Synology DS224+ - The New Entry Level Standard

[@mali2640]

Thanks for the overview. Would love to see more stuff covering different options and how to use them accordingly.

[@MikeFaucher]

Thanks for the feedback, it is on my list.

[@elmojito]

As a long time Synology user my experience has always been very positive. So much so that I own 4 of them including one in my boat handling security cameras and as repository of all equipment installed in the boat. In my house one of the units solely used for security cameras in a separate VLAN for security. All units have been foolproof with the oldest dating back to 2011! and still working fine although now only used for backing up the main unit.

[@MikeFaucher]

Outstanding, thanks for sharing your configuration and the feedback.

[@Sentinel28-13]

Great video here.. thank you! For those of us that are need to this, these videos are extremely helpful. And for some of the commenters here that are more versed and skilled… systems like this aren’t “junk” just because they serve the novice class. Realize that the goal here is to protect data with versatility… not everyone is at your level, so realize that when you’re commenting. We’ll be looking to the experts to provide meaningful comments so we can regularly upskill and eventually get to your level

[@MikeFaucher]

Great comment and point. Thanks for the feedback.

[@japanesejuan]

This is the explanation I exactly needed! Thanks!

[@MikeFaucher]

Glad it was helpful. Thanks for the feedback.

[@sumit5591]

Thank you! Sir, you’re great at simplifying the information to explain.

[@MikeFaucher]

@@sumit5591 thanks for the feedback. Appreciate it.

[@PiperHipsz]

Been looking at getting this particular NAS because I've been having a lot of issues with my current BUFFALO LinkStation 220 that has two 4tb. Question is, can I pull those drives and place them into this Synology?

[@MikeFaucher]

You would have to reach out and ask Synology for sure but my guess is no.

[@MikeFaucher]

My guess is no. You will start over. Suggest getting new drives.

[@pavingos]

What is the correct memory module to use, i want 4gb more? Maybe Kingston module, i don't the name of it? Best Regards From Denmark

[@MikeFaucher]

The one I used in the video is linked in the description of the video and was from TimeTec but you can use any SODIMM DDR4 2666 memory module as they should work. Most memory MFG like Curcial, GSkill make DD$ 2666 SODIMM modules. Hope that helps.

[@pavingos]

@@MikeFaucher Thank you for the help. Regards pavingo

[@caesar5555]

Thank you! Would be nice if you create a video of how to create a folder per user. Thanks again!

[@MikeFaucher]

I will add it to my list when I do an update. Thanks for the feedback.

[@magog6852]

Mike, great quality on the video. What is your camera?

[@MikeFaucher]

I have a Lumix GH5. It's an oldie with lousy autofocus but the video quality is good. If I were buying today, I would get the G9II or the S5IIx mainly for autofocus. Thanks for the feedback.

[@BankJatimUtama]

hi Mike, i want to ask, when you set up a storege pool why you only get 3,7Tb while you have 3,7 Tb x2?

[@MikeFaucher]

Basically because of RAID. It reserves one drive for redundancy in case one drive fails you don’t lose data. Hope that helps.

[@BankJatimUtama]

@@MikeFaucher oh i see..so if i want to get full capacity i need to use the other storage type right? thanks Mike

[@MikeFaucher]

@@BankJatimUtama No you can configure without the redundancy and get full storage. I suggest you understand what you are using the NAS for. Without the redundancy, your data is at risk.

[@mdd1963]

That's a disadvantage of only having 2 bays...; if you want redundancy/protection against a single drive failure, you must mirror the drives, i.e., run them as basically copies of one another. You don't have to do this , however, but, you'd best have another copy elsewhere then! (Better yet, two copies in two devices, and, better yet, in 2 locations! :)

[@marcusaurelius3487]

To begin with, my NAS will only have 1 drive (which goes against all teachings of my uni program as i’m studying to become a network engineer), will SHR be sufficient initial config until i later on buy an additional drive and insert it? Will i need to do headache inducing tinkering when i insert the second drive to start using raid properly?

