Synology DS1823xs+ NAS Review – Worth the Wait?
In all the years that we have covered the NAS solutions of Synology, there has always been something of a glaring gap in their portfolio. A compact desktop profile system, large storage, low impact system with a decent CPU, complete DSM support, long-term expandability with high bandwidth inside & out. Now, many of these attributes are available in a plethora of solutions in their portfolio, but in almost 20 years there has never been one solution that covers ALL of them in one solution. The Synology DS1823xs+ NAS at a glance has the potential to finally, FINALLY be this solution and although it arrives at a £1700-1800 price tag (region, tax and currency dependant of course) might well be one of the most ‘complete’ desktop solutions that Synology have ever released! Big shoes to fill, right? Whether you are considering the DS1823xs+ NAS as your first serious business NAS, a prosumer home user looking to think long-term or an existing Drobo user that has seen the writing on the wall (see here) and looking to make a confident first step into the Synology ecosystem – hopefully this review will help you decide whether the Synology DS1823xs+ NAS deserves to be your next big tech purchase.
Note – Since the DS1823xs+ was first revealed, a decent % of existing/ex-Drobo storage users have contacted me about whether the DS1823xs+ is a good system to migrate to since Drobo appears to be hitting EOL. Therefore you are going to hear a decent about of Drobo comparisons here in the article!
Synology DS1823xs+ NAS Review – Quick Conclusion
If you are looking for a solid and confident move away from expensive long-term cloud subscription services, away from your defunct Drobo system or simply looking for a Synology NAS that has good hardware inside, outside and with DSM all over it – the DS1823xs+ NAS is a very solid choice indeed! With a huge degree of expandability and upgradability open to the end user to scale with later in the system’s life, extensive long-term committed software support and that 5yrs hardware warranty out the box – this is a system that is clearly designed for the long-haul and as soon as you factor in the complete hardware+software nature of this purchase with DSM included, it’s a very tasty box! There are a few odd choices here or there (e.g M.2 NVMe Pools not presented in the way some might like and HDD/SSD compatibility that clearly favours the enterprise tier), this is still easily the most powerful and capable 8-Bay system that Synology has ever produced. Whether you are a small, medium or large business user, this system has a large amount of potential for your data and has the horsepower for multiple VMs, large-scale surveillance, widespread backups, broad multi-user access and all of these running at the same time in a remarkably compact package. That said, the DS1823xs+ NAS has a little bit of an identity crisis when you scale it up with the rest of the larger tiers of the Synology portfolio and, although I genuinely like it, seems to be a system that exists BETWEEN the Synology PLUS and XS series (see my points about the RS2423+) and when you look at it in that context, it sees the tiniest bit more expensive than it should be. If you are looking at the DS1823xs+ NAS and fully intend to scale up the storage, external bandwidth or memory in the next two years, I would recommend skipping this and opting for the DS3622xs+ instead. However, the base model of the DS1823xs+ has alot of ‘umpf’ under the bonnet and short of those hurdles for some on compatibility, the DS1823xs+ seemingly lives up to alot of it’s expectations!
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Synology DS1823xs+ NAS Review – Packaging
Regardless of whether you are a new or old user of this brand, the first thing that always strikes me about Synology NAS presentation is that they are always just that little bit ‘slicker’ than most of their contemporaries. Stylized in many ways on the ‘Apple’ model of hardware/software banding, the Synology DS1823xs+NAS retail packaging, despite clearly being an enterprise targetted solution, is dripping in branding. It’s the little things, such as the handles of the packaging being Synology branded, the brown box appearing generic/multi-solution use but a closer look shows it is distinct to this model, the slight cloth feeling bag the device arrives in. It’s all incredibly reminiscent of how Drobo solutions are presented (who also knew how to present their solutions to content creators and post-production professionals in the Mac world) and the effect is not lost. All this, when we are talking about a solution that 99.99% of users will buy online and never see till they open up the shipping container. So, Synology clearly know what they are doing to create a first impression about where they see itself in the industry. Arguably this is all frivolous, but then again, there is certainly a common association between Synology and Mac-based content creators, so it all adds up.
The protection afforded to the DS1823xs+ NAS is also another area that has not been undercut! The system arrives with pretty extensive protection in transit (several tiers higher than you would find in their lower-tier systems in the 2/4-Bay Diskstation ranges). Now, currently, Synology does not provide their solutions pre-populated (well.. there is always the question mark of how/if this will change now they have rolled out the HAT5300, HAT3300, SAT5200 official media), so the level of protection that these systems need is negligible. However, once you factor in silent damage internally that can be caused by motion and pressure in transit that will all to often not manifest itself till later in the system’s life, I am glad that this system has still not had corners cut on protection. I know factors of shipping and protection are of limited interest to most users, but I have heard enough horror stories of NAS system arriving with cracked controller boards and loosened wires to know it’s worth touching on here!
