New Synology BST170-8T Intel Powered NAS Revealed

New Synology BeeStation BST170 Model with Intel x86 Architecture Leaked

For those that have been a pinch concerned fo late that Synology was starting to move out of the Intel-powered home NAS market, there has seemingly been something of a flicker of good news appearing inadvertently on the official Synology Download pages. Eagle-eyed Reddit User Gummibando managed to spot that a new DSM system firmware image appeared very briefly, before it’s removal shortly after it was shared online. Namely ‘BSM_BST170-8T_65371.pat ‘ – which reveals that Synology have a new Beestation model (denoted by the BSM_BST model ID) that, upon even further digging into the official pages, revealed that alongside this new model IS, that a newly specced out Beestation model in 8TB is coming at some point in the future. So, let’s discuss these findings, what else we have learned about the BST170, and what else we can surmise from the surrounding clues! Let’s go.

What Do We Know about the Synology BST170-8T NAS?

So, as mentioned, the first big clue was the appearance of the ‘BSM_BST170-8T_65371.pat’ firmware. Synology has very model specific firmware patches for it’s system OS downloads, and these are generally named by model.pat distinctions – and cannot be used on a different/other-named device, even if they are similar in architecture (eg DS224+ and DS423+ are very similar, but both have very distinct firmware downloads). HOWEVER, this is not actually the earliest example of this new BeeStation BST170-8T assets being spotted on the official Synology pages.

Something that early Synology BeeStation users already know about is that BSM (BeeStation Manager, the OS of the BeeStation system) is actually built on the same BTRFS bones and structure of DSM. One of the clearest examples of that is if you open up a Synology BST firmware with an editor, you spot that it includes BSM_modified versions of popular Synology Applications. Luckily, all of these individual beestation-specific versions of applications are on the download resource pages too (likely as a means for troubleshooting, repair or reinitialization if needed). Digging into the ‘Hyper Backup’, ‘Drive’ and ‘Synology Photos’ directories all reveal that there are additional versions of the applications for BSM Systems.

You heard me right, ‘versions’ – plural. Wheres previously there was only a BSM RTD1619b or ARMv8 version of each (the BST150-4T original Beestation uses a Realtek RTD1619b Quad Core Processor), now there is an additional x86 version available alongside it. Additionally, there is a few specific versions that list the RTD1619b version next to a version labels ‘GeminiLake’.

This is very important, as Gemini Lake is an Intel Product family of processors, and one that Synolgoy is very, VERY familiar with! This is because Synology has featured this processor on several prominent solutions in their portfolio over the years (including the DS920+, DS7420+, DS224+ and DS423+, to name but a few). Given Synology deep, deep investigation into this processor and how to get the very most out of it that they can – you can see why they would be opting for this processor again,

Additionally, although we have no clear indication on whether Synology will be improving the hardware architecture of the original Beestation 4T beyond the CPU choice mentioned, it is worth touching on that Synology has NEVER put a modern x86 architecture CPU in a 1 Bay solution. I cannot see why they would opt to put in a CPU that is considerably more powerful, capable and feature rich in a new 8TB Beestation solution, unless they plan for this system to be able to do more than the lower access requirements that the BST150-4T/Beestation currently can handle. I will cover this more in the ‘to be confirmed’ section in a moment, but I do think we have acknowledge that this system is almost certainly more than just ‘more of the same, but with 8TB’.

And which Intel Gemini Lake CPU will it be? Well, realistically, it will be the J4125, a quad core, PCIe Gen2, 2.0Ghz CPU that can be burst upto 2.7Ghz when needed. It also features Integrated GFX and has an impressively low TDP (which is ideal for a 24×7 server system). However, if it IS the J4125, it is inevitable that criticism will be made that this CPU is an Q1 2020 released processor, and given that we are almost at the end of 2024, that is quite far from Intl’s original production cycle. There is the other Gemini Lake processor in the Synology family, the J4025 – a dual core version with similar specs as the J4125 – but Synology haven’t used this CPU since spring 2020 and I am not even sure if this can even be obtained at production any more!

Of course, the intended audience for the Synology BeeStation device(s) is not the hardcore enthusiast, it is not the kind of person (puts hand up) that checks this deep into the CPU! This is designed for those that want an easy to deploy, easy to use and ‘setup and forget’ backup solution – which is PRECISELY what the BeeStation series is about! So, it could be argued that the CPU they choose to use is irrelevant, as long as IT WORKS!

