compare

LATEST PRICE LIST

DS224+	305 GBP	387.98 USD
AS5202T	262 GBP

BEST FOR Virtualisation

NAS	CPU	Cores	Threads	Speed (GHz)	Docker/VM	Score	ECC
DS224+	Intel Celeron J4125	4	4	2 (MAX:2.7)	Docker/VM	2982	NO /2 GB DDR4 non-ECC
AS5202T	Intel Celeron J4005	2	2	2 (MAX:2.7)	Docker/VM	1586	NO /2 GB SO-DIMM DDR4 Compatibility

BEST FOR MULTIMEDIA

NAS	GPU	Base_GHz/Max	Codec	FPS	Transcoding	Plex
DS224+	Intel® UHD Graphics 600	250/750	H.264	60	2160	2160p
AS5202T	Intel® UHD Graphics 600	250/700	H.264	60	2160	1080p

BEST FOR FILE STORAGE

NAS	BAYS	Bandwidth	HDD storage	expansion	Drive mixing	File System
DS224+	2 HDD	2Gbit (2 ports combined)	44TB		✓	EXT4 BTRFS
AS5202T	2 HDD	5Gbit (2 ports combined)	44TB			EXT4 BTRFS

*All NAS support multiple RAID/ volume groups, if you want to mix different size drive on non supported model.

BEST FOR BACKUP

NAS	Level	HA	AI	Google	Microsoft	encryption
DS224+	folder/barebone	✓	face	✓	✓	volume/folder
AS5202T	folder					/folder

BEST FOR VIDEO EDITING

NAS	MAX LAN speed	Ports	transcoding	PCIe	NVMe
DS224+	1Gbit		✓
AS5202T	2.5Gbit		✓

BEST FOR SURVEILLANCE (CCTV)

NAS	HDMI	QVM	transcoding	AI
DS224+			✓
AS5202T	1x HDMI 2.0a		✓

BEST FOR SMART HOME/ AI

NAS	Virtual switch	Docker/VM	HDMI	S/PDIF / AUX
DS224+		Docker/VM
AS5202T		Docker/VM	1x HDMI 2.0a

LATEST VIDEOS RELATED

AVAILABILITY / RELEASE DATE

Brand	Model	TW	USA	UK	Released
Synology	DS224+	•	•	•	2023-07
Asustor	AS5202T	•	•	•	2020-09

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RELATED REVIEWS

SOFTWARE - 10/10

HARDWARE - 6/10

PERFORMANCE - 7/10

PRICE - 8/10

VALUE - 7/10

7.6

PROS

👍🏻Synology 4-Bay NAS with a 4-Core Intel Integrated Gfx Processor - Lovely stuff!
👍🏻Runs Everything in the Synology DSM Catalogue (Active Backup, Surveillance Station, VMM, Drive, Collab Suite, etc)
👍🏻Great Plex, Emby and Jellyfin Media Server Performance
👍🏻Broad HDD/SSD Compatibility with Synology drives AND Seagate+WD
👍🏻Low Impact chassis, low noise in operation (HDD dependant) and efficient power use
👍🏻Runs exceedingly well on just 2GB of Memory
👍🏻More affordable than the DS923+ and DS723+
👍🏻Long-running DSM Support beyond the Hardware

CONS

👎🏻No means to upgrade network connectivity and 1GbE by default
👎🏻Memory maximum cap at 6GB as original 2GB is fixed (non-upgradable)
👎🏻Small Jump from the 2020 released DS220+
👎🏻Non-Expandable
👎🏻Lack of M.2 NVMe Support

ASUSTOR provides their own ADM server software platform with all of their solutions and although it is not quite as advanced as offerings from most expensive NAS solutions in the market, it still arrives with a huge range of applications, services and is accessible via a web browser, mobile applications and desktop client tools. Their latest revision of this software is remarkably responsive and this alongside a number of their solutions also arriving with HDMI support means that you have a wide range of ways in which to access the data on your Asustor NAS in a tailored and appropriate way. The majority of their NAS solutions also arrive with BTRFS support too, as well as possibly the widest support in the market for 3^rd party tools available in their application center. They are a little less polishing in the design of some of their tools compared with their biggest competitors Synology and QNAP, but they also provide a better value for money in their hardware with many solution such as the Locksterstor series featuring some genuinely game changing hardware for the price point. Here are some of the highlights of the ADM software catalogue:

Plex - Hardware Transcoding (with a Plex Pass) is likely and with 1080p handled very well indeed, as well as some Plex 4K transcoding in H.265 - lower tier stuff though

Virtual Machines - A graphical embedded CPU like the Gemini Lake in this Nimbustor NAS will run Windows 10 and Android VMs very well. With the added support for Ubuntu and Hackintosh with VirtualBox

Storage Management - BTRFS Support, as well as EXT4 for the traditionalist, Multiple Snapshot storage and browsing for recovery, a large number of ISCSI and LUN target creation, fast-acting SSD caching use

Network Management - Support of LAG, Load Balancing and virtual switches, as well as maintaining top transmission over 2.5/5Gbe for editing or gaming over the network. As well as Jumbo Frame control, DDNS automation, Wake on LAN support and internet/external NAS access with EZ Connect

Backups - Supporting a wide range of multi-tiered backup options that can be carried out simultaneously thanks to the powerful CPU in the Nimbustor NAS, such as network RSync, USB Backups, NAS-2-NAS migration, Cloud Backups with Google Drive, Dropbox and Backblaze and numerous RAID levels internally for redundancy.

