Drobo, What Went Wrong? THE WHOLE STORY! WHAT WENT WRONG?

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Drobo’s: Innovating Storage Solutions Through the Decades – WHAT WENT WRONG?

Drobo, the pioneering data storage company, has had an interesting and noteworthy journey since its inception in 2005. Known for developing user-friendly, advanced storage solutions that emphasize simplicity and reliability, the company has encountered various highs and lows in the market. Let’s dive into the history of Drobo, tracing its evolution through the years.

Drobo, How it Began (2005-2010)

Data Robotics, known today as Drobo, was founded by Geoff Barrall in December 2004 in California. Geoff had the vision of creating a new kind of storage technology, a product that was easy to use, flexible, and above all, highly secure. He aspired to make technology that was a “data robot” – automated, intelligent, and adaptable – hence the name Drobo, a portmanteau of “data” and “robot.” The company officially launched its first product, the original Drobo, in June 2007. The device was a 4-bay external storage device known for its simplicity and ease of use. What set it apart was its ability to hot-swap drives of nearly any size without requiring data migration. It was designed to manage resources without the need for human intervention, and it offered flexible data protection schemes. It was a breakthrough product at the time because it introduced an entirely new concept in storage – automated storage that didn’t require extensive knowledge or configuration to manage.

The original Drobo was marketed as a “storage robot” that simplified the task of data storage, making RAID, a system typically used by large companies and IT professionals, accessible to everyday consumers and small businesses. This was a significant step in democratising storage technology. With the help of Drobo, users did not need to worry about the intricate details of traditional RAID setups. Moreover, the original Drobo was hailed for its design as well. It was sleek, quiet, and attractive, unusual for storage hardware usually relegated to the unseen corners of a desk or a data center. Drobo was bringing style to the world of storage, making their devices something people were happy to have visible in their workspace.

https://www.engadget.com/2008-07-08-data-robotics-announces-second-gen-drobo-with-firewire-800.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAADc40Imh9pM6e1dEhzByFlTqQqpRApJAyxyHkPJullQJNnogPRTRPdMmoY8ct14RP7JAykyvkmVMwMaUt8r-QIc0QPbvArk6xh5junCQHM5WcJ-R11uHCgh9qG2o1uKnMAKWu3hiuLQoifp-0reDCx3zI_QsxnKQBm50GDdW-Ecu

Despite being a relatively young company, Data Robotics managed to create a lot of buzz in the tech world with the Drobo. The concept was unique, and the implementation was effective. Drobo became the buzzword for simplified and automated data storage. Drobo’s launch was so successful that it set the tone for the brand for years to come. In conclusion, the early years of Drobo from 2005 to 2007 marked the inception and launch of a pioneering data storage product. The company successfully carved out a niche for itself in the competitive storage market, and its innovative approach to storage garnered attention and praise. This period laid the foundation for the Drobo brand and its mission to simplify storage for all. Over the next three years, Drobo’s unique, self-managing storage solutions attracted attention in the market. They offered an appealing mix of data protection, expandability, and ease of use. The successful launch of Drobo FS, a network-attached storage (NAS) device, in 2010 further cemented Drobo’s reputation as a customer-centric innovator in the industry.

Drobo Entering the Business Market (2010-2013)

In the wake of its initial success with consumers, Drobo began to set its sights on the lucrative business market. Recognizing the burgeoning data storage needs of businesses, Drobo embarked on a strategic journey to capture a significant share of this market. In 2010, Drobo made a bold move with the launch of DroboPro FS, a network-attached storage device specifically designed for small to medium businesses (SMBs). This model included a dual-drive redundancy feature, which provided extra protection for data, a feature highly valued by businesses. Additionally, it supported iSCSI, a network protocol that allows the sending and receiving of SCSI commands over IP networks, making data transfers faster and more efficient. Recognizing the importance of support and reliability for business customers, Drobo also launched DroboCare for the DroboPro FS. This service provided enhanced support features, such as 24/7 technical support and advanced hardware replacement. These additions were significant, demonstrating Drobo’s understanding of business customer needs and its willingness to meet them.

https://www.storagereview.com/review/drobo-b800i-review

In 2011, Drobo continued its foray into the business market with the launch of the Drobo B800i and B800fs models, targeting larger businesses. These models featured 8 drive bays, significantly increasing storage capacity. The B800i model also offered iSCSI connectivity, making it an attractive choice for businesses requiring large amounts of storage. This expansion into the iSCSI SAN market underscored Drobo’s intent to serve the data storage needs of businesses. The following year, in 2012, Drobo took another leap forward with the release of the Drobo B1200i. This model was a significant upgrade from its predecessors, offering 12 bays for increased capacity. It also featured automated data-tiering, a mechanism that moves data between high-cost and low-cost storage media—typically fast SSDs and slower hard drives—depending on its usage and value. This feature was particularly beneficial for businesses, as it allowed for optimized storage performance and cost-effectiveness.

Throughout this period, Drobo was consistently recognized for its efforts. The company received numerous awards for its products, including several “Editor’s Choice” awards, further cementing its reputation as a leading provider of business storage solutions. By the end of 2013, Drobo had successfully established itself in the business market, offering a range of products to suit various business needs. The company had skillfully adapted its initial consumer-focused strategy to serve businesses, leveraging its unique value proposition of simplicity and user-friendly design, combined with powerful business-oriented features. The success of Drobo in the business market was indicative of its versatility and adaptability, traits that would continue to shape its journey in the years to come.

A Reminder of Key Innovations by Drobo over the Years!

Drobo has been a pioneering force in the world of network-attached storage (NAS) systems. Several key innovations have become synonymous with the brand over the years, enhancing their products’ usability, efficiency, and aesthetics. Let’s delve into some of these game-changing features.

Drobo Innovation #1. BeyondRAID – Flexibility Over Traditional RAID

Traditional RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) systems have long been the standard for data protection and performance. However, they require careful planning, the same sized drives, and can be difficult to manage. In contrast, Drobo introduced its proprietary BeyondRAID technology, fundamentally transforming the way RAID is perceived and utilized.

BeyondRAID retains the fundamental principles of RAID, but it introduces a level of flexibility unheard of with conventional systems. BeyondRAID is unique because it automates the traditional management tasks associated with RAID, including the configuration of RAID levels, provisioning of storage, and array expansion. It also supports the mixing of different drive sizes, which simplifies drive upgrades and expansion.

Drobo Innovation #2. Internal Battery in a Desktop NAS

Uninterrupted power supply (UPS) systems are common in data centers and server rooms, but less so in desktop storage systems. Drobo broke the mold by incorporating an internal battery in their desktop NAS devices.

This innovative feature ensured that the device would complete any ongoing data transactions even in the event of a sudden power loss, preventing data corruption and loss. This was an industry first and showcased Drobo’s commitment to data safety and security in their devices.

Drobo Innovation #3. Optional SSD for Caching

To improve the performance of their NAS systems, Drobo was one of the first companies to introduce an optional solid-state drive (SSD) for caching. This feature significantly improved the overall speed and efficiency of the system by storing frequently accessed data on the SSD, reducing latency and improving access times. This innovation reflected Drobo’s forward-thinking approach to enhancing user experience.

Drobo Innovation #4. Unique LED System

Drobo also introduced a unique LED system for system indicators and storage usage. Rather than requiring users to decipher complex codes or log into a software dashboard, Drobo’s front panel presented a simple, easy-to-understand light system. Coloured lights indicated overall system status, hard drive health, and capacity, enabling users to understand their system’s status at a glance. This user-friendly system was another example of Drobo’s focus on simplicity and accessibility.

Drobo Innovation #5. Modern Design and Low Noise

In an industry where many products are often visually unappealing and noisy, Drobo took a different approach. The company invested in sleek, modern designs that were quiet and low-noise. The innovative design philosophy resulted in products that users were comfortable displaying in their workspace, rather than hiding them away. This commitment to aesthetics was rare in the storage industry and it helped set Drobo apart.

