (Diskless)

This was so much better than my ds223j and it works flawlessly as a cloud drive, Plex server, vm, vpn and much more, it’s amazing how many things it’s able to handle all at once and I love SHR for the flexibility in using different capacity drives, the nvme ssd slots are also really useful for a fast read and write cache.Super easy to setup and use and the fans are almost silent.

Best thing ever to have in the house if you need storage! And there is a reason while Synology is pricey, it just works. Bought with 1.5Gb/s card and transfers are on average 200mB/s.Works without any issues, few months already and no single restart.Mobile app away is brilliant!

Small very light unit. Bit plasticky. Easy to setup. Shove in drives (in my case 2 x 14TB which brings it down to useable 12TB), find on the network, do initial setup. Then flaff around on apps and desktop applications to get to start talking to desktop and phone. Yes, that takes a bit of time to learn how to use. Its syns files exactly like OneDrive. That way you can see files on any desktop, change and every computer has latest files. Backup entire desktop in background once a week or whenever you please. Love the app on the phone (not the photo one as that doesn't work properly on android) which when turned on auto. syncs photographs. Also used as Plex which works well. Is it worth it?? Yes if you consider your data valuable. It just does everything silently in background and doesn't impact performance of desktop or phone(save for battery life). But, with the drives inserted its noisy. Not the fan, but the actually drives clicking away all day and night as if there the roof is leaking (drip-drip-drip), so you do need to put in a room or cupboard out of the way and certainly not next to your desktop as they show in videos and photos. I recommend it.

Synology NAS are well designed but lag slightly behind the competition in terms of hardware features for the money. The DS923+ is a good example as it could come with more RAM and a 10GBps Ethernet port as standard instead of as optional extras. On the other hand, it allows you to configure your NAS according to your needs: more RAM if you run many applications, 10GBps if your network supports it, NVMe SSDs if you need cache or a high speed volume and an extension enclosure if you need to grow beyond 4 drives and up to 9. It is more expensive, but it allows your NAS to grow with you. The really impressive bit here is the software which allows the NAS to be used for a myriad of tasks beyond file serving. In-house email, web server, VPN, media server, messager… there are dozens of applications which are all included for free unless they are provided by a third party (McAffe for example) or involve using the cloud. I was particularly pleased with the instant compatibility with Macs, PCs, phones and tablets, SONOS etc.. while still having thousands of settings for those who need a very personalised implementation. I was delighted to see an option to only allow including the web interface in an iFrame in specifically named sites. This allows you to insert the NAS control interface in your own company web site, with personalised graphics, of course, while preserving security.

This was my first foray into the world of NAS. I wanted a solution to backing up data on cloud drives and my phone & laptop etc. Sooner or later there is going to be a problem with OneDrive / Google Drive etc and I want to make sure I have a copy. OneDrive especially can be temperamental, occasionally everything disappears, but then reappears a bit later. I'm never sure why, but keeping it all backed up seems like a good idea, so I don't get that awful sinking feeling that accompanies irretrievably lost data.Did a lot of research on NAS's on YouTube. There is quite a steep learning curve. I found the SpaceRex channel very helpful for the choice & step by step setup. I choose Synology as the consensus seemed to be that their software is better than the hardware. With QNAP it's the other way around. Horses for courses.I like the Synology Drive app, it's very easy to check what is on the NAS from the convenience of my phone. The file manager is also pretty easy to use. There's a lot more the NAS can do, lots of apps to choose from.I did find the initial setup and settings confusing and would have needed help from someone else had it not been for YouTube videos.Quick Connect worked smoothly for network access, as did mapping the folders on the NAS to Windows explorer. It was quite slow uploading my files, but now it is done updating them is quick. I've plugged in an external HDD via the USB and that shows up in the file manager with no problems. The NAS is not noisy, but I probably wouldn't run it in a bedroom if possible as there is a very low hum and the lights on the front.I'm only using the NAS to a small part of it's potential at the moment. Overall, not the cheapest backup solution. However this is a flexible setup which I can tailor to my needs as time goes on and as I get a better understanding of how I can use it.

Synology NAS was easy to setup and administer. Purchased a couple of 14TBs which are mirrored and have 2 slots available for the new 24Tb disks.This unit allows you to extend and add further storage when required.Great value for money