Alternatives to Drobo from Synology or QNAP – Which NAS Should You Buy?

Leaving Drobo NAS and Buying a Synology or QNAP – Get it Right, First Time

For a long time, I championed the Drobo Brand of network attached storage (NAS) as a great option for users looking to have their very own no-fuss, easy to set up and content-creator-friendly system. However, I think it would be fair to say that in the last 5-6 years, whilst many of the more ambitious NAS brands such as QNAP and Synology were pushing the boundaries of what people can do with their NAS systems in software and hardware, Drobo had made little or no innovation in their either department. Indeed, although we saw the impressive and surprisingly affordable Thunderbolt RAID device, the Drobo 5D3, in the world of NAS we really saw things start to stagnate. Fast forward to 2022, and we recently found out that Drobo (and its parent company StorCentric) had sadly filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, citing impacts on their business from the pandemic. Although the company has stated in several interviews that they intend to carry on later, with a smaller product line perhaps, I think the brand had been in trouble long before the pandemic and for a while, many users on the brink of buying their latest NAS or were in the process of upgrading an existing Drobo populated network storage environment, started considering making the switch to the bigger and more established NAS brands, Synology and QNAP. These two brands have 22 and 18 years of experience respectively in network attached storage and in that time have continued to release new and exciting innovations that challenge alot of the rather unexciting and rudimentary storage services that Drobo NAS systems arrive with.

What Do Synology and QNAP Provide that Drobo Doesn’t?

NAS has a technology that anyone (home or business) can buy has been around for around two decades now and in that time, ALOT has changed. The days of a NAS being just a simple blob of storage (1+ HDDs) that are connected to the network/internet and accessible remotely are long gone. Now modern NAS systems arrive with a full range of tailored applications (i.e. interfaces that allow you to access file types such as Photos, Music, Video, Docs, etc in a manner better suited to their output), a full graphical user interface accessible via your web browser that is more akin to a complete operating system, many client tools and apps, huge variety of business tools and all of this whilst still providing configurable storage to you, your family or your business. Below is just a handful of the thing that a Synology or QNAP NAS can do, that a Drobo either cannot do or does in a very limited capacity:

  • Bigger Range of solutions in 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 12-Bay and bigger desktop NAS solutions
  • Many, many Mobile Applications
  • Incredibly user-friendly GUIs via the web browser (DSM and QTS) that give NAS devices an operating system comparable to Windows or MacOS
  • AI-Powered Photo Recognition
  • Huge variety of NAS Apps
  • Highly configurable and customizable iSCSI and Remote Targetted storage tools and Protocols supported
  • Multi-tiered and comprehensive backup tools covering NAS-to-NAS, USB, Cloud and VM Backups
  • Wide Variety of Desktop/Client Apps
  • Diverse RAID configurations and Storage Expansion Options
  • 10GbE by Default or as an Optional Extra
  • A large number of security tools and configuration tools (starting with
  • NVMe SSD Bays for caching and/or storage
  • Dedicated Premium Surveillance, Virtual Machine, Multimedia, Containers and Cloud Sync Software
  • Fully featured Plex and Emby Media Server Support
  • SaaS Sync Tools (Active Backup on Synology and BoXafe on QNAP)
  • A large variety of email hosting, web hosting and database creation tools
  • Not just supporting EXT4, but also supporting ZFS or BTRFS’ file systems

Now, it is worth remembering that Drobo DID release some innovations over the years in their NAS and DAS systems. They were the first to introduce a much more innovative LED system on the front of their system’s to denote system storage use, particular activity and more detailed warning patterns. They were one of the first to integrate m.2 SSD caching upgrade bays into their desktop systems (though using mSATA or M.2 NVMe), and they were one of the first to introduce internal battery systems in their desktop NAS that allowed the system to safely close read/write activities in the event of the system suffering a critical power failure. Then of course there was BeyondRAID, their flexible RAID configuration that allowed easy RAID expansions and mixed drive use. These innovations were all good, it’s just a shame that they all came around many years ago and the brand has not moved forward in hardware or software technology since.

Why Choose Synology NAS to Replace Your Drobo?

Synology is often considered the ‘Software Choice’, as DSM (Diskstation Manager) is by far the most user-friendly, secure, responsive and ‘OS-like’ platform available in the whole of NAS. It may seem one of the most expensive, but with it, you get some genuine boundary-breaking software with your purchase.  You still get a great level of hardware in the majority of Synology NAS solutions, but the real draw of Synology is that software. Not only does it support your own hardware environment of PCs, Macs, entertainment devices and mobiles in their own respective software, but DSM also includes MANY applications designed around keeping all your data IN-HOUSE. So, replace Skype/Whatsapp with Synology Chat, Replace Google Docs and Office365 with Synology Office. Use Synology Drive to make your storage visible and accessible the way YOU want it, and export your entire cloud/data network over to a Synology NAS and remove all the external access as and when you need! They aren’t the cheapest and they want you to do it ‘there way’, but it’s a pretty decent way. Additionally, their recent DSM 7.0 software has left many users impressed, with enhanced support of those 3rd party cloud storage and business services, AI photo recognition, their surveillance platform continuing to win awards and even an in-house cloud service in Synology C2. Stylizing themselves very much as the ‘Apple’ of this industry, they really do focus on keeping things straightforward and intuitive.

PROS of Synology NAS

  • Easily the most intuitive and Usage browser-based GUI (award-winning DSM 6.2/7.0/7.1) – FULL Review HERE
  • One of the best Surveillance NAS software solutions
  • Most popular vendor for Mac users for it’s UI
  • Incredibly feature-rich NVR software included, in Surveillance Station
  • Includes Active Backup Suite – Enterprise level and fully featured Backup Co-ordination software
  • Lowest Power Consumption vs other brands
  • A large # of their systems arrive with m.2 NVMe SSD caching upgrade bays
  • Quiet chassis compared with other brands
  • Task specialised Ranges like ‘PLAY’, ‘PLUS’ and ‘J’ make buying easier
  • The best range of first-party software, with Synology Office, Chat, Mail, Drive and more
  • SHR and SHR-2 – also BTRFS available in most solutions
  • Cloud Services and Hybrid Storage Tools available in Synology C2
  • Desktop and Rack-mount options are available
  • Best software for Home and SMB

CONS of Synology NAS

  • Often the most expensive
  • Recent Enterprise NAS Hardware has changed Compatibility in favour of Synology HDDs and SSDs
  • Generally, Synology NAS has the lowest hardware power in their systems
  • NVMe SSD Bays are for caching ONLY, they cannot be used for super-fast storage pools
  • More technically minded folk will need to dig a little to get to the nitty-gritty
  • SHR is not available on Enterprise NAS Systems
  • Network ONLY – no HDMI, Audio in/out, Thunderbolt, etc

Why Choose QNAP NAS to Replace Your Drobo?

Often considered the choice for the more hardware-aware buyer, if you are looking for a much more traditionally computer associated hardware – QNAP NAS is certainly the one that springs to mind. Generally considered the ‘innovators’ of the NAS industry, they have the largest range of solutions available Notwithstanding the fact that their hardware is by FAR the most evolved platform in NAS (thunderbolt 3, multiple HDMI, 10Gbe standard solutions, Silent NAS, AI solutions and advanced SSD caching), the platform is fantastically diverse, providing great NAS options alongside network switches, network adapters and generally reshaping your hardware environment for the better. The software has also evolved dramatically into its own beast, moving away from trying to imitate and carving its own path. It is a little more technically (and I really do mean a little) but it is far more rewarding for it. They do not feature some popular items on their portfolio, such as BTRFS or a fluid RAID system like SHR/BeyondRAID, but make up for this with their own range of alternatives and in most cases succeed. Get your reading glasses on though, as their range is quite vast and might overwhelm you a tad. In recent years the brand has shifted focus a great deal more towards software in efforts to meet the gap with their rival Synology to pretty good success. This is often achieved by releasing software that does the previously impossible before anyone else, but lacking a little of the polish of their biggest rival. Recent achievements with HybridMount, vJBOD, HyperVisor Protector, QuMagie and Multimedia Console have been received remarkably well, arriving onto the scene 1-2 years before anyone else. Alongside this, QNAP still has easily the best virtual machine and backup software for home and SMB in Virtualization Station and Hybrid Backup Sync.

PROS of QNAP NAS

  • Best Solutions for Plex Media Server in NAS
  • Enterprise/Business Solutions feature ZFS
  • 2.5Gbe, 5Gbe and 10Gbe Options
  • Best Virtual Machine and Container Solutions in NAS
  • NVMe SSD Bays can be used for Caching, Storage Pools or Tiered Storage Configurations
  • Almost all range is metal in design, or a plastic but unique chassis
  • HDMI and remote control included in most Media NAS devices
  • Thunderbolt NAS options covering TB2, TB3 and even TB4 (TS-464)
  • Two Surveillance Solutions (with 4/8 Camera Licenses included)
  • The Best Backup/Synchronization solution in ‘Hybrid Backup Sync 3’
  • Technical information far more readily available
  • Lower price compared with Synology in terms of hardware
  • Regularly updated software and Detailed GUI/APPs – FULL Review HERE
  • Desktop and Rackmount options are available
  • Much better business options and definitely the best for virtual machines

CONS of QNAP NAS

  • A more android feel towards apps and stability means some users will be put off
  • Lacking the BTRFS and SHR support of Synology
  • Higher typical Power consumption
  • Often a fraction noisier due to chiefly metal chassis
  • Much larger range of devices can lead to confusion
  • Most units arrive with 2-3 Years warranty, but longer will cost you more
  • Have been targetted by Ransomware attacks in the last 2 years

Recommended Synology Replacement for the Drobo 5N2 NAS – The DS920+ and DS1522+ NAS

Choosing to replace the Drobo 5N2 5-Bay NAS with a Synology is actually a surprisingly easy choice. Right now at the time of writing, there are two very clear Diskstaiton devices that you can choose (if you want to stay at this kind of storage sale). The Synology DS920+ 4-Bay NAS (originally released in 2020) and the Synology DS1522+ 5-Bay NAS (released in June 2022). The former has been in the market for long enough that multiple deals are available and if/when the DS923+ arrives on the scene, it will likely become increasingly affordable – in spite of this, the hardware inside is great and it’s a solid fully featured NAS. The latter choice, the DS1522+, is the latest 2022 generation release from the brand, has great default system hardware and plenty of scalabilities and upgrade options to add to the system’s utility in years to come. Find out more about them both below:

Synology DS920+ 4-Bay NAS $500+

Intel Celeron 4-Core J4125, 4/8GB Memory, 1GbE, NVMe SSD Caching, Expandable, SHR, 4x SATA Bays, 3yr Warranty

NASCompares Written Review – HERE

NASCompares YouTube Review – HERE

What we said on 21/05/20

The DS920+ NAS is something that Synology should be proud of. It is a great entry into their already impressive range of Diskstation NAS devices. If you are looking for a brand new NAS to consolidate your home media, to support your relative as the ‘IT whizz’ of the family, or move your business away from Google Drives and DropBox’ onto something safer, more scalable and dependable – then the DS920+ has alot to offer you. It gives you a great base to start using the DSM platform, as well as a good means to upgrade your storage internally at a later date (expansions in memory, expansions in storage, expansion in NVMe). If you are an existing DS918+ or DS916+ owner, this might not seem like the jump you were waiting for. There are always areas of improvement, the USB ports, the 1Gbe, that 1 memory slot – but these are things that Synology no doubt feel should be pushed into a higher price/hardware bracket – Allowing the DS920+ Price to be as close to its predecessors it can be. Whether you agree or disagree, I think that we can agree that this NAS is still giving you alot of bang for your buck in 2020. Thank you once again to ‘Takeo from Tokyo‘ for all his assistance on this hardware review

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Synology DS1522+ 5-Bay NAS $750+

Ryzen R1600 Dual Core, 8/32GB ECC Memory,4x1GbE, Optional 10GbE for $150, NVMe SSD Caching, Expandable, SHR, 5x SATA Bays, 3yr Warranty

NASCompares Written Review – HERE

NASCompares YouTube Review – HERE

What we said on 29/06/22

The Synology DS1522+ is a good NAS drive and most business-focused users are going to appreciate what this newer configuration of hardware is able to provide. There was never any doubt in the extent to which this new NAS would support DSM7, and given its architecture, there is virtually nothing in the popular NAS software that this system cannot do. Likewise, having the option of 10GbE on a Diskstation of this scale will be hugely attractive to some, though the proprietary means with which you need to upgrade is arguably less desirable. The R1600 CPU is a good choice of processor for file handling and simultaneous tasks, as is the 8GB of memory that this system arrives with, plus the potential to ramp it up to 32GB. After that though, the desirability of this system to home users and multimedia users is a little less compelling and with such a large audience of users who look at NAS for their media streaming, the DS1522+ not featuring a more graphically enabled chip will leave them somewhat underwhelmed. Bottom line, the DS1522+ is a solid and full DSM7 supporting system here and you cannot fault the design, internal/external performance and ease of use of this Synology NAS. However, there will always be users wondering why this NAS never arrived with an Intel chip.