The overall packaging for the DS1823xs+ NAS contains all fairly standard stuff. This includes the system itself, information on the included 5 years hardware warranty (the system’s software support lasts for much, much longer – especially as it is an XS system), first time setup instructions, screws+keys for the storage bays, 2x network cables and a mains power cable. All pretty much what you would expect and aside from media, pretty much what everyone would need to setup this device in your home or office. However, I do have a couple of small-ish complaints to make here…
The first complaint is that the two ethernet cables that the DS1823xs+ NAS arrives with are Cat 5e. Now, the Synology DS1823xs+ has two 1GbE network ports (will go into this more later) so these cables are perfectly fine here. However, it also includes a 10GbE port and in this case, especially if you are going to be factoring in a good amount of distance between it and you/switch, most users would opt for Cat 6. The price difference is extremely small and it seems like a bit of a no-brainer for a 10GbE-equipped system not to add this, especially factoring in the slick branding image of Synology. Again, this is a VERY minor point, but if you are going to include network cables anyway, why not switch them up to Cat 6? Petty I know, but I’m by no means the first to raise this.
The other point is slightly less oblique. The Synology DS1823xs+ NAS is now the 3rd system in Synology’s portfolio to allow M.2 NVMe SSD bays as storage pools (as well as being around the 15-20th to include their support for SSD caching). Despite this now being a feature of prosumer and premium Synology hardware since 2018, they still do NOT include heatsinks for these bays. They DO factor heatsinks into their SSD caching PCIe cards and do make provisions for SSD overheat/throttling issues in their architecture on both a hardware and software level on a number of their systems. But it has always struck me as odd that they NEVER provide heatsinks for these bays (full 2280 length ones that cost around $10 at retail) or small adhesive-based ones (see image below) that are like $1-2 a pop at retail). Its another very minor point, but unlike the point regarding CAT 6 cables above (which arguably many users might already have many of), most SSDs do not default arrive with heatsinks and heat generated by SSD controllers is a very real concern, especially if these are going to be used as caching on a frequently accessed storage pool/volume.
Overall, the DS1823xs+ packaging and presentation is still very good and exactly what I would have expected from the Synology solution. Lets discuss the design of this NAS and the storage capabilities that it opens up.
Synology DS1823xs+ NAS Review – Design
Now, full disclaimer here, the DS18XX Diskstation chassis from Synology has always been one of my all-time favourite system designs of their whole portfolio since it first appeared back in the early 2010s. 8 bays of storage is always considered the ‘no mans land’ between the Prosumer/SMB users and the road towards Enterprise. 8 bays of storage allows users to comfortably accommodate a RAID 6 (2 disk failure protection) and still play with the idea of a hot spare drive too, multiple sizable pools and create a multiple-tiered storage setup (i.e, Hot, Warm, Cold). In recent years, the 8-Bay Diskstation tier has included the 8 bays of storage and m.2 SSD storage bays (as well as expansion ports) and the Synology DS1823xs+ continues this trend, but also improves upon in a fraction too.
The majority of the system is dominated by those eight SATA storage bays, so the remaining internal hardware needs to keep things economical in terms of space in order to maintain that compact desktop design. This leads to the quest of heat generation and the inevitable noise that the internal cooling systems make to stay on top of this. This is one of the reasons I have always been pretty loud and proud about my thoughts on the 8-Bay DS1823xs+ chassis. Although the system is mostly metal (which can often result in a largely ambient noise generation in operation from the hum/vibration/spin of HDDs), the system is only a pinch noisier than small systems like the DS923+ and DS1621xs+. Passive ventilation is added by branded and mesh-filled side panels to collect dust, but also facilitate airflow. The rear fans, although among the largest in the Synology diskstation portfolio, are still relatively low noise (for the scale!) and this all adds up to the Synology DS1823xs+ being less noisy in operation than most would expect. It is by no means a ‘silent NAS’, especially if you start using larger HDDs above 10TB (which are built with faster rotation, more platters and a more industrious actuator/arm internally), but for the build materials and scale of the DS1823xs+, the design is absolutely SPOT ON!
The system lacks any onboard LCD or information panel, but does feature LEDs on the front of the device to denote the system activity, health and possibly issues being flagged. I do wish Synology would reconsider and add an LCD panel (much like QNAP) or even a proactive LED system such as the Drobo LED chart (eg Capacity denoted in LEDs, small but bloody handy!), but Synology has always been clear that their systems are first and foremost a network system and provide a huge range of client tools for desktop/mobile systems alongside browser access and integrated sys communication tools instead.
