Network storage for home and prosumer use.
The Synology BeeStation Plus 8TB is a consumer-friendly NAS aimed at first-timers, a simple alternative to iCloud, Google Photos, and Drive. It ships with a preinstalled drive and preconfigured settings for an out-of-the-box experience.
I upgraded my three-year-old 4-bay Synology DS918+ to the 6-bay DS1621+, which Synology refreshed late last year from the DS1618+. The DS1621+ retails for S$1,244 and gives me more room to grow my storage.
The Synology DS920+ is the flagship 4-bay NAS in the 2020 Plus series, alongside the DS420+, DS720+, and DS220+. Powered by an Intel J4125 with 4GB RAM, this post walks through migrating from an existing DiskStation.
The Synology DS220j is an entry-level NAS for newcomers. Ten years ago I moved from a D-Link DNS-323 to a Synology DS210j and never looked back. At S$249, the DS220j is an affordable starting point.
As a Synology fan owning several of their NAS and routers, I rate their DSM and SRM software the best around. For some reason I started collecting their swag, from a USB drive to a luggage tag and SIM holder.
The Synology DS918+ is the flagship 4-bay NAS in the Plus Series, announced at Computex 2017 and released that October. Retailing for S$811 at Fuwell, it costs S$100 more than the DS418play, adding a quad-core processor and 4GB RAM.
My Synology DS415play was showing its age, often failing to stream video via Plex to my Apple TV 4K and forcing a VLC workaround. This post looks at the DS418play, the natural upgrade to address those streaming bottlenecks.
The Synology DS216+, launched on 28th January 2016, succeeds the DS215+ and retails in Singapore for S$499. This high-performance 2-bay NAS for small offices and home users features a dual-core Intel CPU, AES-NI encryption, Btrfs support, and 4K transcoding.
WD makes the best hard drives and Synology the best NAS. I run two Synology units at home with WD drives: a DS210j on two WD Green 1TB since 2010, and a DS413j on four WD Red 1TB since 2013.
In my final Synology DiskStation DS413j review, after covering unboxing, setup, and performance, I focus on its multimedia features. These include Video Station, Audio Station, and Photo Station, along with their mobile apps, DS Video, DS Audio, and DS Photo.
In this second part of my Synology DiskStation DS413j review, after unboxing and setup earlier, I cover performance, backup, and CloudStation. I tested file transfer speeds with LAN Speed Test, the DS413j running SHR with WD Red drives.
I've been seeded the Synology DiskStation DS413j with three WD Red drives for a three-part review, beginning here with unboxing and setup. Since the DS413j is a four-bay NAS, I popped to Sim Lim Square for a fourth WD Red.
After a week and a follow-up email, D-Link replied. The normal repair is US$61, but out of goodwill they offered 30% off, bringing it to US$42, so I'll repair it and get a Synology DiskStation DS210j too.