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Recommended QNAP Replacement for the Drobo 5N2 NAS – The QNAP TS-464 and TS-h973ax

If you decide to move away from the Drobo 5-Bay 5N22 and towards a QNAP, then I recommend opting for either the 2022 generation TS-464 NAS (as it is really is the best hardware vs scale vs price point the brand has ever released) or the incredibly mutli-facited QNAP TS-h973ax, which as 10GbE, 3 kinds of storage media supported across 9-Bays and the choice of file system at initialization of ZFS or EXT4. Here is more information on these two NAS and what we said about them when reviewed:

QNAP TS-464 4-Bay NAS $599+

Intel Celeron 4-Core N5105, 4/16GB Memory, 2×2.5GbE, NVMe SSD Caching or for Storage, HDMI 2.0 4K 60PFS, USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gb), USB RAID Expandable, PCIe Gen 3×2 Upgrade Slot, 4x SATA Bays, 3yr Warranty

NASCompares Written Review – HERE

NASCompares YouTube Review – HERE

What we said on 18/04/22

The TS-464 comfortably arrives with the best hardware in its tier of the NAS market and that is something that QNAP has always been quite good at. Even if you rewind just 5 years, the level of hardware scalability and ease of upgradability that the TS-464 provides is frankly incredible and, fast forward to 2022, is still pretty unmatched. A Desktop 4-Bay NAS (eg Prosumer RAID 5 storage) has always been the next confident step for users who are tired of their hands being tied by subscription cloud services from Google, OneDrive and DropBox, who are looking for their own competent, flexible and fully-featured private server. In the TS-464 NAS, you find a system that is unquestionable the best hardware for your money you can possibly get right now. In software, things are a little less straightforward. QTS 5, although massively software and service-rich, arrives as a complete operating system in your web browser with multiple mobile/desktop clients and hundreds of applications and apps that can be installed at the touch of a button – which can all too often be something of a steep learning curve for many. Lacking the chewable, user-friendly nature of many of their rivals, QNAP and its software/service still have a tendency to be a bit of an information overload that can quickly intimidate the novice. However, for those that are looking for a system that is completely customizable in how/when/where you want data presented to you, as well as a wide degree of 3rd party support, QNAP and QTS 5 still manages to provide a huge degree of brand-unique service that are simply not available elsewhere. Just be prepared to invest your time wisely in its setup and more time ensuring the system is perfect for your needs.

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QNAP TS-h973ax 5/9-Bay NAS $999+

AMD Ryzen V1500B Quad Core, 8/32GB Memory, 1x 10GbE, 2×2.5GbE, 5x SATA HDD, 2x SATA SSD, 2x U.2 NVMe SSD, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gb), USB RAID Expandable, ZFS or EXT4 File System Choice, 2yr Warranty

NASCompares Written Review – HERE

NASCompares YouTube Review – HERE

What we said on 13/11/20

I have seen a lot of network-attached storage over the years and the TS-h973AX brings a lot of colour to what was fast becoming a somewhat grey landscape. In short, QNAP has gone and done it again by proving they are the hardware innovators of this industry and have managed to provide a genuinely unique solution here. When they first revealed their new Hero ZFS operating system last year, you could not help but get the impression that only top-end enterprise businesses with £10K starting budgets were ever going to benefit. The TS-h973AX desktop NAS is solid evidence that QNAP will share the wealth and that this is the start of a whole new series of affordable ZFS solution from the brand. That isn’t to say that this system is perfect and pernickety points about a lack of HDMI or LCD may put off some users, and the compact 9 bay chassis that will attract some will no doubt deter others. Ultimately though QNAP has succeeded in creating what they sought out here and what we find is one of the best examples of hardware and software meeting in the middle, while still arriving with a price tag in 3 figures. In the current absence of a straight forward QuTS license purchase option for existing QNAP NAS systems right now, this is a solution that serves as a good alternative to a number of 4 and 6 Bay solutions in their portfolio. Though, make sure you upgrade that memory on day one! 

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Recommended Synology Replacement for the Drobo B810n NAS – The DS1821+ NAS

Replacing or deciding against the Drobo B810n 8-Bay NAS system and opting for a Synology is, if anything, considerably easier than moving away from the 5N. Synology has a great history of 8-Bay NAS devices and the 2021 generation DS1821+ is a fantastic choice of NAS system. It supports the full range of DSM applications, has scalable storage, can be expanded by ten more drives, has in-built m.2 NVMe slots, a high bandwidth PCIe Upgrade slot and still manages to be very petite. Here is more information on the Synology DS1821+ and what we thought of it at review:

Synology DS1821+ 8-Bay NAS $1,100+

AMD Ryzen V1500B Quad Core, 4/32GB Memory, 4x1GbE, 8x SATA HDD, 2x NVMe SSD for Caching, PCIe Gen 3×8 Upgrade Slot, SHR or Traditional RAID, BTRFS or EXT4 File System Choice, 3yr Warranty

NASCompares Written Review – HERE

NASCompares YouTube Review – HERE

What we said on 15/12/20

What you have here is a solid piece of hardware that very much lives up to everything Synology promises, even if some of those promises aren’t to everyone’s taste. With a hardware architecture that we have already tested to notable success in the DS1621+ previously, we already knew that this NAS would be able to do everything it promised. Many users looking to spend their annual business budgets on an improved or extended data storage solution will find the balanced position of hardware vs software found by the Synology DS1821+ to be quite desirable, as well as the scaled potential to upgrade external performance via PCIe and storage via eSATA. However, there is no ignoring that despite the fact this 2020 release excels in many things, it also arrives with a little bottlenecking in a number of others. The continued default utilisation of 1Gbe on the newest generation by Synology is somewhat perplexing and although I have continued admiration for Synology’s engagement with intelligent M2 NVMe cache utilisation and providing a solution that allows more flexible upgrade paths, I know that there are still users who just wish they could use that super fast NAND for raw storage pools and have better than gigabit connections out by default. It has never been a secret that buying a Synology NAS solution was always a largely ‘software over hardware’ purchase, and the DS1821+ is still a fine example of that balance. However, with other brands closing the gap in what they can offer the SMB (Small/Medium Business) user, while still providing superior hardware and similar warranty coverage, there is the tiniest feeling that the DS1821+ is a NAS that sits on its laurels a bit. Hugely upgradable and still with that award-winning and fantastically intuative DSM software, the DS1821+ is about buying a solution you can adapt within its lifespan and not one that will knock your socks off on day one. A solid and dependable data storage solution, if a little safe, at the end of 2020.

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Recommended QNAP Replacement for the Drobo B810n NAS – The TVS-872X NAS

Unlike the previous QNAP suggestions I have made when moving away from a Drobo, when it comes to choosing a QNAP alternative to the Drobo B810n, I would currently recommend the 2020 released TVS-872X (a modified version of the also still available Thunderbolt 3 NAS, the TVS-872XT). Although this NAS has been around a while (and likely due an upgrade to a new version very soon), the QNAP TVS-872X is a 10GbE equipped 8 bay, with NVMe SSD slots, two very high bandwidth PCIe slots, USB 3.2 Gen 2, 4K HDMI, optional ZFS or EXT4 and after all of that – it has an Intel Core i3 or i5 Highly powerful CPU than can also be accompanied by up to 64GB of DDR4 memory. This is a beast of a system that arrives with a surprisingly modest price point when compared to most other NAS of the same scale or hardware – and the fact it is a little older means that the price is improved further in many shops. Again, QNAP are very likely to release a newer, more powerful and ultimately more expensive version of this product family soon, but it is STILL a great NAS that holds it’s own in 2022. Here is what we thought of it at the review:

QNAP TVS-872X 8-Bay NAS $1,999+

Intel Core 8th Gen i3/i5 4/6-Core CPU, 8-64GB DDR4 Memory, 1x 10GbE, 2x1GbE, NVMe SSD Caching or for Storage, HDMI 2.0 4K 60PFS, USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gb), USB RAID Expandable, 2x PCIe Gen (1@ 3×16 and 2@ 3×4) Upgrade Slot, 8x SATA Bays, Audio In/Out, 3yr Warranty

NASCompares Written Review – HERE

NASCompares YouTube Review – HERE

What we said on 24/05/21

If this was the first time I was seeing the hardware featured on the QNAP TVS-872X, with its Intel Core CPU, 64GB of potential memory, 10Gbe on-board, NVMe equipped slots and USB 10G throughout – I would have been reasonably impressed. Likewise, the scalability in PCIe, storage expansions and network connectivity down the line is also a very valid and positive aspect of this system. But for me, it will always live slighting in the shadow of its Thunderbolt 3 equipped older big brother in the TV-872XT. The software on either ZFS or EXT4 file system is still doing what it does well, finding the line between 1st party apps, 3rd party support, customization and (mostly) getting it right – if occasionally trying to be too big for its boots. The QNAP TVS-872X is undeniably still a great example of the wide-ranging features available to prosumers who want a storage system heavily geared towards high-performance transmission via high-performance media with higher tier hardware at their disposal. It would be misleading to think of this NAS as any kind of significant upgrades over the XT, and the price tag that the TVS-872X currently arrives at (£1700+ / $2400) is perhaps a tad closer to that of the thunderbolt version than can be justified, but with an increasing over-reliance by brands on Xeon based systems, the TVS-872X is one of the most graphically well-equipped systems in the market today. If you are looking for a NAS for video editing, Plex media server, AI-assisted surveillance or virtualisation in a more compact form, the TVS-872X and its hardware has a heck of a lot to offer you.

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Why Not Use Cloud Services like Google Drive, OneDrive or Dropbox instead of a NAS?

Do not think that 3rd party cloud services are bad, they really aren’t! In fact, you should always consider adding a 2nd or 3rd tier into your backup strategy at home/work, and synchronization of files/folders on your NAS with the cloud is a good means to ensure you have another backup in place. Additionally, most NAS feature a variety of 256bit encryption options, password protection, 2 step verification and more to allow secure access is ensured to the NAS and the content, even via the cloud. Additionally, bg NAS brands like Synology and QNAP have been supporting Hybrid Cloud services that not only allow cloud storage to be bolted onto your NAS storage for shared usage and access, but also both brand support backup and synchronization with cloud collaborate services, such as Google’s G Suite and Microsoft’s Office 365. So there is DEFINITELY still a valid and useful place for 3rd party cloud services in 2022, however, I rarely advocate the use of these cloud services as a PRIMARY storage location. They ARE convenient and you can get a limited amount of space included for free, but I generally have three core reasons that I do not recommend cloud as a first-tier storage.

 

COST – The cost of most 2-year subscriptions costs about the same as if you just purchased even a small-scale NAS on day 1. It might seem like just 5 or 10 bucks a month, but over 2 or 3 years, it all adds up and moreover, after that time you either need to keep on paying every month or still buy a NAS or DAS system for the data to live on. Might as well buy the NAS sooner rather than later as it will be inevitable eventually.

ACCESS – NAS provides more apps, file-level tailored use and can be better adapted into popular 3rd Party applications like PLEX, KODI, APPLE TIME MACHINE and DLNA supported devices. A cloud provider severely limits the kind of access you have on a regular basis.

PRIVACY – NAS provides full individual user control and access, as well as admin controls. Plus the NAS can be fully disconnected from the Internet/Network at your discretion. A cloud provider has a relative pre-set safety protocol that, when cracked on one or two occasions, opens up mass hacking

This is not to say that data on your NAS is completely inaccessible. Any NAS brand can only really stay 1 step ahead of the hackers, patching exploits as they are found (no different than any online service really), but a NAS is a means to create a secure, customizable and ultimately bespoke data storage solution.