The LEDs for each bay are the same three-tone (green for good, amber for issue, red for dead, etc) and will flicker when being accessed, as well as allowing dimming/deactivation. It’s just a bit of a shame that in the event of an alert (alarm etc from the system), diagnostics are not possible without fulling accessing the system (2 step authentication, user-roles, etc). This means that the nature of an issue small or MASSIVE needs to be treated the same, when an onboard LCD panel would not only allow faster/more accurate physical checks, but also add other advantages such as immediate internal temp checks, individual IP identifiers and more.
Each storage bay can be populated with a 3.5″ or 2.5″ SATA storage media drive (HDD or SSD). The system does NOT need to be fully populated and you can run the system on as little as 1-2 drives, then expand the storage pool later (scaling up the configuration from RAID 1 > 5 >6 etc as needed). 8 bays of storage is very good level of Day 1 storage and this is especially potent when you factor in that modern HDDs these days are hitting 18, 20 and 22TB. That means that full population of this system can hit some real dizzying heights of capacity, as well as allowing smarter Price vs Capacity vs Redundancy configuration with the use of smaller HDDs (see video below).
However, as this is a Synology XS system, that means that there are two slightly awkward things we need to discuss. Namely Support of Synology Hybrid RAID (SHR) and 3rd Party HDD/SSDs on the DS1823xs+ NAS. As there is a very popular software feature of Synology that is absent on this system.
Synology Hybrid RAID (SHR) is the brand’s own special RAID configuration that allows you to create a RAID using different capacity HDDs in a single storage pool. In traditional RAID (RAID 5 or RAID 6 for example), you need to use drives of equal capacity, otherwise the smallest capacity drive in the configuration will dictate the max capacity of each drive (eg, 7x 10TB drives and 1x 1TB drive will force the system to see all drives as 1TB ). SHR allows the system to calculate redundancy based on the largest available HDD. The result is that:
- 7x 10TB + 1x 1TB in RAID 5 = 7TB Total Storage
- 7x 10TB + 1x 1TB in SHR = 61TB Total Storage
Those users who are familiar with Drobo will know the advantages of this more flexible RAID system, as they have their own version of this known as BeyondRAID. HOWEVER, unfortunately, SHR is NOT available on the Synology DS1823xs+ NAS. This is because Synology does not allow SHR support on any system deemed ‘High Performance’ such as the XS, SA or UC series. SHR has a small performance penalty compared with traditional RAID and therefore they do not allow this feature. This is a real shame, as aside from the means to mix drives (something very few people would do on day 1), it also means that scaling up your storage in a single pools years down the line and adding bigger HDDs (As prices come down) and keeping your existing Pools, Volumes, Shares, etc will be highly beneficial. Normal RAID groups in the DS1823xs+ can still have their storage expanded, but this can only be done with drives of the same type/cap as the existing drives in the array. Next up, let’s talk about the subject of HDD/SSD Compatibility.
This is another area of Synology’s policy/choices that has ruffled a few feathers, the subject of hard drive and SSD compatibility. Back in 2019/2020, it was revealed that Synology was starting to roll out their own branded storage media. Built on drive from big names in the storage industry, built with their own firmware onboard to make them better suited to their own systems (instead of more general server supported), tested in their own systems and supporting the ability to update HDD/SSD firmware from directly inside the Synology DSM software (quite a significant feature too tbh). However, at the start of 2022, Synology made changes to their platform in DSM 7.1 and in their enterprise/large-scale system that resulted in the compatibility lists for these systems to only feature their own 1st party HDD/SSDs. If you use/used 3rd party drives from Seagate/WD/Toshiba/etc, the system would flag these as ‘unverified’ with a warning and this could potentially undermine your support from Synology down the line (as you are using the system in an unsupported configuration outside of how Synology presented/verified the system). Now, there is the argument that enterprise storage users are much more likely to opt for single-ecosystem upgrades and complete solution systems anyway, so they would quite likely PREFERRED Synology upgrades (see their memory, PCIe cards, media and more). But there is no denying, especially for a desktop 8-Bay that is going to be a potential purchase for small business users, that using Synology only drives is going to work out much more expensive overall. Synology is going to be rolling out their HAT3300 1-8 Bay smaller scale NAS HDDs very soon, which are built on Seagate Ironwolf drives, which might soften the blow a bit, but there is definitely going to be a few users a bit bummed out by a smaller HDD/SSD compatibility list and a lack of SHR on the DS1823xs+ NAS.
