Synology DS1512+ for a pure NAS

[soulesschild]

I've gotten to the point where I'm tired of piecing together left over hardware to host a NAS. And I've looked into building a custom box but I realized that I'd only ever use it to store stuff, backup stuff (Mac/PCs), and stream stuff over something like Plex.

I was thinking of a Synology DS1512+ with a ram upgrade and 5x 3TB WD Reds. Comes out to about 1600.

Any pros or cons? I currently have a frankenstein WHS that's showing it's age. But I can't use that to back up my Macs so that's why I've been looking around and considering other options.

Also, small footprint and power use is also preferred which is why I'm considering dedicated NAS boxes.

 

[nitrobass24]

I recently sold my norco in favor of this exact unit. Best decision I have made in a long time.

Loaded up 5x4TB drives in a raid5. Plenty fast for running my xen cluster with 10 vms. Plus hosting my media for my HTPCs.

No ram upgrade needed...it doesn't cache the hdds...used for applications so unless you are running a bunch of stuff on the nas it won't help you.

 

[soulesschild]

I recently sold my norco in favor of this exact unit. Best decision I have made in a long time.

Loaded up 5x4TB drives in a raid5. Plenty fast for running my xen cluster with 10 vms. Plus hosting my media for my HTPCs.

No ram upgrade needed...it doesn't cache the hdds...used for applications so unless you are running a bunch of stuff on the nas it won't help you.

Probably run the usual apps, Sabnzbd, couch potato, sickbeard, plex. i think the RAM is only 20 bucks so why not

Glad to hear it worked out for you! Nice to have someone in a similar situation as me and have the end result be what I had hoped.

 

[valve1138]

I went from a pieced together WHS 2011 box to a DS1812 in March. Couldn't be happier.

I did the ram upgrade, it's cheap, so why not. I use it as my main file server, media host, and central backup.

It's wicked fast too for network transfers.

 

[HDClown]

I have a DS1512+ with 5x3TB configured for SHR with 2 drive redundancy (RAID6 essentially). Low noise, low heat, low power, powerful. Certainly not as cheap as what you could do with custom building something but it's the "it just works" model. You can even expand it with external add-on chassis.

Plenty of 3rd party package support (synocommunity.com is the best one) and Synology puts out DSM updates on a fairly regular basis. There isn't anything not to like.

 

[twistacatz]

A year in a half ago I was in your same shoes and due to a lack of time I went with the 1511+ and an expansion bay. The solution was fine and worked well but after buying new gear and building out a ZFS/Napp-It solution I definitely feel like I made the wrong choice. Honestly the benefits of ZFS outweigh anything that Synology can offer except simplicity. And if simplicity is key to you maybe give FreeNAS a try which I heard is a breeze to install. Also use that Synology budget and buy a nice chassis and parts for the build to ensure you get that experience you’re looking for.

One other thought that I would like to share is the hardware itself is not very impressive, it’s like all plastic which was a disappointment after spending $1500 on the setup.

 

[AthlonXP]

I went from a pieced together WHS 2011 box to a DS1812 in March. Couldn't be happier.

I did the ram upgrade, it's cheap, so why not. I use it as my main file server, media host, and central backup.

It's wicked fast too for network transfers.

Same thing. I love Synology NAS systems.

 

[soulesschild]

A year in a half ago I was in your same shoes and due to a lack of time I went with the 1511+ and an expansion bay. The solution was fine and worked well but after buying new gear and building out a ZFS/Napp-It solution I definitely feel like I made the wrong choice. Honestly the benefits of ZFS outweigh anything that Synology can offer except simplicity. And if simplicity is key to you maybe give FreeNAS a try which I heard is a breeze to install. Also use that Synology budget and buy a nice chassis and parts for the build to ensure you get that experience you’re looking for.

One other thought that I would like to share is the hardware itself is not very impressive, it’s like all plastic which was a disappointment after spending $1500 on the setup.

I had thought about this but how big is your server? I'm looking for a small server that's quiet and won't suck up a lot of energy. Every time I look at full builds it ends up always not what I want in terms of a small form factor with low power consumption.

 

[nitrobass24]

The only thing that could be used for DIY SFF NAS is the NSC-800.... And it's next to impossible to get. Plus you will spend almost as much after mobo, cpu, ram, controller.

 

[twistacatz]

I had thought about this but how big is your server? I'm looking for a small server that's quiet and won't suck up a lot of energy. Every time I look at full builds it ends up always not what I want in terms of a small form factor with low power consumption.

I would say I'm on more of the extreme side, my new server is huge 5U's and it can hold over 35 drives. I went that direction as I was annoyed by the cost of the Synology expansion chassis and I never wanted to hit that wall again. I just wanted to have more flexibility with storage so I went in a totally different direction.

In regards to the small form factor and low wattage I believe most people use the HP Micro servers. You'll find that the Micro server is going to use more or less the same power as a Synology. When it comes down to power (for the part) you have to account for two things powering the drives and how much power does CPU use when idling. Well the draw from the drives is the same regardless of what solution you use and these low end processors in both systems tend to draw around the same amount of energy when idling.

You said it yourself your needs are simple a lot of solutions will probably get it done. Why pay over $800 for something because it's easy to use? I'm telling you after you dive into and get things setup, you'll find that a FreeNAS/ZFS is very simple. And the difference in cost when you get down to it makes it hard to justify the Synology IMO. As long as your semi technical, you'll be beyond fine.

The only thing that could be used for DIY SFF NAS is the NSC-800.... And it's next to impossible to get. Plus you will spend almost as much after mobo, cpu, ram, controller.

I agree that's why I believe the HP micro server is so popular. Also if the DIY box can be a little "big" then you can look into Mini-ITX market.

 

[Nophtosh]

The only thing that could be used for DIY SFF NAS is the NSC-800.... And it's next to impossible to get. Plus you will spend almost as much after mobo, cpu, ram, controller.

Not true (right now). They're currently shipping and I got one about a month ago.