Synology DS1522+ NAS - Should You Buy It?

[@WillBelden]

Would like to add that I pulled the trigger on this. ​ I bought the Synology DS 1522+, 5x8TB in RAID6 for 20.xTB total storage. (I was at only 10 TB with my old Drobo 5N.) Been pretty happy with it in the couple months I've had it online. Docker, for sure, but just an awesome interface with the DSM 7.2. Your review here was a HUGE influencing factor, honestly. Knowing what it could do, what to watch for, along with such a detailed review made all the difference. Thank you SO much @NASCompares , and may you have a great new year!

[@WillBelden]

Thanks for the detailed rundown. Considering the 1522 to replace my aging Drobo 5N. Unfortunately, I'm mostly WiFi in our setup, so the 1GB speed limits are mostly fine. I'll keep the Drobo, although smaller capacity as a straight backup for any new Synology I get. (Plus, RAID 6, 2-drive failure on the Synology.)

[@Zerogenome]

I bought a 920+ recently since my use case is focusing on storage with few media streaming and a tiny docker image. My feeling now is if you want an extra hot spare bay and spicy cpu power or ram or 10gb you better go for 1522+. I choose 920+ because of low power consumption and I now populate 3/4 bay with ironwolf 4tb 5900RPM due to noise since all of them are in my bedroom. Choose what you use. I got 920+ for only 350$ :D

[@nygmaa]

Nice! What RAID are you running on it ? I need to get one mainly for big video files storage/archiving, 4 bays might not be enough idk.

[@Zerogenome]

@@nygmaa I'm currently using SHR since it is incredibly flexible. I chose my NAS based on NAS performance suit my use cases and cost/benefits over the number of bays and HDD capacity because the spec is barely upgradeable. If you wonder what is suitable for you between 6 bays with 4TB //20GB use space 4 bays with 6TB //18GB use space You might want to consider 3 things 1) power consumption 2) Noise 3) Embedded graphic More bay = More drive = more noise & power Higher capacity HDD = More RPM noise & power You might looking for DS920+ DS1621+ or DS1522+ You can find all detail on this channel. I choose Ironwolf 4TB 5900RPM since it's enough for now. I can pull out 1 drive and switch it with 2 8TB drives if I need more space in the future.

[@tinuspannier4470]

With the same drive configuration, would this DS1522+ be louder than DS920+?

[@FastRedPonyCar]

I'm torn between this and the new Unifi NAS. Right now, I have an IBM X System running truenas but I want to simplify things to a smaller footprint (less power consumption and less noise) and all that server does is Plex media and file storage. For plex, we only watch movies locally so no transcoding is going on. If I went with the Unifi, it's cheaper, has 10G built in, more storage slots if I want to expand beyond the 5x12TB drives I have right now but I would need to get a small NUC or something to run my plex server. If I got this Synology, it would run plex but at a higher price, another 100 bucks needed for 10G (which I 100% want and currently utilize with my Lenovo but not something I am considering part of the cost of entry to this project). I watched your Unifi NAS review and, unless I'm mistaken (and I can't find any real information about it), it sounds like their RAID system operates similarly to Synology's SHR? The thing I can't do right now with my lenovo is increase the capacity over time by incrementally swapping bigger drives as they get cheaper. That's a HUGE value add in my opinion to the Synology but I'm wanting to know if the Unifi can do the same thing? Right now, just due to cost, I'm leaning towards the Unifi NAS. I can get a decent NUC for about the cost of that Synology 10G module but I wonder if there is any benefit to having Plex running on the Synology where the library is also stored vs running plex on a NUC and pointing it at the Unifi SMB share? I have the good old 2 disk synology 223J so I'm fairly familiar with all the extra stuff it can do but other than holding a plex library and holding files, I really have no other need for anything else.

[@nsayer]

The video says that USB printers are not supported... they sure are. I have a label printer plugged into my 1522+ and it works just fine.

[@coolcat23]

I appreciate the balanced reporting. The CPU is the showstopper for me. I would have liked to add a 5-bay unit to my DS420+ but I won't buy a unit without hardware acceleration for media conversion and the 1Gb/s connections were outdated a couple of years ago already. Not a fan of Synology making everything they can proprietary and castrate USB functionality so that one is forced into their proprietary solutions.

[@timmark4190]

What is an alternative?

