Synology DiskStation DS220+NAS Device Review
9.5/10 (Expert Score)
- Featured dual 1GbE LAN ports to support network failover, and with Link Aggregation enabled, DS220+ provides over 225 MB/s sequential read and 192 MB/s sequential write throughput. Data can be further protected with RAID 1 disk mirroring to prevent sudden drive failure.
$333.36
Description
Design and Features
The Synology DiskStation DS220+ is almost identical in appearance to the DS218+ and that’s a good thing because the DS218+ is a nice-looking device – as far as NAS devices go. The front cover is easy to pop off and back on again providing easy access to both drive bays. The drives slide in and out easily and are hot-swappable. No more searching for tools and tiny little screwdrivers when it’s time to remove or insert a drive. The trays have plastic side pieces that snap off and on again making it easy to detach and secure your hard drives.
The right side of the front is lined with LED status lights for device, drive, and LAN port status. Just below the power button is the awesome “one-touch” copy button. It allows you to make a quick backup copy of your USB drive with the touch of a button and is a very handy feature. The DS220+ has two USB 3.0 ports. One on the front and one on the back. The DS218+ had a single 1GB Ethernet port and an eSATA port for expansion. The DS220+ has replaced the eSATA port with a 2nd 1GB Ethernet port. Unfortunately, the ability to expand the NAS server storage space goes with it. As if to make up for this deficiency the DS220+ supports link aggregation which allows you to combine two 1GB Ethernet ports into a single 2GB port. It also comes with iSCSI support, 4GB DDR3 memory, multiple Gigabit LAN ports, and two USB 3.0 ports. 
Internally the processor has been upgraded from a 2.0GHz Dual-Core Intel Celeron that can burst to 2.5GHz to a similar Celeron that can burst up to 2.9GHz. The 2GB of DDR3 memory has been upgraded to DDR4 which is a significant upgrade. The result is a NAS that’s slightly more powerful than its predecessor yet also slightly more power-efficient. Synology NAS’s have always been known for their huge selection of software applications or “packages” that can be used to extend their capabilities. Yes, it supports PLEX but you can also turn your NAS into a chat server, security camera surveillance center, cloud server, mail server, backup server, file server, multi-media center, or virtual machine manager among other things.
Synology DiskStation DS220+ Performance
You can safely expect data transfer rates of about 100 -120MBps with the DS220+. The performance will not vary much with the type of RAID you use. Even when using a multi-GB port with Link Aggregation speeds will not improve by much. The biggest factor in determining performance is the speed of the drives you put in it. After all, that’s basically what a NAS is – a hard drive on steroids. 
Synology DiskStation DS220+ Setup
Setup is easy once you download the Synology Assistant to your computer and launch it. It will detect the Synology DiskStation DS220+ on your network and get you started with a wizard to download and install the DSM operating system, set up an administrative password, and select the initial apps you want on your NAS. Make sure to write down the IP address the NAS picks up from your DHCP server because once the setup routine is complete the Synology Assistant may not work again. If you can click on next, next, and next a few times you can do the basic install of the DSM operating system in about 15 minutes. Once the OS is installed things may get a little complicated if you’re not familiar with RAID. Synology has a hybrid version of RAID known as SHR (Synology Hybrid RAID) that makes it easy for beginners. My Free eBook provides a detailed explanation of the basics of RAID and how to set it up on a Synology NAS.
Synology DiskStation DS220+
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Conclusion
The lack of an eSATA port for drive expansion is the only downside to choosing the Synology DiskStation DS220+ over its predecessor. Performance is slightly improved and as of this writing, the newer NAS is actually cheaper than the older one! Either way, you can’t go wrong with a Synology NAS. The performance-to-cost ratio, solid reputation, and the multitude of apps that can be used to perform just about any network function you can imagine making Synology a no-brainer when it comes to NAS systems.
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