When should you upgrade your NAS?

[@duncan-mcrae]

My 4x bay synology is 11yro. It's been maxed out with 98% full for years.

[@turbo_bikini]

Nice, but NEVER fill HD/SSD above 80% threshold. It significantly decreases drives lifetime, as well as R/W ops.

[@johnc_canada]

I had a DS 1512+ that I finally decided to upgrade after Synology dropped support for DSM 6.2. This time around I built my own and put Truenas on it. It supports 16 drives, 64gb ram and dual 10gbe network ports for about half the cost and no worries about being unable to upgrade hardware/software down the road.

[@pfitz4881]

I too am considering dumping Synology lackluster hardware. I may be following your lead and move to another platform. Do you find yourself missing any of the Synology software now ?

[@anaesthetics]

What hardware did you use?

[@johnc_canada]

@@pfitz4881 Not really, I didn't use a ton of the Synology apps. I'm sure if you have a few that are critical you can search and see if there is a truenas or unraid equivalent before picking an OS. My use case is infrequent large data transfers when I have a video editing/compositing project, so I focused on expandability and fast transfer speed.

[@johnc_canada]

@@anaesthetics I got a new power supply but the rest was used equipment and I built it in a old Fractal Design Define R4 case I had. Eventually I'll get a rack mount case like a Sliger CX3702. Supermicro X11SSM-F MB with a Xeon E3-1260L V5 for lower wattage and 32gb ECC ram to start. It's got 8 SATA connectors I'm using for SSDs and I added an LSI 9207-8i HBA for 8 SAS HDDs. The SAS drives are 15-30$ cheaper than SATA so the first couple of HDDs covered the $30 cost of the HBA card. Its connect to my main PC with a 10GB SFP+ Dual Port X520-DA2 Supermicro NIC and 2 DAC cables.

[@anaesthetics]

@@johnc_canada that's awesome thanks for responding.

[@maciejjablkowski3159]

I upgraded a couple of months ago. My 414 is still running with all four HGST also from 2014. But I was afraid one of the components would die any day so I got 923+ with 2 16TB Synology drives so far. And I’m very happy with it. Have not upgraded anything yet and it is snappy and quiet enough.

[@JackupTraining]

My first synology is still running... DS115 😁 It still has it's purpose

[@The4Crawler]

I upgraded my 1513+ about 6 years ago with an 1618+. I run 4 drives in both. I kept the 1513+ and use that to back up the 1618+. I swap in new, larger drives into the new NAS, then put the replaced drives into the old NAS. The main reason for upgrading to the 1618+ was that I had maxed out the CPU/memory on the 1513+ (2 cores / 4GB) and I wanted to have more functionality like that for running Docker, VMs as well as video transcoding that the older NAS couldn't handle. Also, at the time, the 1513+ didn't support BTRFS, although I think Synology has since included support for that model.

[@markmonroe7330]

Excellent presentation. Thank you. I still have a DS2413+ from 2013 with 4g memory and 12 4tb Seagate Enterprise drives in it at RAID-6 with BTRFS volumes and plenty of snapshots. It works perfectly and I use it daily mostly as a unit for storing backups of systems. I wish it had 10g network interfaces. Doubt I would buy a new Synology with all of the proprietary drive/memory/card issues now.

[@ZinaidaUrsu-n1w]

Normotim reduces dopamine release, which is helpful for people who want to quit bad habits tied to quick pleasure.

[@jodajackson4489]

Still using a Synology DS1815+ but as a backup for a QNAP TS-653D both of which are data duplicated on a new UGreen DXP8800 Plus. The DS1815+ has been very reliable (RMAed for new manufactured model in 2017 with the C2000 errata fix). The real issue with the DS1815+ is its DSM 7.x.x limited upgrades and its anemic C2000 series SoC. Still works great though.

[@PowerUsr1]

Synologys are amazing for SMB type of projects. My first unit is a DS216j....That bad boy is still in service TODAY and its only used as hyperbackup vault and a secondary location for my xcp virtual machines if the primary nas fails.

[@FieldingSmith]

I’m running a ds918+ with 4x 12tb ironwolfs. Was mainly using it for photo work and as a media server, but as I get more and more into shooting and editing video, I’m realizing its limitations in size and network speed. Thinking either the 6 or 8 bay when the 25s come out, and also rebuilding my network to either 2.5 or 10g.

