Synology DS223 NAS Drive Revealed

Brand New Synology DS223 Value Series NAS Released

Update UK 08/02/23 – The Synology DS223 NAS has now been launched, and you can find my written DS223 review HERE and my YouTube video DS223 review HERE!

Hot on the heels of their recent releases in the Synology Plus series, Synology has now revealed a new Value Seires 2-Bay NAS – The Synology DS223 NAS. Powered by a newer generation Realtek ARM v8 processor, this is the first entry into a no doubt soon to expand value range of diskstation devices to replace the (frankly) long overdue refresh of the DS218, DS118, DS418, DS120j and DS220j devices in their portfolio. Arriving with a similar level of hardware across the rest of the device to the 2018-2020 released value/budget devices in most other regards, the most notable change here is the scale up in processor from the RTD1296 to the RTD1619B. Let’s discuss the hardware that we know, how that will impact DSM and where it improves upon the older gen.

What Are the Hardware Specifications of the Synology DS223 NAS

So, as mentioned above, the actual hardware across the bulk of the DS223 is largely identical to the DS218 NAS. Synology have pretty much kept everything (the chassis, USB standard, network connection, memory capacity and scalability) identical. That CPU is the only meaningful change. Then again, they did see huge success with the Realtek product family up to this point and it would make sense for them to continue using this fantastically efficient but capable series. So, let’s dig into those specifications a little:

Synology DS223 NAS Drive
Processor	Processor model	Realtek RTD1619B
	Number of CPUs	1
	processor architecture	64-bit
	processor clock	4-core 1.7 GHz
	hardware encryption engine	Yes
Memory	system memory	2 GB DDR4 non-ECC
	Remark	Synology reserves the right to replace memory components with the same or higher frequency depending on the supplier’s product availability. Its compatibility and stability have undergone the same rigorous testing and inspection, please feel free to use it.
storage device	Number of slots	2
	Compatible Disk Type	3.5″ SATA HDD 2.5″ SATA SSD
	Disk hot-plug support*	Yes
external port	RJ-45 1GbE LAN port*	1
	USB 3.2 Gen 1 port*	3
	USB / SD Copy	No
	Remark	The maximum MTU value of the 1GbE network port of this product is 1500. The USB-IF renamed the standard formerly known as USB 3.0 as USB 3.2 Gen 1 in 2019.
file system	internal disk	Btrfs EXT4
	external disk	Btrfs EXT4 EXT3 FAT NTFS HFS+ exFAT
Exterior	Size (HXWXD)	165mm x 108mm x 232.7mm
	weight	1.28 kg
other projects	system fan	92 mm x 92 mm x 1 pcs
	fan mode	full speed mode low temperature mode silent mode
	Front panel LED indicators with adjustable brightness	Yes
	Power Auto Reply	Yes
	Noise value*	14.6 dB(A)
	Timer switch	Yes
	wake on lan	Yes
	Power Supply / Transformer	60W
	AC input voltage	100V to 240V AC
	current frequency	50/60 Hz, single frequency
	power consumption	17.343 W (access) 4.08 W (disk hibernation)
	BTU	59.19 BTU/hr (access) 13.92 BTU/hr (disk hibernation)
	Remark	For more information on how to measure the power consumed by a power supply, please refer to this article . Noise level test environment: The Synology system is fully loaded with Synology SATA SSD hard drives in standby mode, and two GRAS Type 40AE microphones are set up at a distance of 1 meter from the front and back of the device. Background noise value: 16.49-17.51 ​​dB(A); temperature: 24.25-25.75˚C; humidity: 58.2-61.8%.
warranty	2-year hardware warranty, you can purchase Extended Warranty Plus to enjoy up to 4-year product warranty service.
environment	RoHS Compliant
package contents	Host X 1 Accessory bag X 1 Transformer X 1 Power cord X 1 RJ-45 network cable X 1 Quick Installation Guide X 1