Drobo’s numerous innovations in their products have greatly contributed to the evolution of NAS systems. From BeyondRAID’s flexibility to the incorporation of an internal battery, an optional SSD for caching, a unique LED system, and a commitment to modern, low-noise design, Drobo had continuously pushed the boundaries of what’s possible in desktop storage solutions. Unsurprisingly, they quickly gained high industry praise and would end up gaining the attention of bigger companies and buyers soon!

Drobo Transition and Reinvention (2013-2015)

In a turn of events that seemed both surprising and familiar, Drobo was acquired by Connected Data in 2013. This was a company founded by Geoff Barrall, the original creator of Drobo, after he had left Drobo in 2009. Connected Data, recognized for its Transporter product line, had carved out a niche for itself in the market for private cloud services. The union seemed fitting as both companies were driven by the same ethos of making data management simple and efficient. Following the acquisition, the companies merged their strengths, bringing together Drobo’s user-friendly storage solutions with Connected Data’s private cloud products. The strategy behind this merger was to provide a more comprehensive and seamless data storage solution for both individual users and businesses. The combined entity continued operating under the Drobo name, symbolizing the strength and market recognition of the brand.

The years following the merger saw Drobo refocusing its efforts on its foundational principle of simplicity. The company updated its product line to include features of private cloud storage, emphasizing user convenience. The move was seen as a response to the changing trends in data storage, with more businesses and individuals seeking the flexibility of cloud storage. However, in 2015, a significant change occurred. Drobo and Connected Data parted ways. Drobo was acquired by an investment group led by seasoned technology veterans who saw potential in Drobo’s simplified storage solutions. Despite this transition, Drobo maintained its brand identity and continued to operate independently, signaling a new phase in the company’s journey.

During these years, Drobo also updated its offerings to adapt to emerging technologies and user preferences. This included the integration of SSDs into their storage devices, as well as the introduction of devices compatible with newer data transfer protocols, like Thunderbolt. The move demonstrated Drobo’s commitment to innovation and reinforced its status as a competitive player in the evolving data storage market. This period of transition and reinvention was a pivotal one for Drobo. Not only did it reflect the company’s adaptability to changes in ownership and market trends, but it also reaffirmed its unwavering focus on delivering user-friendly, advanced storage solutions. Despite the changes, Drobo’s core principle of making data storage ‘self-managing, trouble-free, and affordable’ remained steadfast.

https://www.drobo.com/news/press-releases/drobo-acquired-by-investment-group-comprised-of-seasoned-tech-executives/

Drobo / Stoltz Capital Acquisition (2015)

As Drobo moved further into the mid-2010s, the company faced a turning point. Despite the success of its previous strategic shifts and product launches, it was clear that the rapidly evolving tech landscape was calling for another transformation. This transformation came in the form of an acquisition. In 2015, Drobo was acquired by an investment group led by seasoned tech investor, Stoltz Capital. The investment group saw significant potential in Drobo’s unique approach to data storage, and they were determined to help the company achieve its full potential. This acquisition was not merely a change in ownership. It signalled a new era for Drobo, one that was marked by a renewed focus on innovation and an aggressive drive to push the boundaries of what was possible in the data storage space.

https://www.drobo.com/news/press-releases/drobo-closes-financing-round/

Stoltz Capital’s deep pockets and commitment to Drobo’s vision provided the company with the resources it needed to invest heavily in research and development. This new financial backing was instrumental in enabling Drobo to continue developing its innovative data storage solutions, and to move forward with its plans for future expansion. Moreover, the acquisition brought new strategic guidance and management expertise to Drobo. This included a greater focus on strengthening Drobo’s competitive position in the market, and an increased emphasis on targeting high-growth sectors, such as cloud storage and other emerging technologies. The change in ownership also meant a shift in business strategy. With Stoltz Capital’s backing, Drobo started to venture into the Enterprise market, developing higher-end models designed to cater to large corporations with vast amounts of data. This move allowed Drobo to tap into a more lucrative market segment, further enhancing its growth prospects. The acquisition by Stoltz Capital was a defining moment in Drobo’s history. It marked a period of rejuvenation and expansion for the company, and set the stage for the next phase of Drobo’s evolution. The years following the acquisition saw Drobo ramping up its efforts to innovate and adapt in the face of an increasingly competitive and demanding market, efforts that would continue to shape the company’s trajectory in the years to come.

Drobo Facing Challenges and Changes (2016-2019)

In the years following the Stoltz Capital acquisition, Drobo faced a period of turbulence marked by a series of significant challenges and changes. Despite the acquisition’s promise and the infusion of new resources, the company had to navigate a highly competitive data storage market and adapt to the rapid technological advancements that were reshaping the industry. One of the most significant challenges that Drobo faced during this period was the pressure to stay ahead of technological changes. The rise of cloud computing and services like Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud fundamentally shifted the way businesses and individuals stored and accessed their data. Companies started to prefer these cloud storage solutions due to their scalability, ease of use, and lower upfront costs compared to traditional data storage methods. This rapid shift posed a threat to Drobo, whose products were primarily focused on on-site data storage. To stay relevant, the company had to innovate rapidly and find ways to integrate its offerings with these new technologies. This meant investing in new product development, adapting their existing products, and exploring partnerships with cloud providers to offer hybrid storage solutions.

The changing market dynamics also brought a surge of new competitors. Tech giants like Dell EMC and NetApp, as well as start-ups like Pure Storage and Nutanix, were all vying for a piece of the data storage market. These competitors, with their vast resources and advanced technologies, posed a significant threat to Drobo’s position in the market. In response to these challenges, Drobo underwent a series of changes. There was a major restructuring of the company’s operations and strategy to reduce costs, improve efficiency, and enhance the company’s competitiveness. This included scaling back certain areas of the business, focusing on core competencies, and ramping up investment in research and development. During this period, Drobo also unveiled new products designed to cater to the changing market needs. This included the release of more advanced NAS devices and the introduction of new cloud-compatible storage solutions. Drobo’s effort was focused on providing flexible, scalable, and cost-effective storage solutions that could cater to the needs of both small businesses and large corporations.

Despite the considerable challenges, this period also saw moments of success and innovation for Drobo. The company managed to weather the storm and laid the groundwork for its future in the rapidly evolving data storage market. This period, characterized by both adversity and adaptation, would ultimately prove critical in shaping Drobo’s future trajectory.

Drobo Closes Doors. The Recent Developments (2020-Present Day)

Though the years between 2016 and 2019 were pivotal for Drobo, marking a turning point as the company grappled with numerous challenges and embarked on significant changes. With technological advancements and shifting market dynamics reshaping the data storage industry, Drobo found itself in a tough position. The rise of cloud computing and its adoption by businesses and individuals posed a significant challenge for Drobo. Tech giants like Amazon and Google were offering scalable and user-friendly cloud storage services at lower upfront costs. In contrast, Drobo’s core offerings were primarily focused on on-premises data storage. This market shift required Drobo to innovate rapidly, and the company was under pressure to adapt its offerings to remain relevant.

https://www.drobo.com/ceo-letter-keeping-you-in-mind-as-we-move-forward/

Moreover, the data storage market also witnessed a surge in competition. Major tech companies and emerging startups were all vying for a piece of the market, threatening Drobo’s position. In response, Drobo undertook a significant restructuring of its operations and strategy. This involved scaling back certain areas of the business, concentrating on core competencies, and increasing investment in research and development. Despite these challenges, Drobo managed to introduce new products, including advanced NAS devices and cloud-compatible storage solutions, geared towards meeting changing market needs. These offerings were aimed at providing flexible, scalable, and cost-effective storage solutions for small businesses and large corporations alike.

https://appleinsider.com/articles/22/07/06/storage-firm-drobo-has-filed-for-chapter-11-bankruptcy

However, the significant shift in the industry, combined with increased competition, eventually began to take its toll. Drobo’s parent company, StorCentric, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 2022, indicating significant financial distress. As time progressed, and StorCentric failed to find a buyer or restructure its assets, it became apparent that full liquidation was inevitable.

https://appleinsider.com/articles/23/05/15/drobo-parent-company-storcentric-shifts-to-chapter-7-bankruptcy

In April 2023, StorCentric shifted its bankruptcy status to Chapter 7, indicating a move towards liquidation and sale of assets. At this point, Drobo’s website announced that as of January 27, 2023, Drobo products and support were no longer available. It wasn’t immediately clear what would become of Drobo and its assets in the liquidation process. This period was undoubtedly challenging for Drobo. While the company had innovated and adapted in response to the changing industry landscape, it was clear that they were unable to keep up with the pace of change and the market’s demands. As Drobo’s story unfolded, it served as a poignant reminder of the rapid pace of technological change and the importance of staying agile and responsive in a fiercely competitive market.