[@SpaceRexWill]

If the 1825 is like the 1821+ just better, then its going to be a great time to update

[@christopheroliver6747]

I given up waiting for DS1825+. So I have upgraded my trusted DS1813+ with 8 x 4TB HGST that still working perfectly for 24/7 for last 11 years. Gone for DS1821+ and 4 off EXOS x24 20TB + add 4GB RAM module = 8GB.

[@christopheroliver6747]

All four X24 Exos 20TB dead on arrival they've not detected by DS1821+, one of them beeps the others make strange noises.

[@biwageezer]

Thanks for another great video! I've been running a DS1019+ since it came out, filled with 12TB Ultrastar drives which are still going strong. I have two 512Gb NVMe drives installed, but no other upgrades (networking not available, but came stock with 8Gb of RAM, so that's been nice). My application has just been backing up local NVMe arrays and accessing the NAS remotely, so I haven't needed that much horsepower. I'm waiting for the 1825+, but if it's a unit that "officially" only supports Synology drives, I'll just buy the 1821+ and the network upgrade (hopefully at a discount). I use GoodSync to back up the NAS to an old OWC Thunderbolt-3 72TB (60TB RAID5) array which is backed up via Backblaze. Not elegant, but it works...

[@IWCpilot]

A year ago my trustworthy old DS415+ died. Tried the resistor fix which didn't solve the problem. So I bought a DS1522+, migrated the 4x8TB drives in RAID-5 configuration to the new nas, which worked without a problem. I then decided to convert the volume from RAID-5 to RAID-6 after adding a fifth 8TB drive into the DS1522+. The process went fine, but took almost two weeks. I now have 24TB of usuable storage, but the volume is now 81% full. I'm looking into what's best to do now: 1). Buy the new DS1825+ when it's available, migrate the disks and buy new ones as the volume fills up, and sell the DS1522+, or 2). Buy five new 16-20TB disks to replace the current ones one keep the DS1522+.

[@Starlight-AG]

Greetings. If it was me, I'd probably go with the drive upgrades. Then you would have new drives with good life moving forward and as Rex said, the Synology should last a long time. Even if you get the new Synology, you still have the HD decision. Good luck. 🇨🇦

[@IWCpilot]

@ Yes, I’ll probably get a bunch of 16TB Exos or Ironwolf Pro drives. 🇸🇪

[@DBR00]

Please make a video on how you maintain your beard! Hands down, it’s my favorite!

[@thy25138]

Functionality has turned out to be more important to me than storage in my NAS. The new DSM update where I lose H.265 support was the last nail in the coffin for me. I have purchased licenses for two additional cameras, but I am now considering switching to something else.

[@FieldingSmith]

@@thy25138 h.265 has been a concern for me as well, in addition to them pulling DS video. Feels like they are moving more towards corporate users than home/smb/photo-video users.

[@DigiDriftZone]

@@thy25138 what would be a good alternative?

[@cyberwasp461]

Been running a DS920+ for 3 years at 42tb and love it. Only have used 5tb total so far. Only issue I have is the OPENVPN won't let the mail plus app on my phone to connect since 7.2 but am working on it. I hope to see a video on the new ones coming out soon!!

[@mredizon00]

Same here been using my DS920+. My only upgrade is RAM and higher capacity NAS HDD.

[@cyberwasp461]

@@mredizon00 I only put in the ram upgrade, had cache but one stick failed so i disabled the other.

[@endotherm]

My DS101 is still running...

[@BradleyKang23]

Still using my DS415+ from 2014. I've had 3 drives fail over that time and have not lost any files. Use it everyday for work and personal files. updated RAM a while ago. trying to wait for DS1825+ to come out or just get the DS1821+

[@y4si0]

I run at home DS1515+ with firmware flashed to DS1517+ version and RAM expanded to 16GB. It's fine for my needs. At work we just bought DS1522+, it definitely is faster. Once I finish setting it up, I'm sure it will run for a long time without any major updates needed. Maybe sometime later we will upgrade the RAM, or add 10G networking.

[@Starlight-AG]

Greetings, Rex mentioned in an earlier video that he recommends a 2.5G or 5G network because the 10G is older and requires more power and creates more heat and is more costly. I have a DS1522+ as well and wish they would make a 2.5G update available instead of the 10G. Regards. 🇨🇦

[@jaylord55]

i just picked up a ds916+ 4 bay it was used and fairly cheap as an off site backup for my Proxmox/ truenas scale box of my main nas. I only reason for Synology nas was their shr vs just making a random trecenas build to store the data.