So, this CPU. Synology are not the first brand to start utilizing this processor (Terramaster were the first, with their own Value series that was unveiled at the end of 2022). In the coming weeks, we will be investigating further into the capabilities of this CPU, but there is no doubt that Synology will have thoroughly explored the running and efficiency of DSM 7.1 (7.2 Beta arriving soon) on this processor. The system arrives with 2GB of DDR4 Memory (non-ECC) that cannot be upgraded. This is not a huge surprise (this has been the case for this product family, plus the play and Value series running on ARM processors pretty much since day dot!) and we will almost certainly see scaling in memory in the 1-Bay, 4-Bay and J series alternatives to this NAS as they arrive to popular Synology’s Value tier for 2023/2024. 2GB is more than enough for DSM 7.1. PLUS series features like the inclusion of M.2 NVMe SSD bays are absent, but that is not something I would have expected on this series anyway. Another question some users might have is regarding hard drive and SSD compatibility. Synology in 2022 made some rather strong moves towards prioritizing their own storage media and upgrades in their Plus and above series’, still supporting the use of 3rd party hardware in a bunch of areas (relenting at one point and adding WD Red and Seagate Ironwolf on the compatibility lists, where previously they seemed absent).

I am pleased to confirm that the Synology DS223 NAS will definitely arrive with compatibility and support of the 3rd Party HDD/SSD manufacturers (as well as their own HDDs and SSDs of course). The maximum supported capacity is still at 18TB (again, likely in line with their own HAT5300 capping at 18TB at the time of writing), but at least users of this value tier device will not have to be concerned with opting for media outside of their usual brand of choice. Let’s discuss DSM’s supported features and services on the Synology DS223 NAS.

What Are the Software Specifications of the Synology DS223 NAS

The Synology DS223 NAS will arrive with the latest version of DSM 7 available, as well as the support of Synology Hybrid RAID too. As this is an ARM v8 processor, there is going to be the odd compromise here o there (although 4K handling is possible, 4K transcoding and general video encoding/conversion to a meaningful degree is going to be something of a pipe dream! Synology has managed to include the bulk of DSM 7’s features and serives with the DS223 hardware here, though the depth of support of 3rd party applications and services is still TBC till I have one in the office for review. Things like Virtual Machines are DEFINITELY NOT going to be possible here and the performance/scale of surveillance on this NAS with Synology’s Surveillance Station application re ging to be a little lighter than on a PLUS model, but again that is something we would expect for a value series device. Let’s go through those services and features of DSM that are supported, as well as the extent to which they run:

