Synology 12 Bay DiskStation DS3622xs+ Desktop NAS (Diskless)

Pros: Good configuration for RAID-6/SHR-2
10GbE (optional card) is high bandwidth (650-700 MB/s with RAID-6)
NVMe (optional) available in addition to network adapter
Migration Assistant worked well (Hyper Backup would have been 2nd choice)
DiskStation Manager (DSM) software–big feature set Cons: None yet Overall Review: It was time to upgrade from a DS1515+ (5 x 4TB, RAID-6). Ended up with this DS1621+ that just came on the market. I had considered the 8 bay DS1819+ and then saw that the DS1821+ would probably be what I want but a bit pricier and not shipping yet. Then I saw the DS1621+ and 14TB drives on sale and determined this product will hit all my needs for the next five years. I’ve been running it for about a week after a week of drive testing and configuring.
Setup was straightforward–the DSM 6.2 is what is current, and runs on the DS1515+. I used the Synology “Migration Assistant” package to move all the files over in about 30 hours, with only a couple of small windows of a few minutes where the services were disabled. I didn’t even know about this program, but it worked really well. I had been using Hyper Backup and was going to use that to restore.
Speaking of backups, I moved an external USB drive that stores Hyper Backups to the new NAS; it picked up incrementals right where the old one left off. And one volume holds macOS Time Machine images for three computers and the Macs all started backing up to the new NAS where they left off.
The 10GbE ethernet is a massive upgrade for a modest cost (E10G18-T1). I’m getting 650-700 MB/s read and write sustained from six 7200 RPM Seagate Exos 14TB X14 drives (AFS/SMB, Btrfs, disabled Data Integrity Protection, 4K sectors) and slightly less with Integrity turned on. The NAS 10GbE interface connects through Cat7 w/o switch directly to an iMac Pro and another cable connects the 1GbE interface to the main LAN switch.
My experience with the older Synology DS1515+ was pretty good so now I’m a repeat buyer. I had a power supply issue but was able to get a replacement under warranty immediately. Software upgrades always worked. I had to replace several 7200 RPM drives with 5400s and the RAID-6 rebuilds never left me without service. SMB was slower than AFP on the 1515+ but almost at parity on the 1621+. I considered getting an expansion unit but wanted higher bandwidth so I decided it would be better to go for 10GbE instead of attempting to do 4x 1GbE link aggregation and buy a new NAS.
Mostly I am using the NAS for large video files and some backups and the high speed is going to change my workflow, holding the big files and editing directly off the NAS.
But the DSM software also provides a ton of other goodies: small server capabilities like DNS, email, Synology apps, surveillance recording. Small things like UPS auto-shutdown support was nice too.
I haven’t measured/compared things like IOPS performance, but will probably spend a bit more time considering encryption, adding RAM, and adding NVMe for a speed boost.

Pros: – Easy setup
– Dynamically-expandable RAID array (with SHR/Synology Hybrid RAID), just add new drives (some minor web-config required, but it’s pretty easy)!
– Expandable RAM
– Plex Media Server available as a pre-built package
– Apple TimeMachine backup target and Mac/Windows/LINUX file server
– Built-in UPS support
– Replacement apps for other cloud-based storage, photos, and email services
– Can run virtual machine guests for those things that the NAS doesn’t natively support Cons: – The office suite apps only work through a web browser, with no mobile device equivalent
– SHR cannot convert between 1-drive and 2-drive redundancy without a factory reset and setup as a new device
– Permissions can be a bit confusing, although the help docs eventually sorted out the problems Overall Review: – I would highly recommend this device, or even one of its lower-cost siblings (you need the plus “+” series if you want the cloud apps) for anyone looking to get better control of their personal files and photos
– A quality media app (Plex Media Server) takes this device from excellent to awesome

Pros: – 8 Bays with option to expand to max of 18 supports a lot of SMB or enthusiast use cases
– 8GB included memory is ok I suppose 😉 upgrading ram is a lot easier than the 1815+ or before due to better placement of the mobo
– Ability to add NVME for cache and 10GB NICs for expansion has been sorely needed
– Same great usability of DSM
– Well-supported 3rd party package lines
– usability of basically whatever SATA drive you put in it along with any desired RAID you want to use
– Same drive trays as its predecessors
– Did I mention a lot of functionality? If you can think of it, you can probably do it with a Synology
– Ryzen CPU vs older Intels in previous units is a big difference; if you owned, say, an 1815+ or earlier you’ll see a radical difference in overall performance Cons: – Pricey, but Synology stuff is going to be; this isn’t so much a con as a barrier to entry; Synology units are pretty solid and well-supported, but you need $1k for this BEFORE you buy any drives for it
– Warranty should really be for 5 years, but you get what you get
– Only a limited # of supported PCI-E NICs for the expansion bay will actually work (as of this writing), so you can’t put that cheap quad 10GB SFP+ nic in and expect it to work 🙁 Overall Review: – 3-year warranty is OK, would be nice to have a longer one, but you can choose that at purchase time from Square, etc.
– Synology community is pretty knowledgeable, so if you’re exploring what you can do with this thing, there’s someone out there that’s done it and documented it.
– This is my 3rd 5+ bay synology, have had great luck with them so far. As a Plex MS / backup dump / file share, can’t ask for much more
– If you’re going with SHR-2, do yourself a favor and throw in a hot spare anyway; your raid’s only as good as the quality of your drives (I’ve mostly used WD Reds with these with 1x expansion unit)
– Make sure to keep these clean; fans will cool unit well, but it’s easier with these units than other NAS / Servers for dust / hair to accumulate near the mobo. Get an air pump to use now and then or a can of compressed air now and then.

Pros: The pros of this device are its solidly built, easy to setup and easy to modify. The case is tool less for mounting the drives and takes only a minute or two per drive once you get the rhythm down.
There are good documents and many YouTube videos documenting how to install, modify and use the included software. Cons: The compatibility list is my biggest complaint. Synology requires you to use branded Synology RAM, M2 Drives, and a limited (not often updated) number of drives in the enclosure. While the RAM is very standard RAM (not made by Synology) you use something else with the understanding that IT WILL VOID YOUR WARRANTY. The same holds true for the M.2 drives, both of which are artificially inflated.
As many things as I like about Synology these were almost deal breakers for me. Overall Review: While I would recommend this to others, it is with the understanding that their compatibility lists will inflate costs significantly or risk your warranty.
I will look elsewhere for my next purchase unless this trend is fixed. The parts they offer are not only inferior in many ways but more pricy.