 

What About Moving from Drobo to Asustor or Terramaster NAS?

Obviously, as NAS is such a popular and highly evolved area of the tech industry (despite it still also remaining quite niche compared with traditional computers and laptops), Synology and QNAP are not the ONLY brands in the market! Indeed, if you have been looking at moving away from Drobo and saw some affordably devices from Asustor or Terramaster, you will likely wonder why I have not covered them as much in this article (though I DO cover them and their solutions in the video embedded in this article above). Although both brands have been providing some great hardware (both for the price AND just generally) in 2022, these brands do not provide the full range of software and services (especially 1st party developed) that QNAP and Synology do. Their respective software in ADM and TOS aren’t bad, indeed they are very good and very responsive with many apps, they just are not on the same level as Synology DSM and QNAP QTS/QuTS right now. You can find out more about their software in the software review videos of each below:


 

Should I Move From Drobo to TrueNAS Core?

Many Drobo users, after using their systems for many years and (after becoming increasingly proficient) started to feel its limitations, might have heard about the free and DiY NAS server platform ‘TrueNAS’ (aka FreeNAS) and considering making the switch towards it after Drobo. It will come as absolutely no surprise to anyone that when it comes to TrueNAS is a fantastically capable software for managing your storage. It even manages to swerve the downfall of being ‘too enterprise’ but arriving as an open source free software platform to be enjoyed by businesses and storage enthusiasts. There is no avoiding that it IS quite a technical mountainous learning curve if you are arriving at it from a position of zero storage or network experience, but the last few big TrueNAS system updates have gone a long way to update some UI elements to be more intuitive, software wide help notes available at all times and the community support is as on-point at it has ever been. If you are a home users looking for a hurdles setup or a day-1 deployable system for your small business, then TrueNAS may be too big a jump for you and you would be better off with a traditional off-the-shelf NAS system. However, if you have the know-how, you have the willingness to get your hands dirty and already have the hardware in mind/in-house, then TrueNAS stands in a class of it’s own and thanks to some very unique architecture choices that are almost utterly unique to this platform, it’s pretty unparalleled in its scope. Just please, PLEASE remember that a Drobo NAS is a ‘turnkey’ solution (aka, ready to go out of the box) and TrueNAS Core and TrueNAS Scale involve ALOT more setup and a much higher learning curve. You can buy TrueNAS-ready systems, such as the iXsystems series of devices, but these are still rather expensive compared with the modest Drobo and still require ALOT of tech knowledge to make the most of. You can find out more about the TrueNAS software platform in my written and video review below:

TrueNAS Written Review

TrueNAS Video Review

 

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      389 thoughts on “Alternatives to Drobo from Synology or QNAP – Which NAS Should You Buy?

      1. Hi – thanks for the great video, it helped me decide to get this F8 SSD Plus. People are mentioning the slow RAID rebuild speed: perhaps it a new setting, but in the TOS 6.0 interface under Storage Pool settings (gear icon top right), you can set a custom speed. I set the minimum to 512MB/sec and the max to 800MB/sec, and after logging in via SSH and running “watch cat /proc/mdstat” was able to see this running around 800MB/sec! Not sure where else to share this so please spread the word and save people hours ????
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      2. I wouldn’t take a Synology NAS if it were free. The company’s support policy on 3rd party hard drives stinks and they pretty much lock you out of using 20TB+ drives from Seagate, WD, or Toshiba if you want Synology technical support for your NAS. I ended up buying a QNAP 873A.
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      3. I passed on the Synology primarily because of the 1GBe connectivity. And I also skipped the Asustor 8-bay because of the Intel Atom processor. Instead I went for the QNAP TS-873A.
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      4. is this better than the 923+? reason I ask is someone is selling a new 1522+ for 500$ cdn negotiable. I was waiting for the 923 to come on sale at local computer stores
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      5. Have no idea what is going on those permissions.
        However.. on my xcp-ng server all i needed to do was to pass through an lsi controller and plug in a disk and by magic it picked it up immediately. Dropped in 5 more driver and a few seconds later i has a zfs pool.. v cool
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      6. Thank you for this, I am so confused as to what to buy
        I am in the market for a 4 bay NAS, currently using an old 2 bay J series Synology NAS
        Does anyone on here have a crystal ball they could check and see if Synology are going to be refreshing their range soon?
        I’m looking to back up several PC’s and interested in installing Plex, which I have never used before
        Any advise, suggestions would be much appreciated
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      7. Brother you want to make a video that will get you one million like? make a video of how to retrieve data from dead Drobo’s hard drives. I have 21TB lock in 5 HD I bough 2 5n2 units 1 DOA the other connection issues do you have a solution for this problem?
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      8. This is fantastic video thanks and my comment is not on the video, but on my experience having owned a TS-h973AX. My unit failed within 2 years. The reseller messed up and ‘lost’ my repaired drive and couldn’t source me a new unit. QNAP frankly did not care about my warranty. They were completely fine with the way the reseller dealt with the issue. So anyone buying a QNAP unit, beware. Your warranty with QNAP is useless and cannot be enforced.
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      9. I picked this up after watching this video a year ago and it’s been an awesome solution for my media needs. I acttually attached the TR-004 and it’s been a great flexible solution for all my needs.
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      10. I tested Drobos back in 2008 and still have one of the 4 bay Thunderbolt 2 Drobos in use. DO NOT GO THERE. Regarding the 4 bay model, a base Drobo’s drive speed is the average speed of your drives DIVIDED BY the number of drives you have. It’s monumentally slower unless there is an SSD getting data first in the chain as opposed to your 4 mechanical drives. It doesn’t matter if it’s on a fast connection. A 4 drive Drobo is SLOOOOW since the data write completes after it’s been written to all drives it thinks it needs to write to. Yes, I tested this and it is as slow as I say, even if it only duplicates the data over some of the drives. ALSO, I tested an 8 bay Drobo to see how it operates if I fill the drive up and then try to see how it handles that condition. It simply fails miserably. While the hot swapping of drives in a Drobo is nice (and I have taken advantage of this multiple times), if you add more data than 1/2 of the total capacity, at some point, Drobo will shit the bed and so will your data.
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      11. May be a dumb question but here goes… I’ve had a Drobo 5n for more years than I can count. 5x 4TB WD Red drives, but only about 4 TB of stuff on them. I would like to be able to re-use the drives if possible. Would they have to be re-formatted for Synology or other NAS? I seem to remember with Drobo, you can just pull out a bad drive (in fact I’ve done it) and the data will re-sort itself across the remaining four. If I do that, then could I serially add 2 or 3 drives to the new NAS and re-format them if necessary, then copy all the data across, then add the last drives as extra storage on the new NAS?
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      12. Why don’t most folks doing such into and startup videos recommend Electro Static Discharge grounding wrist bands? Carry over from my mfg days, but we couldn’t get anywhere near equipment or drives without being grounded for ESD?
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      13. Thank you for this video. Long time Drobo user. The question I have is, how can you move the data if you have an old laptop or desktop that does not work any longer. Can you move the hard drives to a new NAS or is that data gone for good?
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      14. i just bought one today.looks brand new never used in box i got it for $100 it is the drobo-fs model it seems to be plug and play all works very well but i assumed it would come with a usb port 🙂 it dosent. also how do i install drobo apps where do i get them from also i cannot find info regarding cpu and ram?
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      15. I was ready to go with this NAS to replace my Drobo thinking I would just transfer my 5 Seagate Ironwolf HDDs over until I noticed the HDD compatibility list. Not interested in purchasing a completely new set of 5 HDDs so am looking for a second solution for a NAS.
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      16. Oh. Love your videos! My Drobo 5D just died. And I’m looking to replace it and the guy I’m dealing with is recommending the Synology Raid Storage Drives to two. I’m wondering would you recommend anything else as you mention things about the heat sink etc.
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      17. I just want to say thank you! I have been watching your videos for a bit now and the passion, and need for the truth with no bull sh#t comes through along with the love of what you do. That’s why I can sit and listen to an hour about True Nas and it is compelling at 58 minutes just as it was at 2 minutes. So again thank you for the incredibly tedious and hard work that you do!
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      18. Damn, I’m glad I came across this video. I have been running a 5 bay Drobo RAID device on a Mac for about 10 years and they tend to fail every 3 years. As you know, you can’t get the data off the drives if the Drobo fails so you have to buy a replacement Drobo. It’s only because my Thunderbolt 2 to Thunderbolt 3 adapter started failing that I went to see if Drobo were selling the 5 bay RAID with Thunderbolt 3 connections, that’s when I found out they’d folded.

        So now I’m looking around for a suitable replacement, ideally with hardware RAID.
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      19. I have to say that I had to go through some growing pains to get where I am today in terms of external storage solutions, and I’d like to share that with you and your audience. I had already made the switch to Mac by the time I felt the need for some sort of external back up. Flash drives at that time only offered about 6 or 8 gig max and I wanted more. My first attempt was the HP home server. It never really seemed to live up to it’s claim to be compatable with Mac OS. That’s when I moved on to the Drobo 4 bay back up storage. I was content with Drobo until I had to relocate to China (for my Wife). Drobo was just to bulky to take along so I gave it to my brother. Next can the Mac Time capsule, which again was more of external storage than a server.
        I eventually outgrew that as well as my movie & music library grew. That’s when I discovered Synology through a You tube video recommendation. I have to say that it was probably the best decision I ever made in terms of external data storage solutions. I hope this helps any of your subscribers to make their decision on what to buy next.
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      20. Thanks for the informative video. Do you have any recommendations dor a NAS with QNAPS quick access that allows to connect via USB-C and transfer files directly to the NAS from a non computer device e.g. a camera?
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      21. Love your channel!! Even older videos like this are watchable months later because there’s so much useful information. Most of what I know of nas, i learned from you 🙂
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      22. …….THANK YOU! ……is this the newest version, or is there a update for this device? ……would you still buy it, or are there better alternatives? ….i want to use 2xM2ssd’s as HomeCloud Storage and i want to insert 2xHDDs (Exos X16 with 14GB) as long term storage. Ist it possible to use the Cloud Storage while the HDDs go to sleep???? …because this is not possible with the Synology 923+
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      23. Thank you for this incredibly information packed summary. I will be setting up my first NAS (Terramaster F2-422) next weekend, when the drives arrive. I consider myself to have a good grasp of general computing and network functions and processes. Having said that, due to the sheer speed at which this video tries to cover every conceivable part of the software, I’m going to have to watch it several times. Also for a beginner video, the assumed knowledge of acronyms and other jargon is extremely high, leaving me quite lost on several occasions. I appreciate the work that must go into these videos, and thank you for that. But by way of feedback, this is incredibly overwhelming.
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      24. iam on my way to buy the 1821+ but i dont like that this nas doesnt support any 3rd party nvmes? does anyone have 980pros or sn770 for caching in this nas? idlike read and write cache with dual 2tb sn770. idlike download from external ssd 400-500 gb every suturday-sunday night after weddings, so i dlike this to be as fast as possible, cause we need to go sleep too. in case of a failure does this affect warranty? the cache ssds will be on raid 1 and the 6hdds will be raid 6. i dont even think of loosing any data.
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      25. Is it just me or does it seem like Terramaster is doing “Synology” better than Synology? TOS seems a lot like the best parts of DSM without as much of the weird quirks DSM has picked up over the years. And the hardware generally costs less. I realize there might not be quite as much polish here overall, but I’d consider this over Synology for my next NAS just for having AI object recognition in photos (c’mon Synology Photos!) And I prefer the overall aesthetic and colour scheme of TOS over DSM. The grey accenting is preferable over everything being blindingly white.
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      26. Video is just what I needed since my 5N is reaching end of life.Loved the just put in a drive and forget about the size and it still works. Look like the Synology is my next NAS. Now the most import question. I have a lot of data on my 5N assuming I can not just plug in drives with data from the 5N to the Synology what is the best way to migrate the data? Or am I wrong. Can I simply take out drives out of the DROBO and put them in the Synology. Anyone have an answer?
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      27. Hi I have recently bought a ds920+. I’m a freelance video editor and I plan to edit videos on the nas too. I was considering to buy segate ironwolfs but i saw some noise test videos and that made me worried. People say that wd red series are quiter. What do you think about it? Do you think there is performance differences for ironwolf or wd red series on video editing? Couple questions too… Also do you think would there be differences if I use a wd red plus or pro for video editing?
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      28. Damn, the lack of hardware transcoding is a bit of a bummer… I’d need to replace a failed 1019+ as a media server, and the 1522+ would be an easy choice with hardware transcoding. Without it, I’m not so sure.
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      29. I own 4 Drobos, the 5 bay FS, 8 bay Drobo pro, 5D and S connected to my Mac laptops and Mac Pros. With so much data across 4 devices, it is difficult to choose the right system that has the feature of beyond raid. I am leaning towards Synology DS1821+ but an not sure where to jump in. What ever box is chosen, it will start with all new drives and the old WD reds will find a home someplace on eBay. Anyone have the same issue of backing up and moving from Drobo to something else? Would like to know.
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      30. Just about the first part of your video.