Drobo Alternatives in 2023/2024?

With Drobo no longer in the running, there are several notable alternatives for Thunderbolt RAID storage and NAS systems available in the market. Here are some that might be of interest.

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 (Note – Changed in DSM 7.2 for SOME devices)
  • 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 DS923+ 4-Bay NAS $500+

AMD Emb.Ryzen R1600 2-Core, 4/32GB Memory, 1GbE, Optional 10GbE, NVMe SSD Caching+Pools, Expandable, SHR, 4x SATA Bays, 3yr Warranty

NASCompares Written Review – HERE

NASCompares YouTube Review – HERE

What we said on 21/05/20

Synology has clearly made something of a gamble in the release of the Synology DS923+ NAS. There is no avoiding that making the switch from the Intel Celeron that has historically been the build choice of this product family and opting for the AMD Emb.Ryzen has ruffled some feathers! On the face of it, the R1600 here has a heck of alot of going for it over the previous generation! Higher clock speed, greater PCIe Gen 3 Support throughout, that 4-32GB of DDR4 memory in such a compact system and just generally giving you a lot more horsepower to play with, as well as better bandwidth potential inside and out! But at what cost? The 1GbE standard connectivity in the base model leaves alot to be desired, the proprietary 10Gb upgrade (though incredibly handy) limits the upgradability a tad and the lack of an integrated graphics processor is likely going to result in many long-term Synology advocates to skip this generation. Synology Diskstation Manager (DSM 7.1 at the time of writing) still continues to impress and although the brand still continues to heavily push their 1st party priorities, they have left a little more wriggle room in DSM 7.1 than DSM 7 before it in terms of media compatibility. In terms of design, I cannot fault Synology on this as the DS923+ chassis still arrives as one of the best-looking and still exceptionally well-structured devices at this physical scale and storage level. As always, a Synology NAS is more about the software than the hardware (and the DS923+ delivers in spades on the software side!) and with DSM 7.2 around the corner improving things. Just always keep in mind that the Synology DS923+ NAS is a system that arrives with the slight emphasis on having to do many things ‘their way’. If you are less technically versed, then you will definitely appreciate this level of user-friendly design and assistance, but more technically minded admins’ main strain a pinch! In short, the DS923+ IS a good NAS drive, but its focus has certainly ebbed more towards the business user this generation than the home.

Check Amazon for this NAS via the link below in your region (results in a % going back to the site and supports us):


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.

Check Amazon for this NAS via the link below in your region (results in a % going back to the site and supports us):


 

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.

Check Amazon for this NAS via the link below in your region (results in a % going back to the site and supports us):


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! 

Check Amazon for this NAS via the link below in your region (results in a % going back to the site and supports us):


 

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.

Check Amazon for this NAS via the link below in your region (results in a % going back to the site and supports us):


 

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

0-176TB, 8-Bays, 2x PCIe 4 M.2 NVMe 2280, PCIe Gen 4×16 Upgrade Slot, Intel Core 12th Gen i5/i7/i9 CPU, 16-64GB DDR4 Memory, 2.5Gbe Port, 10Gb x2 Prots (Intel i9 Version), KVM, ZFS or EXT4 Setup, 3-5yr Warranty

Current Price/Availability on Amazon – $2000-2500-3000

Hardware Review – LINK

YouTube Video Review – Watch

What I said in my review Dec ’22:

The QNAP TVS-h874 NAS is easily one of the most hardware-capable desktop NAS systems that I have ever seen (as you would expect for £2500+) and has clearly been designed with phenomenal future proofing in mind! If you are concerned about the longevity of this NAS, this hardware architecture will still be top tier 5 years from now, with the added support of PCIe 4 meaning that high capacity and performing micro upgrades throughout its life also ensuring it remains relevant long after. It’s price tag clearly moves this purchase out of the home and squarely into the business market (though likely those that take their media seriously will add it to the cart) and the TVS-h874 will function as a solid solution for Video editing (even at 8K), high frequency and performing VMs, large scale AI powered Surveillance setup, hybrid cloud/on-prem alternative to Office 365/Google Workspace services and as the center point for all your data storage operations. Crucially though, it is that the hardware on offer here will be able to do ALL of these at the same time, therefore maximising the investment for most businesses that want to move aware from their cloud dependant ops. In terms of software,t things are a little less absolute, with QTS and QuTS still getting a little busy at times, with a steeper learning curve than its big rival DSM from Synology. That said, die-hard fans of ZFS (Zettabyte File System) will adore the inclusion of benefits in RAID handling, management and recovery that are exclusive to that platform, whilst enjoying the wide range of applications and service benefits in QuTS that are often restricted to Linux platforms.  The slightly conveluded approach to release hardware that does complicate the selection process (different CPUs in the Intel 12th Gen family changing the rest of the system architecture) is something that I hoped this brand would graduate from (for the sake of simplicity), but for many, this level of choice in hardware and budget will be welcome. As is QNAP’s position on the support of 3rd party hardware (drives, PCIe upgrades, etc) and software, something that we have seen a worrying trend in the last few years against elsewhere in the industry but some other brands, to err towards 1st party/proprietary compatibility more and more. There are still lingering doubts by some on the security of NAS, with ransomware attacks on the rise and ALL brands and ALL platforms being targetted (NAS, Cloud ,etc), finding a middle ground between ease of use and depth of security being a tricky tie rope walk indeed. The TVS-h874 arrives with a wide range of Day 1 tools, further rigid defaults in QTS/QuTS in 2022/2023, considerable security settings to configure and multiple system scan tools for recommendations & preventative measures available. The QNAP TVS-h874 is probably the most powerful desktop/tower NAS drive I have ever reviewed and if you are looking for a system that can legitimately do anything server-side, but you are also willing to put in the time to configure it correctly – you will genuinely be hard pushed to find a better system in 2022, 2023 and likely 2024 at this price point and scale.

Check Amazon for this NAS via the link below in your region (results in a % going back to the site and supports us):


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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      497 thoughts on “Drobo, What Went Wrong? THE WHOLE STORY! WHAT WENT WRONG?

      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 still have a Drobo 5D3 at the end of 2024. The only regret to buying this unit is that it overheats (accumulation of dust that is really hard to clean while the system is live), and that it doesn’t work with Linux. Might have to find a mac mini with a 10gig interface and share the storage out that way.
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      3. Hmm, Drobo died from complacency? Sure sounds similar to a certain Taiwanese NAS manufacturer starting with the letter “S” that is resting on its laurels while ignoring the home consumer market with underpowered and overpriced hardware while trying to chase the enterprise market as we speak.
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      4. 21:00 The power supply went out on my 5D recently and I managed to jerry rig one myself. The brick isn’t anything specially, it’s just a 120 watt 12 volt unit but the the connector is the problem. Instead of using the standard size 5.5mm connector that you commonly see on 12 volt bricks, the plug they used is a larger size. Electrically, it’s no different, so I chopped the wire off the dead Drobo power supply and wired that into a new 120 watt 12 volt power supply and got my 5D up and running.
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      5. I use my Drobos on a PC so fortunately haven’t had any problem with the Drobo management software (yet), Microsoft hasn’t gone nuclear like Apple has.

