Synology America DiskStation 8-Bay Diskless Network Attached Storage (DS1813+)..
Buy Synology America DiskStation 8-Bay Diskless Network Attached Storage (DS1813+) By SynologyMost helpful customer reviews
42 of 42 people found the following review helpful.
Moving Away from Windows Home Server
By Joe
I purchased this product following careful consideration of many similar options in the NAS category. I have been a user of Windows Home Server (WHS) since it was released. My server has reached its reasonable limit in terms of disk upgrades and backup. I've really liked Windows Home Server, but was distressed when the newest version (2011) removed the option for disk flexibility known as "drive extender."
As a home user, I was not excited to migrate from one server to another. Though I consider myself to be technically savvy, I am not formally trained in networking or server administration. However, I was running out of space on WHS and was beginning to experience access issues with the WHS software. So, I spent a great deal of time looking at options for replacement. As I looked at "home server" replacements, it became very clear that the NAS category has taken over this realm in recent years. Synology and several others have floated to the top of this category and many reviews are available discussing this company's products.
I spent time reading about specific Synology products on review sites and on the support sections of Synology's websites prior to this purchase. I also spent time reviewing drives that are appropriate for use in a RAID setup, as I'd not personally owned or setup a RAID before. I made the choice to purchase the Synology 1813+ as it looked like a good balance hardware and software options and has lots of room for expansion. I decided to outfit my server with four (4) Western Digital 4TB SE drives as the home-use "Red" version did not have a 4TB drive (at the time of my purchase).
SETUP:
Setup was rather simple, but was enhanced only by my prior reading on this device. There are essentially no instructions that come in the box at the time of delivery. I placed the drives in the tool-less enclosures, upgraded the RAM to 4GB with a Kingston memory module, connected the unit to my gigabit network and powered up. A few minutes later I was able to access the unit and download the latest software, which also installed without a hitch. The DSM software is outstanding and generally friendlier than the WHS software I've been using. There are many ways to establish a multi-disk volume including all forms of RAID; I chose to setup a single volume on a Synology Hybrid Raid (SHR-2) setup...basically a 2-drive fault tolerance setup. Volume creation and optimization took some time - several days in fact; but I was able to use the volume during the optimization to create users and shared folders.
Using the DSM software, I configured the unit for Windows and Apple networking, setup the free antivirus software, and created shared folders and users. The online Synology Wiki and documentation was a tremendous help here. I also downloaded the .pdf manual to assist with setup.
Network setup for link aggregation (LAG) was difficult, possibly due to my inexperience with complex networking - though I have experience with basic network configuration and wiring. I eventually discovered that my old Dell 24-port gigabit switch was not up to the task due to its lack of LACP support. I did wish to take advantage of a LAG setup using the four gigabit ports on the 1813+, so I chose to purchase a Cisco SG200-26 switch from Amazon. Though it was not listed in the compatibility table at Synology, other reviews suggested it would work well. After moving to the new switch I was able to setup a 4-port LAG with LACP with a bit of fiddling with both the Synology NAS and the Cisco Switch. Though this is not meant to be a Cisco review, the SG200-26 switch impresses me with its ability to be setup in a multitude of ways and eclipses the flexibility of my prior switch.
Internet setup is another adventure that seems to be based upon the router you have, its support of universal Plug-and-Play, and the ability of the Synology software to automatically configure port-forwarding. Personally, I've had some challenges with port-forwarding, which I ended-up configuring manually on my Netgear Router. Once I had manually completed the port forwarding and accomplished the free Synology dynamic DNS setup (a nice bonus), I had no further problems.
FILE SHARING:
I setup share folders similar to those on my still running WHS and began to copy files from one share to another. This was no small task and there are many headaches that can arise (not as the result of equipment). I chose to use GoodSync software as I was able to see errors along the way and files that may have been excluded. This took a number of days for me to complete my file migration as some supervision is involved over time. Once I had moved the files, file sharing on this device is very easy and works seamlessly provided that you've enabled the appropriate services on the DSM. It was also necessary to make sure that the Windows workgroup was appropriately named on the Synology Device in order to see the server on all of my windows machines.