Alongside the main 8x storage bays, the system also the two internal M.2 NVMe SSD bays (Gen3) which can be used for Read/Write caching and/or Storage Pools. Once again, for those looking at using the DS1823xs+ as a three-tier storage system (eg with Hot NVMe – Warm SATA SSD – SATA HDD Cold pools), this is going o be tremendously appealing, especially when you factor one or more (PCIe Upgrade) external 10GbE connections to edit Video/Photos directly on the NAS. The DS1823xs+ is now the 3rd system to allow NVMe SSD storage pools in the brand’s portfolio, a long-long demanded feature. However, it’s application here is a little less cut-n-dry than many might like.
The first thing is that internally, the 2x PCIe Gen 3×4 slots in the DS1823xs+ appear to have been throttled down to PCIe Gen 3×1. Now, we are still looking for official confirmation/clarification on this, but the loudest/common reason quoted online for this is down to maintaining good working temperatures on these in such a closed system (remember my points about heatsinks earlier?). However, downgrading these slots from PCIe 3×4 to 3×1 means that the bandwidth afforded to them go from a maximum potential 4,000MB/s to 1,000MB/s. Here is the result of a little digging into the system backend with Putty:
Now, this PCIe downgrading still means that you can get 1,000MB/s out of most Gen 3 SSDs and if you factor an appropriate RAID to the drives installed, you will get speeds around the 1,400-1,600MB/s in a perfect setup. However, this leads up back to that slightly dicey subject of media compatibility. Right now, the only M.2 SSDs that you can use in these slots for Storage Pools are the Synology SNV3400/SNV3410 series. These are available in capacities from 240GB to 7TB (factoring in over-provisioning on an 8TB) and although good drives for caching and endurance, are less perfect for those looking to use them for storage pools and traditional performance. Even if you factor in the PCIe downgrade internally, these SSDs will still have a slower Write rate (as highlighted on their own data sheets) than the likes of a Seagate Ironwolf 525 or WD Red SN700 NAS SSD by comparison). Synology h as been very upfront about the performance of the NVMes in their systems (see performance benchmark below), as well as being very clear/non-ambiguous about their position on compatibility at this storage tier of their portfolio. It’s just a shame that such a great feature has been presented in this slightly hobbled way.
Next up, let’s discuss the ports and connections of the Synology DS1823xs+ NAS and how it compares/improves on the likes of the DS1821+ and DS1621xs+.
Synology DS1823xs+ NAS Review – Ports and Connections
Clearly, one of the big selling points for many users looking at the Synology DS1823xs+ is going to be that it is 10GbE ready, out of the box. Although this is not exactly an exclusive or rare feature, in the portfolio of Synology and in this chassis scale tier – it sort of is! However, there is actually quite a good selection of connections and scalability to talk about here.
The rear of the DS1823xs+ also has the connector for that internal 250W PSU mentioned earlier. This PSU has its own mini fan (that I am slightly surprised is not directly funnelled into a vent – but then I am by no means an expert here) and as it’s an internal PSU, means that any kind of replacement (as PSUs are the 2nd most fragile part of any NAS after the storage media itself) is going be mean getting your screwdriver out!
So, let’s immediately get to that 10G port. Arriving as a single, onboard port (no card mounted) and in copper 10GBASE-T, this is going to somewhat answer criticism by many for Synology not adopting 2.5GbE in the last/current generation a tad. That said, with the DS1823xs+ having more of a larger scale business/enterprise user in mind, this is the tie that would immediately jump from 1GbE to 10GbE as needs dictate anyway. The eight bays of storage here, even in more complete RAID configs and Clustered RAID’s will comfortably saturate 1,000MB/s (even with domestic class HDDs) and as good as it is to see an x86 8-Bay from Synology finally roll out with 10GbE, it is perhaps also worth wondering why only 1? Perhaps a CPU/Chipset limitation, perhaps because saturating 20GbE (10G x2) is less of a universal sure thing. But once you factor in possible SATA SSDs in those 8 slots, M.2 NVMe SSD Storage pools and the expandability of storage, 10GbE is going to soon be oversaturated!
The reason I raise the question of multiple 10GbE and saturation is because the DS1823xs+’ price point of around £1800+ is only around a thousand pounds or so less than the DS3622xs+ NAS released a year before (a 12 Bay that could be expanded to 36 drives, 6 Core Xeon Powered, 2x 10GbE and 16GB DDR4 ECC Memory). Yes, you pay more that bigger and higher bandwidth system, but at the same time a £1000+ to a company looking at this kind of solution is not as big a deal as you might think and although the network connectivity on the DS1823xs+ NAS can be upgraded very easily over a PCIe card, there is definitely going to be a small % of users who are going to look at the DS1823xs+ and think ‘wait, just x1 10GbE) – Synology cannot please everyone!
