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?

asustor-as1002t-2-bay-personal-cloud-nas-unboxing-and-walkthrough-6With 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 DS716+II NAS Advantages and Disadvantages

The Synology DS716+ Unboxing is it the best NAS 2

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

The Synology DS716+ Unboxing is it the best NAS 7

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

Synology DS216J Budget NAS for Cost Effective Network Attached Storage Users 9

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).

Synology DS216J Budget NAS for Cost Effective Network Attached Storage Users 1

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

ds716+ small

Synology DS216J NAS

The Synology DS216J NAS 10th Generation Network Attached Storage Server

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 Ryan_Taylor_Green_Tick  Ryan_Taylor_Green_Tick
Hardware Encryption Engine (AES-NI)  Ryan_Taylor_Green_Tick  Not compatibile nas
Hardware Transcoding Engine Ryan_Taylor_Green_Tick

H.264 (AVC), H.265 (HEVC), MPEG-2 and VC-1; maximum resolution: 4K (4096 x 2160); maximum frame rate per second (FPS): 30

Not compatibile nas
Memory
System Memory 2 GB DDR3 512 MB DDR3
Storage
Drive Bay(s) 2 2
Maximum Drive Bays with Expansion Unit Ryan_Taylor_Green_Tick

x7- DX513 5-Bay Expansion

Not compatibile nas
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 Ryan_Taylor_Green_Tick

70 TB (10 TB HDD x 7) (Capacity may vary by RAID types)

Not compatibile nas
Hot Swappable Drive Ryan_Taylor_Green_Tick Not compatibile nas
External Ports
USB 3.0 Port 3 2
eSATA Port 1 Not compatibile nas
USBCopy

Ryan_Taylor_Green_Tick Front Mounted USB 3.0 Button

Not compatibile nas
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  Ryan_Taylor_Green_Tick Not compatibile nas
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)  Ryan_Taylor_Green_Tick Not compatibile nas
Noise Level* 18 dB(A) 18.2 dB(A)
Scheduled Power On/Off  Ryan_Taylor_Green_Tick Not compatibile nas
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)

Not compatibile nas
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) Not compatibile nas
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.

Create_a_Plex_Account_today_with_your_NAS_server_app

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!

PLex Pass for your NAS Mac PC Android Roku Chromecast Amazon fire Media 2

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