[@coolcat23]

@@timmark4190 Depends on what you want. Perhaps another Synology with a Celeron processor (DS420+) or a QNAP?

[@billbowman8747]

So this unit would be a good replacement for my aging Drobo 5N that I connect to my eero router? I basically just use it as a home file server and for cold storage of finished client work.

[@MR-vj8dn]

I’m using QNAP, Netgear, HP, Drobo, TrueNAS today. I’m new to Synology though and this seems to be a channel to ask about them. Is there a forum for questions and discussion?I’m looking for a suitable NAS that will provide SHR2 and 100TB+ of possible storage for mostly iSCSI use, no media features required.

[@FabulousFadz]

I was going to get the 920+ when I heard about the 923 and thought that would be better. For my use case it isn't. One of my primary reasons for getting a NAS was to use it as a Plex server. Currently my Plex is running on an old laptop with 6TB of external HDD storage. That 6TB is pretty full now so I can't add more stuff. So among other NAS functions I wanted something with hardware acceleration. I've now decided that I'll run plex off of a NUC with the NAS serving as the storage. I would prefer a 5 bay NAS and wanted to know what your thoughts are regarding getting 923+ vs 1522+. I'll get the 10Gb expansion if necessary but is there a compelling reason to choose the 4 bay over the 5 bay?

[@pnachtwey]

I have had a DS1522+. I just upgraded 5 6TB drives to 3 16TB drives. It was easy but it took a while. I am using SHR1 obviously. After upgrading I had to make another volume to take advantage of the extra 10TB. Now I need to upgrade the RAM so I can run Docker containers. If you have 5 drives the same size and you are NOT going to upgrade the drives then use RAID 5. I use RAID 5 because I have an older DS1019+ I use for backup. This is necessary because the power supply or CPU can die. If a drive dies it is no big deal. Some say use RAID 6. If you have only one NAS this is OK but what if the power supply or drive dies? You need another NAS or big USB drive to use as backup.

[@muffinberg7960]

I am really going between 1621+ or this 1522+. I really can't make my mind. I really want something small, and this model being small, I favor it. But then comes the point 1621+ having the internal power supply and that being more efficient then the external one. I am also going between this having low multicore performance. I guess there is very little to no chance for this to run a vm. If I get this I should be only using this as a storage which is also an option, I can get those aliexpress routers with celeron N6005 and do the plex on there while using the synology for its storage bucket. Yes, currently I am very undecisive on this. Any suggestions from anyone?

[@JohnSmith-zl8rz]

I have the same question

[@keesverhagen9227]

Me too. Can not decide between ds1621+ and the 1522+ . The cpu on the 1522 is slightly faster. And maybe with the next update you can use the m2 as datapool ?

[@user-sc6vg4ny5u]

Increasingly building a small UnRaid seems the way to go.

[@azwb]

4 Drives - 12TB Iron Wolf Pro getting 600MB Writes / 810MB Reads using Blackmagic Software Test. Does anyone else have any test results they would like to share?

[@zenithnow]

Just bought this NAS, and 4 x WD Red Pro 8 TB drives. Synology Assistant and Web Assistant fail to recognise the drives. Failed to install the DSM. Synology Tech Support took the line "the drives aren't on the compatibility list" So far, I don't think much of Synology. Waste of time and money.

[@vivoices]

Is the 1522+ capable of running reliably with 5 x Seagate Exos X24 24TB HDDs in RAID 5?

[@tsenkov]

Does it work with 20TB Ironwolf drives (the new ones - ST2000NT01). Compatibility sheet shows 10TB max :(

[@ronaldvargo4113]

If they would have gone with a 4 core CPU vs 2 core/4 thread I would have considered this an update. But because they decided cheap on on the CPU I am going to have to wait another year to see what comes out in the 5 bay line of Synology.

[@muffinberg7960]

Unfortunately this is synology make that a minimum of 3 years. That is why I am especially frustrated at them. We have all the tech and its cheap, I am willing to pay alot more but dont have any options present. I want something compact and also packed with a cpu which makes sense. To synology if I say I want more performance or quality hardware they immediately try to shove a rackmount server down my ass.

[@ExNova99]

@@muffinberg7960 2 years*

[@jesmonda]

thank you for the great review and insights on the NAS products. I've been planing to upgrade from my current DS220+ to DS1522+, however I'm concerned that according to Synology compatibility lists, they no longer support any third-party 2.5 SATA SSD drives! Do you know if I can still use other SATA SSD brands with the DS1522+?

