The Synology DiskStation DS216+II ($299.99) is a full-featured NAS device designed for home (as DROBO B810I )and small business users. Equipped with a dual-core processor, numerous connectivity ports, and a generous selection of apps, this two-drive storage device delivered solid file transfer performance in our tests and was a snap to set up. Its intuitive DSM (DiskStation Manager) operating system has a familiar Windows-like look and feel that makes it easy to configure the device whether you're using it as a primary backup solution, a home media server with 4K video transcoding capabilites, a mail server, or a security camera control center. You'll have to supply your own drives, but at just less than $300, it's still a very good deal and is our top pick for two-drive NAS devices.
Design and Features
The DS216+IIBest Price at Amazon is powered by a dual-core Intel Celeron N3060 CPU which runs at 1.6GHz and 1GB of DDR3 memory. It supports up to 20TB of storage (two 10TB drives) and a variety of RAID configurations including Basic, JBOD, RAID 0, RAID 1, and Synology's SHR Hybrid RAID with one-disk fault tolerance. Supported file types for internal drives include Btrfs and EXT4.
The DS216+II's matte black housing measures 6.4 by 4.2 by 9.1 inches (HWD) and its two front-loading drive bays are hidden behind a removable black plastic panel. To the right of the panel are a status indicator, a LAN indicator, drive activity indicators, a USB 3.0 port, a Copy button that offers one-touch file transfers between a connected USB drive and the NAS device, and a power switch. Around back are a gigabit LAN port, two USB 2.0 ports, a reset button, and a power jack. The DS216+II doesn't offer USB-Type C connectivity or an HDMI video output like you get with the Asustor AS6302T, and it lacks the PCIe expansion port that you get with the QNAP TS-253B, but it does have an eSATA port for directly connecting to an external SATA drive.
The DS216+II uses the same DSM operating system as its bigger sibling, the DS1517+$789.00 at Amazon. It has a Windows desktop look and feel, which makes it easy to manage storage, download apps, and protect your data from viruses and other nefarious malware. The desktop contains several preinstalled programs, including the Package Center, which gives you access to more than 70 Synology-branded and third party apps. Here you can download iTunes and Plex server apps, website hosting apps, mail server and bit torrent apps, backup and cloud synchronization apps, and Synology's Surveillance Station app for managing IP security cameras. With Synology's Video Station app and the embedded hardware transcoding engine, you can convert 4K video on the fly and serve it up to clients that normally don't support 4K video playback. Additionally, Synology's Photo Station app makes it easy to bulk upload photos from clients to the DS216+II.
The Control Panel lets you create shared folders, assign user and group rights, and set up firewall parameters. You can also configure network settings and enable push and email notifications that will alert you to any system errors. The File Station allows you to manage files and folders, browse user file sharing activities, and configure remote connections to files. The desktop also offers a System Health window that displays CPU and RAM usage.
Tapping the icon in the upper left corner of the desktop screen takes you to the Main Menu, where you can access a detailed Resource Monitor and use the Storage Manager utility to create volumes, configure RAID settings, and create disk groups. You can also view disk health statistics such as bad sector count, estimated lifespan, operating temperature, and firmware version. Use the Security Advisor to scan for malware and ensure that users have strong passwords and that your NAS apps are up to date. The Help feature offer tips on using the DSM operating system and all installed apps. The DS216+II is covered by a three-year warranty. It ships with a LAN cable, a power cable, and a handful of drive-mounting screws, although they are not really necessary, as the drive trays provide tool-free mounting.
Setup and Performance
Setting up the DS261+II couldn't be easier. After installing two Seagate 6TB HGST SATA drives I connected the device to my host PC, plugged it in, and typed http://find.synology.com in my browser's address bar. Within seconds the device was discovered and I clicked Connect. I was then prompted to download and install the Synology DiskStation Manager and create a User Account. Next, I created a volume using the Synology SHR RAID configuration and was ready to go. The entire process took less than 10 minutes to complete.
The DS216+II performed well on our file transfer tests, where we transfer a 4.9GB folder containing a mix of photos, video clips, music files, and office documents and time the read and write speeds of the drives. Its read speed of 68MBps was a bit faster than the QNAP TS-253B$527.00 at Amazon(65MBps) and much faster than the Asustor AS6302T (37MBps). The Synology DS216j$150.97 at Amazon led them all with a score of 74MBps. The DS216+II's write speed of 76MBps was once again a hair faster than the QNAP TS-253B (75MBps) and noticeably faster than the Asustor AS-6302T (63MBps), and it also outperformed the Synology DS216j (68MBps). Additionally, the DS216+II was extremely quiet, unlike the QNAP TS-253B, which emitted a constant hum in our testing.
Conclusion
The Synology DS216+II is an excellent choice for home and small office users seeking a reasonably priced NAS device that can store up to 20TB of data, convert and serve 4K video and other entertainment media, act as a mail server, and control a networked IP camera security system. It's a snap to set up and Synology's DSM operating system makes it easy to download dozens of useful apps that can scan for malware, schedule automatic backups, and help organize file structures. Granted, the DS216+II doesn't offer the same level of expandability as the QNAP TS253B, but it does offer slightly better performance and is almost $400 less expensive. It's our Editors' Choice for two-drive NAS devices.