[@marcusaurelius3487]

Alternatively, i’ll just do an autoscript that will compress the files and store it in an external drive

[@MikeFaucher]

If you setup initially with SHR you can a drive at any time as long as you know you will not have any protection with a single drive.

[@abhijnaatman1874]

Will i be able to add data to one drive and backup that to the second drive? Just in case the first stops working. Unless there a better way?

[@MikeFaucher]

Yes but a better way is to just set it up as raid or redundancy which is the default for two drives.

[@techintel2529]

First off, great video. Very well explained and easy to understand. I’m currently running a DS220j, dual 2TB WD Red Pro in RAID 1. It’s used for my family to backup their photos to and I have upwards of 600GB of them on there. My NAS has become unbearably slow and I’m seriously considering upgrading to a 224+. Is this worth the upgrade or should I go for something like a 723+? The only use currently is for photo backup.

[@MikeFaucher]

Either will be fine for just photo back so if that is your only use case I would not spend the extra money. For video, the 224+ will still be better even though it is cheaper. As both of these have only 1G drives, have SSDs for caching or file transfer is not going to help. The only advantage of the 723+ is to use it for Virtual machines with SSDs. Hope that helps.

[@techintel2529]

@@MikeFaucher thank you for the quick reply! I actually have it in my Amazon cart right now, just needed an excuse to buy it from someone who knows them better than me lol

[@MikeFaucher]

@@techintel2529 Outstanding and good luck with it. Thanks for the update.

[@HK1412mac]

Hello Mike, Thank you for your great video. Think I'm gonna use the channel in the future with my migration to another DS. I'm looking at this DS224+ to replace my DS214play. I was planning to re-use my 2 WD RED 3TB - 3,5" / SATA III/I disks Is this possible and if so do I need to format them? Also did I read somewhere else of some people using a 16 GB RAM upgrade wich works in their DS224+. What's your point on that? Thank you in advance.

[@MikeFaucher]

It is possible to transfer as long your drives are compatible with the new unit. There is a good article that walks you through this (www.coolblue.nl/en/advice/how-do-i-transfer-a-hard-drive-from-synology-nas.html#id-backup-data). The critical thing here is that you need to have a back up just in case. One alternate suggestion is to get the new NAS and get two new drives and move the data using the network over to the new NAS and use the old NAS as a back up source once the data is restored to the new device. I did a video that will coming out soon on using Hyper Backup to another NAS. As for the RAM, the MFG says that 6 Gigs is the max for the DS224+ but honestly, I have yet to see mine go over 3Gig running a couple of containers. Memory usage is pretty good unless you want to run VMs on it, and that is where memory disappears. That said, if you want to run VMs I would suggest a higher end unit. For most everyday use the DS224+ is a great device. Hope that helps and thanks for the feedback.

[@HK1412mac]

Thank you for your quick reply @@MikeFaucher

[@AinzOoalG0wn]

this sort of reminds me of qnaps 253d models in regards to the magnetic cover. does this syn model have a similar issue of the front lid making vibrating noises? just wondering

[@MikeFaucher]

Good point. Pretty nice unit.

[@MindBlower18]

Great video 👍 I've been running a DS216+II for quite some time incl. 8 GB of RAM. Would you recommend to upgrade to DS224+ instead? If so, can i use the DDR4 RAM modules from the DS216? Thx from Munich... 😉

[@MikeFaucher]

Not sure it is worth an upgrade if you are using the DS216+. If you upgrade got with the 4 disk version instead. As for the memory, no it will not work as I believe the DS216 is DDR3.

[@SiEffen]

Thanks, that's answered the question I was going to ask. Another longtime 216+ii user here wondering whether there was a benefit to updating to the newer iteration! @@MikeFaucher

[@MikeFaucher]

@@SiEffen I would always go for more storage if I am going to upgrade, as we seem to use much more nowadays. Thanks for the feedback.