        Since they announced going out of business, I’ve been buying up working 5D anytime I see them for cheap on the resell market just to have around in case I need them. I had to retire my 5D3 because it would be almost impossible to get another unit if it failed, I don’t see them that often and when I do, they’re never cheap or reasonably priced. There are much more 5D units out there than there are 5D3’s. I kept my 5D units running because I have spares and they still worked fine under Windows.
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      6. Interesting that a company like StorCentric forms out of nowhere in 2018, then gobbles up a bunch of storage brands and goes bankrupt a few years later. They either chewed off more than they could in that short of a time or could be planned demolition.
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      7. Had a 5 drive one I think. One drive failed and while Drobo was busy adjusting to this it went poopy in it’s trousers. An amazing coincidence that 2 drives failed within hours of each other – I think not!
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      8. Hello, I just ordered the QNAP TVS-h874X-i9-64G NAS. I’m in need of advice. I’m going to install 3 20tb drives and 2 nvme that are 1tb. My original thought was to use the nvme drives as a pool of the apps to live on like Plex. Should I do that, or use the nvme as cash?
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      9. 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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      10. 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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      11. 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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      12. 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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      13. 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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      14. This is great, thanks.

        I still have 2 Drobo units. A 5C and an B810n, both with lots of large drives. The 5C works very well. The B810n has started mis-behaving. Re-booting often and not mountable intermittently. Would be good to discuss ways of moving forward with you at some point?
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      15. I had 3 Drobos, all the same. 5 bay Thunderbolt units on my Mac. They all lasted about 3.5 years before a sudden hardware fault.
        The reason I kept buying new ones because they worked well when they worked and the encryption means the drives would only work in a Drobo and only if you put them in the correct order.
        So it was less than ideal when my last one failed and I went to buy my 4th. Luckily I had other backups on alternative RAID boxes because I didn’t trust the Drobo.

        Shame that no one has created a de-encryption program so I can use the data on these drives. I hope that they fix their issues and reappear with more reliable units that work with the new MacOS. I have kept the recently dead Drobo with the drives, just in case.
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      16. 24:00 based on your comments about running VM’s on the NVME, I installed a single 2Tb NVME and moved my virtual machines over there. From my Windows desktop, I connect to a Windows 11 pro VM using Microsoft’s Remote Desktop Connection app. The Windows VM on the NAS runs as fast as Windows runs on my desktop. With two monitors, they sit side by side and you’d never know that one is a VM ( what was I expecting ??? ) Brilliant.
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      17. I have a synology RS3614xs+ NAS connected via iscsi to a Windows Server running Veeam for backups. The synology NAS is raid 6. The synology NAS is showing used space 29.8 TB / 33.4 TB 89% used space. The windows veeam server is showing 12.3 TB / 27.3 TB used space. Why the discrepancy ?
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      18. 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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      19. I have DROBO a Drobo 5DT which is failing… or is it? My 2015 MBP sees it intermittently. It powers up and will randomly operate correctly. Usually it will power up and show up on Drobo Dashboard. Top right LED is red saying that it has no drives in it. I know the drives are still good. I have seen that there is a PC beyond raid program for PC that will recover your data if you remove the disks and connect them all up individually to the PC. Anyone tried this and did it actually work? I have about 10 TB of data I would eventually like to recover.
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      20. 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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      21. Hey guys! Can you help me with a recommendation for a 4k streaming/decoding NAS and some general phone/computer back up please? I just bought the DS224+, which I will returning now. Had my sights set on the DS923+, then debated with DS1522+, DS423, and now I’m looking at the QNAP TS-453E-8G-US. Any suggestions. Honestly, idk if I need to decode. I just keep hearing they. But I do have an eye and ear for 4k and quality audio. So I’d like to keep that.
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      22. I’ve probably posted this before, but has anyone ever tested a Drobo to see what happens when it fills up? I tested one of the 8 bay Drobos copying 2GB files into folders and then duplicating the folders until the Drobo would reach capacity back in 2009. The drives would fail in a way that all the data was lost. I did this multiple times. Each time it failed, even with a replacement Drobo.

        Also, in the early Drobos, at least on the 4 bay devices, the write speed ended up being the average of the write speed of all 4 drives divided by the the number of drives! Essentially 1/4 the speed of the drives you put in to it. Now, hot swapping was NICE. It saved me a few times. But I was never able to put much more over 1/2 the total drive space onto the Drobo – nor did I have the inclination to do so, bearing in mind that I’d need another device with all of my data on it *when* the Drobo failed AND the time (1/4 total write speed of the AVERAGE of all of the drives) it would take to not only write the data but to copy it back once the Drobo failed. If I recall properly, once I had a 72 hour Drobo copy.
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      23. In my TVS-672N i had installed 2 Samsung 970 Evo mvme drives as cashe installed. They were supported acording the compatibility list from Qnap for this nas.
        After 2 years both drives did die. Theese drives get VERY!!! HOT. I did know that so i installed big heatsinks on both drives but still they get VERY!!! HOT.
        At the same time the nas did die. After shutting the nas off i could not turn it on anymore. No lights, no nothing. When googling for more info i found out that very many people encountered the same problem.
        Qnap did extend the warenty on this nas from 2 years to 3 years witch i am glad they did because my nas was just over 2 years old. Qnap did replace the motherboard of the nas. Now it does work ok.
        Samsung also did replace my 970 Evo drives. I had 5 years waranty on theese drives.
        I think because the mvme cashe-drives wheere SOOOO HOT i think that could be a reason the motherboard did die after 2 years. Also cashedrives are being written very often constantly. I think that it will shorten the lifespan of theese mvme drives very quick.
        So for me NO mvme cashedrives anymore.
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      24. Have a drobo 5Bay , with Single USB Connection . Have had it for over 7 Years . Currently 8 Tb , Was used with Mac , then become my main Linux Storage . Now Used with My Pi As a SMB NAS . So far all still good. I Use the Old Drobo Software whith Intel Mac , when formatting is needed or troubleshooting. But Over the years / PSU / Drive and Redundency has been Fine, For Cold Storage.
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      25. WOW I AM IN AWE OF ALL THE EFFORT YOU WENT THROUGH TO SHARE THE DROBO HISTORY! I still have mine, still works, albeit no support. Sad about what went wrong, but amazed at how much did go right. This sure gets me nostalgic in a positive way. Thank you for sharing.
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      26. WOW I AM IN AWE OF ALL THE EFFORT YOU WENT THROUGH TO SHARE THE DROBO HISTORY! I still have mine, still works, albeit no support. Sad about what went wrong, but amazed at how much did go right. This sure gets me nostalgic in a positive way. Thank you for sharing.

      27. I’ve been trying to buy a NAS for several months. Every time I watch your videos I get more confuse. What do you recommend for file and maybe old, stored movies on other hard drive.
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      28. 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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      29. What alternative is there for a DAS that has a similar “beyond Raid” tech? Anyone got a suggestion. I know there are lots of DAS systems but none that I can see that have hot swappable flexible raid that allows different sized hard drives…
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      30. I am not an industry professional by any means, but from what I’ve just been told, what went wrong was that hundreds of millions of people all simultaneously failed to point out that Apple was bricking everyone’s machines on purpose, and let them do whatever they wanted because their name brand is so trendy.

