Synology NAS questions

BcrdRqs · August 20, 2015

Hey guys,

right now I am considering changing from Dropbox to my own local Cloud- and Storagesolution with a Synology NAS and I have a few questions about the Hardware and Softare specs. I know there is already a lot of information available on the internet, but i still feel like most are only answered very vague so I really want to make sure before buying something and then realizing it won't work that way.

First of all what I want to be able to do and who will be using it:

- Primarily me and my girlfriend are going to access the NAS, but maybe my parents are going to back up very important Data via Internetaccess.

- Client for Windows that runs when my Computer starts and is constantly syncing in background (like the Dropbox-software)

- 2-Way Sync important folders (like Personal Documents etc.) with my Home-PC, Notebook as well as the Home-PC of my girlfriend and the NAS, so that it's the same state everywhere.

- Having Access to older versions of important documents (Master's thesis for university), so it's not just a simple backup but is also able to restore mistakes like overwriting. (However for something like this, a NAS won't be the only Backup)

- Automaticly uploading the Camera-folder of our Smartphones via Internet (and if possible only while having WLAN)

- Accessing everything while on the go with my Smartphone without having everything stored all the time on the phone.

- Additional Storage-space that is just saved on the NAS (like an external Harddrive) that in the best case can only be accessed via local network and not via internet

- Maybe if possible: Storing my Steam-games on the NAS so that if i wanna play i can either transfer the files to my PC or if thats possible even run them via accessing the NAS-drives

- backing up the data on the NAS with an additional external Harddrive via USB once in a while (best case: just plug it in on the NAS and the sync starts automaticly)

For this purpose I'm considering the following devices with 2x 2TB WD-Red HDDs in Raid 1 and using the software provided by Synology:

Synology DS215j (800 MHz DualCore, 512 MB RAM, 2-Bay, 1 Ethernetport)

Synology DS215+ (1.4 GHz DualCore, 1 GB RAM, 2-Bay, 2 Ethernetports)

Synology DS715 (1.4 GHz QuadCore, 2 GB RAM, 2-Bay, 2 Ethernetports)

So here are my questions:

Are all of my desired features possible with the Synology software (and hardware)?

Both the DS215+ and the DS715 offer Link Aggregation with 2 Ethernetports. Does this really make a difference in reallife performance (does anyone have experience with it?) and will it make a difference for my kind of workload?

Same question as above but for CPU and RAM (while as far as i have understand, there won't be any difference)?

Or should i consider something completely different?

Thank you very much for your help.

brandishwar · August 20, 2015

So here are my questions:

Are all of my desired features possible with the Synology software (and hardware)?

Both the DS215+ and the DS715 offer Link Aggregation with 2 Ethernetports. Does this really make a difference in reallife performance (does anyone have experience with it?) and will it make a difference for my kind of workload?

Same question as above but for CPU and RAM (while as far as i have understand, there won't be any difference)?

Or should i consider something completely different?

Link Aggregation isn't going to make a huge difference for your particular situation. It's not like this is a storage server being used at a multimedia company like, say, Linus Media Group. It's a nice option if throughput starts to become a concern, but in your case, I don't see it being much of a bonus, especially since you're likely not going to have the network hardware setup that would be able to provide the benefits of link aggregation.

Same with the CPU/RAM setup on each of those devices, again, since you're likely to be low-demand. The 4-drive option has a faster CPU and more memory simply because it needs to handle more drives while being able to maintain a decent throughput, especially since it is advertised as being useful for small businesses.

As for the Synology software, you may need to take that up with Synology. Their sales and/or support teams will be able to answer your questions and help you determine if the two options you're currently considering will meet your needs. At the same time, given your needs are likely on the lesser-side of things, other NAS enclosures may be able to provide you with the features you need for a lower price, so be sure to shop around.