BACKUP:
The Synology NAS functions well as a backup target for multiple OSs. Apple Time Machine has worked very well in particular. My setup of this function was guided by the online Synology resources describing this setup; this allowed me to create a Time Machine specific user with a limit on total size utilization of my RAID single storage volume. I calculated the Time Machine user's storage limit based upon size of the drives in each of my Macs with a multiplier. I have three Macs that I've been backing up with Time Machine and this has generally worked well over the network. The only issue I've encountered is that on occasion the backup must be redone if you are not careful shutting down the Mac machine during attempts at a backup. In order to fix the situation you may have to kill an existing connection in the DSM and restart the backup from the Mac.
Windows machines are a bit more challenging, actually. WHS clearly spoiled me with its nearly intervention free background backup processes. I've found that the Synology Data Replicator 3 software is excellent for the purpose of backup of documents and important files; however, it doesn't serve as a "bare metal," bit-for-bit backup of an entire system. Windows 7 backup is well suited to backup the entire system, but is not at all considerate of the amount of space it takes on a large RAID volume. There are ways to get around this with user limitations, but they are not well documented and have involved a lot of experiments in backup setup and folder management. WHS did things well here as it retained only one copy of any given file and was savvy with space considerations during backup. I've considered dedicated backup software such as Acronis, but am still in the process of evaluating use of software that is either included with Synology or Windows 7.
Finally, I recently added a WD 4TB external drive (USB 3.0) as a backup drive to the native share folders using the Syology "Time Backup" app in the Synology package management tool. Many have noted that a NAS with RAID is not the same as backup. Basically, if a RAID fails and you're unable to recover it, life is bad. For those considering this as a backup target, it's OK to use it in that fashion. However, if a share is the primary location of a file then RAID is not an acceptable form of "backup." Synology has abundant backup options including backup to several commercial cloud solutions, backup to other local or remote Synology servers, backup to other network drives, and backup to internal or USB 2.0/3.0 attached drives. The external USB 3.0 option has worked well for me and the Time Backup software is similar in appearance and function to Apple's Time Machine software - therefore it's familiar and intuitive as a current Mac user.
SOFTWARE:
To date I've setup the server with an antivirus scanner, the PLEX media server, the Cloud software, Time Backup, and the VPN server. So far, I've been most impressed with the cloud server, "Cloud Station." This Synology-developed app has moved me completely away from Dropbox, my old "go to" solution. It is surprisingly mature software with setup solutions for mobile devices, Windows, Apple, and Linux. Setup is simple and intuitive. It has a generous maximum single file size of 10GB (for the purposes of sync) that will work well for my needs.
One consideration with respect to software is the processing power of the CPU. With the 2-core processor and abundant network connectivity, the 1813+ is easily able to stream HD video content (without transcoding) to most platforms. Transcoding is also supported on available software platforms; however, transcoding has the potential to be problematic if HD material must be heavily processed prior to viewing on the destination hardware. There are several articles discussing this issue in the Plex forums, and alternatives include an intermediate workstation with the Synology unit as a file server only. I'm still looking at these options, but did not buy this unit for its transcoding prowess.
I've not spent time with hosting e-mail, a blog, a website, CRM software, or other types of options; however, many of these options are available for installation using the software package management tool. Upgrades of installed software are easily accomplished with notification and the click of a button.
RAID VOLUME MANAGEMENT:
About a week into my use I decided to add two additional WD SE 4TB drives to my SHR-2 array. This was incredibly simple - just insert the two new drives into empty bays (no need to turn off the server) and add them to the volume using options in DSM software. Once again, it took several days to add the space into the array, but there were no issues and I was able to continue to use the NAS during the upgrade.
POWER MANAGEMENT:
Unintentional loss of power can be a serious issue for any computer, server, or NAS. I purchased a Cyber Power UPS at a local big box store, powered down the NAS, plugged it in to the USB, and restarted the NAS. The Synology immediately recognized the UPS (even though it was not on the supported list) and reported it in the hardware section. I was then able to setup a power-based shutdown plan should power be lost for longer than supported by the UPS. This was the only downtime the NAS has required since I the purchased the Synology unit.