[@antonior6194]

Is it possible to run this unit with only one drive for awhile, and later add a second drive? Budget wise 😅

[@MikeFaucher]

Absolutely. Great question.

[@dmitriybrovko]

Thanks you for this video. I couldn't find any information about max HDD size and total supported volume. Previous DS223 support 2x18 TB drive maximum, but I plan use 2 WD drives at 20 TB each. Is it possible to use them in DS224+?

[@MikeFaucher]

Yes, advertised max drive size are usually because that is all out at the time the specs are met. 20T or 22T will work fine.

[@ccj962]

Outstanding basic information!

[@MikeFaucher]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for the feedback!

[@Leba2006]

Great video! Is there a way to back up my Netgear ReadyNAS Duo to the Synology DS224+? Thank you

[@MikeFaucher]

According to the Netgear documentation it suipports Rsync so you should be able to backup to the Synology using rsync. I have used the Netgrear device but it should work.

[@spearheadconsulting5144]

I tried to add more than one dns server in the networking interface settings but was only able to add one. Is there a way around this? The website says use a comma but that didn’t work for me. Thanks in advance.

[@MikeFaucher]

You can only have a total of two, primary and secondary as far as I know and that does work. One suggestion is to not put any DNS entries in your devices and put it on the router to handle all your devices.

[@spearheadconsulting5144]

@@MikeFaucher I have an AD network and we have 2 internal DNS servers and one was unavailable for a day but that makes sense for this. It's nice to have a second set of eyes and opinions in this business. Thanks.

[@MikeFaucher]

@@spearheadconsulting5144 Anytime and good luck and thanks for the feedback

[@QuoteService]

Can I use just one 4TB HDD for now and add another after few months without losing any data? I do not need any RAID feature, I want to use all of the available space of HDDs.

[@MikeFaucher]

The short answer is yes. You can add storage anytime and grow the storage. It will use the hybrid raid by default however so you will have to actually configure it to not use it. Hope that helps.

[@QuoteService]

@@MikeFaucher Thank you for your prompt answer.

[@cottagekeeper]

Curious if this will work for those on the Apple ecosystem? Also for someone who has no understanding of NAS and how to set it up what is the best way to learn how to set this up to use Time Machine for multiple people and give each person space a place to save files that need to be shared and photos/videos. Thank you.

[@MikeFaucher]

It works great with the Apple Ecosystem as I have 3 of them my self. I am in the process of competing a video on Time Machine as well.

[@cottagekeeper]

@ucher Thanks! Will look forward to watching. We have 7 people using Macbook Pro, 10 iPhones, and 1 iPad, would love to set each of them up with Time Machine, and get rid of iCloud. Excited to watch and learn from you. I only learned what NAS was a week ago and I don't have an IT training. I need the for Dummies version lol!

[@merlanotrevis]

When comparing ds224+ with ds723+ which is good for plex and file transfer

[@MikeFaucher]

Interesting question as these are completely different. The ds224+ is intel based and will handle video better and is half the price. Both will handle file transfers the same on 1G but the ds723+ has an expansion slot to add a 10G card if you have a 10G network, and nVME for caching. If you plan running VMs the ds723+ has more powerful AMD CPU. If all you want is Plex and do not plan on using 10G networking then the ds224+ will just fine.

[@jamieskon]

Great Vid - As a total novice I intend to use this for transferring video from action camera H.64 & H.265 hevc to NAS. I thought I heard it couldnt handle playback of H2.65??? unless the info was from one of Synology's previous 2 bay models ?????? thanks

[@MikeFaucher]

This model will handle H.265 as it supports Intel QuickSync. Great question.

