DS418play or DS918+ NAS

Best Synology 4-Bay NAS for the Prosumer?

Hello,

I’m building a small work group system and attempting to pick the right NAS.

We’re all MAC computers 3-4 with 1TB internal drives.

Leaning heavily toward a RAID 10 with Four 8TB drives. I like Western Digital but could also use
advice on which ones for a NAS that the heaviest use will be backups so not a 24/7 production
device.

The NAS will be used for backing up the Macs to separate partitions for each using time machine
and/or Carbon Copy Cloner (or possibly Backup Protection Software included with the NAS.

It will also be used for data Storage, file sharing and as a media server for Video Hi Rez
Quicktime movies and/or H.265 video and high resolution audio; mostly 16 bit 44.1 AIFF
uncompressed.

All backup and data partitions must be AES hardware encrypted.

Device must have USB 3.0 ports for external hard disks to back up the NAS.

A huge optional plus would be if the NAS has ability to directly access public clouds for offsite
backup.

I’ve been looking at the Synology DS418 and DS418play but open to your thoughts.

Thank you in advice for any advice you have to offer.

John

Under $2000 Budget, 8TB Storage, Based in USA

Choosing the best Prosumer Synology NAS

Thank you for your message,

I hope I can help (spot of British modesty there) as I do have a spot of knowledge on this subject. Anyway, moving this rather stereotypical English apologetic introduction aside, on to your question.

What you have described is what is commonly known as a Prosumer setup. For the very best possible output, you would be recommended to go for the DS918+ as, although you will see the DS418play perform almost all of those tasks without slowdown, it is when 2 or 3 of them happen at once that you will see a degradation of performance. Additionally, the DS918+ has several means with which to upgrade or expand, that the DS418play does not.

The result is that the DS418Play will be a NAS that has a shorter life expectancy/lifespan in the long run. Finally, the DS918+ arrives with a 3 year manufacturers warranty, whereas the play only has 2 years. If you can stretch your budget to cover a fully populated DS918+, then you will DEFINITELY see vastly better results across all fields.

Regarding Hard Drives, I would recommend WD Red Drives in this build, as they too arrive with a 3 Year warranty and have a better worldwide coverage area for advanced replacement and RMA support. Avoid HGST drives in this build as they are noisier and this could be an issue for your workgroup over time.

Do not go for a NAS lower than the DS418play, as this is pretty much the benchmark for hardware you will need for this setup and dipping lower than this will result in more than 30% of the tasks you list being unworkable.

I would recommend checking out my Synology 4-Bay comparison here, as it will explain the core strengths of the individual units in the Synology 4-Bay Series:

DS918+ Vs DS418play Vs DS418 Vs DS418j

Kind regards,

Robbie

P.S. Check out the Best of NAS for 2018 via the page below:

Choosing Between Synology, QNAP, Drobo, Thecus, Netgear And Asustor

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