        And everyone less overpaid than Apple suffered for it. Drobo users especially.
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      31. I’ve had several Drobos since the Gen 2 and still have a couple. I had an Areca 8bay Thunderbolt 2 RAID and it corrupted twice. The only thing that saved the data was the Drobo that i had running Time Machine on it. Drobo had been great for me over the years, but didn’t provide the speed I needed for a NAS solution. I built a TrueNAS system, now just trying to figure out how i can afford the drives that I need to purchase all at once in order to replace the Drobo that i piecemealed over years.
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      32. 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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      33. 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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      34. Today I’ve just brought a Drobo 800i off ebay for £80. I already have a Drobo 800i and a Drobo Pro. I have my Drobos Backed up to single 16TB drives just to be on the safe side. I’d love a standard networked NAS but the price puts me off. I will keep using my Drobo and hope somebody takes the company over and improves on them.
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      35. “If you are on a Drobo, you’ve got to move on” (21:45) – These words mean more to me than you can ever imagine. I’ve had a Drobo 5N for the last 10+ years and it has served me very well. Recently I decided it’d be a good idea to build a new NAS (Terramaster F4-423 w/ 4x12GB drives) and move all the content from the Drobo to it. My plan was to repurpose the Drobo as an onsite backup to the new NAS, but less than a week after copying everything to the new NAS a Drobo alert popped up on my desktop indicating a Drive failed. Three minutes later I had another alert telling me the Drobo is in a critical state and no drives are present. I’ve researched the crap out of this but can’t get the Drobo back up and running. It just won’t detect the drives, or any other drives I put into it. I do not believe in coincidences, but I am so effing glad I got my new NAS up and running with ALL data copied over just days before the Drobo died.
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      36. I’ve had a DROBO 5N for 5yrs with no issue until last month. I have 12TB if data that seems to be lost now. The Drobo has failed and shows a Red on fist bay only. Reset after removing drives and same issue. Bought two 5N Dr is off eBay and neither recognize my disc’s or even new disks and they are not found on the network. Does anyone know of any service that can help recover Drobo backups?
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      37. “Covid put them in the ground”, yeah no covid boosted sales of any homespace reslated supplies, ESPECIALLY low-spec tech such as NAS’s used which were barely impacted by supply shortages at all.
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      38. I have a 1st gen USB 2.0 only Drobo that I bought right after they came out in 2007-ish that I retired back around 2016 when I got the 5N2 which I still use today. For a prosumer or datahoarder or homelab user like me, I have loved both of them for just sitting there and doing their thing. The lights on the front is the absolute best feature because I can just look at it and tell if it is healthy or not. No other product in the price range has ever been the same. I never really used any of the DroboApps, I just used it as a simple NAS, and it did that excellently. Now I’m getting ready to migrate away from it to a different solution since I don’t know how long it’s going to keep working. My old one did suffer a power supply failure back around 2013 that I had to buy a new one for direct from Drobo. The Drobo Dashboard software was last officially supported on the Mac side on macOS Monterey, but apparently does work on Ventura for NAS devices only but not DAS devices. It also supports AFP even though that is now deprecated by Apple, it tends to work better when backing up older macOS versions using Time Machine. SMB sometimes is finnicky with Time Machine. This is one of the only computing hardware company stories in my life that actually brings a tear to my eye, especially since I have used and loved the product for so long. That little black box has been the center of my data-hoarding hobby for well over a decade now. It’s so sad that it’s going to have to be retired. In the spirit of the little black box I’ll probably replace it with a DIY NAS build using a Jonsbo N2 black case and TrueNAS. Perched on the shelf where the Drobo sits now. Hats off, Drobo. You’ll be missed.
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      39. this is sooo disturbing as I only just found out and i have found out the hard way. My drobo is refusong to power up, the power bank has a green light and there are no lights anywhere on this machine… I experience them as irrisponsible as they have people emails that are registered and could have sent themn emails warning them of their pending closuer and no support what so ever. I have several drives full of ,my photographic archive that I now need to figure out haw to salvage from their propertary software machine! ASny info would be truly helpful. thanks in advance if anyone knows what I can do or how to contact their support. There is no info on there page! This is total BS
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      40. Rob, thank you for the Drobo article on, essentially,… “What Happened?”. I had a DroboPro FS and really liked it, but mine failed as the company started failing. With dwindling and unavailable supplies for replacement I transitioned to the Synolody DS920+ and am so glad I did. It was a fairly easy move, considering our old Drobo went from working to toast and about 1/2-second, and it opened up whole new — and massively better worlds. Great call! This article really answered a lot of lingering questions. I was and remain sorry to see Drobo go, but those that came after, like Synology, in no small part owe their existence and success to the pioneering work by Data Robotics & Geoff Barrall.

      41. 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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      42. Can you connect the eSATA to a Mac or PC as “DAS” direct or is it only for expansion? If so that sucks because 1Gbe is slow for photography. 10Gbe not available on a customer PC.
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      43. 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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      44. Another good video. I have a 5D3 and looking to replace but having a hard time to end the right replacement. I have been waiting for the QNAP TS-464T4 but it does not seem to come out.
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      45. I know this was posted ages ago, but yeah… Going to have to look at a different storage solution. I LOVED every reason given. Pull drives, plug in bigger ones, it sorts itself out. Didn’t have to think of it. With the desktop app, I’m informed of when a drive starts throwing problem codes. Easy to manage. So, guess I’m saving up for another NAS that’s just as easy, plenty of bays, easy to swap drives, etc. Going to have to go through your videos and get some research done, because like Drobo, I became complacent with what I have.
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      46. I got into Drobo almost from the start (Gen 2) and still have two, plus a more recent 8-bay NAS. All still have disks in but haven’t powered up the DAS in years, so I’d be surprised if they still worked. The 8-bay is my main backup but 90% of it is now backed up elsewhere. Bought its replacement a year ago but never got around to deciding between TrueNAS or UnRAID for it. Must decide soon!
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      47. I had a Drobo usb for 10 years. But 2 years ago I realized that they stopped making and selling products so that’s when I moved over to Synology. My old unit still works….. lol
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      48. I have a basic “3rd Generation??” Drobo with 4 slots. Only using 3 of the slots. 1TB hardrives. The unit was working fine, but I couldn’t get it to send data to my iMAC. I tried tech support over a year ago AGAIN…but no luck and had to move on to other work…leaving that data stuck on those drives. I feel like I’m probably screwed, but can anyone recommend how I can recover that data. I really need that data. Thanks folks.
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      49. I lost my backup data so many times with 2 ear;y models. Got tired of it and dropped using them. I agree with Scott Kelly’s famous rant on Drobo. For a person like him, who depends upon company support and advertising, to rant like that is super rare. Shows how many issues the Drobo mega Hines had. I was s shocked when I got a Synology and it just worked and didn’t corrupt my data.
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      50. The biggest issue I had with Drobo was I wanted one of their six drive units here in Toronto. Couldnt find it. could get it online. It was virtually impossible to get unless I wanted to ship it from Europe a couple of times the cost of the unit. We ended up going with QNAP instead.
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      51. I had a Drobo years ago. The unit failed and I lost 4 TB of data. Wedding footage, my trip to Italy, pictures of my kittens, etc. Drobo said there was nothing they could do for me. This was before Backblaze was even a thing. I didn’t have any backup or anything because I thought the Drobo was going to be good. Hard lesson to learn. First and LAST Drobo unit I ever owned. I wouldn’t buy a Drobo again, EVER! I have been a Backblaze customer since the beginning and have had to use their recovery data service a couple times. Currently I’m running Asustor Lockerstore 4 bay and I’m getting ready to buy a Qnap Tvs 8 bay. I will always use Backblaze for my off premise backup.
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      52. Mac specialist dealer here. On paper they were great at the start as BeyondRAID promised a great deal, although even after quoting customers for them I (surprisingly or luckily) never managed to sell one.

        Then I saw and read of the problems that users were having with poorly written software, and noticing that whenever I spotted one at a new clients it had a red light on the front. After that I kept my own council.

        Later I had to advise clients that they probably should not attach new Macs to them as Drobo had not updated their software and loss of data was a coin-toss. Shades of WD and macOS 10.9 Mavericks all over again but it got me a lot of work upgrading Mac Pro’s and iMacs that could still run older versions of macOS.

