Opinions/Experience with the Synology DS213+?

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NathanP2007

[H]ard|Gawd
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Dec 17, 2007
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So i saw this on Gizmodo: http://gizmodo.com/the-best-batteries-the-best-nas-the-best-external-har-1446497075

Is this NAS really a hit in the NAS owning community? Or is there one recommended/loved more?

Its not that i really really need a NAS, but i like the idea of them, and i use a lot of space on my HDD's mainly because i have a 6 tuner DVR that uses WMC and records to my PC...the files are HUGE (btw if you know of a way to compress them or something that would be great!).
Currently i have the windows 2Tb "NAS" and its pretty cool being able to access it from anywhere. But the software sucks and isnt compatible with Win 8, and the website access sucks too. Is a two drive station worth it? I mean is it common in the NAS world that if you start with a 2 drive station you eventually are like "damn why didnt i get the 4!"

Oh and one last thing, the new "DS214" just released like yesterday (probably why the 213+ is on sale) http://www.synology.com/products/product.php?product_name=DS214&lang=us I cant tell what the difference is. Does anyone know?

Thanks for the help.
 
I'd go with the four disk version. The two disk model is great, don't get me wrong, but you'll probably be disappointed with the space available (as it will use one for parity, you will only have one disk usable.) Regardless, all of the + models are fantastic. You can't go wrong with them.
 
I have nothing but good experiences with the older and widely popular Synology DS212J. The software/OS was relatively easy to use. Performance wasn't bad either. So I would imagine that the DS213 with its faster and multi-core processor (the DS212j had a single core CPU) and double the RAM to be no slouch either.

As for whether or not a 2 bay drive station is worth it, that's up to you to decide based on your storage capacity needs and uptime needs. For some, 8TB of straight simple storage is more than enough. For others, a 4TB RAID 1 array is enough. So you're going to have to figure just how much storage you'll need in the future and how exactly you want to setup that storage (i.e as single drives, RAID types, etc)

In regards to the difference between the DS214 and DS213+, it appears that the DS214 has higher read/write speeds and is a bit more responsive:
http://www.synology.com/products/performance.php?lang=us#tabs-2
 
I have a DS212+ that I sometimes use. The updates are pretty incremental (little faster CPU/newer chipset, etc). They work very, very well. I'm a big Synology fan...have 4 of them sitting in my office right now. I also do suggest going 4 or 5 bay but...if you want to start with a 2 bay you can do that and re-purpose it later if you outgrow it. If you are just using it for normal file storage I'd buy the one on sale....if you plan to run apps on it I'd buy the newer, slightly faster, DS214.

The newly released (today) DS214play is a cool idea. Little 2-bay box w/ hardware accelerated video transcoding. I'd be very interested in a larger model of that.
 
DS213J here, first one, had it a week, two 3TB Seagate drives mirrored.

First NAS, unless you could some half-assed single drive WD stuff I've set up for people at work and such now and then. It is a lot more than I was expecting, despite reading a bunch of reviews.
Other than a bit of a learning curve that leveled out after a couple hours I don't have any complaints.
I agree to go for the 4 drive model if budget has room.
The interface is quick and pretty decent, the app selection is interesting, and has a bunch of stuff I'll never use. Probably the two coolest things for me so far is I was able to have my mobile devices automatically sync pics to it, sorta like what Google+ does, and the remote music and video access from different devices. I can take my computer apart and my Wife can still watch a movie on the NAS (that used to be on a drive in my box). And I have my Google Drive folder and my dropbox and box sync folders on there as well. There are more possibilities than I will ever utilize beyond those.
I've been pleased, and don't know why I was jerking around with hardware raid IN my computer when this thing was so full featured and cheap.
 
Haha i have the half assed single drive Seagate "NAS". Its 2TB i believe and its actually pretty nice to have in terms of its function of being over the network.

I really like the Two drive for its price. However i dont think long term i would be happy with just two drives. Considering the price is $330 then $100+ for a single HDD (so multiple that by two). Thats too expensive for something i dont need. Then you compare that to the four drive NAS which is drive-less for $550...lol that entrance cost is just to high.

Thank you guys for schooling me on the Synology. Maybe down the line the prices will drop a bit more and the cost wont be so unappealing.
 
I'd watch for a used one.

I got mine for $200 new and the 3TB seagate pair were like $280 retail box for the pair.
Lot of money but it's piece of mind.
Nice part is you can upgrade the drives to larger ones one at a time and it will rebuild the mirror, so when 4TB's get cheap I can swap a couple in. I could have saved $20 on the NAS somewhere probably and got the drives for $50 or more less for non-boxed, but I'm paranoid about such.
I agree the 4 drive unit is more appealing on all fronts, but the buy in is just too high for a BS home network like I have. Anything more than this and I'd build something and use FreeNAS or the like.
 
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