Features:

  • Ideal 4-bay NAS as home multimedia center
  • Dual-core Intel J3355 processor with AES-NI hardware encryption engine
  • Dual-channel H.265/H.264 4K video transcoding on the fly
  • 2GB DDR3-1866 memory, up to 6GB
  • Encrypted sequential throughput at over 226 MB/s reading, 185 MB/s writing.Maximum Single Volume Size:108 TB
  • AC Input Power Voltage: 100V to 240V AC
Love it! But lets add something....

Left my last Synology on for 5 years and the ethernet port died. This one has a faster processor so it streams clearly 1080p/1080i without maxing the performance of my previous station. My only thought is that the station should beep when there is a major hardware failure. Instead all of the lights continue to flash while nothing was getting through for my back ups. Fun thing to learn the week a major project is due and your computer crashes.

Absolutely perfect device! Couldn’t be happier!!

Look I’ll be honest! I work in IT and I’ve struggled through setting up my own NAS and manually doing everything. Synology has knocked it out of the ballpark with these devices. I just upgraded from a 216j to the 418play and I could not be happier. I absolutely love how easy it was to migrate the device and I will 100 percent tell everyone I know to buy these devices! I’m not paid by Synology for this review I am just a fan of their equipment! Great purchase I couldn’t ask for anything more from a NAS!

My "GoTo" file server.

This is my second Synology unit. The first one is still working but needed to add another. This is simple to set up. Nearly 'plug n play'. I do recommend making sure you buy NAS drives for these units as those drives are meant for this application. This unit is faster than the older unit so the older one is now a backup for this new server/storage device. Loads of applications available on this platform to have it do just about whatever you need it to do. I mirror the drives internally and mirror this server to the older unit. I need the redundancy.

Perfect for my home setting..

I bought this to replace an aging pair of Zyxel 2 bay network storage boxes on my home network. 1 for personal data and the other for 24/7 recording of 2 IP cameras. Setup was a breeze. No-tool rails secure drives in their cages. Finding the NAS on my network worked with no problems using the web address found in the manual. From there I was able to setup the management software to access all of the functions through a web browser. Was pleasantly surprised at the layout of the web UI. Was able to create a RAID 0 and RAID 1 volume with ease over 4 drives. The first for security camera recordings, and the second for personal data. Making shares through the GUI is easy as pie. After opening an HTTPS port on my router and adding a firewall rule, this is now my new little cloud accessible anywhere! This apparently does have software requiring a Synology login to access without port settings on router, but that is below my station and I have no need to give them any personal info or web traffic. I also bought this NAS because of the surveillance package available. I don't want a standalone PC for IP security camera recordings, and the web utility in my cameras driving traffic to my old NAS was bogging my network down a bit. After downloading the surveillance package, the IP CAM setup was a breeze and was up and running for 24/7 recording inside of about 10 minutes. Couldn't be happier ditching the camera's web utility to record. I did struggle with the price for a bit while I was questioning who exactly this was made for. Business or home users? And I guess the answer is yes to both, with limitations on the business end that won't be hit until you start getting into medium to higher levels of constant traffic, and very little limitations for a home power user. After getting it I have no problems justifying the price. Especially given some problems I've had on lesser grade network storage boxes. I'll be using this for personal use as well as recommending to a couple small business customers who are looking for an upgrade. I'm not usually one to give 5 stars, but I have yet to find a reason to deduct anything for my usage case. It's super quiet and does everything I need it to, and fast!

Five Stars

great plex performance and docker container support!

Exceptional product that

This is my second Synology unit. The first was a DS213, which is also great but I needed the 4 bays and the increased functionality of this unit as a video server is great for me. These Synology units are a rock solid NAS. The OS is very stable. They are expandable and provide RAID protected storage. Set up is very easy. There are tons of available help documents and videos available on the internets if you need them. All in all a great product if you need a NAS. Perhaps the best thing I can say is that I didn't know how much I needed one of these until I bought this one.

Probably the best engineered IT device I have seen for home and small office users

Installation is a breeze. Software is totally reliable and relatively easy to use. Not a single glitch in months and pretty much works out of the box. Hardware is high quality. Performance is impeccable. Everything feels professional grade even though this is basically a consumer grade product. The capabilities of this thing far exceed what I need and I'm usually a demanding user. Do get the extra 4GB memory expansion for it (you can get a 3rd party one, look up CT4G3S186DJM), as the 2GB it ships with is barely enough and with 6GB you will probably never see >50% memory use. But remember to turn off the memory compression "feature" in the control panel. If there is one complaint I have about this product, it's that this memory compression comes enabled by default.

Works for my intended use. Plex Media Server

Pay attention to what model you buy. Not all NAS brands/models can do the same thing. You might be paying for more than what you need, or might buy a cheaper model to save money that can't do what you want.

Amazingly simple upgrade/migration

My previous diskstation was damaged by lightening. I expected that I could migrate the data, as the disks were in sleep mode when the lightening hit. I was careful to call and get the instructions and software to help me migrate my data (they were very helpful in the process). I carefully transferred the disks to the same slots in the new device, started their software, and when it told me that it looked like the data could be migrated I clicked OK and went to dinner. After dinner I came back to check on the migration. It was done, and the NAS was ready to use. I have been using it for a few weeks now with no problems. I wish everything was as easy to migrate/set up as this was.

I love Synology NAS! They are very reliable!

When it comes to NAS, Synology seems to be the best. No, I don't work for Synology. However, I've use 4 different types of Synology NAS models and they've all been very reliable. You can set it and forget it!!! The DSM software makes it easy to setup volumes and shares. iSCSI works really well too. If you are shopping for a NAS, I'd recommend trying out Synology.

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