I needed to replace my aging WD NAS, which was struggling to keep up with my needs. After quite a bit of research and product comparisons, I decided to go with the market leader, and bought a NAS that seemed likely to be able to support my needs for several years, and offered some options for expanding the ways I use a NAS.
For context, I mainly use my NAS as "network-attached storage": I back up files, and I share files for use on our multiple home computers. I don't use it for remote access (security concern: I'd rather use cloud storage services for that), and I don't use it as a repository for a media server, or anything else like that.
I decided to use WD "Red" drives for this unit: based on specs and user and professional reviews, they seemed most likely to run reliably for as long as I needed. My previous experience with WD black, blue, and red drives has been consistently positive, whereas other vendors have let me down.
Installation and setup was very easy: I had the unit up and running within a few minutes. Copying files over from my old NAS took some time, but the performance of this Synology unit exceeded my expectations. I was also pleased with how much faster my backup jobs were. I was especially pleased when apps that use network files began running much faster: so clearly both read and write performance were much improved in comparion with the old system.
I also set up a USB backup. It took a little bit of reading in the Synology KB to learn how to do it right, but after that it was a breeze. I plugged in a USB hard drive in the back port (the front port can be configured for use with the USB Copy button), opened up the Hyper Backup app, and ran the initial backup to copy the entire NAS contents to the USB drive. Then I scheduled it to run incremental jobs every day, so now my paranoid backup demon is happy. (I save backup drives in a secure location to provide "disaster recovery"; overkill perhaps, but it buys peace of mind.)
One criticism: the unit came with only 2GB memory, which seems cheesy. And what makes is super-cheesy is the way they price their branded "compatible memory" at ridiculous multiples of the market price. I was able to buy a 4GB Samsung memory card for under $15, and it worked just fine. You can do a web search and see that others have upgraded using larger memory cards.
The Synology KB website is very good: it's well written and comprehensive. There's also an active user community, so there is a ton of information easily available. Overall I'm very happy with my Synology purchase, and would buy their NAS products again without hesitation.
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Synology America Corp
From the manufacturer
File management hub for professionals, teams, and organizations
This compact 2-bay NAS solution is designed to bring centralized data management to small organizations and teams. Synology DiskStation Manager (DSM) supports creating a private cloud to make working together better for everyone, with tools to manage, share, and protect files and photos, back up devices and data, and manage surveillance recordings.
Private cloud storage
Flexibly store your data in a private cloud with 100% ownership and enjoy cross-platform access from anywhere. With Synology, you can safely share files and media over your private cloud for easier collaboration and added productivity on the fly.
- Consolidate all your data for complete data ownership and multi-platform access
- Access, share, and sync data across different systems and devices using intuitive controls
- Back up and restore critical devices and data using a host of intuitive backup tools
- Leverage built-in file and photo management, data protection, and video surveillance solutions
Consolidate your content
Whether you're creating content or just storing it, your Synology private cloud makes an ideal home for all your documents, photos, videos, and music, allowing you to securely store, organize, and back up everything automatically using subscription-free tools native to Synology.
Sync and share anywhere
With comprehensive support for network file sharing protocols — like CIFS, AFP, NFS, FTP, and more — DiskStation allows the entire office to centralize files and collaborate on projects. Or synchronize files across multiple devices or several locations so remote teams can work together.
Stream from a media server
Stream videos natively to a Smart TV, or to a media player such as Apple TV, AirPlay, Android TV, Chromecast, Samsung TV, Amazon Fire TV, or any other DLNA/UPnP-compatible devices. For mobile devices, you can stream or download videos to Android, iOS, and Windows Phone.
Backup your scattered data
Maintain control of your data and ensure your files are safe with Synology. We provide secure, reliable, and affordable solutions that make it easy to back up scattered data while protecting yourself from data loss. Compatible with all major OS, including Windows, Mac, and Linux.