        Intelligent life has come and gone on planet earth many times, and we as humans are really about 10,000 years old, as a species, in reality.

        Just think how many times intelligent beings got to our level, and do not exist anywhere on earth today, as earth is literally billions of years old.

        If humans stopped existing, just imagine how long it would take nature to get rid of all traces that we existed?

        Think about it.

        Just imagine for a second, how many times intelligent life could of come and gone before in literally billions of years of earths existence, and how many times nature wiped out the existence they had here. We have only existed as humans now on earth for about 10,000 years, which is nothing, in terms of billions of years, that earth has existed.

        Think about it.
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      31. I bought a drobo5n about 4 or 5 years ago. After a year I had to replace the stock fan then about a year after that it died. Had to move all the drives to an old pc to recover the data, then turned that old pc into a synology nas and never looked back.
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      32. I was a NAS newbie and watched tons of video clips before buying my first one, which in the beginning was not planned to be this one. But the more I watched the more convinced I got… this was the one I wanted. Now, 6 months later with it, I’m really happy that I watched these video reviews. I’m extremely happy with the 920+.
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      33. Too bad. Drobo is too expensive for what it does (I mean the non NAS products). There not as fast as SSDs for working, and they’re not as useful as NAS for large storage and utilities. It was only a matter of time and it’s now time.
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      34. I agree Synology doesn’t communicate properly to their customers why they are doing these decisions on their hardware/software. We may assume that they have done some study and statistics and they have found out that the majority of the videos their users store are 1080p anyways? Who knows…. With the hardware, I think they want to ensure that you have a consistent reliable experience and I know that not everybody’s RAM is made the same way and with the same quality. 1Gb ethernet bond is fast enough for streaming 4K. DS1522+ I have plays no problem 1080p to my 4K TV. (Let’s be honest I’m not storing 30GB movies in 4K). It plays no problem 4K video taken on iPhone to my 4K TV. Sharing photos but mainly 4K videos with family through Synology Photos across the world in 4K works, playing smooth. (Smooth to iPhones, PC, iMac, Androids struggle and you need transcoding)SMB works, backup of Apple and PC works and yes SSDs are expensive but why would you need them at home? These are not the Qnaps with specs that blow your mind, but I think they take the Apple approach. Overall I think is a solid package that will easily last me for another 10 years.
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      35. I have DS1522+ and have no problem playing Plex 4K and 1080p videos to my 4K TV, iPhone, iMac etc. Streaming 4K (taken on iPhone) across half of the world and watching it on PC is not problematic at all (on the standard out-of-the-box solution) as long you don’t have to transcode to some crappy phone that can’t handle the data. That’s when everything comes to a stop because as mentioned the CPU can’t do anything about transcoding. Synology Photos is ok but nowhere close to Google Photos….
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      36. It’s not looking good with Drobo!…
        I have just discovered that Drobo Dashboard is no longer able to install any DroboApps on my 5N. It appears the site the repositories are stored on has gone away (updates.drobo.com), which was confirmed by the response I got from a support request…”The DroboApps Server ‘updates.drobo.com’ is currently down. Engineering is aware, no indication as to when the issue will be resolved.” To make it worse, the DroboApps SDK was also stored on that server, so I am unable to cross-compile my own binaries from source. So I think all DroboApps are now dead… unless that subdomain miraculously reappears. If anyone is running DroboApps, don’t uninstall any of them as you won’t be able to re-install! (If anyone knows of a cached binary for the apache2.4.37 webserver for a 5N, I’d really like to know where to find it!).
        I wish QNAP could support a BeyondRAID-like diskpack of unequal sized drives like Synology do now. I want that hardware, but would loose a significant amount of storage with QNAP as my drives are 2,3 & 4TB! I’ve been a Drobo user since the original 4-bay unit and DroboShare, but looks like I’ll need to move before any hardware fails and I loose all my data.
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      37. I’m looking to purchase the Synology DS1522+. Based on Synology’s HDD Compatibility List and excluding the Synology drives (due to cost), it appears the highest capacity choices are a Western Digital 14TB WD Red Plus NAS HDD or Seagate IronWolf Pro 12 TB NAS HDD. Which of the two would you recommend?
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      38. Looking at the QNAP site for the TS464, it says to use QNAP memory. Is that a “must” of just the standard line adn in fact you can put any branded memory in? I can see you cen get 8gb of Crucial SODIMM DDR4 3200mhz for £21 a stick which seems like a bargain if it would wokr in this
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      39. I kind of disagree with the Point of the Multimedia Software. I think the NAS-producers should stop developing their own Multimedia-Software. Why is this? First of all it is not their key competence but an unwanted step-child. For example the “best software NAS” Synology. The Android App for the Video Station is updated about/less than once a year followed by a second fix release. And it is not a rock stable App having tons of features. And the NAS-specific software misses the Plugins/addons of a/the community. They have no chance to get as good as multimedia apps like Emby, KODi, Plex or Jellyfin. I think it would be better if the NAS-producers would look out for a good open source Multimedia Software and contribute. They should implement a good integration in the NAS system. That would be a better choice. Just my opinion.
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      40. As usual thanks for the FANTASTIC video. ALL of the Fantastic Videos. And I know in many you have addressed the Seagate 18TB IronWolf Pro Synology Compatibility alerts. I know you say “all is fine… it’s just an alert you cam ignore.” But I am still super scared. I just now put a 18TB drive in my DS1821+ with 4 8TB drives. And I got the SHOCKINGLY RED ALERT saying “Important data may be lost if you choose to proceed.”

        I panicked and removed the drive. I had been sitting on the unboxed drive for 6 months WAITING for Synology to add it to compatibility. But it APPEARS it NEVER will. And it also appears that they may NEVER add any NEW drives to compatibility other than their own much, Much, MUCH more expensive drives. Problem is I have THREE eight bay Synology Servers and MANY clients with 8 bay Plus model Synology Servers. And now I am afraid to even REPLACE drives. The NEW 16 TB IronWolf Replacement [ ST16000NTZ01 ] ALSO gives these scary alerts.

        I know I can’t deploy Synology Servers or replace drives if they will PERPETUALLY alert of “Important data may be lost”. A client would consider this a fireable offense. Have NO confidence in me as their consultant or Synology as a solution to protect their data. I own and have tried QNAP, but HATE the interface… But I MAY have to switch to them for clients [and personally] to avoid these SUPER SCARY alerts.

        Have you heard if Synology is aware they may be SCARING customers AWAY from having confidence in their equipment. And/or making them much, MUCH more expensive that QNAPS if you HAVE to put in ONLY Synology Drives.

        Have you heard if Synology will AT LEAST stop giving the INCOMPATIBILITY alert AFTER they have been installed and after that one SUPER Scary alert?

        Most of what I do as a Mac Consultant is Synology Server support. But I’m totally terrified of this alerts on my own Synology Servers and my clients servers too.

        What are you thoughts? And are you FULLY CONFIDENT that these alerts can be 100% ignored?

        And, as a sidebar, is it true and Synology and Seagate have officially dropped support for IronWolf Health Management on all new drives… just 3 years after promoting the heck out of that?

        What are your words of wisdom? And also what are your words of CONFIDENCE… That you can SUPER SAFELY proceed past all those BRIGHT RED alerts about LOSING DATA if you proceed.

        And, with those alerts, I would imagine Synology would use that as an excuse to NOT support your troubleshooting if and when you have issues.

        Please help with words of wonderful re-assurance of Synology having a present and Future with SEAGATE IRONWOLF Pro 18, 20 and 22 TB drives.

        Thanks

        – Eric ZORK Alan
        – Mac Consultant circa 1984, Synology Consultant Circa 2013
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      41. I just bought the TS-464 for a small business and want to run Virtualization Station. The NAS came with 4GB of RAM (ADATA ADS2666J4G19-BSSZ). What would the compatible Crucial RAM be to bump up the memory?
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      42. The one thing about Drobo that kept me on the brand was the no-bullshit drive swapping. No need to go into a UI to do it, just remove one drive and put a new one in. You can ignore the size and just buy whatever’s most cost effective at the time, and it just works. Amazing stuff.

        It’s good to hear that Synology now lets you mix drive sizes – somehow that info is _really hard to find_ on Synology’s own marketing materials.

        It sounds like adding a drive is still janky on Synology though, requiring me to go into the UI to manually add it after inserting it. That kind of sucks, but it’s not like there is any better option anymore.
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      43. This is an incredible video; thanks! I’m running into exactly this problem of needing to replace my Drobo 5C. I have it hooked up to a dedicated Mac Mini M1 w/ 8 Cores and 16GB RAM and stream a lot of 4k content locally without issues.

        With what you said about the graphics chip I’m close to sold on the QNAP 464 or 664 (Since I already have 5 drives in the Drobo), but am curious if it would be able to replace my M1 server with similar performance. What do you think? If the 464/664 won’t do it, can you recommend a NAS that will? Or would it make sense to keep the M1 and instead get a DAS? Thank you for any assistance!
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      44. I got a couple of questions, what the largest drive size, if I populate it with three drives (minimum for Raid 5) can I add more drive later? Can I add any Size drives? Can I remove drives later and add larger drives?
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      45. So I decided to get a new NAS, The DS920+. But it seams I’m in for a wild ride here. I was thinking to use this as main backup: The backup is going to a DS1010+ and DS210+. But is this idea even possible or do I need to send all from a PC ?
        Any help would be nice.
        And thnx for making and sharing all your content 🙂
        Will be getting the DS920+ in the post office on the 09.11.2022.
        Butt I do feel I need to return it. If it cant backup to old NAS!!! Just think if W7 and W10 didn’t communicate !!!!! Strange !!
        Any feed back will be taken with open arms right now ????
        DS 1010+ and DS210+ Latest DSM 5…… And i guess DS920+ comes with DSM 7??
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      46. This is amazing information. Thank you. Was thinking to pick this model up but wondering if you have an opinion on what nas would work for a video and photography person? I work with big big files on a weekly bases. Would love to edit 4K video straight from the nas but guessing might be too slow. Back up and safe storage is most important. Was planing this 8 bay with 20tb drives for 120tb total.

        Also would be great to send links to video files to editors around the world. Would be a bonus.