        As for Retrospect, a classic example of a pretty good bit of software ruined by towers of unnecessary added complexity and instability.
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      53. As soon as I heard Drobo was filing for bankrupty I sold my Drobo 5n2 and went straight to an old server with Unraid and Truenas. Loving what these has to offer versus Drobo which wasn’t powerful enough to even stream 4k direct on plex.
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      54. 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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      55. My Drobo 5N died after a few years, but I still have a Drobo FS running as a backup server at it’s max 16TB. I’m using home-built TrueNAS servers now.
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      56. I had a Drobo FS-5 over 10 years ago. After couple of years the whole system corrupted and I lost all my data (didn’t have any other backups at the time, learned my lesson). Drobo said there was nothing they could do. In the end they refunded me the cost of the unit and offered trying to recover data, but would’ve had to send the unit to US, which on itself would’ve been a massive cost. Since then I’ve had a few QNAPs and multiple backups, locally and remotely.
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      57. I had 4 5 bay Drobo DAS units .. I also had two of the 8 bay NAS . I have subsequently divested myself of them for many of the reasons described in this video. I now have 2 Synology 18xx units. I liked the Drobo units but eventually had failures (power switches especially) and incompatibility with newer Mac releases. Tragic as I liked the mix and match capabilities of various disk types.
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      58. still backing up to drobo elite from a synology… the array is so unstable that i use it only for backup purpose. the device is heck slow and reboot itself sometime.
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      59. I agree with everything you said, except YOU MISSED THE BIG ONE! Encryption killed any chance of getting your data back. Soooo many people begged for the encryption back door key only to find there wasn’t one! Your data was gone! I rescued several Drobo disk arrays using Disk Warrior with the data unloading taking over a month using USB 1.1. Yikes!!! If you are still using this platform (I have an old working array) get your data off yesterday!!! They sold defective disk arrays for years and there never was any good tech support because they were so limited in what they could do to recover data. One time I demanded and got my $50 deposit for tech support back because there was no tech support. If Drobo ever comes back AVOID THEM LIKE THE PLAGUE!!!
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      60. Honestly, if you have a Drobo right now you should immediately plan to move your data off of it ASAP to avoid risks of losing access to it… Save the drives, but guessing you’ll be able to sell it as a spare for a decent amount for those who have dead units and need a good one to move their drives to in order to access their data if/when that happens.
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      61. Venture capital money was likely the biggest destroyer of the company, like most other companies. The single drive for bottom line only (Synology are you reading this???) disrupts the entire chain. They screw everybody to hit targets and take away innovation and good will. The first company to acquire gets most of the gravy since there is lots to cut, by the time you get to the seventh in line there is nothing left but disgruntled employees and supply chain and a total BS financial statement that doesn’t show the company about to fail. Happens in industry all the time.
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      62. Dear Friend, First of all, thanks for the amazing review! I’ve bought a TVS-h874-i9 and i see there are some GPU that i can istall on it. My question is if there are other “new” GPUs that i can install on the TVS-h874. I was interested on the MSI GTX 1650 LP .
        Thanks a lot for your attention 🙂
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      63. I just received my TVS-h874 yesterday! I am coming from synology. I have a 920+ and 1821+. Synology has decided to “design out” multimedia Plex users as the 920+ was the last good Plex NAS from them for that purpose. THIS THING IS A BEAST!!!!!!!!!!!!! Intel UHD 770 FTW!!!! On a semi related note, I have a 920+ and 1821+ for sale.
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      64. …….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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      65. I have purchased the DS923+. The following items do work fine. 4EA Seagate Exos 7E8 4th (ST4000NM0035) and NEMIX 16GB DDR4-2666 PC4-21300 SODIMM (D4ESO-2666-16G). No warning and working great.
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      66. 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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      67. 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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      68. So with last update DSM we can use m.2 SSD not only like cash for HDD. Maybe my question is not correct: can i setup Synology DiskStation Manager (DSM) to ds923+ ssd m.2? I mean like in standart pc we have fast system drive with operating system (in this case i think it is m.2 ssd) and we have slow HDD for multimedia and other data.
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      69. That test at the start to show power needs to go. Two vms sitting completely idle, and two video streams with deciding happening on your pc gpu is basically just a test of sending the same file to the same place twice. A raspberry pi should be able to pass this test.
        Not saying it’s not a capable Nas, just that the test has to go.
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      70. 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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      71. The question is, if you buy the low end i5, could you just replace the CPU yourself? Still gut my “old” i9 12900k after I upgraded to 13th gen and I´m in the process to invest in a new NAS and the H874 is on my short list.
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      72. Starting with 3x12TB plus the 2×8 I already have. Then I can just pull them out and expand if needed. Dedicate 8TB to plex. Adding an old m.2 1TB Drive and 10Gb card but only 2.5Gb for now.
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      73. This video is exactly what I needed as I am looking to set up a home media server for my family–which will need multiple 1080p streams and 4k in the near future. Alost every device in my house is Apple based (MacBooks, iPhones, iPads). So I am wondering how Apple compatible this unit is?
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      74. 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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      75. you can shut up, they took my money ;-). Pulled the trigger and ordered the I5 version. It is going to be overkill for my needs now, but will be able to handle anything I need for years to come. Great- long but great – review. I love your channel. Always great info, understandable for the likes of me that have limited understanding of IT and networking.
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      76. Nice one! Never been an owner of QNAP still, as I was always thinking the CPUs were way too weak to power VMs (coming from the Enterprise level with huge NetApp, EMC, Oracle and other powerful SAN-Storage brands), but now it seems the game is changing! That opens the door for smooth inline source-side block base depulication! …and true, indeed logic about the higher fan noise on that new range, as there is obviously never smoke without fire. 🙂
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      77. 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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      78. Robbie – any idea who will be selling the i9 version? I can only find the i5 on UK websites. There are two websites in the USA selling so may have to purchase there and ship back to the UK
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      79. 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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      80. 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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      81. Has anyone thought about adding a SilverStone Technology FX600 to the TVS-h874 and then installing a powerful video card? Ideally I’m looking at a Plex Media Server and Gaming System All In One for the living room.
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      82. I wonder why your CPU says up to 4400mhz and mine says up to 3200mhz. I just purchased this model. Same processor. Only thing different is the firmware version I’m on a later one.
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      83. 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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      84. Why dont they include cat 8 ethernet cables in the year 2022/23??? I dont understand it. Is it so much more expansive? At least cat7. When i buy their 10gbe extension i need cat7 anyway so why not include from the beginning.
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      85. Truly the king of NAS… but at that price point I feel like you could probably get a used Supermicro rack chassis and probably build something more powerful, then put TrueNAS Scale on it and end up with something much better.
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      86. Nice review, thanks!
        I have bought the smaller 4 bays version (TVS-H474). I would love to upgrade the CPU (Pentium Gold G7400) to an Intel Core. Looking at your video, it looks like this is the exact same cooling system you have with your much more powerfull Intel Core i5-12400. Therefore I have the feeling my unit would be able to cool down the same CPU but I might be wrong. How were your CPU temps under heavy load? How fast was the very little fan spinning under these conditions? I am afraid this upgrade would turn my NAS into an airport. Thank you!
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      87. Thank you very much for sharing this content! I have watched several videos in the past few weeks and would have loved to have seen them before purchasing my old nas QNAP TS-253 PRO. I’m strongly considering purchasing a Synology DS923+ or 723+. Only I can’t get my files off my old nas since my motherboard is broken. I have already tried to read this through a program like R-Linux which should be able to read my RAID 1 configuration. But unfortunately this doesn’t work. Is it possible that I can read the disks on the Synology DS923+? I hope you can help me?
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      88. I have a random question that is not related to this video, I have a DS420+. I had an old 4TB drive that had all my data (taken out of a WD NAS). I bought the DS420+ with one drive with the intention of using the old drive as a second drive. Turned out to be badly degraded so I took it out. Now I have this “storage degraded” message constantly and cannot remove it. I tried creating an SSD cache and it is not allowing me because the unit is “in an abnormal state”. Please help. I want the unit to accept that it will not be having a second drive anytime soon. Drives are expensive
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      89. it would be great if you dig into the tvs-h474 just because of how different it is. I think a lot of users would be trying to decide between that and the tvs-472xt, especially us creators who want to edit off of it but might be wanting scalability because their creative studios may grow
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      90. Wached quite plenty of your informative videos but as a amateur first time user only in an internal home network enviroment i still don’t know if the 923+ will be able to stream a own recorded 4k 60fps video to my sony oled x90j without buffering. My TV is connected by 1gbit lan. I don’t want the NAS to be connected at all to the Web itself. Basically an storage and backup for private photos and videos and ability to drop it within my home to my tv… will it do the job? Thanks
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      91. I’m confused as to why the DS1522+ in raid 5 configuration showed ATTO at around peak write 371MB and peak read 425MB in your tests. Yet the DS923+ (albeit with slightly faster hat5300 drives) showed more than double that at 890MB write and line speed read. Can you explain these results?
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      92. Can I use any type of thunderbolt cards or anything to connect to my with just thunderbolt. I see the 2.5, 5, and 10gbe adapters but I dont want to use them if I dont have to
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      93. I have recently installed a TVS-h874 with 8 18TB HDDs and 2 2TBNVME, with similar read speeds to your install in the video (Raid 5 or 6 tested) for individual drives, however, the true transfer speed to the shared folders is 25MB/s write and 275MB/s read. The write speed is very slow without SSDs in QTier to help. Thus, this device has all this power to process data, but is very slow at moving it around if using HDDs. I may have to revert to QTS versus QuTS Hero to see if QTier helps improve the transfer speeds.
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      94. 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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      95. Thank you for a very comprehensive and albeit a long video, but you covered so much material in that time.

