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Review: Synology DS220+

by Parm Mann on 11 September 2020, 14:01

Tags: Synology

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Conclusion

...Synology's hesitance in rolling out faster networking standards prevents the DS220+ from reaching its full potential.

Synology has refreshed its Plus Series NAS solutions for 2020 with incremental upgrades it hopes will lure new customers looking to take their first steps into network-attached storage.

DS220+, at £330, represents the most affordable route into the Plus Series range and promises high performance in a compact form factor aimed at home enthusiasts and small businesses. Armed with evolutionary upgrades, the 2020 model touts a faster Intel Celeron processor and DDR4 memory, which when allied to the fan-favourite DiskStation Manager operating system makes for a nippy and intuitive NAS experience.

The foundations are solid, however Synology's hesitance in rolling out faster networking standards prevents the DS220+ and others in the range from reaching their full potential. As much as we appreciate the DSM experience, the absence of 2.5GbE is a misstep at this price point, and one that may prevent existing Synology users from feeling the need to upgrade.

Bottom line: the DS220+ is a safe addition to Synology's portfolio, but a 2.5GbE upgrade must surely be on the horizon.

The Good
  
The Bad
Best-in-class operating system
Upgraded Intel CPU and DDR4 memory
Dual GbE supporting link aggregation
Transcoding with third-party apps (Plex)
  
Misses out on native 2.5GbE
Only one accessible memory slot
Lacks support for eSATA expansion


HEXUS.where2buy*

The Synology DS220+ NAS is available to purchase from Scan Computers.

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At HEXUS, we invite the companies whose products we test to comment on our articles. If any company representatives for the products reviewed choose to respond, we'll publish their commentary here verbatim.



*UK-based HEXUS community members are eligible for free delivery and priority customer service through the SCAN.care@HEXUS forum.


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HEXUS Forums :: 23 Comments

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Posted by Spreadie - Fri 11 Sep 2020 17:23
Again, no pcie expansion or USB-C and only GbE LAN.

For £330? They're having a laugh.
Posted by LSG501 - Fri 11 Sep 2020 23:13
I've been looking at getting a new 5+ bay nas and as much as I like the Synology OS the lack of 2.5GbE as standard is major negative for me at the moment.

I might not have anything 2.5GbE at the moment, and it might not exactly be ‘popular’ network speed (I blame the cost), but a nas isn't something you replace every year so you want it to be at least a little future proof….

I've got to be honest and say that I'm actively researching Qnap's OS more at the moment because the hardware on Qnap's side is arguably better overall.
Posted by Spreadie - Sat 12 Sep 2020 08:03
LSG501
I've been looking at getting a new 5+ bay nas and as much as I like the Synology OS the lack of 2.5GbE as standard is major negative for me at the moment.

I might not have anything 2.5GbE at the moment, and it might not exactly be ‘popular’ network speed (I blame the cost), but a nas isn't something you replace every year so you want it to be at least a little future proof….

I've got to be honest and say that I'm actively researching Qnap's OS more at the moment because the hardware on Qnap's side is arguably better overall.

QNAP hardware is usually better but, in my opinion, Synology's DSM software trumps QNAP's QTS OS.

That said, QTS isn't bad by any stretch.
Posted by matts-uk - Sat 12 Sep 2020 09:22
LSG501
I might not have anything 2.5GbE at the moment, and it might not exactly be ‘popular’ network speed (I blame the cost), but a nas isn't something you replace every year so you want it to be at least a little future proof….
I don't quite get the obsession with 2.5Gbe on review sites. Outside of high end servers very few devices are capable of sustaining that kind of throughput. The DS220+ certainly isn't.

I've got to be honest and say that I'm actively researching Qnap's OS more at the moment because the hardware on Qnap's side is arguably better overall.
Qnap devices are better built with better hardware features compared to the Synology devices, IMHO. Whether that is a good thing depends what you are trying to achieve. Ultimately hardware exists to provide a platform for software and software is where the Synology leaps ahead. The difference is not always obvious by merely comparing feature lists - You have to actually use the things. I currently have 1 QNAP and 5 Synology devices in production, spread over 3 locations.
Posted by Saracen999 - Sat 12 Sep 2020 09:51
matts-uk
….

Qnap devices are better built with better hardware features compared to the Synology devices, IMHO. Whether that is a good thing depends what you are trying to achieve. Ultimately hardware exists to provide a platform for software and software is where the Synology leaps ahead. The difference is not always obvious by merely comparing feature lists - You have to actually use the things. I currently have 1 QNAP and 5 Synology devices in production, spread over 3 locations.
And that, in a nutshell, is precisely my current quandary. While I'd obviously rather a selected solution was £150 as opposed to £300+, I'd also rather pay £300+ for the right device than £150 for the wrong one.

In other words, within reason, getting it right is a much higher priority than what are still pretty small differences in pricing. After all, £150 difference iss, what, 50 cups of coffee in a High Street chain? So, over five years (and I do expect five years, at least, out of a home NAS) that £150 is about one cup of coffee, per month. A low price for the right kit.

But what is the right solutionn?

My need is really rather mundane. First, a data store. Increasingly, I'm moving from PC's spec'd for specific purposes, to ‘lightweight’ devices (laptop, Surface Pro, phone) and want to be able to get at some common data from all. Other data will remain on unconnected and entirely isolated hardware and is ignorable for the purposes of a NAS. Also NAS-based will be a media collection consisting of music, PDF, some photos and probably some digiitised vide, but SD or HD will do with no interest in 4k, etc. But only ever a max of two users and mostly, just one. It's also not intended for gaming.

In other words, pretty modest demands and neither hardware nor network throughput are likely to be pushed to limits.

What is important is being able to get it running, and keep it running, with minimum effort and/or learning curve. I don't want to be doing a masters in network administration to get it working. And from what I read. Synology scores over QNAP in that regard.

Does your 5 to 1 ratio of Synology to QNAP repeesennt an active decision to go that way, or just how things happened. If you were buying that lot right now, which way would you go? And given your experience, would you think Synology (and I was at 220j, 220 Play sand now 220+, already) is the right direction for me?

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