A Guide to helping you Choose the Right Synology NAS – DS216J from DS716+II. Cheap vs Power

Synology 2-bay NAS for 2017 – Should you buy a Budget NAS or a Premium NAS?

With the Synology 2016 NAS series well under way and the 2017 NAS Series around the corner , it can get very confusing for most consumers that are ready to make the jump to Network Attached Storage. Be it as a Plex Media Server, as a Synchronization station with public cloud storage providers, perhaps a NAS download station, itunes NAS server or as a means to host your website or images for Apple Time machine – Which one should I go for? Should you spend more and go for the all encompassing Synology DS716+ NAS? Should you save the pennies and go for the Synology DS216J or Synology DS216se? Perhaps you want features but have to work in a budget and therefore the Synology DS216+ or Synology DS216 is the NAS for you? An maybe…just maybe you want something for a 4K NAS server and want to keep in budget and go for the Synology DS216PLAY… The list is endless. But which is the best NAS for you? Which is the best NAS for your budget? Here are the units featured in the video

• The Synology DS216J NAS is for those who want a simple fle server with lite DLNA Media Access
• The Synology DS716+II NAS is for those that want s limitless NAS for VMware, Surveillance, Plex and More
• The Synology DS216+ NAS is for those that want medium level access to Vmware, Surveillance and Plex.
• The Synoloy DS216 is the standard NAS Sserver for those that want a good base for day to day NAS tasks
• The Synology DS216PLAY NAS is designed with Media and Home entertainment in mind, though not Plex Transcoding
• The Synology DS216se NAS is the basic 2-Bay NAS for simple file level access

VALUE For just over £200 you will be hard pushed to find a better 2-bay NAS. Add to that the ever versatile QNAP operating system and the wealth of features that it offers. If you haven’t already ordered this NAS – PUT IT IN YOUR BASKET NOW! FEATURES Again, easily a front runner in the 2-BAY NAS market for performance across all NAS use types. In this league of excellence you will find the QNAP TS-253A-4G and the Synology DS716+ NAS. Any of these 3 NAS devices will give you first class Network Attached Storage performance. PERFORMANCE Easily the most powerful and capable Synology 2 Bay device to date DESIGN Clean design, Metal and in keeping with the rest of the Synology 2 Bay Series

VALUE More expensive than most 2 bay units and may be a little high for those with basic requirements. FEATURES Lack of HDMI port will disappoint some users

The Synology DS216J NAS Advantages and Disadvantages

DESIGN Very simple Plastic design but still very much befitting of a NAS and more appopriately Mac environment. OPlus the unit will not generate enough heat for the plastic to be a problem as also keeps product costs low enough to keep this NAS at around £100 without the drives. FEATURES The Synology DS216J may well be low of the NAS hardware front but it can perform and provide most of the standard file based tasks that other NAS units can do outside of the J series. You can forget about the likes of Plex Media Server transcoding, but you will have excellent Plex video streaming localy as well as Synology DSM NAS OS abilities to create download tasks, backup images, RAID storage, and DLNA media distribution. PERFORMANCE Don’t expect the ground to shake with it’s awesome power! But again, it performs solidly and comfortably at those low end file based tasks and is definitely trhe NAS server of choice for those looking for Mac Backup images with the likes of Apple Time Machine. VALUE For the cost, the Synology DS216J is an excellent NAS that is is one for the first time network Attached Storage user or those with simple, small file tasks. I would recommend this NAS with a couple of Large Hard drives like teh WD 4TB Red or for those on a low budget, skip NAS drives entirely and go for the Seagate Archive Derives in a RAID 1 (which you can do because these non-RAID drives are ok for simple mirroring).

DESIGN NAS Hard Drives are installed internally (no trays on the Synology DS216J) so a tiny (and I really do mean tiny) amount of physical installation is required. FEATURES Due to those hard drives being installed internally without trays, you lose hot swapping as an option. Also although it will provide most file based NAS applications, it will be on a more minimal scale to those you would expect from the standard Synology DS216 or DS216PLAY PERFORMANCE The DS216J leaves very little room for growth or evolution – You get a solid NAS that performs ploddingly in the background – but 3 years down the line it will not have grown into your dream NAS. VALUE Buy this NAS for tasks that are smaller and more manageable and don;t make plans for expansion. this is a NAS for today and even for tomorrow… just not for next week!

How do the DS216J and DS716+II NAS Compare?

It is safe to say that when it comes to NAS, one of the biggest names out there is Synology. But with so many units being added to their every increasing range every year, it can all get a little confusing. Everyone’s data needs are different and what is important in integral to one user can be a superfluous unrequited feature to another. There’s no denying that the accessing, sharing and distribution of media is a big demand of NAS, but equally there are the concerns of those looking for image based backup, a centralised download server and wireless surveillance. With these needs in mind many first time NAS buyers can get lost quickly.