[@Kjaywest]

I have a J model NAS & I’m going to upgrade to the UniFi NAS for my system. I think for the long run it will work for me.

[@DigiDriftZone]

@@Kjaywest it’s a shame unify don’t make a small/quiet desktop form factor for those that don’t want a rack unit.

[@JustinKingOffroad]

my 920+ is humming right along but i do wish it had 10gbe networking. my 2.5gbe switch and network port in my pc would be much happier lol!

[@Starlight-AG]

Greetings. One thing you did not mention when deciding to upgrade/replace is this... I have a DS412+ 4 x 4TB drives. Working fine as file server etc but, short on space so decided to upgrade drives. Turns out it will only support a maximum drive capacity of 4TB each drive so upgrading drives is not an option. So, I got a DS1522+ and put 5 4TB drives as I had them already. Works far better and will support larger drives (although I cannot find info on how large per drive). Much better CPU. Wish they had a 2.5G network upgrade instead of the 10G available. Old DS412+ used for backups, Drive images etc and central data server for programming etc accessed from multiple machines so works fine. The DS1522+ is basically for Media server. 🇨🇦😀

[@nohandlehere55]

I'm been using my old NAS' as backups to newer NAS units. I might be a little crazy, but i have 2 online NAS and 2 "external drive" backups. Two are old enough not to have any latest DSM updates, so I blocked them from Internet access and for internal backups only.

[@christerwiberg1]

I totally agree with the cpu, optimum is to have barely the cpu you need for the throughput (as long as we are just using it as a file server), probably more reliable and using less power. My DS918 is still running fine but is starting to think that 2,5 GBe or 10 GBe would be nice to have now when those switches are getting affordable.

[@timotmon]

My first NAS is the DS720+ I'm still using it but I regret not getting a 4 bay off the bat. I spend too much time checking diskspace.. making adjustments to my backup schedule. Pulling movies on and off for Plex.. Life would be so much better If I could just slip another drive in.

[@DigiDriftZone]

Do NOT buy a "j" model, it's just pure pain. You get something like 20MB / sec with quality NAS drives, even getting a directory listing is very slow, "Synology Drive" is NOT usable, any kind of indexing makes it crawl to a halt. I really regret it and now purchased a DS723+ as a replacement, can't wait for it to arrive.

[@grahamlees4394]

in a simple home environment with principally 2 Linux PCs, I use a DS220j with 2 x 4TB drives in a SHR raid formatted EXT4 and I use Synology Drive. It performs well enough for my purposes - file storage and videos.

[@DigiDriftZone]

@@grahamlees4394 I have a single Macbook Pro with 2 x 18TB NAS drives and it is painful for just file storage on the 1 single laptop. Maybe because there are many tens of thousands of files and I'm trying to use "Synology Drive" for remote access , but even for a single user I find it unusably slow personally. Forget about Synology Photos or anything else.

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

I tend to agree, I do think that the way they're marketed is pretty misleading. That being said, the worst of the performance issues I've had with mine went away when I swapped cables, but it remains a significant challenge at times just logging in because the 2FA is so slow that it can miss the window by the time the code gets sent to me and I respond.

[@DigiDriftZone]

@@grahamlees4394 For me even for a single user with a MacBook Pro and Synology Drive app for remote access, I found it cripplingly slow. You get about 10% of the performance the drives get connected directly to the laptop.

[@brianhansen6906]

Yes. I started with a j model and it was so painfully slow, and it would just lock up for hours at a time because it couldn’t process the photos being dumped from my phone, I ended up upgrading pretty quickly to a 920+.

[@tim6986]

i just replaced my 215j cuz i thought it went bad. ended up being the drive but i already had the 224+. i love it, so much snappier. space isn't an issue for me. upgraded ram and am gonna try to do the multi channel smb thing. perfect nas for me. glad they offer smaller options no one thinks anyone needs.

[@shadowarez1337]

The day you realized hmmm my VM is running like a 486 and you made a Jbod instead of raid 5-10 and have 78TB of data 🤣

[@TazzSmk]

all said well, upgraded from RS2211 to RS3621 at work :))

[@sabrewulf725]

thanks

[@rayraman3243]

As always very informative videos. Thank you! I do have a question - if I am upgrading to a bigger hard drive, what should I do with the older one if it is still good?

[@Starlight-AG]

Perhaps get an external USB drive case and at least still usable. 🇨🇦

[@robertoghinato5754]

Still Rocking a DS218+ with 2x WD Red 3TB since 2019 no signs of slowing down

[@Rodrigo_SG]

Is there any news or rumors about new NAS Synology

[@Jp421JP]

Is there a vendor (or holiday time) that sometimes has discounts. The 1821+ has been about $1k for awhile. Any discounts anywhere?