[@azwb]

You probably figured your anser out by now. But I went with a crucial SSD drive 4TB x 3 - They were zippy fast but got a read/write error on one of the drives and it kinda concerned me. Data was safe but I was thinking they drive is 3 weeks old and I got an error.... Hum... I went with Seagate Iron Pros which are built for toughness. Havnt had an issue withe the 4 of them.

[@Zer0G101]

DS1621 or DS1522 ? have 8 cameras and use docker and normal nas stuff.

[@art_81]

Now that 4 months have passed, do you know if it works with pro discs?

[@AlexeiTetenov]

Thanks for sharing!

[@AussieTech]

Hi there, I currently have a DS420j NAS with about 15TB of content on my drives so far - If I purchased a 920+ or 1522 to upgrade can I just put the drives from my 420 in there or will erase all my content? Is there a way I can do this in the future that you know of? Thanks for the great content and please keep the videos coming! Mick

[@carlosgarcialalicata]

Did you figure out the answer?

[@AussieTech]

@@carlosgarcialalicata Hi, not as yet :( I’m still fairly new to all this stuff, but I think I was had in the shop when they sold me this unit - now i’ve learnt a bit more, I have realised I got a very starter NAS and I’m wanting more for the future already!

[@cybermorph]

yes absolutely. And OMG what is up with you people discounting this because it doesn't provide enough gpu transcoding for you, therefore it's a loser? I had a 220+ which was fine and now the 1522+ and it's awesome. Plays all my 4K videos perfectly and as well or better than my previous. What is this obsession with transcoding videos when you're buying a $1000 NAS that does so much more and the new processor does cartwheels around the previous Celeron on the 220+. I mean how many people are watching fricken videos on their phone and flipping out if it buffers? I tested and it works just as well as the 220+ for my needs, no buffering or stuttering and remote play just as seamless. So are there seriously tens of thousands of people using their NAS to share their library and expecting 10 for more simultaneous transcoding streams to all their kids or friends or.... customers? it's lunacy to see all the complaints about this one feature not being optimized with their choice of a new CPU which frankly is so much faster and efficient on every other task I use my NAS for like video and photo editing on the fly, backing up and accessing Synologydrive, music streaming and everything else. And no problem playing and I guess transcoding a stream when needed. So just STFU with all the negative whiners who seem to have no life but watching multiple streams on multiple phones at any given time, therefore this is a crappy NAS? Give us a break and get a life. It's an awesome product.

[@gloomy475]

Is link aggregation an option?

[@sunnindawg]

Excellent

[@robertcoleman7071]

Much has been said about the issues with 1Gbe for 3 years but really, what percentage of users need more than that right now? How many devices connect via wifi thereby not being able to saturate even a 1Gbe connection.

[@FrankReiter]

Wifi 6e is a thing…

[@Noodles.FreeUkraine]

I bet their CEO is raging 24/7 because he can't just put a single transistor in there as a CPU. And as for the proprietary crap (branded HDDs and interfaces), at this point I'm just waiting for a new triangular power plug they can sell for only $500 extra. Let's not even elaborate on the DSM of hell (7.x) that, after coming out years late, is merely a castration of its predecessor. Oh well, I guess that's just how you gotta run things when you absolutely must run your reputation into the ground and alienate as many customers as possible. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@carlosgarcialalicata]

What's the brand + triangular power plug about? Can't you just install normal drivers?

[@Incredible_Pete]

Please speak not so fast. There are Germans listening 😅

[@passion4gadgets60]

My power supply keeps dying.

[@cfwin1776]

I saw reports about power supply failures on these NAS. I have been using an earlier 5 bay version for about two years. I have it connected to a cheap UPS. So far so good.

[@YouTubeGlobalAdminstrator]

No quicksync, no dedicated SSD storage, proprietary NIC, proprietary PSU connector - no thanks. It could've been a great unit, but not like this. Aimed more at business users it seems. Good review though!

[@blcjck8121]

Yeah at this point they're just bullshitting. If they're trying to pass off a dual core hyperthread CPU as better than quad core single thread even at higher clock, they're full of it. This is not a successor to the 1520 it's something worse, and even if, it's not even a sidegrade. Forget this Mickey Mouse company for the time being, they lost their marbles.