DS218+ to DS920+ | Is it worth the upgrade? Usage details below

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DS218+ to DS920+ | Is it worth the upgrade? Usage details below

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NAS
DS218+
Operating system
  1. Windows
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Hi all,

I have a DS218+ which has been working great, running 2x6TB WD Red Plus. I mainly use it to backup from 2 PCs, share Photos, 2 security cameras, and HEAVY Plex use! I am slowly running out of space, and my only option is to replace both drives with larger drives as I cannot add another, plus DS218+ is not great at playing 4K, or high bit-rate 1080P+DTS movies.

Questions:
- If upgraded to DS920+ would it do better on doing 4K video and high bitrate movies/DTS?
- If I just added ONE more 6TB to DS920+ with my current drives, do I get 12TB immediately?
- What other benefits do I get from DS920+ and is it future proof for hosting more and more 4K videos, and being a long term backup solution?
- Any other options costing less?
- Should I wait for next generation of 4-bay drives?

Thanks
 
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you may want to wait ordering until next week at least, dec 3 at the synology summit they may present new models.
The 920+ is a very decent machine by all means, you will not regret that one anyway.
The synology raid calculator will tell you how much space you will get if you use SHR.
I cannot help you with the movie stuff, a modern smart tv or a 60$ mediabox will handle that much more (cost) efficient than a NAS, so I went that route.
 
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How are you playing the Plex streams? I use Apple TV HD and 4K (v1).

My move from a DS218+ to DS1520+ was for space reasons and got approval so we could backup the kids’ PCs. I’d already got 6GB RAM in the DS218+ and it was performing well.

The main difference between these two NAS was newer quad core CPU and a bit more RAM. Then there’re the extra bays, of which I run 4x8TB SHR-1 and keep a bay spare.

Generally the more storage you want then there’s a cost per TB crossover to a bigger NAS at some point. But that assumes you aren’t starting with a reasonably capable NAS already. And you are.
 
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I know for a fact that there will be new HW coming but there will be no new NAS device announcements.
So, new HW won't include NAS announcements?
-- post merged: --

How are you playing the Plex streams? I use Apple TV HD and 4K (v1).

My move from a DS218+ to DS1520+ was for space reasons and got approval so we could backup the kids’ PCs. I’d already got 6GB RAM in the DS218+ and it was performing well.

The main difference between these two NAS was newer quad core CPU and a bit more RAM. Then there’re the extra bays, of which I run 4x8TB SHR-1 and keep a bay spare.

Generally the more storage you want then there’s a cost per TB crossover to a bigger NAS at some point. But that assumes you aren’t starting with a reasonably capable NAS already. And you are.

I stream Plex on Xbox One X and Roku stick. If the video is very high bit-rate with DTS , or 4K, it's not as smooth, I think the limit is around 10-15mbps bitrate.

My one rationale, to upgrade to 12TB on my drive, I have to get TWO 12-TB drives... which costs MORE as if I upgraded to DS920+ and just added a 6TB drive and sold my DS218+, I guess I could also sell my 6TB drives, but they won't fetch much (one has lots of hours on it).
 
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So, new HW won't include NAS announcements?
Correct. There will be only 2 new devices but not from the NAS range (at least not during this event on the Dec 2nd). Considering it’s end of the year 99% no new NAS devices are coming out or will be announced in the following 30 days.
 
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Have you checked the network speeds between the NAS and players?

I was able to use Plex on a DS215j to stream direct player 1080p with real time transcoded audio. The CPU was max’ing out most of the time! But it did it.

Do you have Plex Pass to enable hardware transcoding?
 
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Have you checked the network speeds between the NAS and players?

I was able to use Plex on a DS215j to stream direct player 1080p with real time transcoded audio. The CPU was max’ing out most of the time! But it did it.

Do you have Plex Pass to enable hardware transcoding?

Hi,

I don't have Plex Pass, does it make a big difference?
-- post merged: --

Correct. There will be only 2 new devices but not from the NAS range (at least not during this event on the Dec 2nd). Considering it’s end of the year 99% no new NAS devices are coming out or will be announced in the following 30 days.

Thanks, and when DS922+ is announced, do we expect any major upgrades? Like vastly improved CPU? 10gbps networking? or anything major?
 
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Thanks, and when DS922+ is announced, do we expect any major upgrades? Like vastly improved CPU? 10gbps networking? or anything major?
IMHO I wouldn't hold my breath for a "major" cpu improvement. For a 4bay series I would expect Celeron 5k or max 6k series, and 10G would be a long shot in a small case such as that. Unless there will be a CPU that can actually utilize 10G without a massive power usage, I wouldn't hold my breath.

Also, on top of this, the upcoming DSM 7.1 changes will bring, finally, a feature that is long overdue that will be beneficial for devices that do not have 2.5, 5 or 10G interfaces. So again, 10G in devices with a small number of bays, highly unlikely. 2.5G maybe, but nothing beyond that.
 
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IMHO I wouldn't hold my breath for a "major" cpu improvement. For a 4bay series I would expect Celeron 5k or max 6k series, and 10G would be a long shot in a small case such as that. Unless there will be a CPU that can actually utilize 10G without a massive power usage, I wouldn't hold my breath.

Also, on top of this, the upcoming DSM 7.1 changes will bring, finally, a feature that is long overdue that will be beneficial for devices that do not have 2.5, 5 or 10G interfaces. So again, 10G in devices with a small number of bays, highly unlikely. 2.5G maybe, but nothing beyond that.

Thanks, even 2.5G would be great! Crap, wish there were leaks on these like on iPhones!
 
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I don't have Plex Pass, does it make a big difference?
The Pass enables hardware transcoding, if the device supports it: the DS218+ does, as do DS{718, 918, 220, 720, 920, 1520}+ and some others. It’s the Intel CPU with built-in GPU.

You can get the Pass for a month to see if that helps.

Video Station uses hardware transcoding for free, but doesn’t natively support DTS codecs.
 
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I have a question if I moved to DS920+... WHAT happens if I ADD a 3TB to 2x6TB drives?

Synology says I will have 9TB of storage, BUT would ALL of 9TB be protected if one drive fails?!

Thanks
 
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I have a question if I moved to DS920+... WHAT happens if I ADD a 3TB to 2x6TB drives?

Synology says I will have 9TB of storage, BUT would ALL of 9TB be protected if one drive fails?!

Thanks
RAID calculator will show 9TB usable (about) with 3+6+6TB but only if you start with a fresh SHR setup. Considering that you have 2x6 array, you can't add a smaller then 6TB drive into the array while preserving your data.

You need to backup your data, destroy the volume, add a 3TB drive, recreate a new SHR volume with three drives, and finally, restore the data.

If you want to maintain your data and expand to a three drive setup, you will have to add 6TB or larger drive.
 
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A follow-up to this... what about picking up a used DS918+

From all I can see, apart from a weaker CPU, it has ALL the features including SSD caching of DS920+, AND it actually encodes h265 where DS920+ does NOT!

Currently my limitation is sometimes 218+ has challenges playing high bitrate videos, PLUS, need more drives. What do I miss if I got a 918 instead of 920?
 
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Currently my limitation is sometimes 218+ has challenges playing high bitrate videos, PLUS, need more drives. What do I miss if I got a 918 instead of 920?
Would recommend 918 over 218 and regarding missing something compared to 920, not much if anything in real life usage.
 
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