Content Management - Numerous Content Management Systems (CMS) and Customer Relationship Managers (CRMs) available in 1st and 3rd party forms, with simultaneous operations supported by the Asustor Nimbustor 4 NAS

User Account Control - Supporting over 4,000 accounts, each with their own bespoke privileges and access levels, as well as grouping methods to automate the process easily

Security - AES 256bit hardware encryption on data in/out of the device, as well as over backup methods, with the J4105 CPU in the AS5304T maintaining high R/W speeds throughout, as well as Windows ACL permission and configuration, auto blacklisting and multiple VPN provider support

Antivirus (ClamAV) – Scheduled Scans, Automatic Virus Definition Updates, Quarantine Infected Files

Download Center – Supports BT(Torrent & Magnet Link), HTTP and FTP Downloads, Torrent Search, Bandwidth Control, RSS Subscription and Automatic Downloading (Broadcatching), ASUSTOR Download Assistant for Windows & Mac

DropBox, OneDrive and Google Drive Sync – Each ADM Account is Able to Individually Log into one cloud Account, supporting Sync, Directly Upload Files to cloud from the NAS, or from cloud to NAS

LooksGood Media App –Built-in three main video library categories; movies, TV shows, home movies and smart video sorting management

• • The efficient global search function allows for searches by keywords followed by the execution of more detailed searches for the purpose of finding categories of movies, TV shows, home movies and parameters such as actors, director, year, genre, writer and title

  • Attractive poster wall and thumbnail display

  • Automatic production of video poster thumbnails

  • Centralized management and ability to configure the order of favourites and playlist history

  • The system administrator is able to configure video library and editing permissions according to user preferences

  • Can configure access permissions to share with

  • Multimedia conversion feature

  • Self-defined smart folder for video conversions

  • Supports digital TV recordings via digital

  • Easy streaming with Chromecast and DLNA

  • Supports playback of videos in Apple TV via AiVideos tvOS version

Mail Server – Each ADM Account can Become an Independent Email Account, Provides SMTP, IMAP and POP3 Mail Protocols, Spam Filter and Black List Settings, Antivirus Scanning for Emails, Exclusive Email Backup Mechanism, Auto-Forwarding and Auto-Response Protocols

Photo Gallary – “Album” and “Browse” Viewing Modes, Manage Photo Album Access Rights: Public Access, Restricted to Certain Accounts, Album Password, Multi-level Folder Structure Support, Supports Tagging of Photos, One-click Sharing to Social Media (Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Plurk, email), Intuitive Drag and Drop Management, Slideshow Viewing Mode, Supports a Wide Range of Image Formats: JPG/JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, TIFF, RAW and Supports Video Playback

Surveillance Center – Up to 64 channels in 720p on single live view display, On-screen camera controls including camera PTZ, manual recordings, take snapshots, configure camera settings and open Maps, Up to 4 channels of synchronous and non-synchronous playback with audio, Intelligent video analytics including motion detection and foreign object detection, Supported Browsers: Windows Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, Firefox, Mac Safari, Mac Firefox ESR, Event notification supports SMS, E-mail, and mobile push notification, AiSecure mobile app for iOS and Android with Push notification, Maximum IP Cam (4 Free Licenses; Additional Licenses to be Purchased)

Takeasy – Download from YouTube, Vimeo, Twitch and More, Selectable Video Type and Quality, Automatic Downloads with YouTube or Twitch Subscriptions, Preview Downloads in Progress and Online Playback

SoundsGood Audio App – Import Personal/Public Music Collection, Personal/Public Music Collection Permission Control, Playlist Editor, ID3 Tag Editor, Local Speaker Support: HDMI, USB, Audio Jack, Supported Audio Formats for Browser: MP3, WAV, Ogg, Supported Audio Formats for Transcoding Through Browser: AIFF, Flac, Supported Audio Formats for Local Speaker: MP3, WAV, Ogg, AIFF, Flac

Backup Tools – Rsync (Remote Sync) Backup, Cloud Backup, FTP Backup, External Backup, One-Touch Backup, EZ Sync, Btrfs Snapshots

How many of these tools are supported on any particular Asustor NAS and the frequency of applications your can run at once will still depend on the hardware of the solution you are looking at in their portfolio, but the bulk of them are available on ALL solutions from the brand. Find out more below in my reviews of ADM:

Asustor ADM Video Review

LATEST PRICE LIST

DS224+	305 GBP	387.98 USD
AS5202T	262 GBP

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