        I watched it as I wondered if it would have been a better choice to my TS-h1290FX.

        Fully agree with you about the open architecture and software on the QNAP NASs, that to me is a huge plus and the reason I went for QNAP 11 years ago, and my old 659 Pro NAS is still running now; I’ve also found their products to be extremely reliable.

        You mention the h874 is noisy. Ironwolf Pro 14TB drives are very very noisy, I’m using 8 x 7.68TB U2 NVMe drives in mine, and it is very very quiet. I agree QNAP were penny-pinching with only providing 2.5Gb NICs, I’m using a dual 10Gb card with PiHole and that gives me 20Gb bandwidth and editing 4k video on the fly is instantaneous.

        My 7.68TB NVMes do not get hot like the stick ones; I checked the SR of one of mine in a RAID 6 and I got 2.8GB! Plenty fast enough for gen 3 NVMes!

        You mentioned Plex, I just use the inbuilt DLNA server and somehow ISO blu-ray and DVD images transcode and play flawlessly on local TVs via the LAN. I really struggled with Plex, so I let local devices including TVs just navigate the folders to play the ISOs or video files. I have no use for HDMI sockets (mine does not have one).

        You didn’t mention QPhoto is not available on QuTS hero so tagging of photos can’t be done locally, but the tags can be analysed by QuMagie; the solution to this is tag on a QTS NAS and copy them over; I’ll be semi-automating this process soon on our system soon.

        QVR Pro is plenty good enough for me, don’t need QVR Elite, but it needs more horse than a TS-873; mine now runs well on a TVS-EC1080+.

        I’ve not sure how you get QNAP Club, I don’t see that on mine.

        Also noticed you use Classic Start Menu too; I do on my 64GB Win 11 Pro machine; I’ve used that ever since Windows 7!

        Thanks again for a very complete, informative and comprehensive video, much appreciated. I made the right decision for our needs.
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      96. @NASCompares What is the source of most of the noise? Drives or fans? Without giving much away how less noisy is the QNAP TVS-h674? Also, sorry you didn’t demonstrate or go more into add in cards. For example is an add-in GTX 1650 better than the onboard CPU or GPU re Plex?
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      97. A top review! And the device is actually top-notch. If it weren’t for QNAP’s unspeakable licensing policy with QTS Hero. Here there is only QVR Elite for camera monitoring, which you have to buy through expensive monthly additional subscriptions. A NOGO for me. Overall, QNAP is going completely in the wrong direction with its camera monitoring solution and licensing. This should be included in the price of such an expensive product. I look forward to the next tests of the device.
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      98. awesome, i knew you would like it, i love it, i bought the 6 bay i5 [8 including SSDs] been waiting for this review, think I would cry if you didn’t rate it, think this range will have some following maybe reaching cult status, it is a paradigm shift, have you seen the guy who modded/cut in a Quadro P2000 GPU, search YT, upgrading my network now, really interested in any future content, it is expensive and like a comment on here already there is always an argument to build your own, I could have done that but it just works no faffing about and you get a 3 year warranty now, plus optional 2 year extension……
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      99. I was going to bin my little old TS-453D because I couldn’t run Proxmox without using a USB drive. After a year of utter frustration, I just discovered that I can indeed boot from the two drives on the RHS nearest the power switch. I wish someone had posted this info somewhere that google search could find (ie; not here).
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      100. Great video!! I like very much how thorough it is. One thing that I would love is if you mentioned how to attach the unit directly to a PC ( I know you have a previous video about that) and how to configure the static IP addresses on both.
        One question. Do you have any information about price and availability of the i7 and i9 chips models? They are mentioned on QNAP’s website briefly, but there are impossible to find anywhere else on the internet.
        Also it would be fantastic if you can actually test performance transfer rates with different configurations.
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      101. Any idea why, if we decide to use Google pay to say thanks, they charge tax ? And thank you very much for the non-stop education. And just to prove that I haven’t missed a single lesson… ROOTER, ROOTER, ROOTER…
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      102. Thank you! I was looking forward for a Qnap TVS hx74 review for a while. ????
        Just strange, at Qnap Germany you can find currenty no i7 nor i9 variant of it.
        Only h674 i3, h674 i5 and the h874 i5 are shown on Qnap Germany…
        Hope the other variants will be available in Germany too ????
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      103. Very nice array indeed. But a bit too overpriced. I decided to check quickly for prices of components to build DIY SAN/NAS appliance. Without disks we can build solutions for nearly 50% of qnap price, and it’s all built using brand new components. I don’t think qnap software is worth additional 2000€. There’s no doubt it’s very convenient package to just plug and play, but if someone was to put a bit of effort (assuming necessary hardware/software skills) into building it themselves, they can save bucks.

        Intel Core i5-12400 – 200€
        Motherboard ASRock Z790 STEEL LEGEND – 340€ (3 * PCIe4.0 x16)
        Kingston Fury Beast Black 32GB DDR5 RAM = 150 * 2 = 300€ (for 64GB RAM)
        Lenovo ISG TS Intel X550-T2 Dual Port 10GBase-T Adapter = 700€ (could pick up used card from ebay for less than 200€)
        Phantek enthoo pro eATX case (6 internal 3.5 disk bays) = 150€
        ToughArmor MB608SP-B Rugged 6 x 2.5″ SAS/SATA HDD/SSD Mobile Rack Enclosure for 5.25″ Bay = 170€
        LSI 9300-16i SATA/SAS HBA (used from ebay, PCIe 3.0) = 300€
        SAS cabling = 100€

        Hardware total cost (without disks): 2260€

        Hardware total cost without disks (with used dual 10Gb NIC): 1760€

        Disks:

        Seagate IronWolf Pro ST14000NE0008 14TB = 370€ x 6 = 2220€
        SSD 2TB disk (consumer-grade) = 200€ x 6 = 1200€

        Total cost with disks: 5680€

        Total cost with disks (used 10Gb NIC): 5180€
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      104. Very nice array indeed. But a bit too overpriced. I decided to check quickly for prices of components to build DIY SAN/NAS appliance. Without disks we can build solutions for nearly 50% of qnap price, and it’s all built using brand new components. I don’t think qnap software is worth additional 2000€. There’s no doubt it’s very convenient package to just plug and play, but if someone was to put a bit of effort (assuming necessary hardware/software skills) into building it themselves, they can save bucks.

        Intel Core i5-12400 – 200€
        Motherboard ASRock Z790 STEEL LEGEND – 340€ (3 * PCIe4.0 x16)
        Kingston Fury Beast Black 32GB DDR5 RAM = 150 * 2 = 300€ (for 64GB RAM)
        Lenovo ISG TS Intel X550-T2 Dual Port 10GBase-T Adapter = 700€ (could pick up used card from ebay for less than 200€)
        Phantek enthoo pro eATX case (6 internal 3.5 disk bays) = 150€
        ToughArmor MB608SP-B Rugged 6 x 2.5″ SAS/SATA HDD/SSD Mobile Rack Enclosure for 5.25″ Bay = 170€
        LSI 9300-16i SATA/SAS HBA (used from ebay, PCIe 3.0) = 300€
        SAS cabling = 100€

        Hardware total cost (without disks): 2260€

        Hardware total cost without disks (with used dual 10Gb NIC): 1760€

        Disks:

        Seagate IronWolf Pro ST14000NE0008 14TB = 370€ x 6 = 2220€
        SSD 2TB disk (consumer-grade) = 200€ x 6 = 1200€

        Total cost with disks: 5680€

        Total cost with disks (used 10Gb NIC): 5180€
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      105. Amazing review Robbie!! Many thanks for all your efforts in covering everything. If only Synology pumped out a NAS with these specs… ????