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Customers say
Customers find the NAS system reliable, with one mentioning it has worked flawlessly for two years without issues. The device is easy to set up and use, with an intuitive software interface, and customers appreciate its fast performance for data transfer and reading/writing operations. They consider it well worth the price and praise its storage capacity for home use, with one customer highlighting its ability to organize 4TB of media. Customers like the Synology software, with one noting its compatibility with third-party services.
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226 customers mention reliability, 171 positive, 55 negative
Works great, even better after upgrading to DSM 7. It takes some efforts to set up but there are plenty of videos online to guide through the process.Read more
...Most importantly reliable and quick. I use it for data and media storage, ie music and movies. The mobile app is a bonus....Read more
Works well, horrible loading spinner of death while playing back recorded iPhone videos through moments app since the puny 2 core cpu maxes out and...Read more
...It CORRUPTS most RAR files you copy to it! I literally have to re-compress all of my files to .ZIP and copy them over to insure they work properly....Read more
219 customers mention setup, 177 positive, 42 negative
Just like the 4 bay box I bought a couple of years this was easy to set up with plenty of applications available to put it to almost any use you can...Read more
My first NAS. It was so easy to setup. Bought a cheap 4gb stick to upgrade the ram. The OS is pretty slick. Easy for novices to navigate....Read more
...Easy setup. Also, Synology has some nice mobile apps giving access to the NAS for people to access with their phone.Read more
...The setup was a breeze. Obviously as this is a diskless model you need to purchase whatever hard drives you want separately....Read more
185 customers mention quality, 172 positive, 13 negative
Great product! The initial setup was very straight forward and the product works great. I am using this for my timemachine backups and private cloud.Read more
It is a great NAS, but I've tried to upgrade the RAM twice with no luck. I purchased RAM that specifically said was compatible, but no dice....Read more
Son is a software engineer & recommended this . Its a good NAS but it took me a long time to set up and 5 days to down load ~1.2 TB of photos....Read more
...There is a little bit f a learning curve but it seems like good product. My rating will probably go up.Read more
78 customers mention speed, 58 positive, 20 negative
...the unit using Firefox 108.0.2, and the interface is really smooth and fast---I have a 500GB music library that I can browse in seconds....Read more
...Great interface, fantastic selection of services, very fast, compared to RRi. Highly recommended.Read more
...Slow and sluggish. Why is the Quickconnect GUI like accessing the box through dial-up? This is on my WiFi 6 LAN, for God's sake....Read more
...DSM 7 is super fast! I would go with Western Digital Data Center drives over Seagate Ironwolf or the WD red drives....Read more
72 customers mention value for money, 58 positive, 14 negative
...That alone can pay for this device. Synoligy C2 online backuo is affordable and easy to use with this. It makes for simple backup....Read more
...It was really intuitive and has good directions for setup. Well worth the money. If you are on the fence, go ahead and buy it....Read more
...I would say that so far, it has been good value for the money. Recommended.Read more
...but its features, expandability, and overall performance make it worth every penny.Read more
70 customers mention storage capacity, 58 positive, 12 negative
...Everything you might want in a server, they have it. DNS, DHCP, Media Server, Proxy, Email, chat, RADIUS and more -- some that I don't even know...Read more
...It supports raid. That makes data more secure and makes recovery a snap if one drive fails. It also makes upgrading hard drive size a snap....Read more
...I was also able to use it as a video storage server, to allow me to put together multiple video projects while working with content stored on the NAS...Read more
...2 ethernet connections that allow redundancy and increased bandwidth if you want to configure that. Hard drives were easy to install and configure....Read more
58 customers mention ease of use, 50 positive, 8 negative
...unit or bought bigger hard drives, already filling up fast since so easy to use. Overall great first unit. Works well with plex tooRead more