Additionally, Synology spent way, way too much time on the BSM / Beestation manage software to lock it in on just the BST150-4T. It was inevitable that they were going to expand this series, and the hope is that this new BST170-8T is going to address/resolve 3 of the biggest criticisms of the previous Beestation system. Namely, System Performance, Redundancy and Additional Applications.

What Can We CONFIDENTLY ASSUME About the Synology BST170-8T NAS? (TBC!)

Important – From this point onwards, everything I am covering is based on informed guesses and 95% confirmations based on how the band tends to operate! So, treat with a suitable pinch of salt! I am pretty confident on it all (with some of it confirming statements made to me earlier this year, but as I cannot directly attribute them – I want to slap this disclaimer here!

First things’ first – that 8TB storage. We KNOW that this is going to be an 8TB storage device, and that Synology are definitely going to bundle this device with their own storage media drives (likely HAT3300/HAT3310 PLUS series media, but too early to be 100% sure). However, 3 questions still remain:

• Will this be a 1-Bay or 2-Bay NAS Device (AKA RAID Ready)?
• Does 8TB mean 1x 8TB, 2x 4TB (RAID0) or 2x 8TB (RAID1)?
• HDD or SSD?

Tackling that first point, this will almost certainly be a dual disk redundancy device. It was one of the most common criticisms of the original BST150-4T by its absense, as not only did it mean that you had no ‘drive failure safety net’, but also a single mechanical HDD is TERRIBLE to run a busy operating system from! Leading to system hanging in busy periods. Even with an Intel x86 CPU under the bonnet, the IO on a single mechanical HDD for a sitting operating system is poor – so dual disk architecture would resolve this! Additionally, it’s pretty clear that the BST170-8T is going to have Synolgoy HDD media inside, will be locked to those drive and almost certainly not going to support 3rd party drive use without invalidating the hardware/software support and warranty that Synology provide. This is BSM and not DSM – which supports a lot more 3rd party application use, storage media compatibility and flexibility. That said, the price has been very reasonable for the Synology HAT3300 in 2024 – the 2, 4, 6 and now 8TB are all competitively priced vs both the Seagate Ironwolf and WD Red NAS HDDs:

The point around storage is harder to nail down. On the face of it, I DO think Synology will be providing 8TB storage one way or the other, but it comes down to whether Synology would be happy to class a system as 8TB, if the reality is that most users with a storage system that has 2x4TB HDDs would immediately choose a mirror/RAID 1. Again, even if you only look at this from a novice or supreme entry-level users – 2 Bay systems in a mirror style redundancy is very, very common! So, although my gut tells me it will be 2x4TB, it wouldn’t surprise me if Synology want to make a bigger impact and opt for 2x 8TB. They DO have a HAT3300-8TB drive in their media portfolio – so never say never! Oh and regarding SSDs – surely not! Aside from the cost of including an 8TB SSD (even in SATA 2.5″, or 2x 4TB), that would be an odd mix with that rather pedestrian CPU. Perhaps as a flash-based model that has a smaller profile, but Synology have been very hands-off in the smaller consumer/enthusiast desktop flash NAS space in 2024, so it’s pretty slim chances – I WANT TO BE PROVEN WRONG, PLEASE!

What About the  Synology DS224+ and DS423+ NAS?

Its a good question (he said, arrogantly, after typing the previous sentence himself!). If Synolgoy WAS to roll out an Intel Powered 2 Bay in the Beestation series (when the original BeeStation was seemingly a replacement for the J, PLAY and SE series), where does that leave the DS224+?  Until we know the CONFIRMED specifications of the BST170-8T, we cannot make assumptions. However I would say that if my informed guesses are correct about this being an Intel J4125 powered 2 Bay NAS solution – that is VERY similar to the last 2-3 DS2xx+ Diskstation models! So much so that it wouldn’t;t surprise me if this was ultimately being done to phase out the DS2xx+ series down, and then serve as the natural stepping point behind the DS7xx+ series. 0% Confirmation on this! But I can see the logic that might back that up – time will tell.

 

When will the Synology BST170-8T BeeStation NAS Be Released and the Price?

Given we have so, so little information to go in, it’s waaaaaaaay too early to make any kind of judgment on this. The original BST150-4T is still priced incredibly well at a $199 without your tax. So, in efforts to remain competitive, I can totally see them effectively doubling the 4TB model price for this 8TB model (i.e $399+). Depending on whether this is a 2x 4TB, or the CPU and ultimately how much BSM can do on it, I can see this being very appealing! But this is all conjecture! Regarding release, given the number of applications and services in the Download section that are ‘BSM’ ready that are being worked on, that would indicate that release is not looking too far away. Certainly before the end of 2024, but again, will have to wait and see!

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