Alongside the 10GBASE-T port is two 1GbE ports. These are all fair and well, though clearly are for connecting your existing internet connection and/or a lower priority switch for cameras and or simpler subnetwork. Again, the absence of 2.5GbE on even 1 of these is a bit of a shame, but I cannot imagine a huge % of buyers of this will feel its absence as clearly as it was on the DS923+/DS723+ recently. These ports provide more than enough bandwidth for general system management and sharing files/information on the local network and overnight backups.
Interestingly, the Synology DS1823xs+ also arrives with a further 100MB/s copper network port, however, this one is a relatively new inclusion to the Synology NAS hardware portfolio and is a much more useful alternative to the coms port usually found on RS/XS/SA series. This additional network port provides a direct maintenance and control access point (with usual security and access control as usual) known as Out of Bands management (OOB). In the event that you have a critical network failure and need to interface with the system directly (even remotely when set up correctly), this is a useful recovery point for those that need to get into the system ‘around’ the existing network protocol in the event of connection difficulties to make repairs internally. Interfacing directly with the NAS directly via an RJ45 point-to-point connection is not new, but not in a way that would simplify the troubleshooting and management of powered-down devices remotely and accessing critical logs through a dedicated interface. It’s going to be a fairly rarely used feature I imagine, but kudos to them for including it as an extra and not expecting you to lose one of the existing ports to this access point.
As mentioned earlier, you also have the option of increasing the storage of the DS1823xs+ down the line with the addition of two JBOD expansion devices over eSATA. You cannot use any eSATA JBOD expansion and instead need to use the Synology DX517 5-Bay expansions (around £350-400 each). eSATA provides 6Gb/s (600MB/s cap) which is reasonable for a 5-bay expansion, though the support of the DX1222 12-Bay 2Gb/s HD miniSAS (as found in the DS3622xs+) would have been nice. Once again, this is likely down to a combination of Synology wanting to keep their profile tiers definite, but also impossible without stretching the available PCIe lanes that bit too much. Still, the option to add an additional 10 more bays of storage down the line to the 8 Bay on day one will be welcome, though (sorry to keep repeating myself) with two expansions costing £700-800 down the line, I would still personally opt to spend £1000+ on day 1 and go for the 12 Bay DS3622xs+.
Moving towards more areas of scalability and upgradability, there is the subject of the PCIe upgrade slot. Now, much like the HDD/SSD discussion of support and compatibility, the range of supported cards available to you on the DS1823xs+ is mostly ‘Synology Only’. However, fair play to Synology, their range of cards has expanded hugely in the last 2-3 years and you have the option of 1-2 Port 10GbE cards, as well as dual port 25Gb FC cards too.
That said (sorry to go all negative again…but); you cannot install either of the Synology M.2 NVMe Upgrade cards (M2D20 and E10G20-T1 Combo card). Now, on the face of it, you might be wondering why that’s a big deal? The DS1823xs+ already has two m.2 NVMe SSD bays. However, it would be nice to be able to add more, either for caching or storage pools. It seems such a conscious choice by the brand to eliminate these cards to be used in this system and one that I think (as use of M.2s for storage in the Synology platform grows) is going to be annoyingly limiting. Again, this is a minor gripe and one that will affect a very small % of users, but something worth toughing on,
The last connection worth discussing is the USB ports. The DS1823xs+ has three USB Ports (one on the front and two on the rear) and it is here that we should touch on another thing about the device that I am a little less blown away by. The USB ports here are USB 3.2 Gen 1, so 5Gb/s (500-500MB/s max bandwidth). Much like the 2.5G vs 1Gb complaints I made earlier, most other NAS brands at this hardware tier have rolled in USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10G / 1,000+ MB) ports, as well as USB-C in some cases. With the ease with which a user can add a USB tier to their 3-2-1 backup strategy (allowing them to be a little more financially creative with a network/remote/cloud backup tier as well), the slightly old skool USB ports here are a little underwhelming. With significantly more affordable RAID-enabled USB solutions in the market and/or M.2 NVMe external USB drives arriving affordable to comfortably provide faster external storage for backups, this seems like a bit of a misstep by Synology to ignore. Also, DSM 7 and DSM 7.1 (with DSM 7.2 coming soon enough) have reduced the range of use of the USB ports of Synology NAS systems (removing many network adapters, DTV tuners, wireless dongles, office accessories such as printers, scanners and optical drives), and limiting them largely to storage, UPS’ and assigning them to VMs. When asked about this, Synology has highlighted that reducing the range of supported USB peripherals and the extent of use of these ports stems from security reasons. I am sure Synology has done the market research and observed reduced utilization of USB on their systems to dictate this decision, but it seems to be another move by the brand to prioritize network/remote access only with their systems.