...Love the convenience and ease of use. Worth every penny for the time it saves.Read more
...The interface is user-friendly and it is easy to administrate or search the web for "how tos" or "troubleshooting."...Read more
...my new DS220+ NAS, Synology did a great job with its OS - easy and intuitive. So many options and possibilities, I'm really pleased with it ATM.Read more
56 customers mention compatibility, 45 positive, 11 negative
...The Synology OS is great. I have never used Linux before and it is super easy to get around....Read more
I can sync my security cameras, my computers in auto back up even my phones photos without having to worry to use iCloud and sync across Systems.Read more
...I have twin 16TB drives and it can be set up as a standard network share, and NFS server, a Dropbox (and many other cloud sync) area, a media server...Read more
...This thing has constantly been up running a Plex media server, Pi-Hole container, scrypted container running SEVEN cameras, homebridge container, as...Read more
Not for the Faint of Heart
If the attached image doesn't scare you then go ahead and continue with your purchase, Just understand this; I'm an "X-IT Retired" Hardware/Software Tech that spent many years, decades in fact, on many different devices. This one was, I have to say, put up a good fight. Let me just say this so you get some understanding regardless of how many 4 and 5 star reviews there are in here, Yes, the device is more than likely rock solid and deserves 5 stars for performance and longevity and all that stuff, but the real reason everyone buys this thing is probably for Plex or Emby usage. So I too, will go ahead and give the device it's deserved 5 stars, After all, it's not the devices fault if some software we choose to use is ridiculous to get installed. However, if when you go out and research on YouTube or Google Plex or Emby on Synology for reasons as to why the Library won't populate or show up and see the good amount of feedback on the subject, you know there are issues. Bottom line, after spending roughly, 5 to 7 long nights and 3 complete start from scratch attempts, simply because you think you screwed up, amounting to around 20 to 25 hours of time, it turned out there was one little flag they fail to tell you about that needed to be checked. I attached an image for those of you who might want to know. For those who already know these things, please move on as this post is not for you, obviously ;)... I'm sure it's mentioned somewhere, but I sure as hell didn't see it after three complete reinstalls of two different servers, both Plex AND Emby!! Within the Control Panel of Synology > In Shared Folder, you need to edit your user by clicking on their Permissions and then choosing System Internal User from the drop down and then from here Check the boxes under Read/Write for Emby and/or Plex. So if that doesn't scare you, and this is the reason for your purchase then go for it, otherwise, be prepared for a real adventure :)... I won't go into anymore simply because as I said, there are plenty of Youtube videos on the subject as well as discussions all over the net on the subject. So have fun!!
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2023Style: 2-bay; 2GB DDR4Size: DS220+Verified Purchase
- Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2025Style: 2-bay; 2GB DDR4Size: DS224+Verified Purchase
Top reviews from other countries
- Briane MercadoReviewed in the United Arab Emirates on August 28, 2022
Perfect NAS Storage for Home!!!!
Style: 2-bay; 2GB DDR4Size: DS220+Verified Purchase -
Luis Rivera VazquezReviewed in Mexico on September 20, 2025
Producto Premium
Style: 2-bay; 2GB DDR4Size: DS224+Verified Purchase - Sougata P.Reviewed in India on August 7, 2024
Perfect NAS storage for my purpose
Style: 2-bay; 2GB DDR4Size: DS224+Verified Purchase -
Carsten D.Reviewed in Germany on April 9, 2026
einfach klasse
Style: 2-bay; 2GB DDR4Size: DS224+Verified Purchase -
M G.Reviewed in Spain on October 7, 2023
Se oye mas mi ventilador que el NAS, va como un tiro, con Seagate BarraCuda 3.5" 2TB SATA 3
Style: 2-bay; 2GB DDR4Size: DS723+Verified Purchase
Cuando lo tengas listo, activa el FirewallM G.Se oye mas mi ventilador que el NAS, va como un tiro, con Seagate BarraCuda 3.5" 2TB SATA 3
Reviewed in Spain on October 7, 2023
Prometo comprarme unos discos de NAS como dios manda! pero de momento, me tira y sino mirad el reddit... Synology es la mejor marca por su Software y esto lo puedo escalar a 32GB de ram, con hasta 800 de M.2 (hasta 2 ranuras) y 18 TB de discos x2 asi que
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