[@jamieskon]

Thank U

[@tombouie]

Hmmmm .... Well-Done; You clearly explained cryptive but essential end-user NAS concepts so-well that even I understood them (most can't/won't ;). 1st Request you keep your synology videos well-organized in playlists. Pls keep focusing on end-user needs instead of endless geek detailed techno-babble. 2nd I have 2 hopefully simple questions: A. I mainly want/hope to re-connect my family/friends/etc spread all over the-world justs-likes old-times via a synology NAS (ex: !DS1824+ or Bust!). I plan to do great on/off-site backups & thus I really don't need any type of real-time redundancy like RAID/SHR (plus RAID is a processor-hog, wears-out the HHDs a lot faster, etc). In a nutshell if my NAS gets corrupted, I'll just simply go offline for a few hours, reload the latest backup, & pop back online again. Sooooo ?wouldn't it be wiser for me to just get a 4bay synology NAS & plug an inexpensive USB 4/6/8bay HHD enclosure into it? B. Whether than cloud storage for my offsite backups, I plan/hope to find a local professional network geek (like yourself) & pay him for offsite encrypted backup storage (even-better offer mutual offsite encrypted backup storage space). ?What dos-yous-thinks?

[@MikeFaucher]

Thanks for the feedback. That will certainly work I still prefer to use a RAID of some sorts even for backup as USB storage units can be a challenge if something goes wrong. USB is fine for smaller requirements such as single drive stuff so I tend to stay with RAID or you can use something like UNRAID. If you are looking for an inexpensive cloud solution, look at Wasabi. That is what I use. I did a video on it a while back on my channel. Good luck with whatever direction you end up and keep me posted.

[@janspel134]

Mike thanks, your video is helping, but what I need is directions on how to back up. The first drive 8 gig is for files like music and the second drive has to be the back up from the first. How do I implement that? grtz Jan (Netherlands)

[@MikeFaucher]

If you set the drives up when you first get the device to be independent drives, you can do that with their backup or sync program. The best way, however, is to let it set up the raid and have full drive redundancy which is the default, and then back up to an external drive. Check out this video as it may help you (kzbin.info/www/bejne/qoHCgn6qf5V1itE)

[@janspel134]

@@MikeFaucher Hi Mike, thanks for the link. Do I understand you right? I configured the NAS to raid1. So it automatically backs up the first drive to the second drive? That would be oké! How can I check that for sure. I can’t approach the second drive and have a look if it backed up allright?

[@MikeFaucher]

@@janspel134 In RAID 1, it is not really a backup but a redundancy. It contains the same information all the time, and information is always duplicated, but you can not access the second drive directly. To tell the configuration, go into your storage manager, click on STORAGE, and then click on STORAGE POOL, and see what is says next to the info section next to RAID type. Typically, the storage capacity will be equal to one drive. Another words, 2 4T drives gives you only 4T of usable space..

[@Lam-mi2qr]

With two tapes and how to setup backup from tape 1 to tape 2? Many Thanks.

[@MikeFaucher]

Assuming you are referring to the internal hard drives, each would have to be setup as independent drives, another words individual drives. The other option if you currently only have one drive in the NAS is to get another drive and and let NAS configure the raid so that there is redundancy. Hope that helps.

[@brianw6645]

Unfortunately, the DS224+ doesn't support 20TB drives. I got this NAS on the Black Friday sale, and I think I need to send it back. I also got the BF deal on the two 20TB WD Red drives. Please tell me Synology customer support is wrong and these drives will work with this NAS.

[@MikeFaucher]

I have not tried one but I will send this to Synology to get some additional information. Don’t se why it would not work

[@tadpolegaming4510]

Do they work? The website seems to claim they do now

[@brianw6645]

@@tadpolegaming4510 It turns out that the WD 20TB drives do work. I've installed them and have been using them shortly after making this post.

[@tadpolegaming4510]

@@brianw6645 always annoying to have to trust random people's testing over actual company representatives, but that is good news

[@RedondoDennis]

How would you migrate existing CalDav events from a prior Synology unit to the current Synology calendar used by the DS224+? Thanks for creating this video.