The ports and connections of the Synology DS1823xs+ NAS are quite good (with arguably the odd bit of glass ceiling for especially ambitious NAS users) with a decent degree of expandability and upgradability factored in. Let’s discuss the internal hardware on offer here.
Synology DS1823xs+ NAS Review – Internal Hardware
As mentioned earlier, the bulk of the DS1823xs+ space is occupied by those eight SATA storage bays and everything else is cleverly wrapped around it, maintaining a surprisingly compact chassis) in all three dimensions in fact). The internal hardware is accessible by the removal of five rear screws and inside you find that big HDD cage, the PSU slid into one side, the PCIe upgrade card cavity on the other, and the main single board that has the CPU+Memory+ports horizontally placed at the base of the device. It’s a neat bit of design!
With regard to the main processor, the first surprise for many users (myself included) when the DS1823xs+ was initially revealed is that this is one of the first Synology XS series devices to jump from the use of an intel Xeon, in favour of an AMD processor, the AMD Embedded Ryzen V1780B, a quad-core (8 thread) x86 CPU that has a 3.35Ghz clock speed that can be burst to 3.6Ghz when needed. Alongside this, the DS1823xs+ also arrives with 8GB of ECC SODIMM DDR4 Mmeory that can be upgraded to 32GB over two slots, using Synology branded memory. Synology has been increasing the range of solutions in its portfolio that support ECC memory and as this is an XS class NAS, it was largely inevitable that it would have this high-data-integrity long-term protecting memory in place! 8GB by default seems a little small, given the potentially high price point that the DS1823xs+ NAS will arrive at, but that is more about the cost of Synology official Memory right now vs 3rd party and/or non-ECC memory by comparison (which is not officially supported).
Now, it is still less clear if the DS1823xs+ is a completely new NAS range (the last Synology 10GbE 8-Bay diskstation as the ARM-powered DS1817 5+ Years ago), serving as a 10GbE equivalent of the DS1821+, or a refresh of the 2020 released DS1621xs+ (as right now both the DS1821+ and DS1621xs+ remain on the official Synology product pages). Whichever way you look at it, Synology choosing the AMD V1750B processor is actually not too bad an idea for those looking for something powerful yet less hungry than a Xeon! For a start, if you look at how it compares below with the current V1500B embedded Ryzen in the DS1821+, it largely massively improves upon it (whilst still remaining in the ZEN CPU family and allowing Synology to maintain the existing hardware construction on the board/installation). Alongside an increased clock speed and supporting faster memory, this means that those looking to take advantage of fast internal AND external throughout will see some great performance here. See below:
| MODEL | Synology DS1823xs+ NAS CPU
AMD RYZEN™ EMBEDDED V1780B |
Synology DS1821+ NAS CPU
AMD RYZEN™ EMBEDDED V1500B |
|---|---|---|
| PRODUCT TYPE | SOC | SOC |
| FAMILY | AMD Ryzen™ Embedded V-series Processors | AMD Ryzen™ Embedded V-series Processors |
| LINE | V-Series V1000 | V-Series V1000 |
| OPN | YE1780C3T4MFB | YE1500C4T4MFB |
| TDP | 35-54W | 12-25W |
| CPU TYPE | Zen | Zen |
| CPU BASE FREQ. | 3.35GHz | 2.2GHz |
| # OF CPU CORES | 4 | 4 |
| # OF THREADS | 8 | 8 |
| SECURITY PROCESSOR | Yes | Yes |
| TOTAL L2 CACHE | 2MB | 2MB |
| TOTAL L3 CACHE | 4MB | 4MB |
| SYSTEM MEMORY TYPE | DDR4@3200 MHz | DDR4@2400 MHz |
| MEMORY CONTROLLER | Dual Channel w/ECC | Dual Channel w/ECC |
| ETHERNET | 2x 10GbE | 2x 10GbE |
| USB | 1x USB 2.0, 1x USB 3.1 Gen1, 4x USB 3.1 Gen2 | 1x USB 2.0, 1x USB 3.1 Gen1, 4x USB 3.1 Gen2 |
| SATA | 2 | 2 |
| LOW-SPEED INTERFACES | AZ, EMMC, eSPI, GPIO, I2C, LPC, SD, SMBus, SPI, UART | AZ, EMMC, eSPI, GPIO, I2C, LPC, SD, SMBus, SPI, UART |
| PCIE LANES | 16L Gen3 | 16L Gen3 |
Likewise, if you compare the AMD embedded Ryzen V1780B in the DS1823xs+ against the DS1621xs+’ Intel Xeon D1527, the AMD comes out much better overall. Yes, the DS1823xs+ is potentially being delivered as an upgrade/refresh of the DS1621xs+ (still TBC), with Synology increasing the range of their systems that are switching from Intel to AMD processors (an AMD EPYC processor in the latest generation SA series, and the DS923+/DS723+ arriving with a dual-core R1600 Embedded Ryzen), it’s not hugely surprising that they have opted for this slightly higher tier V1000 series processor for the DS1823xs+. Additionally, the DS1823xs+ isn’t even the first Synology NAS to arrive with support of this CPU – with the 2022 released FS2500 being the first to feature it.
