I don't give 5 stars easily. But this product deserves it. After a disaster of purchasing a WD My Cloud Home Duo, I returned it and purchased the DS218+. I have been VERY happy. Leaving the Amazon order-to-delivery latency aside, the product came well packaged and complete.
Installation - which required that I install two HDDs - was very easy and literally took me 10 minutes and that is because I don't like to read the manual. Once installed, setup was very straightforward once you understand the web-based tool used to configure and manage the device. The DS218+ connected to my home network hub (we use Comcast). I was able to connect to the device from multiple PCs (Win10, Win8, Win7) as well as devices (Android phone and tablet, I haven't tried our iPhone or iPad yet). Once you get the understanding of the user management and permissions approach, it is simple to set up multiple users for the family.
Management - the management interface via their own UI turns out to be excellent. I was put off of yet another UI that I had to learn at first. But I have quickly gotten used to it and the learning curve was pretty quick for the basics. But I have also noticed there is a lot of power in the UI as well to really tailor your system to your needs. That will take some time to digest. Best thing about the UI are the "Stations". They have them for videos, photos and music. Get tools to manage the huge libraries of each that I have collected over the years. The Video Station is really nice in that it ties to the web to get add'l info on the movies along with graphics, etc. It effectively looks like Netflix for your movie library.
Usage - I am primarily doing two things with this device: 1) accessing my photos/videos/music remotely and 2) syncing my business files from my work and from my personal company. As for the remote file access - works really well. There are DS apps available for Android (and I assume iStuff). Each of the apps are clean and pretty easy to use. the DS Video app gives you that same Netflix look and feel I mentioned earlier. The music and photo apps work very nice - they could have a few more features for sorting, but I assume those will come with time. As for the file sync, that works VERY nicely. I have installed the Cloud Drive app on my PCs. Once I figured out how the software worked I have been able to get very detailed about which files to sync. It is now working like a charm and does not seem to impact performance of my PCs. I haven't set up any backup arrangement yet - we will see how that goes.
Overall, I am VERY high on this product. Looks great. Very quiet (unlike the WD product). Easy to manage.
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This Item  Synology 2 bay NAS DiskStation DS218+ (Diskless) | Recommendations  |  |  |  |  | |
| Price | — | $249.99 | $299.99 | $184.99 | $175.00 | $369.99 |
| Delivery | — | — | — | Get it Oct 7 - 8 | Get it as soon as Friday, Oct 4 | Get it as soon as Friday, Oct 4 |
| Customer Ratings | ||||||
| Sold By | — | Amazon.com | TheTechGroup | INFINITY SALES CORPORATION | A+NAS | Amazon.com |
| size | 2-bay; 2GB DDR3L | DS223 | DS224+ | 2-bay; 512MB DDR4 | 2 Bay | DS423 |
| hardware interface | esata, usb3.0 | — | esata, pci, solid state drive | sata 6 0 gb | usb, ethernet | — |
| compatible devices | Server | Desktop, Laptop, Server, Smart Phone | Laptop, Smart Phone, Desktop | Server | Server, CPU, Laptop, Desktop | Server, Desktop, Laptop |
| assembly required | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
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Active Backup Suite: Centralized Data Protection
Synology America Corp
From the manufacturer
Compact yet powerful storage solution
Featuring a powerful dual-core CPU, Synology DiskStation is perfect for home users or small businesses looking for a compact and reliable shared storage solution to process intensive workloads.
Next-generation file system for better data protection
DS218+ integrates the Btrfs file system, delivering the most advanced storage technology to meet the management needs of small businesses.
4K Ultra HD video transcoding
DiskStation’s real-time H.265/H.264 4K video transcoding provides hassle-free and high-quality video playback among various devices.
- Dual-core 2.0 GHz CPU
- 2GB DDR3L-1866 memory (expandable up to 6GB)
- Three USB 3.0 ports
- Over 113 MB/s sequential reading and 112 MB/s writing*
- *Performance figures may vary depending on the environment, usage, and configuration.