CONCLUSION:
I'm very impressed with the Synology 1813+ NAS. It should last me for a period of time that is at least equal to my former WHS setup. With its expansion options, I hope it lasts much longer. I've had to learn a bit more about networking, but for someone who has been through a prior build and setup of a home server this has been mostly pain free. Clearly when you by a NAS you will have to incur additional expenses for drives and other options that you may choose. Complete setup will take time, especially if you're migrating from another server platform. Some might argue that an 8-bay Synology NAS is overkill for any home user. They may be right. I would suggest that those who have a strong interest in a conservatively setup RAID volume, on a NAS, with multiple expansion options, and multiple backup options will be hard-pressed to find something better than a Synology 1813+.
MY SETUP:
NAS: Synology 1813+
RAID DRIVES: 6X Western Digital 4 TB 3.5-Inch WD SE (WD4000F9YZ)
RAM UPGRADE: 1X Kingston ValueRAM 2GB 1066MHz DDR3
NETWORK SWITCH: Cisco SG200-26
ROUTER: Netgear R4500
EXTERNAL DRIVE: 1X Western Digital My Book 4 TB USB 3.0 (WDBFJK0040HBK-NESN)
UPS POWER: Cyber Power CP 1350C
NETWORK CONFIG: LAG via LACP (4X Gigabit LAN)
ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION/REFERENCES:
1) Several questions have been answered regarding drive choice and energy/noise specs under the comments section of my WD SE 4TB drive review:Western Digital 4 TB 3.5-Inch WD Se SATA III 7200 RPM 64 MB Cache Bulk/OEM Enterprise Hard Drive WD4000F9YZ[Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging]
2) Reviews of the Cisco switch:Cisco SG200-26 Gigabit Ethernet Smart Switch with 24 10/100/1000 Ports and 2 Combo Mini-GBIC Ports (SLM2024T)
3) Reviews of the external My Book Drive:WD My Book 4TB USB 3.0 Hard Drive with Security, Local and Cloud Backup (WDBFJK0040HBK-NESN)
4) Kingston ValueRAM module:Kingston ValueRAM 2GB 1066MHz DDR3 Non-ECC CL7 SODIMM Single Rank x8 Notebook Memory
78 of 83 people found the following review helpful.
Exceptional Eight Bay NAS, with Optional Capabilities that Rival those Available to Full Fledged Servers
By Charles Hooper
Several long months following the announcement of the DS1813+, this unit is finally available. I have previously purchased and implemented Synology Diskstation DS412+, DS212+, and DS112J units (as well as a variety of Windows file servers (NT 4.0 through 2012) and Linux servers), so network attached storage (NAS) devices are not entirely new to me. The Synology DS412+, DS212+, and DS112J units are used primarily for their FTP server capability, although the units also provide one or more Windows shares to network computers using either Active Directory integration or Synology Diskstation internal user accounts.
Starting in 2004, I introduced into the network a couple of Linux servers running Samba with Winbind to integrate into a Windows NT 4 domain, and later an Active Directory domain. Those Linux servers worked great for a month or two at a time, until the servers would either lock up solid, or the Samba/Winbind daemon would simply crash - in the process taking down all Windows connectivity to the Linux server. I have been reminded of this Samba/Winbind issue a couple of times in the last year as the Synology DiskStation DS412+ occasionally stopped permitting connections from Windows clients (usually just before a BackupExec disk to disk backup was sent to the Diskstation), while FTP connections continued to work without issue. A reboot of the DiskStation DS412+ was required to recover from the apparent Samba/Winbind issue; 90% of the time, a requested reboot through the Synology interface would result in a hung DiskStation (blue flashing light on the front console) that could only be fixed by pulling the electrical power cord.
The Synology DiskStation DS412+ seems to share a lot in common with the Synology DiskStation DS1812+ (both have Intel Atom D2700 CPUs with 1GB of memory, and likely run the same binary version of the DSM operating system). The apparent Samba/Winbind issue and normal inability to successfully warm boot are the reasons why I did not purchase another DS412+ or a DS1812+, and instead waited for the availability of the DS1813+. The Synology (DSM) graphical user interface (GUI) that layers on top of a Linux kernel is a big selling point for the Synology devices, and is one of the reasons why I decided to purchase another Synology device rather than seeking a different brand.