        Asking a lot I guess ???? main thing is lots of storage.
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      47. Love the review, looking for a replacement for my 10 year old 4 bay QNAP. Can you fit 2.5 SATA SSDs in the bays as standard? How noisy is the fan in this, as looking for a quiet system. Thanks!
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      48. As I’m in the market, I’d be very grateful if you’d comment on the thoughts from another commenter who is much better informed at this granularity than I ????: “…CPU that cannot keep-up with its 10 GbE link in basic single-client sequential tests to its own cache. In real-world scenarios it is far too easy to tie-up this low-core CPU with other tasks, or small read/writes leaving it crippled for throughput. Even in your best case of around 800 MB/s throughput to cache, with little or no other concurrent tasks, it is incapable of filling its network pipe.
        To put that in context, look at the DS1517+ (yes, that old) with a CPU that was already considered both old and weak (Atom C2538 from 2013). It too could take a 10 GbE card – the regular non-propriety PCIe kind. Even without NVMe cache it could saturate a 10 GbE link on reads with 5 spinning HDDs of that era and run multi-client connections, mixed traffic, background tasks and VMs. Sometime more cores count, even with the terrible C2538. Fast-forward 9 years since the Atom C2538 and Synology launches its latest 5-bay Plus Series NAS with a dual-core CPU that cannot keep-up with the SATA drives it is hosting, gives you 4 x 1 GbE ports (in 2022!) as standard and asks for a considerable upgrade fee for a proprietary 10 GbE card that the CPU cannot keep-up with.
        This really isn’t a Plus Series unit. It’s a J-Series or, if feeling generous, a non-Plus unit with a proprietary NIC capability. If this model had shipped as the DS1522 (ie no +) with onboard 5 GbE or even 2.5 GbE we could cut Synology some slack – right now it deserves scorn and not hard cash.”
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      49. Hey Mate can you give me a hand here. I’m buying my first NAS for my audiophile music set up. It’s between this 1522+ and the 1821+ and I would like to know which you recommend? Which has faster read write speeds? Which one is faster the Quad vs Dual CPU? Cheers from Italy ????
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      50. Thank you for your review, amazing contribution! I have a question related to the processor change that Synology is applying to all new products, from Intel to AMD. Do you think that this could be an earlier DSM compatibility limitation in the future version if I get one DS920+ due to the fact that they use Intel processors? Also thinking on hole future compatibility, it’s not better to go on DS1522+ because it has been just released and uses latest hardware changes that Synology did? Or you think that Synology can still keep Intel processor on DS923+? Thanks!
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      51. The latest email from Drobo [9 Sept 2022] suggests its all over.

        Drobo Technical Support Bulletin: macOS Ventura Compatibility

        Dear Valued Drobo Customer, Thank you for entrusting Drobo with your critical data. We have found that the upcoming macOS Ventura update is currently incompatible with Drobo. We cannot guarantee compatibility with future OS updates. Therefore, if you are planning on upgrading your macOS we highly recommend backing up data that resides on your Drobo to mitigate any unknown impacts of incompatibility. Furthermore, the Drobo should be shut down prior to performing the OS update.

        So I have 2 options: Update macOS or update my DROBO!
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      52. …..@NASCompares ……BEST REGARDs from BAVARIA! …Is it possible to use slot1 & slot2 with HDDs as raid1 “LongTermDataStorage” …and slot3 & slot4 with SSDs as raid1 “CloudStorage” ???? And is it possible to configure the NAS in a way , that if the HDDs are not in use , so that they sleep , while i work on the SSDs ?????
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      53. Awesome video mate.
        I’m only 1 year into using a NAS, I picked up the DS418.
        I use 1 drive for Synology Surveillance Station and 3 drives as media storage for a separate PC that runs Plex Media Server.

        You are such a big help in the NAS space, next step is I would like to add 2.5Gbe to my PC to take advantage of the Link Agreggation to get 2Gb speeds transferring files.

        Cheers mate
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      54. QNAP hardware have a bad quality. tech support cant help even if it under warranty. They do not have phone to call only sales!! We have 5 same model NAS and 2 of them stops work after 2 year of use. It was defective chipset inside. Now it fixed and will be sold for somewhere. We replaced all ours to Synology.
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      55. What do you think are the QUIETEST drives to put into this? I would be a brand new NAS user. I will be backing up YouTube videos and storing underlying video, and a whole bunch of photos, work files….
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      56. Question. I’m a photographer and I shoot a lot. Everyday is like 30gb to 120gb. I have a large backup for my 8tb computer. But I’d like to start offloading some content that I don’t want to delete but don’t need to take with me all the time. I might start dabbling in video. What would you or anyone suggest for storage and/or backup? Thank you.
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      57. YES!!! I need to get off my Drobo 5D3. I’ve been looking at the QNAP TVS-672XT and QNAP TS-h973AX…but I believe a newer version(s) might be coming out very soon, so I’m willing to wait a bit, but I do need to get of the Drobo very soon. I do 4K video editing and photography. Looking at only QNAP after looking at others. I saw a lot of QNAP video editing YouTube videos and I believe QNAP is the system for me, but again, I believe newer systems will be coming very soon and I want to take advantage of that and maybe Thunderbolt 4 on the higher end models, even though they have it for the lower end. What do you think? Am I doing the right thing to wait a bit? My Drobo is running fine, but I need faster and Drobo might or might not have a future.
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      58. Really wish they would have just given us two 2.5Gbe/1Gbe and two USB 3.2-Gen2 ports. Even at the RRP to $850 with the 10Gbe expansion, that sounds ok…4x 1Gbe just feels like a waste of hardware/space and cabling management is going to be a nightmare to setup 4 port LAG.
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      59. I decided not to buy DS414, but wait for better DS416 price. Then I decided not to buy DS416, but wait for better DS418 price. Then I decided not to buy DS418, but wait for better DS920+ price. Now I decided not to buy DS920+, but wait for better DS1522+ price ???????? I hope to finally buy a NAS ????????
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      60. The first video by NASCompares I didn’t really enjoy. It was too rushed. Stop worrying about the length of your videos. They are normally spot-on. We come here for comprehensive advice and enjoy the “meat” you provide. If I wanted candy floss, I’d go elsewhere????. Keep ’em coming.
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      61. Never had a NAS before & am in the market for one. I was going to pull the trigger on a DS920+ but learned about their model numbering & realised there SHOULD be one this year and I’d be mad at myself if I bought one & the next day the 922+ came out.
        Since I’ve looked, the 920+ has been in & around £500. £515 I think I saw it at. Amazon currently cheapest I see at £496.99.
        IF it drops considerably, like say £450 tops then I may bite the bullet, but until then I’m going to wait out the 922+ & just roll with external hard drives for now. I’ve managed to get this far without one.
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      62. Will be selling off my Drobo5N2, which replaced my 5N, as soon as I finish transitioning to my new DS920+. The DS920 is replacing both my drobo AND my Win7 media computer. I still have an old Gen2 which I use for backing up my files offsite. (sneakerware)
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      63. It’s funny that I found your video right now — as earlier today I just put in an order for a Synology DS1821+ to replace my 9+ year old Drobo 5N that has been running 24/7 all these years. The thing is still running like a champ, but it’s getting to an age where I’m uncomfortable knowing that it could die at any time & I’d have no options in securing a new unit to pop the drives into. I literally didn’t know that they filed Chapter 11 until last night, as I started researching if they had any newer offerings & noted everything was out of stock and started reading.
        Hoping I can get accustomed to the Synology world. I’m pretty tech-savvy, but definitely appreciated Drobo’s simplicity. I’m noting some slimmer drive compatibility for the DS1821+ currently, but am hoping that’s just because it’s so ‘new’ out the gate. I had picked up a 16TB Ironwolf Pro, which according to their list…isn’t compatible?!

        Thank you for your video — and tribute at the end — to Drobo’s line!
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      64. In the process of moving my files from my aging 5D to a 920+ that I picked up on Prime Day as I watch this. Your videos have been very helpful during the process, so thanks!
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      65. Would never recommend QNAP. They have way too many repeating security issues, quality os OS and Apps. I sold off all my QNAP except for one that was system enough to install TrueNAS and it has been running like a champ. I owned two ASUSTOR units and just worked unlike QNAP. The ASUSTOR has very fast startup and shutdown time (under 3 minutes) If I had to buy a turnkey unit it would be ASUSTOR. QNAP uses great hardware, but their OS and Apps is another story. The last 6 years has been way too much trouble.I will point out that I used them just for storage.
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      66. I’ve had two Drobos over the last decade, as backup to a file server. I replaced the server with a Synology NAS. The second drobo lost its Ethernet capability so I opted for an expansion to the Synology box. So now I have two volumes that are mirrored. Each volume would survive a single disk failure, so I think I am safe.
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      67. Wow, just wow. I always liked their idea of a device that can be used by the dumbest of people. Given their target market of completely computer illiterate people, which is in the billions, they should have skyrocketed by now, _especially_ with the pandemic and everybody and their mum working from home and stuff. Really beats me. They also never invested a dime into anything after their initial offering, how could they ever go bankrupt like that? They should have been able to run with that timeless design almost forever. Heck, Apple’s been doing just that for decades, and they’re laughing all the way to the bank.

        Granted, I was interested but kept waiting for a somewhat bigger desktop offering (surely, they’d come up with one at some point after their last model got released a few centuries ago) but most people should have been perfectly fine with what’s on offer. Always wondered why there was no development at all when checking their website once or twice a year. But I figured their execs were just busy piloting their 240ft yachts. Oh, well. ¯_(ツ)_/¯
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      68. Synology is now just giving a middle finger to all Plex/Emby users. That would be awesome to see Synology carry this CPU through it’s range of 2022 SMB range. Perhaps they have a plan I’m not aware of, maybe their Play series will have iGPU’s and target enthusiasts?
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      69. As a longtime Drobo user, this was EXACTLY the video I was looking for. Thank you. I really appreciate the props you gave Drobo for their originality and innovation.
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      70. Early adopter of Drobo when they launched. Was a big fan. Had two of them. One backed up to the other. Loved them until their “auto repair” feature lost YEARS of photos, and my back up drobo did exactly the same. Moved to a Synology 411J and NEVER looked back. I felt guilty selling my 4 bay drobos off as they are CRAP. Absolute rubbish.
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      71. Yep! I have a Drobo 5D and was looking to go to a NAS 8 months ago and saw the writing on the wall. It was your videos and help that steered me to Synology. I really, really liked the Drobo platform and it is a shame that this is happening, but I’m very happy with my Synology.
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      72. Nooooooooooooo my drobo is the most reliable back up I have ever had and have still, running strong. 10 years plus and going, With only one drive failed and lightning strike crashing my first drobo but kept my files and drive alive. My synology ds 218+ crash my drive in less then six month. thank god it was back up on my drobo.
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      73. Just picked one of these up for $439 on a newegg deal. Grabbed a 12TB WD Red Plus (7200) for $179 as well. Excited to dive in your video library and get my plex server set up!
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      74. I thought until now that DROBO had closed and was out of business. I tried, unsuccessfully, in contacting them approximately six months ago.

        First off let me preface with the fact that I’m not a computer literate person and most of the information you give on your videos is over my head. The problem I have is with my 5d Thunderbolt. My Drobo stopped powering up so I replaced the power brick and it lasted for a day working perfectly fine, then the next morning it would no longer power up. A friend of mine looked at it and found some circuitry that was burnt. So while he was trying to repair the circuitry, I purchased an additional D5 used from eBay.

        My thinking was I could load my drives in it, but before I did that I watched some YouTube videos. The information that stopped me from loading the drives, was that the video said that if it didn’t have the same firmware, that it would automatically reformat the drives and that I could lose all my data. So I looked into having my data recovered. The prices I was given ranged from $2500.00 to $8000.00, so that wasn’t a sound option. At that time I didn’t have the ability to check what version of software I had, because when I started the process of switching Drobos, I had an IT guy come over to do some maintenance and he updated my Drobo dashboard while getting ready to setup the new one I had bought from eBay.

        I got the one back my friend fixed that had the burnt circuitry. I never powered it up because he was not convinced it was completely repaired. So, my question to you is, is it true that it will re-format if I plug these drives in to the new one, and once it re-formats the drives, will I lose all of my photos? Do you have any suggestions on how I should proceed?

        I left out that I have a Synology 1621+ coming in the next day or so, with hope that I’ll be able to load my drives from the original Drobo after I retrieve my data from them. I also have 2 new drives I bought for the newer Drobo that I haven’t used yet.