[@gavin1215]

I started with an 1821 so I wouldn’t have to

[@pfitz4881]

I'm ready to upgrade my ds718+, but find Synology hardware offerings lacking. Though Synology software is awesome the dismal hardware offerings have me considering other vendors.

[@Starlight-AG]

I just got a DS1522+ to replace my DS412+ (which still worked fine for what I used it for). The DS1522+ is excellent. Faster CPU, RAM etc. I would recommend it. I was thinking of a DIY PC as a file server with multiple drives etc as I have been building PC's for decades but, decided I didn't feel like all the work. However, if Synology continues down the current road and then only allows their 'approved' drives etc then it's bye-bye Synology. We don't need another Microsoft dictating our NAS hardware like Windows 11. But I digress. Regards. 🇨🇦

[@talismanna]

Security updates are overplayed. The plethora of patches over the past year were due to DSM7 specific coding vulnerabilities. Unless you are a target rich user (if you are, you're already on DSM7), you're likely fine with v6.2.4. Although I could be on 7.2.2, I feel more secure with 6.2.4 (and I'm not alone). As far as upgrading goes, I'll likely go with TrueNAS or UnRAID as new Synology hardware is always quite dated and underpowered.

[@Starlight-AG]

Greetings, I would tend to agree. 🇨🇦

[@Cemilaws]

hello , today iam selling my DS923+ and i want to get ds1821+ because i need more bays and it has faster cpu, do you think it good or do i get xs version with 10gbe port ? will i get alerts for sedagate drives or idk can i do redundant cache nvme like ds923+ ? thank you

[@BenGifford]

My 918+ ran daily for 7 years and just died. Now I'm considering waiting for the 1825+ to come out before trying to touch the 40TB of data sitting there. I'm hoping I can just put the old drives in the new machine and everything will work...? Also, hope the release is soon!

[@Starlight-AG]

I think it would work. At least if the drives were SHR raided. I think Rex covered that in an earlier video. Regards 🇨🇦

[@QuickQuips]

Yeah. It's about figuring out how much space you'll use in a hdd normal service life which is roughly 7 years. Just did an upgrade to a 923+ so I can reuse some older 8tb drives when also upgrading my off-site. Any suggestions handling 512byte and 4k drives? I know you can't mix and match.

[@mattaudio]

I think my current Synology is my last unless they undo the recent problems and feature losses.

[@Starlight-AG]

Good point. In my case I'd build a dedicated PC as a file server. There are numerous NAS O/S available, some free. Then you have more choice in the hardware. However, I just got a new DS1522+ so I suspect I won't need to worry about it for some time. 🇨🇦

[@ken8516]

any issue running nvme and enclosure for hyper backup?

[@raycruz1787]

OFF Topic BUT....why is Synology only receommening Synology HDs, expecially with their latest DSM updates. ???

[@DigiDriftZone]

@@raycruz1787 I want to know too. Seems like a shameless cash grab as they don’t manufacture them do they…

[@Starlight-AG]

Marketing most likely but, supposedly tested brands/models are supported if problems. If they start putting in the O/S that will not accept certain drives (that are fine anyway) then drop Synology. 🇨🇦

[@mcury85]

My NAS ironwolf drives are not for sale anymore. What should I do if one of them fails ? There are other similar models.. would they work in the same raid array ?

[@fierce134]

Someone else can correct me if I'm wrong, but all my research has shown that mixing another brand hard drive in should be fine. It seems like you should just try and match RPMs for the drives. Out of curiosity, which ones aren't for sale anymore?

[@Starlight-AG]

perhaps the Iron Wolf Pro series would work for you but check into it first. 🇨🇦

[@MrMindlink]

DS1512+ ...it's time (12 years...).

[@ccmacc509]

No how's it going y'all 💔

[@Starlight-AG]

Goin' good ... ave' a good one 😁🇨🇦

[@philippemiller4740]

if only there was a way to upgrade the main board and keep all the rest... just have to throw it all away because some components are dated. planned obsolescence at it's finest

[@Starlight-AG]

Yeah, interesting idea from a DIY maker point of view. 🇨🇦

[@droneforfun5384]

Nope i should not

[@roocrew86]

if they release ds1825+ with 1gbe im done with synology. 1gbe needs to die its insulting