Brand new 6-Bay for 2018
Information regarding a brand new Synology NAS for 2018 has been uncovered (excellent work by iDomiX here) and it looks like we are finally going to see a REAL player to join the DS1817+ and DS1517+ NAS. I think it is fair to say that when the Synology flagship 5-Bay and 8-Bay were released, many users were a little underwhelmed by the specifications. There is no doubt that they are solid, tried and tested NAS hardware options – the issue was that (with the exception of a PCIe slot and the option of more RAM) the hardware was identical to that of the 2015 released DS1515+ and DS1815+. This was made extra controversial by the comments being handed around about issues surrounding the intel atom based CPU inside these devices. Since their release, the DS1817+ and DS1517+ have gone on to prove many of those critics wrong and aside from a questionable support of 4K, they are great devices that arrive at a great price point in terms of both hardware and software support. However, the news of the DS1618+ 6-Bay NAS has really, really shaken things up! So what is the new DS1618+ NAS about and what is it that makes it so different to what we have seen before:
What is so special about the Synology DS1618+ NAS
This is not the first time Synology have looked into a 6-Bay NAS device. This is, in fact, their second 6-Bay NAS of their 2018 series. Their first was the DS3018xs and although they look the same, they are very different beasts and intended for a very different audience. See how they compare below:
How the DS1618+ and DS3018xs Compare
| NAS Model | Synology DS3018xs | Synology DS1618+ |
|
|
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| £1150+ ex.VAT | £700-710 ex.VAT
(TBC) |
|
| CPU Model | Intel Pentium D1508 | Atom Denverton C3538 |
| CPU Architecture | 64-bit | 64-bit |
| CPU Frequency | Dual Core 2.2 GHz 2.2 (base) / 2.6 (turbo) GHz | Quad Core 2.1Ghz |
| Hardware Encryption Engine (AES-NI) | YES | YES |
| Memory | ||
| System Memory | 8 GB DDR4 ECC SO-DIMM | 4 GB DDR4 NON-ECC SO-DIMM |
| Memory Module Pre-installed | 8GB (1 x 8GB) | 4GB (1 x 4GB) |
| Total Memory Slots | 2 | 2 |
| Memory Expandable up to | 32 GB (16 GB x 2) | 32 GB (16 GB x 2) |
| Storage | ||
| Drive Bays | 6 | 6 |
| Maximum Drive Bays with Expansion Unit | 30 | 16 |
| Compatible Drive Type |
|
|
| Maximum Internal Raw Capacity | 72 TB (12 TB drive x 6) (Capacity may vary by RAID types) | 72 TB (12 TB drive x 6) (Capacity may vary by RAID types) |
| Maximum Single Volume Size |
|
|
| Hot Swappable Drive | YES | YES |
| External Ports | ||
| RJ-45 1GbE LAN Port | 4 (with Link Aggregation / Failover support) | 4 (with Link Aggregation / Failover support) |
| USB 3.0 Port | 3 | 3 |
| Expansion Port | 2 | 2 |
| PCIe | ||
| PCIe Expansion | 1 x Gen3 x8 slot (x8 link) | 1 x Gen3 x8 slot (x8 link) |
| File System | ||
| Internal Drives |
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| External Drives |
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| Notes | exFAT Access is purchased separately in Package Center. | exFAT Access is purchased separately in Package Center. |
As you can see, they seem very similar in terms of external hardware, but inside we see a newer atom CPU revison and different memory options. Also, because this is part of the +/PLUS Synology flagship series and not the XS series, you will not have a 5 year warranty or the SRS (Synology replacement service). The result is that the new Synology DS1618+ will have a much more affordable price tag.
There is still no confirmation on a price, but based on current models, the price above is our best estimate at this time.
What else should I know about the DS1618xs and when is it released?
We have new information incoming on the Synology DS1618+ NAS and will, of course, publish them on our Youtube channels, as well as here of course, so do not forget to subscribe. However below is our confirmed information:
The Synology DS1618+ NAS Specifications
- Atom Denverton C3538 Based CPU inside, Quad core 2.1GHz
- PCIe slot for adding the M2D17 m.2 SSD PCIe Card, the New M2D18 NVMe based SSD Cache Card or 10Gbe and 40GBe NIC card
- 2x eSATA expansion ports for adding 2x DX517 Boxes
- 38.947 Read IOPS 27.627 Write IOPS (iSCSI)
- 1.551MB/s Read 586MB/s Write over 10GBe and with SSD
- 6 bays of storage, up to a maximum 16 with expansions (6+5+5)
- 4GB DDR4 non-ECC SODIMM, expandable up to 32GB
- 4x 1GbE LAN ports
- BTRFS or EXT4 FIle system
- Mac and Windows Compatible
- Arrives with DSM 6.1 or 6.2 (once out of beta)
- RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5 RAID 6 and SHR Support
- 3x 2.0 PCIe slots
- 3 Years Warranty
These is also mention on numerous sources on the internet of the final release of the Synology Mesh router MR2200ac (tri-band WiFi mesh system MR2200ac with 5 GHz). However, Synology did not give specific details about this model, so we need to be patient.