        If you or anyone knows what I should do to get my data recovered more affordability, I’d truly appreciate it.
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      75. I had two Drobos in production….an ancient Gen 2 (USB/Fireware 4-bay) and a 5D3 Thunderbolt/USB3 unit purchased 4.5 years ago. But it became apparent in the last year that Drobo was on its way to failure as a company so I invested in a QNAP TVS-h1688x, which is a huge purchase but it was designed to replaced the Drobos and two other servers in my basement. So far the QNAP has worked well although the software (QuTS Hero 5) is a little buggy and we’ve had to dodge the security issues with QNAP in the past year (I do not have my unit facing the internet in any way). The 5D3 is still a good unit and I may still use it for backups of the QNAP. One thing I did do for backups was invest in a QWC Thunderbay 8. I think when you do a video about Drobo DAS owners, you must talk about the Thunderbay line since it makes a lot of sense for many of Drobos old customers which are largely professional and prosumer Mac users.
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      76. I have a Synology D916+ and a WDPR4100. The WD is just sitting right now. Is this Synology usable in 2022. Right now I just do Time Machine backups. Only issue is my Drobo has 5 bays vs 4 for the others. I only use my USB 3 Drobo strictly for iTunes storage but now I’m leery to keep using it. I have a service contract but what good is that when can’t get parts. If anyone can suggest a rackmount solution that would be great also. Leaning towards Terramaster because of with hybrid raid.
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      77. I managed to get a great deal on a 1621+ earlier this year from Amazon Warrhouse (Damaged Box – Unit itself was brand new!) but had to wait a few months to find a deal on new hard drives (Eventually picked up 4x 16TB Seagate Exos). I reached the 16TB limit on my Drobo 5N and didn’t see the point of copying my data off to an external drive/drives only to reformat the Drobo disk pack to remove the limit. The network copy performance difference alone has made the upgrade well worth it and I now have a NAS with better redundancy, in SHR2 and data security with Snapshot Replication along with plenty of expansion for additional drives. My Time Machine backups for my Mac are also working much more reliably as well.
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      78. Bought a 920+ on Prime Day to replace my 9 year old Drobo 5N. I’ve already set it up and am migrating data off the Drobo, plus I’ve set up Homebridge and have Time Machine working from my MBP. It’s working well so far!
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      79. Now I think I know why your sound has sync problems. Maybe it’s because the sound gets connected to the PC. Would connect the sound directly to the camera, and if that is not possible, it is a too cheap camera
        Love your channel but hate your sync problems. Guess i’m not alone
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      80. Thanks for all your work putting these together….
        Now the question…. If you were buying a 4 bay NAS today and wanted it for file storage and mp4 playback, Considering OS security/patching models as very important, which brand would you spend your $ on? I keep coming back to synology with intel and asustor.
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      81. ??? Are there any NAS units that allow for RAID configuration with an all Solid State storage . To eliminate noise and mechanical HD failures? If so, would you please elaborate?
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      82. I’ve watched a number of your videos and this has been the best one! Specific subject, conclusion at the beginning, and only 5 minutes long… Keep this format!! Thanks for all the great info!!!
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      83. My DS920+ is one robust little NAS. I also have a QNAP TS453A which needs major app repair if it ever encounter a power glitch. Mostly manual reinstallations for too many of them. The DS920+ on the other hand is remarkable. A year ago, we had some contractors in the house and I completely forgot about where they were working and how close they were to the 920+ until one of them called out for me to come downstairs. There on the floor was my 920+ with the case covered in dust and 3 of the 4 drives having spilled out of the case onto the filthy floor. I unplugged it, took it all outside and, with an air compressor, dusted it off inside and out. Back onto a safer shelf, plugged it back in and it booted up like nothing had happened. Hurray for Synology.
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      84. You lied to us. You said “under 5 minutes” but it took 5 minutes and 8 seconds.

        Seriously, though, I can’t recommend the 920+ enough. Had I chosen to wait for its successor when I was in the market for a NAS last year (around November – December and bought late December), then I wouldn’t have been enjoying one of the best devices I’ve ever bought.
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      85. Pulled the trigger on this, no regrets. Thought I’d want 2.5gbe but haven’t really missed it. Running Jellyfin locally and without the overhead of transferring to a transcode system it’s been fine.
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      86. Thank you make me confident that the DS920+ is the best choice for me today (7/2022). Yet I still try to delay my purchase because I am also curious about the 922 model coming… well when? I dont want to wait forever.
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      87. i have ben wanting another synology for a while but i would like a quad core version & 5 bays as well as a way to get 10gb and 16-32gb of ram ..i have a rack full of servers doing about any thing you can imagine already but my redundant back up (dual xeon 6 core ea cpu) (UnRaid )x2 server is getting a little long in the tooth & i think i want to replace it with a synology ! i still have 2 Different Dual xeon serversa 4u main media/backup an a 2U(Truenas) + another 1u for my 1gb network ! I have a isolated 10gb network as well but the 920+ and the new what is it 1520 something its a 5 bay i think an seams to have every thing i want other than a quad core chip..an the next step up gets to costly i could build something better for way less once ya hit the 1000$ + range..its a tough call but i do like synology really well !
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      88. With only 40 comments so far I think I have a decent chance to get this in. I am currently ready to buy this model. On your website and other websites it says that Prime Day will likely have it on sale. My question for you, by the way love your material, but my question for you is: does the discounts become available immediately usually, or is it part of those crazy lightning deals? I’m just stalking historically because I’m sure you can’t predict the future.
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      89. Have the DS918+. Got tired of waiting for the DS922+ (to see what it had). I’ve gone elsewhere for my next NAS. Newer CPU, faster memory, 2×2.5Gbps ports and less on the locked down hardware requirements. Sorry Synology but you had your chance…
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      90. Pulled the trigger on this and have had it now for about 3 weeks…couldn’t be happier. I’m fine with the 1gb ethernet and probably won’t need anything better till it’s time to replace this model. When I do replace it, I’ll be using it as a backup server. Thanks for another great video.
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      91. Thanks. Looking forward to get one in August. But since I’ve been following the price it is consistently 549 USD on Amazon. Is there another reseller I should be verifying?
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      92. Instead of spending the first minute (maybe more) on some old shitty advert that doesn’t relate to how the Synology DS1522+ performs, maybe you should delve into the facts that are crucial for this device, if you have the skills… I’m hoping I can find true facts somewhere else.
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      93. Thanks, seriously thinking about buying one of these before the end of August. Waiting for the right price but I would like to see what the future DS922+ will look like.
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      94. Just bought it yesterday 🙂 so far I’m happy with it. It would be better with a “real” processor, currently it is making thumbnails and video converts for photos app. 70.000 photos and 5000 videos, I think it will take a week to finish 😀 . In one day it did 10.000 photos and 800 videos.

        Tho only problem i have, that is is too loud. It would need some foam sound isolation on the inside ot the chassis, and fans too loud even on set to “silent” mode. instead of the 2 small fans, 1 bigger, lower rpm would be better.
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      95. This video being released this late in 2022 indicates to me that he has no knowledge (no leaks) of a 922 being released this year……it’s sadly telling. I think Synology is getting away from the “home user.” Their first move was the strict use of their hard drives. The next move will be no move at all, by not releasing an upgrade to the 920+…….just my two cents.
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      96. Great review! I want to purchase a DS1522+. It is $699.99 at Amazon in the USA diskless. The DS1520+ still sells there at $679.99. I’m not sure that these ever sell at discount — can you reply to let me know? If not, I may as well buy the newer DS1522+ now. I’m a veteran and some resellers provide veterans discount (not Amazon) — are there other resellers anyone here is aware of that may have a veteran’s discount opportunity (for example when I buy at Apple, Home Depot, Lowes, etc). Thank you.
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      97. Brilliant analysis of the different things to watch for on the different time frames. Good to see everyone feels the same way when they lose money, everyone thinks they could do this or that with that money which is as good as gone, instead people refuse to seek help from professionals. Daniel Jack set to be different and unique, i made about $180k already from his day tradng, all i did was to copy his daily signals, am done having heart breaks hodling and trading myself lol.
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      98. drobo should just do much better hardware and advertise to be a plex media server nas. Synology 2-4bay NAS is awful for plex servers especially when it comes to multiple devices/remote/x265 (the most popular file type). Drobo could become a very good niche product if they could get better hardware than asustor.
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      99. I ran Drobo years ago, and loved it at first. Eventually moved to Synology because of concerns about Drobo’s proprietary data model, and three recoverability of data. Where other vendors ran standard Linux raid, so recovery was well understood. It’s a pity because Drobo hardware was nice.
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      100. What do you think of TerraMaster T6-423 as a Plex Server ? In America it’s $699 way lower cost than synology or Qnap. Let us know thanks again, keep up the great work!!
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      101. Thanks for the great video.

        It would be nice to see in real time how the 1522 works with playing or editing video files. I normally perform all video rendering from my PC, not the NAS, and use the NAS for file storage. But, how will the 1522 perform if I decide to edit an older video file that Is stored on the 1522?
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      102. Hated it, not a improvement. Went back to the old version. Had nothing but issues. Of course Tetramaster blamed me not Thier OS. Maybe try it later when it’s been fixed.
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      103. For the price, hardware, and lack of hardware restrictions… Terramaster might end up being the easier sell over Synology. Depends on stuff like available memory, expandability, ECC or not, nvme cache or not. Might check back in on TM down the line if I don’t like my unraid adventures.
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      104. So, they managed to go even below their anemic V1500B. Wow, just wow. Obviously, scratching features off DSM 7 and pushing cheap Toshiba drives with Synology labels nobody ever asked for at eye-watering prices onto customers wasn’t enough. Amazing how some companies will put forward so much effort into running their brand and trust built over decades straight into the ground.
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      105. Poor. Synology seems stuck in the past and trying to tap into the Apple mindset of slick software and limited market options for upgrades. Aged 1gb ports, aged and few USB, limited HDD and SSD compatibility, proprietary and expensive 10gb port (20% of unit cost!), and expansion boxes priced as if they’re full NAS boxes. I won’t be sticking with Synology for my next box, for sure. Shame, as the software is good, but it isn’t that good
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      106. Cores one-to-one will always be better than threads, plain and simple. So this certainly is a downgrade, at best a sidegrade. Whether that higher clock speed will mitigate some portion of that remains to be seen.
        Doesn’t change the fact that this is a completely pointless product though, when looking at the competition and even recent DS generations, as well as the myriad of shortcomings and downsides Synology has imposed on its customers in general at this point. Disappointing but not surprising.
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      107. Was looking at this NAS model but ended up building my own unraid NAS with an Intel i5 12500 in a Jonsbo N1 case, 32gb ram with a 2.5gbe lan port for a total of £670. I will still continue to use a few of the sonology apps on my DS718+ like photos etc but unraid seems the way forward for me.
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      108. Seagulls must be mating in the background ???????? 9:27, 34:08, 35:22 and even got 2 I hate seagulls at 30:44 and 36:19 ???? Good review, thanks for your time putting this together, looking forward to the Plex test! Also did you color your beard? ????‍♂️
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      109. I’m always checking the CPU, and picked models that had the atom processor. I know the history of this, tiny power usage with good performance, which does work well in my testing; although I suspect some of these other processors maybe doing better, I’m just not familiar with them enough to put money on them. Although every machine that I’ve across which is performing really really badly always seems to have a Celeron in it.
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      110. Great review, looking forward to the media streaming and the network test video. On one of your previous videos you’ve mentioned that it’s possible to stream 4k without transcoding and the need of an embedded gpu as long as it is done locally on a capable client, I wonder if this NAS can do an easy job streaming 4k to an AppleTv 4k via Plex while on a gigabit ethernet?
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      111. Why synology is so poor in regards to the USB ports???…it’s disappointing…not to mention about 1GBE ethernet…Real bad connectivity…worst hardware upgrade ever…
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      112. I am about to buy DS1821+. Do you think that its successor DS1823+ will come out later this year? Is it worth waiting a couple of months? I am not in hurry, but if I could get a great deal on DS1821+, I’ll take it anyways 🙂
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      113. Synology would be best served to hire you as part of their development review before they release their devices in the wild. Woopee.. this can hit 32GB of ECC DRAM. I am still running my DS-918+ because that also runs on 32GB RAM, I have two 512GB M.2 SSD drives in the cache slots. I have four Seagate 8TB 7200 RPM drives, and the CPU has 4-Cores/4-Threads. Yeah, I’d love to have a newer CPU with more speed, cache memory, and built in GRAPHICS, but Synology isn’t listening. So I am not running out to by a new system from Synology and for once in my NAS journey, I am starting to look into other brands with 2.5Gb LAN ports and quite frankly better CPU specs.
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      114. It looks like ds1621+ would be a much more solid option – it’s not that much more expensive, but it’s got better cpu and regular pcie slot as opposed to this proprietary contraption. I’m looking to upgrade my ancient ds1512+ which has served me well for what feels like eternity, but I was seriously hoping for 2.5G as my network is all 2.5G…
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      115. Great job as usual. Thank you. I use Wi-Fi only so not concerned about 10Gbe Ethernet. What i am concerned about is the lack of integrated graphics and transcoding. Here in the US the DS 1520+ and DS 1522+ sell both for $700 at some locations. I am not sure if the 22 version is really a significant improvement for those who care about transcoding and do not have extensive surveillance camera system.
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      116. I recently got a DS1520+ at a good price even though I knew this model was out. I wanted 5 bays and Plex hardware transcoding. Since it is for home use the potential file throughput performance, 10Gbe, and extra RAM is not that important vs. transcoding. I have UniFi system with NVR so I do not need surveillance support. No issues with HDD compatibility either. I am normally one to always want latest and greatest but not in this case.
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      117. I actually prefer my DS1520+ with 20GB RAM (aftermarket RAM upgrade from Crucial) due to its ability to process and transcode video effectively via hardware. I honestly think a more powerful Ryzen CPU should have been used, or maybe a laptop based APU that has hardware acceleration. I’m worried this is a miss from Synology and have zero desire to upgrade.
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      118. By the time you put 10GB Synology proprietary network card and Synology proprietary M.2 SSD, the cost of this NAS is already above 1250 EURs and I don’t even include here a proprietary memory upgrade, exactly just like apple, why these companies only copy the bad examples. Ok, good luck with that.
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      119. Great video my friend. Still holding out a shred of hope that Synology will still release the 922+ this year :- Are you guys in the know, hearing anything to that end? Either way, keep up the good work fellas – love the channel!
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      120. JUST made this video Live, so if you are only seeing 480p/720p, come back in 15mins when YouTube has finished processing the higher resolutions. Thanks for watching!
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      121. Two months later and this thing is still impossible to find in North America. You can find the TS-464-4G on Newegg at the moment for $950 which is outrageous and looks like a price gouge from some Taiwanese company.
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      122. Hi! I LOVE your videos but there is a little desync between the video and your voice which is noticeable. I’m just wondering is it just me? It looks a little bit wired. Still awesome stuff, thank you!
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      123. Hi, I have been watching a few of your vids as I consider needs for a docu-series I am developing in Bali, Indonesia. First, thank you for the great, concise information you provide – much appreciated! What I am looking at is a remote NAS set-up on a mobile van for production that we can dump SD content shot on Canon C70 cameras immediately after they are filled up and then hopefully have redundancy with that footage sync’d to another NAS server (TV series) back in our edit suite. Does this sound plausible to you and if so, what would you recommend as best QNAP gear for the job? Thanks.
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      124. Hi, I saw in QNAP HCL for TS-453A that some HDD (ST8000VN0004 8TB) would require specific trays due to screw holes set up in a different manner. Are the new trays for TS-464 fully compatible with all disks now ?
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      125. I bought a higher end Qnap NAS a couple of years ago, eventually got it all set up near enough to what I wanted, had it serving my website & being my data store that I could access remotely. Then all the qnap attacks started. I no longer feel it’s safe to have my NAS open to the net, so I look it off line and battened down the hatches. It’s such a pity, I have a really expensive sledgehammer and I’m using it to knock in tiny tacks now.
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      126. April 19, 2022 – “QNAP urges customers to disable UPnP port forwarding on routers” why doesn’t qnap just fix their stuff to be secure by default… This garbage of pushing security problems onto their customers is not right. Shame too because the hardware looks not bad
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      127. I can’t find this model on q-nap website, closest thing is TBS-464 which is a different beast. Btw, based on current prices one can easily build their own NAS with far better CPU and ram, $150 motherboard, $200 cpu, $100 psu, $50 8gb ddr4 ram. Jonsbo case $200, FreeNAS software, free. Typical 4gb celeron or atom based NAS costs $800+ (figures are in AUD)
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      128. Would Plex running on the NAS be able to transcode media using the GPU for remote users? It’s not clear to me if the GPU is only leveraged when using the HDMI port on the back.
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      129. Outstanding first look at the QNAP TS-464. Currently I have the TS-653D and while there isn’t a massive feature upgrade with the new line there are some noteworthy differences of which the built in NVMe support and SoC bump up to N5105 are welcomed. I had to install a QNAP QM2 card to get NVMe and 10GbE support which just adds to the out of pocket expense.