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File sharing and syncingWith comprehensive support for network file sharing protocols — like CIFS, AFP, NFS, FTP and more — DiskStation allows the entire office to centralize files and collaborate on projects. Or synchronize files across multiple devices or even across several locations so remote teams can work together. |
Your own personal multimedia serverDiskStation allows you to transcode H.265/H.264 4K videos to 1080p and stream them to high-definition TVs, digital media players, mobile handsets, and computers in the required format, making it easy to watch your entire multimedia library without having to install a 3rd party player. |
Bulletproof backupMaintain control of your data and ensure your files are safe with Synology. We provide secure, reliable, and affordable solutions that make it easy to backup files for all your devices and protect yourself from accidental data loss. |
24/7 smart security solutionSurveillance Station delivers intelligent monitoring and video management tools such as managing multiple IP cameras with live streaming, integration of I/O modules and more to help safeguard all the important places in your life. |
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| Synology DS218+ | Synology DS718+ | Synology DS918+ | |
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| Customer Reviews |
2,601
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2,601
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| Drive Bays | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Maximum Drive Bays with Expansion Unit | 2 (no expansion unit support) | 7 (with DX517 expansion unit) | 9 (with DX517 expansion unit) |
| Maximum Raw Capacity with Expansion Units | 24 TB (12 TB HDD x 2) (Capacity may vary by RAID types) | 84 TB (12 TB HDD x 7) (Capacity may vary by RAID types) | 108 TB (12 TB drive x 9) (Capacity may vary by RAID types) |
| Hot Swappable Drives | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CPU | Intel Celeron J3355 Dual-core 2.0 GHz | Intel Celeron J3455 Quad-core 1.5 GHz | Intel Celeron J3455 Quad-core 1.5 GHz |
| Hardware Encryption Engine (AES-NI) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Memory | 2 GB DDR3 (Expandable up to 6GB) | 2 GB DDR3 (Expandable up to 6GB) | 4 GB DDR3 (Expandable up to 8GB) |
| 1GbE LAN Ports | 1 | 2 (with Link Aggregation / Failover support) | 2 (with Link Aggregation / Failover support) |
| USB 3.0 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Hardware transcoding engine | H.264 (AVC), H.265 (HEVC), MPEG-2, VC-1; maximum resolution: 4K (4096 x 2160); maximum frames per second (FPS): 30 | H.264 (AVC), H.265 (HEVC), MPEG-2, VC-1; maximum resolution: 4K (4096 x 2160); maximum frames per second (FPS): 30 | H.264 (AVC), H.265 (HEVC), MPEG-2, VC-1; maximum resolution: 4K (4096 x 2160); maximum frames per second (FPS): 30 |
From the brand
Synology NAS Drives
Purpose-built for Synology systems
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Designed for Synology systems
Reliable 3.5" SATA hard drives are made for 24x7 use in home and small office Synology NAS systems.
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Rigorously tested NAS drives
Subjected to thorough compatibility and stress testing to ensure smooth 24/7 operation under multi-user workloads.
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Seriously dependable drives
100% conventional magnetic recording (CMR) technology ensures consistent write performance throughout their lifespans.
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Easy firmware updates
Firmware updates can be performed directly through DSM, ensuring the latest patches while eliminating the need for disk removal.
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Readers' Choice Award - since 2010
Among PCMag readers, Synology scored a 9.2 out of 10 in overall satisfaction and a 9.3 in the likelihood to recommend, Synology far outpaced its competitors in these categories.
Business Choice Award - since 2013
Synology won both Home-Office NAS and IT Manager's Choice. Synology earned an 9.4 rating for likelihood to recommend and a 9.2 in overall satisfaction from PCMag business respondents.
Pleased as Punch
I'm not an IT professional--just a guy with a good amount of data and a desire to have things setup in a reliable and straightforward manner. The DS918+ really fits the bill:I was previously using a bunch of USB drives (no RAID), struggling with occasional hard drive failures and with backups, and finally made the switch, after a good deal of research, to the DS918+. I bought 4 10TB WD Red Pros to go with it, as well as some additional ram, and spent a weekend migrating the data over. This is an early review, so maybe I'll update it after a few months with it, but my initial reaction is extremely positive.If you've never set up a RAID before (which was the case for me), this device is a very friendly way to become introduced to it. Synology's website has a very easy to use calculator (google "synology calculator" to find it) to see what you'll be getting with different RAID configurations and hard drives. I won't get into the pros and cons of various RAID configurations here, but a little bit of internet research will give you those answers very quickly. Once you know what you want, setup with Synology's built-in Disk Station Manager really is a breeze, and requires a few pull-down menu choices and the ability to click "next".That brings me to Disk Station Manager, which is just bliss. Very easy to use. It's the kind of interface you didn't know you wanted until you've tried it, and it's one of the major perks of getting this unit rather than trying to roll your own or using a competing product. The Package Center has a number of official apps from Synology (there are a million ways to use a NAS), but having ready-access to these well-built packages is inspiring from the "oh hey, maybe i'll use my NAS for that too" standpoint.From a noise-level perspective, I was prepared for some noise. NAS's are inherently a little noisy with all the disks spinning, but once the transfer of all my data over to the NAS was complete, things quieted down to a reasonable level. If you can avoid it, you should plan to have the NAS somewhere where you don't sleep or otherwise care too much about the sound.In sum, if you're like me and thinking of finally upgrading from your JBOD (Just a Bunch of Disks), here's one vote to go ahead and take the plunge.
Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2018
Size: 2-bay; 2GB DDR3LStyle: DS218+Configuration: SingleVerified Purchase
Reviewed in the United States on June 19, 2020
Size: 4-bay; 4GB DDR3LStyle: DS918+Configuration: SingleVerified Purchase
