Synology DiskStation DS215+ 2-Bay NAS Review

Final Thoughts

Pricing

The Synology DiskStation DS215+ diskless unit will set you back $339.99 at Amazon US and £256.28 at Amazon UK. German readers can find a great deal on Geizhals where it starts at €314.15 at the time of writing.

Overview

Synology’s DiskStation DS215+ is aimed at SMB usage, but it would also be a great NAS for SOHO users that want a NAS that is just a little more than usual. The DS215+ unit is an upgrade that users have requested for some time and I doubt any of them will be disappointed.

The new CPU with hardware encryption engine delivers up to double the performance when dealing with encrypted storage and that’s something that is worth highlighting. While we saw some performance impact on an encrypted drive, it wasn’t much and there will always be some performance decrease when dealing with encryption.

The 2-bay unit doesn’t just have a tiny footprint, it has an overall small form factor. That gives you the ability to place it the system pretty much where ever you want and you won’t have any trouble finding the perfect spot for it. The black design will make it fit well with other PC systems and monitors that mostly are black these days.

The two LAN ports allow for failover and link aggregation while the USB 3.0 and eSATA ports allow you to connect printers, WLAN sticks, storage, and much more.

With Synology’s DSM operating system, we know that we’ll find every function we want. It doesn’t matter if it’s a business oriented feature or a streaming service you need at home. From cloud systems and domain logins, it’s there. If it isn’t a default function, then you’ll most likely find it in the app center. It isn’t without a reason that the DSM system has won as many awards as it has.

We saw a great performance throughout all our benchmarks, and that includes the encrypted benchmark. The new dual-core CPU showed us what if can do. The only downside on this NAS will be limited to very few people, those who wish to upgrade the RAM. They’ll have to pick a different model. Otherwise, this is a great system and one you’ll be very happy with.

Pros:

• CPU with Floating-Point and Hardware Encryption Engine
• USB 3.0 and eSATA connections
• Dual-LAN with Dynamic Link Aggregation support
• Good Performance
• DSM Operating System

Cons:

• No USB on the front
• RAM not upgradeable

“Synology’s DS215+ is an amazing NAS unit that should perform equally well in SOHO and SMB environments. A NAS that won’t disappoint you.”

Thank you Synology for providing us with this review sample.