        Keep up the good work. I look forward to follow up reviews which I’m sure will be great too.

        Cheers!
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      130. Great review! This really what I’m looking for, I just wish it checked these three boxes:

        – nicer aluminum enclosure and not cheap plastic
        – better sound isolation
        – a second 10GbE with link aggregation

        Clearly that would have added upwards of 20% to the cost, but I honestly think the market would support that.
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      131. At first a 1-hour video seemed long, but every point mentioned was pertinent. And it’s the weekend anyway, so. 😉
        Only addition I would have liked is an overview of network shares management.

        And you are spot-on my user usecase/profile: Home techie power user currently using a Synology that likes its simplicity but that still keeps an eye on other totally open source platforms for a bit more control/flexibility (and lot more verbose logs!!). And so I agree with every single of your comments.

        Indeed, an “easy” mode in TrueNAS or more wizards across the system would be greatly helpful because I may be tech-savvy at some level, still maybe not quite the TrueNAS level.
        So to have something to bridge the gap between current TrueNAS “complexity” and Synology DSM “simplicity” would be perfect.

        The other thing that makes me hesitating from leaving Synology ecosystem is the turn-key/hand-holding/well-integrated (DSM/mobile) apps. But even there — and it’s one of the reasons I’m looking elsewhere — is that in the recent years Synology has seemed to neglect all their non-business apps.
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      132. I would find it very interesting.
        If u would test out TrueNAS scale ad the review u have made now about TrueNAS Core.
        It’s out of beta and in the release channel.
        And it opens up a tons of possibilities as a Linux user, because of docker and k8s.

        I really trust and enjoy ur indept reviews.
        It would be great to see that for TrueNAS SCALE.
        Best regards from me.
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      133. Adding a comment here to your most recent upload, hoping to get a reply. Watched 100’s of your uploads now. I need a new nas (4-10 bays). My old one died. Won’t be editing on it or doing anything taxing (fancy) with it, so not bothered with nvme caching etc. Just storing/accessing files locally via LAN. Best option? (Ideally with faster than 1.0GBe)
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      134. I’d be all over TrueNAS (and/or Proxmox), but I have a QNAP TS-453D and for the life of me I cannot boot off the internal drives. No, I am not happy booting off an external USB drive. Do you, or anyone, have any tricks to be able to boot directly off the internal drives on a midrange QNAP device?
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      135. Sweet! Great deep dive as always without being intimidating for us newbies rob! – bit the bullet last year on a tvs-h1288x due to your coverage and don’t regret it as it’s been great overall but with all the gross stuff that’s been happening in the qnap camp, definitely considering potentially repurposing it for a truenas. Possible?
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      136. I’m looking into a NAS system. But I don’t know how much I want to do with it. Right now I only want storage. But I also bought a raspberry pi 4 just for experimenting, and now I have: an add sinkhole, VPN server, Home Assistent, link to smart meter, DDNS server, selfhosted Bitwarden, node red, ZigBee network, and on and on… In just three months. So yea.. it will probably not only be for storage and will take over all tasks from the pi, start media server, couch potato, radarr, lidarr, security cameras with AI face detection, etc. I think I just have to go with TrueNas because eventually I want it all….
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      137. I was using freenas/truenas before I got a qnap for ease of use. Truenas wipes the floor with qnap, you just need some patience to get your head around the user interface. Please also advise everyone that you can run truenas on an old pc or in a virtual environment to test.
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      138. Yayyyyy Robbie is back! I bought a qnap based on your review. Your info was great. Its a shame that qnap decided to, there is no delicate way of saying this, shaft thier user base. I really think this is a fantastic idea and would love to see more of your valuable input. Might be time to get the big hammer out and doctor my tvs-1282. Once more it’s good to see you with your enthusiasm for nas. You are back on the watch list. Thank you Robbie.
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      139. Thanks for this look at TrueNAS. I’m eagerly awaiting your review of that IXsystems box you’ve got there as well as a “Setting Up” video on it. If at all possible it would be nice if you showed a basic, recommended system setup from the point of view of Joe, Jane and Baby Bag-O’Donuts.
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      140. Hi… if this device does not have embedded graphics and the 1621 doesn’t have it either, which device is the best for me to get for video editing as well as using it as a Plex server? I want to EDIT 4K video, and also have PLEX playback 1080 and 4K video as well. Is an embedded GPU necessary? What’s the alternative?
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      141. Hi… if this device does not have embedded graphics and the 1621 doesn’t have it either, which device is the best for me to get for video editing as well as using it as a Plex server? I want to EDIT 4K video, and also have PLEX playback 1080 and 4K video as well. Is an embedded GPU necessary? What’s the alternative?
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      142. I cannot beleive that there is NO WAY to sync any folder and file type from android device to synology nas… that drives me nuts… it’s either super complicated third party app to configure or the only syncing possible is with ds file that does ONLY pictures or synology photo crap app… I just want to sync ANY folder and their files in it (like download, ringtones and so on)… why the hell can’t synology do such thing ??? ds cloud does NOT permit to sync android folder to nas, it only sync the cloud that is on the nas to the android device, I want the other way around, there is no way to sync android ANY type of android files to nas.. urgh…
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      143. My synology is messing up my local network and I can’t figure out why. Internet drops for a few seconds every few min on all connected network devices. If I disconnect the NAS from the network, it seems to work just fine.
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      144. Good morning everyone, after a few months with this product TS-h973AX it has proven to be the most unreliable piece of hardware from QNAP. Totally unstable, becomes unaccessible while using the web interface or SMB or any other way. Worst part since it doesn’t have a front LCD panel you have no idea what’s going one. Will be returned for RMA but where to store 5x 14TB, 2x2TB NVMe Cache and 3x 2TB SSD’s of data in the meantime.
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      145. Login Speed – seemed easier with entering user name and password on the same dialogue to only hit enter once, especially when credentials are stored in the browser. Perhaps they changed it for increased security, prefer the old way.
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      146. Thanks for all your great videos – I am looking to upgrade my NAS and have settled on a Qnap TS-673A it will be my “home” NAS should I use QTS Hero ZFS or QTS 5 as my OP? Which is best? One of the main things I want to use is MyCloudLink (which I presume I can use on both OP)
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      147. I love your channel. It is my one of my go-to when it comes to NAS. That having been said, I don’t think a product review should take more than 10 minutes. I find myself fast-forwarding because at some point, it gets repetitive. Discuss the product, the pros and the cons. Done. Not past videos and older material. Not here for that Just constructive criticism. Hope you see it as such.
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      148. Hello, great video, well I am new with this NAS thing, I want to buy the same model, DS1821+, and I want to populate it with 8 14tb drives… but I have a question… Is it also necessary to populate it with the SSDs NVME??… Thanks.
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      149. 8:40 – I wish we could find the person responsible for using a Funnel for the filter icon and make them walk the plank. Funnels are not filters.
        But its too late now. The damage is done. People associate the funnel image with the filter action in software just like they associate the piece of paper with a folded corner for “new file”.
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      150. Latest QTS 5 firmware update lost every user’s “home” folder when connecting via AFP in a finder window, only shared folders are shown. Even disabling and enabling home folders in users don’t take any effect. Only In browser UI the home folder is working properly.
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      151. I have TS253be and update to QTS 5.0 but NAS force me to initialize NAS (Reset NAS set up)
        My raid was gone (Raid 1) while I Initialized NAS to start 5.0 and I try to back up my data to external hdd
        but my 2nd disk was gone while back up I can recovery data 70% (Lost forever 30%) T.T
        Do you have problem to upgrade like me?
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      152. I had to roll back.
        5.0.0. gave me two weird issues.
        1. The fans went to 100% and stuck there, regardless of any setting or actual system temp.
        2. (And this one is really weird) IR remote button pushes would be registered twice, but only around 25-33% of the time.