[@MikeFaucher]

Have never tried that so I can't really answer that. Thank for the question and feedback.

[@IstraVolimTe]

hi, which stick did you use for RAM upgrade?

[@MikeFaucher]

Thanks for pointing that out. I just added a link in the video description.

[@vpsjdon]

My use case will be just as a plex server. I will add a 4 tb new Hdd, and a 1 tb (old) hard disk to this NAS. I DON'T need any redundancy or backup or data protection as I can just download my media if need be. So, my question is which type of configuration gives me the most capacity(~5 tb ) and speed? I noticed you used Raid 1 and it basically halved your total storage which I DON'T need. Any suggestions please? PS: Incredibly helpful video. Very concise and full of information that was needed. Kudos!

[@MikeFaucher]

If you do not need redundancy than you would use JBOD which just combines the storage.

[@vpsjdon]

@@MikeFaucher Wow, thank you so much for replying! My NAS should be delivered in a couple of days. Can't wait! Thanks again :)

[@MikeFaucher]

@@vpsjdon Outstanding, and good luck with it.

[@Antares0327]

Great Video. Thanks!

[@MikeFaucher]

Thanks. Appreciate the feedback.

[@acevanzandt3179]

When you create the video about using this as a Plex media server, PLEASE tell us how to watch NAS-based movies on our TVs !!!

[@MikeFaucher]

Great idea, thanks for the input. I may make a separate video as there are so many ways to playback. Thanks for the feedback.

[@Robbie2245]

Thank you! Nice video

[@MikeFaucher]

Thanks for the feedback!

[@RichardsWorld]

Full disclaimer. Synology has never sent me anything. They will send me something after I pay for it 😂

[@MikeFaucher]

😁

[@caesar5555]

set it up with synergy drive, The speed while I am on same network is 10MB/s........

[@MikeFaucher]

Is this speed wired or wireless. It sounds like wireless.

[@caesar5555]

@@MikeFaucher The 224 connected with wire to the router and my computer is on same WIFI. BUT When I download a big file form somewhere online in the same computer and wifi it goes 30MB/S

[@MikeFaucher]

@@caesar5555 This is pretty strange. I expect around 80-90 on the wire, but on Wifi, 10 does not seem too far off, as Wi-Fi is horrible for large file transfers. I am unsure what you mean by the same computer, as I am unsure of your network topology. It almost sounds like there are two hops. Can you better define how you are using this and how it is hooked up?

[@andrevieira997]

Hello dear Buddy, did you smoke weed today? I love your videos

[@MikeFaucher]

Thanks for the feedback.

[@oneness44]

1 Gb/s LAN port in 2024 unfortunately they adopted Apple's tactic 😕 DS224+ - 1Gb/s DS723+ - 1Gb/s DS423+ - 1Gb/s 😳

[@MikeFaucher]

Agreed. Solid hardware but lags in feature parity with competition. Thanks for the feedback.

[@jxpat]

Good info, but very, very, dry. Purchased anyway 👍

[@MikeFaucher]

Thanks for the feedback and the purchase. No one has ever accused me of being entertaining, only accurate. 😀

[@mdd1963]

no 2.5GbE, no purchase...; 2.5GbE should be a mandatory minimum these days... It is not 2008 anymore. :)

[@MikeFaucher]

Thanks for your feedback.

[@mdd1963]

I actually *want* a NAS, be it Synology, QNAP, or Asustor, just to play with! (Problem is, I just don't actually need one, and am content w/ a couple of shared WIn10 Storage Spaces arrays...@@MikeFaucher

[@mircea8342]

For 2.5gb you need to change more stuff like switch, ap, router, not only nas

[@Horizon-hj3yc]

Overpriced unreliable junk that offers no freedom, it's better to make a NAS yourself.

[@MikeFaucher]

Thanks for the feedback.