All this said, there is no avoiding that in order for the V1780B CPU in the DS1823xs+ NAS to be as high performance/broad in ability as it is, this results in a noted increase in TDP (i.e how this translates into typical CPU power use) compared to both the older Xeon D1527 and AMD V1500B. In most conventional computer use, the impact of this is generally relative to ‘you use it, fine, you switch it off, no hassle’. But in the case of a high-performance, 24×7 NAS solution, a higher TDP will likely mean higher power use/bills in the long run. This is all going to be relative to the amount you use it and the weight of those processes – but given this device’s status as an 8xSATA, 2xNVMe, 10GbE, 1xPCIe Upgrade and Max 250W PSU NAS in the Enterprise tier – it is largely tailored towards 24×7 heavier use! All this said, there is still the question of this CPU also very recently appearing in the RS2423+/RS2423RP+ NAS (released 2-3 weeks after the DS1823xs+). Not only does this PLUS series rackmount have the same CPU as the XS desktop, but it also has default 8GB DDR4 ECC memory and 10GbE onboard too! It does not undercut that this is a good CPU, but for users who would have expected/wanted a Xeon or EPYC processor in the DS1823xs+, having most of this 8-Bay’s selling points available on a rackmount 12-Bay system for a not dissimilar price point in the PLUS series is going to be a little confusing.
All that said, those observations are a little bit ‘inside-baseball’ and most buyers are not really going to notice/care about these more brand-specific question marks. What you have inside the DS1823xs+ is still a fantastic base of hardware to push your data fast, as well as maintain internal data integrity at multiple layers and a broad scope of hardware to support a large selection of processes and users at the same time! So, now, let’s talk about the software itself, DSM, and why it is, for many users, worth the price of admission on its own!
Synology DS1823xs+ NAS Review – Software and Services
Note – 10GbE Performance Tests, VM Tests, Surveillance tests and More are currently being conducted over on the NASCompares YouTube Channel and should be live in the next week or so. You can find the Synology DS1823xs+ hardware and DSM review HERE in the meantime.
Now, to cover the WHOLE Synology software and services that are included with the DS1823xs+ NAS would result in a review that is twice as long as this review so far! Synology’s Diskstation Manager software that comes with this device provides a massive arrangement of services, applications (first and third-party supported) and a huge number of client applications for Desktop clients, Mobile, Windows, Mac and Linux (as well as a bunch of other more home-based tools). These allow management and access to the data on the DS1823xs+ in very tailored ways, as well as the web browser-based access that has the appearance, intuitive design and responsiveness of a local operating system. The DSM interface can be accessed by hundreds of users at the same time (with each user having tailored access, rights and privileges). DSM is available with ALL Synology NAS and the depth and abilities of DSM on any NAS are dependent on the hardware architecture of the NAS itself. In the case of the Synology DS1823xs+, it supports practically EVERYTHING (with the exception of SHR, as previously mentioned). If you want to learn about the latest version of DSM 7 and the software and services that are included with the DS1823xs+ NAS, watch my FULL review below (alternatively, you can read the DSM 7 Full Review HERE):
Needless to say, the Synology DS1823xs+ NAS will support the bulk of DSM applications, features and services. Longtime followers of Synology (and NASCompres) will be familiar with the huge range of first-party applications and features of DSM, but for those less familiar, here are some highlights:
Synology Office – Create documents, spreadsheets, and slides in a multi-user environment. Real-time synchronization and saving make collaboration a breeze.
Synology Chat – Aimed at businesses, Synology Chat is an IM service that transforms the way users collaborate and communicate.
Synology Drive – Host your own private cloud behind the safety of your NAS with 100% data ownership and no subscription fees. Drive has become one of the premier applications of DSM and allows uses to create intelligent shared team folders that support versioning, file streaming+pinning, encryption, Windows AD support (soon) and native file system support with Windows and macOS.
Synology Photos – Manage your photos and videos with deep-learning algorithms that automatically group photos with similar faces, subjects, and places. Designed after the merger of Synology Photo Station and Moments, it also includes tailored folder, sharing and categorization features to help photographers manage their photos and share them with clients for feedback or business development.