With four gigabit network ports, six USB ports (two of which are USB 3), and two eSATA , the Synology DiskStation DS1813+ offers significant storage expansion options (supports up to two DX513 five hard drive bay expansion units). The DS1813+ internally supports up to eight hard drives in one of several software RAID levels (SHR, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 6, and RAID 10). Drive installs are performed without using a screwdriver, with the drive carriages held in place by a flimsy lock and key mechanism.
The DS1813+ ships without an installed operating system, so the first task after powering on the DS1813+ with the hard drives installed involves installing the latest DSM operating system. The 112MB operating system file must be downloaded from the Synology website in addition to the 49MB installer for the Synology Assistant program, which uploads the operating system to the DS1813+. Once downloaded, the operating system installation should complete in a couple of minutes without a lot of issues. While upgrading the DSM operating system through the GUI is a simple task, downgrading to an earlier release of the DSM operating system is not possible through the DSM GUI - a remote telnet session is required to manipulate certain files in order to facilitate the installation of an earlier DSM version.
The Synology DSM operating system offers a fantastic graphical user interface which implements HTML5 and CSS, displaying the interface in a web browser. Much like Windows Explorer, the File Station utility that is built into the DSM operating system supports context sensitive drag and drop, and well as right mouse button popup menus. The File Station utility that is included in the latest DSM version supports displaying more than 300 files in a paged view - that 300 file limit was an irritation when attempting to copy, move, or delete several thousand security camera videos on a daily basis through the GUI. Like the other DSM models, the DS1813+ supports telnet sessions, which allow access to the Linux command line and the configuration of scheduled script execution through the modification of the /etc/crontab file (side note: I have had issues with only the DS112J automatically resetting the contents of the /etc/crontab file when the DiskStation was power cycled - I believe that problem was caused by the use of spaces rather than tabs as field delimiters in the file).
A plain vanilla install of the DSM 4.2-3214 offers support for network shares (Windows, MAC, and NFS), iSCSI, Active Directory Integration, FTP (standard FTP, anonymous FTP, FTPS, SFTP, TFTP), website hosting, WebDAV, SNMP, remote command line with telnet or SSH, integrated firewall, VPN client, USB printer sharing, and a handful of other capabilities. The DSM operating system's native functionality is easily expanded through the download of free software packages from the Synology website. The packages extend the DS1813+'s capabilities to include antivirus, Asterisk IP phone server, Internet radio rebroadcasting to networked computers, DHCP and DNS server functionality, iTunes Server, VPN server, RADIUS server, email server, CRM and ERP packages, IP camera monitoring (includes a license for one IP camera, additional licenses are roughly $50 per camera), and a variety of other features. Additionally, ipkg support permits the installation of roughly 900 additional applications, including C++ compilers - which in theory suggests that the source for the Nagios network monitoring utility can be downloaded and compiled on the DS1813+.
For testing purposes, I installed four of five new Western Digital Red 3TB drives, configured in a software RAID 10 array (DSM attempts to automatically configure the drives in a SHR array, so configuring the drives for RAID 10, to reduce recovery time in the event of a drive failure, requires a couple of additional mouse clicks). Peak single network link data transfer speeds so far have been impressive, at close to the maximum possible transfer rate for a gigabit network (achieving roughly 115MB/s ~ 920Mb/s), even with the DiskStation concurrently performing "Parity Consistency Check"/"Data Scrubbing" on the newly created RAID 10 array (roughly 19 hours were required for the "Parity Consistency Check"/"Data Scrubbing" operation to complete, during which the DS1813+ was fully usable). Pushing approximately 2.1TB of large files from a fast Windows Server 2012 machine across a gigabit network to the DS1813+ required roughly 6 hours, yielding an effective transfer speed of roughly 102MB/s. Pushing a single 7.53GB file from the same server to the DS1813+ resulted in a 113MB/s effective transfer speed, while consuming an average 20% of the DS1813+'s CPU capacity and drawing 46 watts of power (the DS1813+ with four Western Digital Red drives idles at approximately 39 watts, uses roughly 46 watts during file transfers, and peaks at roughly 60 watts during power up).