        I’ve been on the fence from switching to this exact NAS, (from a DS1621+) but I also have concerns about the UHD graphics not being UHD770. There are several retailers in the US that still show it having the 770. The jump to the i9 version is a lot of $$$.
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      106. Good to see that some brands still know what’s what, and know what to focus on, while others have become a proprietary circus act, defecating all over their customers.
        Btw. the audio/video sync is really out of whack on this one ????
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      107. Just bought the 674 with the i5-12400, but might send it back. When it was announced there the graphics Even for the i5 was the uhd770 but now ist just the uhd730. You can still find pdf with the old Info.
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      108. *Note* Regarding Length and Sound – Yep, this is a *LOOOOOOOONG* Review. However, for many users working in the Video Production and SMB market, this is likely to be their FIRST NAS after relying on cloud for years and years, so I have to cover *EVERYTHING*, as well as why PCIe4 in NAS is such a big deal! There will be a much, much shorter ‘Before you Buy’ 15min video on the QNAP TVS-874 NAS Soon. Additionally, this is my 2nd attempt at uploading this video and both times, the YT processing seems to dislike the recording (with audio syncing in/out at times). I am in discussion with YouTube over this, as these sync issues are not present in the original production before it was uploaded! Apologies for this and hopefully it will get straightened out soon.
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      109. very useful review, i have a question: i own some new win 11 PCs an old win xp 32 bit PC, and i am interested in buying a NAS for my home /office.
        Do you think DSM 7.0 is compatible with windows xp? if not is it possible to use a previous DSM version on a new Synology NAS or is it better to look elsewere? (QNAP, Asustor..?)
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      110. 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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      111. Hi, quick question. Since I am considering purchasing NAS I would like an advice which should I pick: 923+ vs 1522+. I would say that I don’t really need 5-bay option (for now I am considering putting in some 8TB drives – was looking at IronWolf (I would like some on the quieter side), but the price difference is not that hight so I am rather baffled which should I opt for. Usage which I am considering is mostly storage server, with optional virtual machine.
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      112. The problem with 1G ports is that even if you have 10 x 1G ports it’s inferior to a single 10G port.. if you have a single file transfer it will always be using a single port, so it you want to copy a BIG single file and you have one hundred 1G ports, the max you’ll get is still limited to a single interface.. such a stupid move by synology
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      113. As we know, this and the rest of the top end of the plus lineup this year, is an absolute joke. Also just noticed that if this is “enterprise” focused, customers will have to get subpar overpriced HAT drives, rather than industry leading Ultrastars and Exos. Pathetic.
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      114. Great review! I just bought a DS923+ and I got one problem – it’s very noisy. I’m still waiting for the hard drivers to come, but wanted to check if the DS923+ works fine without any drives. I’d say the fans are at 100% all the time (even if there are no drives in it and there’s no high CPU usage).

        Just worried if that’s normal or should I replace them with more silent fans (Reddit says about Noctua fans).
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      115. Great review. Can you run dsm on the ssd storage. Is it possible to move the existing installation to the ssd? And if so do you think the power consumption would be reduced because the hdds only hold data and the hdd are in sleep mode until you really need data if them. If so I think this could be a very big reduce of power consumption….
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      116. 33:00 “quick” guide then a 1:25:00 “full” review! ???????? I think you were afraid to give your final opinion without trying to talk yourself up to give your final thoughts? ????????
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      117. Even as a long time Synology user, I really hate the penny-pinching here. The USB, network ports, lack of GPU, hugely expensive expansion boxes and network card upgrades, and the pushing toward own-branded drives, are all big turn-offs for me. Adding 2.5GbE, better USB, and a Ryzen with graphics would have cost them next to nothing, literally a few dollars. The NVME storage is an unexpected bonus, but I’m not seeing anything here pulling me away from the QNAP TS-464. Just seems a better all-rounder.
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      118. I have £1500 budget and I am looking for the best 40TB raid NAS to 20TB my current solution is a 20TB my home cloud duo raided to 10TB and its starting to fail., I need to keep my home business files, photos movies and music running via Plex and streaming to my 65″ 4k tv. I also need to access it via the web when i am out of the house. my house internet is FTTP 950GB. So what would you suggest i buy inline with my budget?
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      119. 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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      120. 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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      121. 4:10 did I understand correctly that in early 2023 there might be the chance of a DS920+ successor for prosumers? This mentioned ‘value series’ may indeed fill the gap that the DS923 has left in regards to transcoding. Gosh I am still in doubt: My DS216+II is old and the two bays only became a big burden but I am hesitating to still buy the DS920+ or keep waiting. In regards to the DS923+ I just dont see how I personally benefit from 10GBit and 32GB RAM upgrade possibilities. (My entire network is all 1GBits only) and the high RAM I dont see use neither. The only really cool thing is the ECC. Wait & hope for 2023 or grab the 920+ on Black Friday? Uff! Nevertheless. I enjoyed watching the full review. Thanks a million for this video and all the previous ones covering the topic.
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      122. A few questions I might have missed: The NVMe slots only works with Synology SSDs? 10GbE card also compatible with 5 and 2,5GbE? If using 10GbE and NVMe storage pool is faster than with raid disks? Also, I have a few old WD30EFRXnot on the compatibility list, can they be ok to use in DS923+? Sorry for my basic questions and thank you for a very detailed review.
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      123. I had to downvote, because you gave 10/10 for non 2.5GBe NAS. There is completely no justification other than greed.
        -2 for lack of 2.5GBe
        -1 for “compatibility list”
        -1 for prices
        Solid 6/10
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      124. Users simply don’t care about 2.5 or 5GBE. Most networks are 1GBE… it simply isnt a bottle neck. If anything its drive IOPS slowingthings.
        The ones who do have greater network speeds they ALL skipped to 10G.
        I’d rather they keep 1G and keep reliability and software optimizations on existing chips… and not raise prices.
        *I have an IT company supporting many businesses, almost all have synology.
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      125. 2:00 Now you’ve done it. Most N. Americans have no idea what “chuffed” means.
        adjective Chiefly British Informal.
        delighted; pleased; satisfied: We’re absolutely chuffed to have won the game.
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      126. Before anyone says it, I KNOW… 1HR 25MINS!!! But this is the MASSIVE review where we review and test EVERYTHING on the #Synology DS923+ NAS. If you are looking for a shorter version of this review that ONLY covers the Pros and the Cons, you can find my shorter ‘DS923+ Before You Buy Video here – The Synology DS923+ NAS – Should You Buy? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjALhE3TtyY

        Thanks for watching and have a lovely week!
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      127. 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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      128. 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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      129. 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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      130. 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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      131. 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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      132. …..@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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      133. 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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      134. 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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      135. 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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      136. 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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      137. 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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      138. ??? 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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      139. 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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      140. 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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      141. 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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      142. 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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      143. 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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      144. 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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      145. 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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      146. 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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      147. 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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      148. 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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      149. 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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      150. 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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      151. 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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      152. 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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      153. 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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      154. 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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      155. 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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      156. 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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      157. 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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      158. 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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      159. 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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      160. 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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      161. 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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      162. 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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      163. 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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      164. 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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      165. 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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      166. 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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      167. 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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      168. 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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      169. 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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      170. 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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      171. 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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      172. 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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      173. 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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      174. 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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      175. 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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      176. 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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      177. 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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      178. 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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      179. 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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      180. 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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      181. 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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      182. 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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      183. 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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      184. 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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      185. 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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      186. 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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      187. 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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      188. 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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      189. 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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      190. 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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      191. 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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      192. 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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      193. 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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      194. 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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      195. 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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      196. 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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      197. 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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      198. 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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      199. 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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      200. 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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      201. 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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      202. 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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      203. 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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      204. 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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      205. 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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      206. 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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      207. 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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      208. 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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      209. 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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      210. 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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      211. 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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      212. 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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      213. 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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      214. 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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      215. 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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      216. 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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      217. 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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      218. 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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      219. 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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      220. 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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      221. 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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      222. 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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      223. 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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      224. 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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