Synology Calendar – Stay on track, share calendars, and schedule meetings, while ensuring sensitive information remains safely stored on company premises.
Synology Active Backup for Business (ABB) – Consolidate backup tasks for virtualized environments, physical servers, and personal computers, and rapidly restore files, entire machines, or VMs – license-free. This software also arrives as a specialised Microsoft Office 365 and Google Workspace platform to sync with those platforms and allow a bare metal tier to your cloud office services
Synology Hyper Backup – Backup your NAS safely and efficiently to multiple destinations with deduplication, integrity checks, compression, and versioning.
Synology Surveillance Station – Safeguard your business, home, and other valuable assets with reliable video surveillance tools. With improved AI services being accessible thanks to Synology BC500 and TC500 Cameras arriving in 2023. Additionally, you can connect this platform with Synology’s cloud platform to use ‘C2 Surveillance’ and bolster the odds of recordings being maintained in the event of accidental/malicious damage to your surveillance system.
Synology Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) – An intuitive hypervisor that supports Windows, Linux, and Virtual DSM virtual machines. Its powerful disaster recovery tools help users achieve maximum service uptime.
Synology High Availability – Synology High Availability (SHA) combines two Synology NAS servers into one active-passive high-availability cluster, alleviating service disruptions while mirroring data.
Synology Central Management System (CMS) – Synology CMS allows you to manage multiple Synology NAS servers quickly and conveniently from a single location.
Synology Video Station – Manage all your movies, TV shows, and home videos. Stream them to multiple devices or share them with friends and family.
Synology Audio Station – Manage your music collection, create personal playlists, stream them to your own devices, or share with family or friends.
Synology File Station – Manage your Synology NAS files remotely through web browsers or mobile devices. This tool allows complete file management and contains all the features and services of your own native file management platform (archiving, extracting, Copy, Cut, Paste, Sharing, native file format opening, integration with the rest of the Synology applications, property/metadata access, etc)
You cannot really fault the software and services that are included with the Synology DS1823xs+ NAS, as you are going to get the very best experience available on the platform, thanks to the hardware and architecture of this NAS. DSM 7 is an ever-evolving platform, so if you are reading this now at the time of publishing or years later, there is always going to be something in DSM for everyone.
Synology DS1823xs+ NAS Review – Conclusion & Verdict
If you are looking for a solid and confident move away from expensive long-term cloud subscription services, away from your defunct Drobo system or simply looking for a Synology NAS that has good hardware inside, outside and with DSM all over it – the DS1823xs+ NAS is a very solid choice indeed! With a huge degree of expandability and upgradability open to the end user to scale with later in the system’s life, extensive long-term committed software support and that 5yrs hardware warranty out the box – this is a system that is clearly designed for the long-haul and as soon as you factor in the complete hardware+software nature of this purchase with DSM included, it’s a very tasty box! There are a few odd choices here or there (e.g M.2 NVMe Pools not presented in the way some might like and HDD/SSD compatibility that clearly favours the enterprise tier), this is still easily the most powerful and capable 8-Bay system that Synology has ever produced. Whether you are a small, medium or large business user, this system has a large amount of potential for your data and has the horsepower for multiple VMs, large-scale surveillance, widespread backups, broad multi-user access and all of these running at the same time in a remarkably compact package. That said, the DS1823xs+ NAS has a little bit of an identity crisis when you scale it up with the rest of the larger tiers of the Synology portfolio and, although I genuinely like it, seems to be a system that exists BETWEEN the Synology PLUS and XS series (see my points about the RS2423+) and when you look at it in that context, it sees the tiniest bit more expensive than it should be. If you are looking at the DS1823xs+ NAS and fully intend to scale up the storage, external bandwidth or memory in the next two years, I would recommend skipping this and opting for the DS3622xs+ instead. However, the base model of the DS1823xs+ has alot of ‘umpf’ under the bonnet and short of those hurdles for some on compatibility, the DS1823xs+ seemingly lives up to alot of it’s expectations!
| Synology DS1823xs+ PROS | Synology DS1823xs+ CONS |
| Supports ALL of the Synology App Suite Huge Amount of Expandability High Capacity / Low Impact 10/10 Chassis Design M.2 NVMe SSD Storage Pools Balanced/Powerful CPU 5yr H/W Warranty & Long S/W Support Tier Storage Ready ECC Memory and 8GB Day 1 Hugely User-Friendly GUI 10GbE x86 8-Bay Expandable Synology……FINALLY! |
HDD/SSD Compatibility is going to Annoy some M.2 NVMe SSD Lane Limits Lack of SHR DS3622xs+ is £1000+ more, but significantly upscaled on almost everything |
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