With two of the DiskStation's network ports (configured for IEEE 802.3ad dynamic link aggregation) attached to an HP 4208vl switch (switch ports configured in a LACP 802.3ad group), push copying a single 7.53GB file from a server (two gigabit network ports, with the switch configured for Trunk aggregation), or concurrently from a server and a fast client computer (with SSD drive) did not exceed the throughput of a single gigabit connection (the server averaged roughly 62MB/s, while the client computer's throughput was a little slower). During the simultaneous push copy attempt from the server and fast client computer, the DS1813+'s CPU spiked to 25% utilization. More testing is required to determine why the IEEE 802.3ad dynamic link aggregation test did not exceed a transfer rate of 1Gb/s (the LEDs on the front of the DS1813+ show that both LAN ports are connected, however, the second LAN port LED rarely flashes).
I attached a Western Digital 3TB My Book external hard drive (WDBACW0030KBK-NESN) to a USB 3 port on the Windows Server 2012 machine and recorded throughput speed of roughly 150MB/s, which is impressive considering that a Western Digital Green drive is likely enclosed in the My Book. I attached a second Western Digital 3TB My Book external hard drive to a USB3 port on the DS1813+ and formatted the drive using the ext4 file system (Synology's recommended file system). I then connected to the DS1813+ through a telnet session (to avoid GUI update associated delays) and issued a command to copy a 446.3GB file to the My Book - the average transfer rate was 98.9MB/s (roughly 66% of the Windows Server 2012 machine's speed when copy a large file to a similar My Book) with 20% average CPU utilization, as displayed by the DS1813+'s GUI.
While the throughput and CPU of the DS1813+ with software based RAID are no match for the performance and capacity of a high end Windows or Linux server, the power sipping Synology NAS is competitively priced, should yield a lower total cost of ownership (TCO), and is likely easier to configure for its intended purpose than either a Windows or Linux server. The DS1813+ reportedly supports up to 512 concurrent remote connections from other devices (a computer with five mapped drives pointing to the DS1813+ consumes five of those 512 concurrent connections), although I have encountered some problems with the DS112J blocking connection attempts long before its 64 concurrent limit is reached - I do not yet know if this issue affects any of the other Synology devices. The lack of an available redundant power supply is a shortcoming of the DS1813+, so it might be wise to purchase a spare power supply to keep on the shelf, should the need arise.
Synology offers a group of customer support forums. However, those forums are apparently not actively monitored by Synology support staff. Thus far, one person on the forums reported that the power supply in their DS1813+ failed within the first 24 hours of use, while a second person reported a buzzing sound being emitted from their DS1813+ power supply. The power supply in my DS1813+ is absolutely quiet, and both large fans are spinning at a very quiet, casual speed.
Considering all of its potential capability to be an email, CRM, ERP, or web server, the DS1813+ is expected to serve perfectly in its role as a simple Active Directory integrated disk to disk backup destination, connected by a single gigabit fiber optic link. This review (and the attached rating) will be updated should the DS1813+ experience apparent Samba/Winbind issues, as were experienced with the DS412+, or any other problems. The Synology DiskStation DS1813+ currently meets or exceeds expectations for its planned intended use.
25 of 27 people found the following review helpful.
Glad the drobo broke for me - this is amazing
By Brian
Must admit, I purchased first a drobo in hopes it was going to work for my situation because of the speed it claimed. Unfortunately, I couldn't share it with a multi-platform network so this is what I ended up getting instead. I'm so glad I did. This has the flexibility of using different size drives (using the syn-hybrid raid method), still offers industry raid methods, runs cool, has 4 NIC's and a plethora of connectors.
I originally thought I was going to be able to connect the usb 3 to my pc, you can't. It's for externally connecting devices (other external hard drives, tv tuners, etc).
I tested the failed drive scenario and it went perfectly, turned it off, pulled one of the drives, put in a new drive. It instantly recognized a degraded status and told me it needed to rebuild. Interface for managing it is 100x better than drobo, so much easier, and don't have to install anything on my machine.