DSM Product Specifications
storage space management	Maximum single volume capacity*	108TB
	Maximum number of storage spaces	64
	SSD TRIM	Yes
	Support RAID disk array type	Synology Hybrid RAID Basic JBOD RAID 0 RAID 1
	RAID Configuration Migration	Basic to RAID 1
	Larger hard drives can be used to expand storage space	Synology Hybrid RAID RAID 1
	Add new hard disk to expand storage space	Synology Hybrid RAID
	Remark	The usable capacity of each volume is lower than the size of the maximum volume, and actually depends on the file system and the amount of system metadata stored. The actual maximum storage pool and storage space size depends on the hard disk capacity used, the number of available disk slots and the RAID type.
file service	file agreement	SMB/AFP/NFS/FTP/WebDAV
	Maximum simultaneous SMB/AFP/FTP connections	200
	Windows Access Control List (ACL) Integration	Yes
	NFS Kerberos authentication	Yes
	Remark	The test standard is based on the maximum number of simultaneous connections supported by this model. During testing, 25% of the connections were concurrently transferring files. The transmission process only ensures that the connection is not interrupted, and cannot guarantee the minimum transmission speed.
Accounts and Shared Folders	Maximum number of local user accounts	1,024
	Maximum number of local groups	256
	Maximum number of shared folders	256
	Maximum Shared Folder Sync Tasks	4
Hybrid Share	Maximum number of Hybrid Share folders	5
log center	Number of logs received per second	400
General Specifications	Internet protocol	SMB1 (CIFS), SMB2, SMB3, NFSv3, NFSv4, NFSv4.1, NFS Kerberized sessions, iSCSI, HTTP, HTTPs, FTP, SNMP, LDAP, CalDAV
	Supported browsers	Google Chrome firefox Microsoft Edge Safari
	supported language	English, Deutsch, Français, Italiano, Español, Dansk, Norsk, Svenska, Nederlands, Русский, Polski, Magyar, Português do Brasil, Português Europeu, Türkçe, Český, ภษษไทย, Traditional Chinese, Simplified
	Remark	For details of supported browser versions, please refer to DSM Technical Specifications .
Additional Kits View Full Kit List
Synology Chat
download station	Maximum number of download tasks	80
SAN Manager	Maximum number of iSCSI Targets	10
	Maximum number of LUNs	10
	LUN Clone/Snapshot, Windows Offload Data Transfer (ODX)
Media Server	DLNA compatible
Synology Photos	face recognition
Snapshot Replication	The maximum number of snapshots supported by a single shared folder	256
	Maximum number of system snapshots	4,096
Surveillance Station	The maximum number of cameras supported (camera authorization is required)	20 (including 2 sets of free licenses) (see compatible IP cameras)
	Frames per second (FPS) (H.264)	600 FPS @ 720p (1280×720) 460 FPS @ 1080p (1920×1080) 300 FPS @ 3M (2048×1536) 150 FPS @ 5M (2591×1944) 110 FPS @ 4K (3840×2160)
	Frames per second (FPS) (H.265)	600 FPS @ 720p (1280×720) 500 FPS @ 1080p (1920×1080) 400 FPS @ 3M (2048×1536) 350 FPS @ 5M (2591×1944) 250 FPS @ 4K (3840×2160)
	Remark	Maximum number of IP cameras and FPS figures are the result of a test unit recording continuously with a full hard drive. Actual system capacity will vary based on system configuration, hard drive performance, number of features enabled, and presence of other workloads.
Synology Drive	Recommended number of clients that can sync simultaneously	200 (the number of devices that can be connected at the same time when the recommended number of stored files is reached)
	Recommended number of files to store	500,000 (applicable to files indexed or belonging to Synology Drive , files accessed through other protocols, please refer to the file service in the above field)
	Remark	Exceeding the recommended amounts above will not cause the kit to stop functioning, it will just cause longer response times. The Btrfs file system and unencrypted shared folders were used in the above tests.
Synology Office	Maximum number of users	200
	Remark	The test opens multiple files, and each file is edited by 30 users at the same time. Client performance may affect the maximum number of simultaneous editing users. Client test computer specifications: Intel Core i3-3220 / 8GB memory
Video Station
VPN Server	Maximum number of connections	20

If you are interested in the full range of services and applications (of which the Synology DS223 will likely run around 80% or so of which, just not the higher-end process/graphically demanding ones), you can watch my full Synology DSM 7.1 Review below. It covers pretty much everything and you can use the chapters at the bottom to fast-forward to the appropriate app/service/function that you are most interested in.

Next, let’s discuss how much improvement/difference we have in the DS223 against the DS218 NAS that it is seemingly refreshing for 2023.

How Does the Synology DS223 compare with the DS218 NAS?

The Synology DS223 NAS is not going to be an enormous jump in terms of ability over the DS218. Yes, this new CPU will bring improvements in power (aka clock speed) which means more ‘umpf’ under the bonnet to get things done, but also it will be more efficient, as it will benefit from the further developments by Realtek in getting the most out of these more economical of processors. The RTD1619b and RTD1296 are both quad-core, but the newer gen DS223 CPU is 1.7Gh in clock speed, so that means more resources to get your tasks done and (thanks to that R&D) less being used per task – so win-win. Below is a breakdown of how the DS223 and DS218 compare:

When Will the Synology DS223 NAS Drive Be Released and what is the Price?

Right now, Synology is taking its time on rolling the information out on this device globally, but we will likely see the full release of the Synology DS223 NAS globally before the end of Jan 2023. Regarding pricing, Synology will be keen to maintain the price point of their other value series NAS devices, so expect to see the DS223 arriving at around $270 / £230 / €260 (be sure to factor in your local tax and shipping of course). We can almost certainly expect the arrival of a 4-Bay DS423 and DS223j and/or DS423j NAS too soon.

 

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