        I rolled back AND forward three times to check and double check these issues. I’m staying with 4.5.x until I know 5.x.x has the bugs ironed out.
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      153. i have found the file permission are better but….. in my case the everyone group has no rights assigned to it when checking on qnap.not denied not ro or rw. when you create a user via qnap and assign rights via windows. somewhere along the line everyone has now changed to denied access…..simply just remove anyone from the resource…but not the right way?
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      154. FULL Written Review of QNAP QTS 5 – https://nascompares.com/2021/10/08/qnap-qts-5-0-nas-software-review-worth-your-data/
        01:50 – Disclaimers & Review Considerations
        05:25 – Start – QTS Change of Focus
        07:00 – QTS 5 vs QTS 4.5 GUI, Design, The Good, the Bad & the Awkward
        10:13 – Responsiveness
        10:44 – Things That Have Not Changed
        11:30 – Security, Notifications & Control
        14:25 – Control Panel
        15:39 – Storage Manager
        17:25 – Remote Mounting & Cloud Gateways
        18:40 – File Management
        20:30 – Multimedia Control & Sharing
        27:00 – Storage Continued – Health & Checks
        29:00 – Synchronization & Backup Tools
        36:35 – Virtual Machines, Containers & Ubuntu VMs
        41:05 – VMware, Hyper-V and SaaS Backups
        43:14 – HDMI Services & HD Station
        45:00 – Surveillance Tools & Services
        49:00 – Licenses, Good & Bad
        51:00 – QSirch, QFile, Teamviewer, Hybrid Mount and the Conclusion
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      155. awesome, perfect video as always; you’re the best source for nas – especially on qnap, i would say. Possessor of the – NOWADAYS pretty old – ts231+P and i still use it as my daily driver; with the new qts 5 now, seems even more faster
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      156. The missing “For you” from moments sorely missed – it was a great AI system for finding potential duplicate (or near duplicate) photos that just doesn’t work as well as the storage manager reports that only really find exact duplicate pictures.
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      157. Hello
        After having watched your videos about this NAS and videos about RAM-upgrades, i have a question about the TVS-872X-i3-8G.
        With the i3 CPU, the supported RAM-speed is 2400MHz according to Intel’s own product spec. How does it work if i put an 2666MHz module or two, into the NAS? PC’s will for the most downgrade the speed, but does a NAS do that? Anyone tested?
        Its more to choose from in the 2666MHz category, rather than 2400, thats why i wonder.

        Also, any recommendations on M.2’s to use in this? Lots on combability-list, but any experiences appreciated 🙂
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      158. You forgot to mention essential point Hybrid Raid will limit the raid speed of 1 drive compare to traditional raid 5 or 6, which means hybrid raid is good for storage efficiency not for performance, to sum up if you’re using NAS as back up drive than hybrid raid is fine but if you’re accessing your project from NAS directly than you should stick to raid 5 or 6 to make use of multiple drive speed.
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      159. 1.Log center cant be modified or set to exclude users or certain things you dont want logged.

        2.It is not compatible with DScloud anymore so you cant sync to mobile like you can do on DSM6 with the DSCloud app from Synology but you can use the Synology Package Center to download Resilio Sync or Good Sync but you have to pay a monthly/yearly fee for every user.

        Unlike Qnap when you buy your hardware, you arent forced to pay for syncing from and to your own hardware.

        With that said there is still a solution using Webdav to-way Nas-pc with Raidrive but you have to pay for software for Pro features.

        Mobile sync: Use Foldersync to-way Mobile-Nas, but you have to pay for software for Pro features.

        So far as i am aware of limitations using Synology DSM7 when it comes to syncing —> If you want Pro features or you want to use your Nas without reaching out to third-part software without paying extra fees it is recommended to switch to other Nas brands for me i feel Qnap has been working using 30 users for Laptop/Pc/Mac/Android/Iphone all Apps/Software working perfect Pro features without paying extra fee´s or forced to use third-part tools total control for Log center, File-Folder, Photo, Video, Virtualization, Web-sites and so much more.

        Other annoying difference i had with Synology i had was this—> i had to make a ticket to find out i cant use Synology Mobile App DS Cloud or that one cant choose what Synology Package-Log Center loggs, it wont let you choose to include, exclude or to delete certain logg if you press Clear button on the loggs that are in “Files downloaded” it deletes all, if you clear “user logins” it deletes all that and you cant revert the deletion.
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      160. Totally agree with your view on Photo Station. I’m glad you covered this as your feedback might get recognised. I don’t want to upgrade until Photos is comparable to what Photo Station had/has to offer.
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      161. almost perfection?
        Audio Station is totally broken, playback is being cut off,
        Media indexing fails to scan more than 50% files,
        translations in DSM are not complete, some even have nonsense,
        I have no idea what Synology have been doing all the time releasing such buggy software
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      162. Trying to decide what to buy for Plex streaming I want to stream atleast 2x4k movies at the sametime. local. its between qnas or synology. but I hear many bad things about qnap with discounts software issues. Either QNAP TS-653D-8G or DS1621+
        I could always buy m1 mac mini to stream more movies and for transcoding. can someone help me decide?
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      163. I heard so many issues with qnap I considering the qnap but I’M hearing so many bad things disconnected alot hardware and software issuess I dont know which direction synology with there locked hardrives? so I’m not what diection to go with
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      164. Useful but a bit of a ramble with Robby. My time notes:

        https://youtu.be/xZrjPF4nmRc?t=674

        11:14 User Interface
        12:00 Help Center
        12:35 Control Panel
        14:03 Security
        15:27 Collaboration Suite
        15:45 Synology Drive
        17:18 Multimedia Apps
        18:47 Plex and 3rd party app issues
        19:47 DSM 7 background package integration improvements
        20:25 HyperBackup, USB copy
        21:24 Cloud Synchronization
        22:27 Business Applications
        23:30 Storage Manager
        25:15 Fast Raid Repair
        26:35 RAID 6 speedup
        27:19 Bench testing, storage performance, UI improvements
        29:00 Surveillance Station
        30:04 Virtual Machine Manager
        32:40 USB changes on DSM7
        34:08 Security and UI
        34:40 Resource Monitor and UI
        35:00 Storage Analyzer
        36:55 Recommendations
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      165. I’ve installed it as a VM on my DS1821+ and I’m completely disappointed with the new photos app. Maybe I’m old fashioned idk but the way timeline view is implemented it doesn’t allow you to look at a timeline on an album level anymore like you could do in photostation. You have to choose between album view or timeline view. I like to look at my photos different ways and this makes the app kind of unusable for me. Additionally I would like them to shows tags on the timeline view when you’re inside an album that has multiple albums underneath it but no photos in it directly. I’ve reached out to them but very little hope of it getting done in my opinion. I’m not upgrading until photos is useable as photostation is no longer supported on dsm7. Additionally I had a lot of indexing / conversion issues on my VM with my photos directory. Not sure if that’s just a VM issue or not
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      166. Hi. Is it safe and or good for my Synology 920+ to be shut down during the night and sometimes for 30 days at a time while away? Many thanks for your great videos.
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      167. I upgraded both my DS 218J and my brand new DS920+ to DSM 7.0 and liking it a lot! No real problems. Moments with my Photos lost its tags during the transition to Synology Photos. I have to redo them but that’s ok. Everything else is great. I agree with this review.
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      168. so is there any reason for me to wait for the DSM update to come through automatically on my DS1520+ or should I just manually update now? Is it likely that more changes will be made to it before the automatic update comes through?
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      169. Does DSM 7 introduce any issues with access via the NFS protocol? I use my DS420j strictly as a file server in a Linux environment and do not really care about photo station, music station, etc. Quick, reliable access via NFS is my main concern. Thank you for your fine videos.
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      170. Photos all seemed to work once I requested a re-indexing. However, photo sharing is completely broken. Even if you request that anyone can view with a URL, Synology NAS still requests a username and password. Sigh…………………
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      171. I notice the absence of Amazon S3 on the cloud service for HyperBackup… Is it still possible to backup to Amazon S3 Glacier storage in DSM7? Or they removed it not to compete with their own C2 solution?
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      172. Thanks for your valuable videos. I missed the loss of DS Cloud, so syncing became a problem. I started using Syncthing after upgrading to DSM7. I also have a problem with Synology Drive from my laptop on a company network, while using Express VPN. It keeps trying to connect to the server. When I switch off the VPN it works fine. Maybe I will switch to Syncthing on this Windows machine as well. For me this is a key function for a NAS so I didn’t expect it to work less good. But all and all it’s a big improvement.
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      173. No mention of the issues with third party packages that worked fine in 6.2.4 but no longer work in DSM 7, it might be almost perfect IF you only use Synology apps.
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      174. Hello, I am sure that it will surely be for reasons of not extending the video too much, but your way of showing and explaining the news and characteristics of this new DSN are not very clear, at least for me you are going too fast and a bit messy. I’m not saying it in a bad way but I think you could do it in a more calm and neat way. Thank you very much anyway.
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      175. I use a KDLinks media stream box to watch movies and videos I store on my Synology NAS DS918+. Does DSM 7.0 support the ability for the stream box to sign into the NAS and stream the files?
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      176. 20:53 I ran into the exact issue you have 2 days ago on DSM6.2.4. I opened a support ticket that is still open, however I suspect it’s a browser based issue. Try opening in a different browser and see if you can view all of the back up options in that. It’s a Munster to me how this happened as I even cleared my browser cache and it persisted in Firefox. When I opened in safari it was “fixed}
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      177. Show idea, upgrading synology hardware. Example, use a ds213 case and change the motherboard to a newer model including modifying the case for USB ports if needed.
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      178. Your shows are good, however, can you please make them shorter/succinct. Perhaps add text boxes on the screen so we can see that as you move on. Again, you do a fantastic job ???? thanks for your hard work.
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      179. One thing I’d love is for larger NAS to support mounting volume from older smaller NAS.
        For instance, I had an old DS411j that failed on me, one of the drive failed but the NAS was full, so now I can’t even start it up. I just wish I could buy some of the 12 slots new NAS and then mount my 4 old drive into the new system and then just transfer data and format the old drives to add them to the new volume. I asked Synology if we can do that, their answer: nope, unless you build a Linux computer and mount drives on Linux and transfer your data. If I need to build a Linux computer, I’d better off just to use FreeNAS and never have to deal with Synology DSM…
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      180. Microsoft Edge is base on Chromium, so any issues you have with Chrome will most likely happen in Edge as well. You need to test on browses like Firefox that are not base on Chromium.

        I use Firefox and only have one M.2 slot filled and the 4 HDDs bays are full. Testing what I could zooming out made the empty M.2 disappear. It did not make the icon show under the other one as shown by you..
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      181. i have a test DS119j and upgraded it to DSM 7 and it’s very slow. Tested 4gb of photo’s and the database is going on for days.
        Going to upgrade my DS1821+ now. Hope 10GB will still work.
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      182. For the past week, Universal Search has been HOARDING CPU and RAM!
        Indexing just goes on and on and on, non stop!

        I can’t find a workaround!
        Disabling Universal Search in DSM 7, disables Synology Drive and Synology Office
        Instructions for this problem, found on forums, are all for DSM 6 and DON’T work on DSM 7
        This is pathetic!
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      183. For me it doesn’t matter as much if the new apps arent quite as good as the old ones yet as long as they have been written on a newer platform that easier to add missing and new features later rather than an app that was based on ds 4. Apple’s old website went down before a launch not to increase excitement but because it was old and rubbish and had to be .
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      184. Still I have hibernation issue and I opened a ticket with Synology support. After analyzing the debug logs, they came back with SMB and VMM are the cause of periodic waking up of HDD’s. But still I couldn’t find an answer from support that why this periodic waking up which exactly happens each hour related to VMM and SMB, assuming no laptops connected to NAS in the test period and no VM was running. Will update in case support answers me.
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      185. Good review, thank you. Would like to see the resources utilized WITHOUT the surveillance BETA software running. Many users likely use their NAS for surveillance duties, but in my home/office environment, we have our own security and the NAS is dedicated to media and storage. After watching this review, I am uncertain if there are sufficient memory resources for an environment that does not include surveillance.
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      186. Last weekend my Synology DS2415+ mainboard gave up (out of warranty) and considering the high price for repair, I was looking for QNAP and came accros your video. Great explanation. I saw a TVS-872XT-i5-16G online for about €2200. I mainly use it as storage, backup, download and media station, also for streaming 4K UHD with Plex Pass and I understood this device can handle the transcoding pretty well. Is the TVS-872XT-i5-16G still a smart buy, or are there already any newer versions out there for around that price?
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