Performance has been really good for it being a NAS. I'm consistently seeing 100mbs connections. I also just purchased a cisco switch to take advantage of the link aggregation. For those who are like me and a little new to networking stuff. Link Aggregation isn't going to give you insane speeds from one machine, what it will let you do though is have much better speeds with multiple machines. In my network I have 4 pc's and 2 macs connecting to the NAS. I use it as a crashplan endpoint (you can install a headless crashplan client on it - though unsupported by the folks at crashplan) and it works great.
I also am using it as a storage device for my larger media files, etc and haven't had any issues. I have 2 machines that are SSD raids so storage quantity is limited and needed somewhere to put the big files.
All in all, I must admit, it works awesome and I have been so pleased. I'm grateful that the drobo 5d I originally purchased went south on me as I wouldn't have found this by looking for other alternatives. This was well worth the additional cost.
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On a side note - Link Aggregation (because I struggled to figure this out):
1) Set it up on the Synology first, it will tell you there is an error, that's ok. Next, set it up on the switch:
2) The Cisco 300 series does work with this - I can confirm it did for me. In order to set it up on the cisco (web ui) go to Port Management > Link Aggregation > LAG Management. Create a LAG and add the ports. the key though is BEFORE you hit apply with the ports and everything, make sure to check the LACP checkbox. If you don't, you have to delete and recreate. This is the only way the link aggregation works.
After you set it up on the switch, you can go back into the synology management page and the error should be gone now.
*** UPDATE *** - 2014-02-22
I've been using this for a while now and I have to admit, best purchase I've made in a long time. This NAS is one of those things where the gift keeps on giving...
Cloud Station: I discovered this week 'Cloud Station' as one of the applications they offer. I've been looking for something that could augment my current dropbox account as I need more space. I have a lot of files that I like to keep synced with my devices, but don't feel like spending more and more on Dropbox storage, as well as paying the extra money for "Rat Pack" which lets me keep infinite versions of my files, not just the standard 30 days.
Cloud Station does this and more... So far from my two day of testing it, I've successfully implemented this on 2 PC's and 2 Mac's. Syncing is great, super fast since it's local. I'm yet to test it outside of my house, but feel pretty good about it since I use my router's Dynamic DNS address and not my internal network IP (using Asus's dynamic DNS with their router - works awesome btw). I've paused syncing on two machines to simulate offline mode and then changed the same file on both machines in hopes it doesn't overwrite - it worked perfectly. Just like dropbox, it showed a conflicted copy which is what I would want if I have the same file updated from two sources at the same time. Like Dropbox, you can select which folders are synced on each device as well, so my laptop with a SSD doesn't have to get the archived stuff, just the relevant for what I use on the go with my laptop. I'll also note that it appears they are working on a new Cloud Station (in beta now) that somehow integrates with existing cloud storage services (i.e. dropbox, box, etc). I'll update again after I've used that.
Hardware: I haven't had any issues (and coming from a guy that has terrible luck with hardware that says a lot). I have lost power at my house a couple times and the NAS recovered perfectly (home based business with a rack mount UPS). I'm likely going to buy one of the add-on enclosures to add 5 more bays to the drive to expand a bit more.
Tech Support: I did use their Tech Support recently and must say I was extremely impressed with the responsiveness. I had screwed up a setting and woke up one morning realizing I'm out of space on my NAS (ate through 3tb in 8 hours) and kinda freaked out something happened. I contacted support by submitting a ticket, within just an hour or so I received a response to my ticket. He confirmed with me what I thought I did in the ticket and said are you sure you didn't do xyz (as it sounded like I did). He was dead on, but instead of doing the typical Tech Support wait and see method (ask a question, wait for a reply, try this, wait for a reply, etc) in the same email he said if you did do this, here's the solution. If that doesn't work try abc, and if that doesn't work, contact us again and we'll figure it out. Tech support was awesome - everything got worked out and I fixed it (I was creating multiple copies of my media files which were being updated numerous times as I had a process updating the metadata that night). For tech support - these guys are probably the best I've dealt with in many years which is refreshing. (Matt W. for the kudos on their tech support if Synology happens to read this)
Summary: I know this thing is expensive, but honestly - it's still something I would classify as a worthy expense for my business. I'm so happy that Drobo broke on me or I would never have given this a try.
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Great drive - Faulty USB cable