Hardware Specifications
Model Name	Synology DS716+II NAS	Synology DS216J NAS
CPU
CPU Model	Intel Celeron N3160	Marvell Armada 385 88F6820
CPU Architecture	64-bit	32-bit
CPU Frequency	Quad Core 1.6 burst up to 2.24 GHz	Dual Core 1.0 GHz
Hardware Encryption Engine
Hardware Encryption Engine (AES-NI)
Hardware Transcoding Engine	H.264 (AVC), H.265 (HEVC), MPEG-2 and VC-1; maximum resolution: 4K (4096 x 2160); maximum frame rate per second (FPS): 30
Memory
System Memory	2 GB DDR3	512 MB DDR3
Storage
Drive Bay(s)	2	2
Maximum Drive Bays with Expansion Unit	x7- DX513 5-Bay Expansion
Maximum Internal Raw Capacity	20 TB (10 TB HDD x 2) (Capacity may vary by RAID types)	20 TB (10 TB HDD x 2) (Capacity may vary by RAID types)
Maximum Raw Capacity with Expansion Units	70 TB (10 TB HDD x 7) (Capacity may vary by RAID types)
Hot Swappable Drive
External Ports
USB 3.0 Port	3	2
eSATA Port	1
USBCopy	Front Mounted USB 3.0 Button
File System
Internal Drives	·         Btrfs ·         EXT4	·         EXT4
External Drives	·         Btrfs ·         EXT4 ·         EXT3 ·         FAT ·         NTFS ·         HFS+ ·         exFAT*	·         EXT4 ·         EXT3 ·         FAT ·         NTFS ·         HFS+* ·         exFAT*
Appearance
Size (Height x Width x Depth)	157 mm x 103.5 mm x 232 mm	165 mm x 100 mm x 225.5 mm
Weight	1.75 kg	0.88 kg
Others
RJ-45 1GbE LAN Port	2 (with Link Aggregation / Failover support)	1
Wake on LAN/WAN
System Fan	92 mm x 92 mm x 1 pcs	92 mm x 92 mm x 1 pcs
Fan Speed Mode	·         Cool Mode ·         Quiet Mode	·         Cool Mode ·         Quiet Mode ·         Low-power Mode
Wireless Support (dongle)
Noise Level*	18 dB(A)	18.2 dB(A)
Scheduled Power On/Off
Power Supply Unit / Adapter	65W	60W
AC Input Power Voltage	100V to 240V AC	100V to 240V AC
Power Frequency	50/60 Hz, Single Phase	50/60 Hz, Single Phase
Power Consumption*	19.14 W (Access) 9.50 W (HDD Hibernation)	14.85 W (Access) 6.95 W (HDD Hibernation)
Environment Temperature
Warranty	3 Years	2 Years
Supported RAID Type	·         Synology Hybrid RAID ·         Basic ·         JBOD ·         RAID 0 ·         RAID 1 ·         RAID 5 (with Expansion Unit) ·         RAID 6 (with Expansion Unit) ·         RAID 10 (with Expansion Unit)	·         Synology Hybrid RAID ·         Basic ·         JBOD ·         RAID 0 ·         RAID 1
RAID Migration	·         Basic to RAID 1 ·         Basic to RAID 5 (with Expansion Unit) ·         RAID 1 to RAID 5 (with Expansion Unit) ·         RAID 5 to RAID 6 (with Expansion Unit)	·         Basic to RAID 1
Volume Expansion with Larger HDDs	·         Synology Hybrid RAID ·         RAID 1 ·         RAID 5 (with Expansion Unit) ·         RAID 6 (with Expansion Unit)	·         Synology Hybrid RAID ·         RAID 1
Volume Expansion by Adding a HDD	·         Synology Hybrid RAID ·         RAID 5 (with Expansion Unit) ·         RAID 6 (with Expansion Unit) ·         JBOD (with Expansion Unit)	·         Synology Hybrid RAID
Global Hot Spare Supported RAID Type	·         Synology Hybrid RAID (with Expansion Unit) ·         RAID 1 (with Expansion Unit) ·         RAID 5 (with Expansion Unit) ·         RAID 6 (with Expansion Unit) ·         RAID 10 (with Expansion Unit)
Maximum IP cam (Licenses required)	40 (including 2 Free License) (See All Supported IP Cameras)	10 (including 2 Free License) (See All Supported IP Cameras)
Total FPS (H.264)*	1200 FPS @ 720p (1280×720) 800 FPS @ 1080p (1920×1080) 300 FPS @ 3M (2048×1536) 250 FPS @ 5M (2591×1944)	300 FPS @ 720p (1280×720) 150 FPS @ 1080p (1920×1080) 100 FPS @ 3M (2048×1536) 40 FPS @ 5M (2591×1944)
Total FPS (MJPEG)*	450 FPS @ 720p (1280×720) 150 FPS @ 1080p (1920×1080) 100 FPS @ 3M (2048×1536) 72 FPS @ 5M (2591×1944)	150 FPS @ 720p (1280×720) 75 FPS @ 1080p (1920×1080) 50 FPS @ 3M (2048×1536) 25 FPS @ 5M (2591×1944)
Video Transcoding	4K Group 1 (See more)
Packaging Content	·         Main Unit X 1 ·         Welcome Note X 1 ·         Accessory Pack X 1 ·         AC Power Adapter X 1 ·         AC Power Cord X 1 ·         RJ-45 LAN Cable X 2	·         Main Unit X 1 ·         Welcome Note X 1 ·         Accessory Pack X 1 ·         AC Power Adapter X 1 ·         AC Power Cord X 1 ·         RJ-45 LAN Cable X 1

How and where do I sign up for Plex? How much does Plex Cost?

The Plex Application for your NAS, Mac, PC, Android device is free and available in the NAS App store, iTunes and Google Playstore at no additional cost, though the free apps, though serving as an excellent introduction, will soon feel limited and we advise that if you upgrade to the Plex Pass subscription service for vastly improved options and add-ons. To begin setting up your Plex Media Server, you will need to head over to Plex and set up your account (use the below link) so you can have all your movie, TV show, music, and photo collections at your fingertips. Anywhere you go, on the devices you love.

If however you wish to skip straight to the good stuff and set up your Plex Pass Membership immediately so you can get your Plex Media Server at 100%, use the link below to take walk you through setting up your Plex Pass today!

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