What might I regret most about buying a DS220j

Currently reading
What might I regret most about buying a DS220j

3
0
Operating system
  1. Windows
I'm replacing an ageing Netgear ReadyNAS Ultra2 that I use for backup, file storage and the odd BitTorrent. I'm looking at the DS220j because Synology get highly recommended and it's the cheapest in the 2 bay range. I'll use my existing disks.

Maybe rather than ask what might I regret, what features of the DS218, DS218play or DS220+ are you glad you paid the extra for (or wish you'd paid the extra for)?
 
Docker (on plus models).

You know, I had a DS116J once... but I returned it to the store the same day I purchased it because the CPU really sucked (not to mention the puny RAM). Just syncing it with another NAS took 100% of its CPU, ONLY syncing!!!! When I returned it to the store I tought: never again will I buy a J model.... :)
 
I have a "j" (junk-series). Apart from no Docker, no self-healing file system, no snapshot replication, horrible live video transcoding, inability to manage Moments, it's a fine machine for file storage and as a backup target.

Just get a 918+ (the 920+ has nothing special). 2 years from now, you will be glad you did.
 
I have a j series and wouldn’t wish it upon anyone. If I look at it, the cpu shoots to 100%
Whoever asks now, my answer is: if you can afford more than four bays, plus series, go for it, but not less than four (plus) as a first NAS.
If you really, really want a two bay, then –you guessed it– a plus series.
 
My first NAS was 211j (still works) on DSM 4.3 like day1, but only for light downloads and storage space, that's it. Anything more than that it is dead.

Nowadays, J models have much more ram and better CPU, but would agree for sure, nothing else than a + model regardless of the number of bays.
 
Not knowing what features the ReadyNAS provides, nor the hardware specs...

Your current usage sounds to be typical NAS... 'Storage'. I guess using standard network file sharing services (e.g. SMB, etc). If that is all that you want to continue to do then a j-series will do this.

However, you should also think about what type of person you are: get the NAS for storage and that's that, not interested in using media services and the other packages; or when you find the other packages will you want to try them, especially the media streaming and office/Drive packages?

I don't like to spend other people's money but as others have said you will get a lot more mileage out of a plus series NAS. You already have experience of how you use your NAS so if this is going to be a step up then a j-series will be a disappointment.

The next question is: 2 or 4+ bay? Here consider price per TB per bay when you've populated with the drives you want. I'm guessing you'll use SHR RAID which in a 2-bay is similar to RAID 1 and in a 4+ similar to RAID 5, but has more flexibility than those RAID types when it comes to swapping up disks.

Are you looking to move to a new 2-bay because during the life of your ageing NAS your storage needs haven't change much, or can be accommodated by pairing up increasingly larger pairs or disks? Or do you think having spare bays will be useful to grow a SHR array, as and when you need to?

While a 4-bay plus series seems expensive you should consider it as a multi-purpose server that has potential to hold 40TB+ of usable space (based on current big disks).


One point to highlight is that you cannot just move your disks from the ReadyNAS to DSM NAS. The disks will be wiped during setup so you should have a backup of your data.
 
Thanks all for your replies. I'll stick with the 2 bay as that's what I've had for over 10 years and have the disks for. I can't see me needing more storage anytime soon, it's just that the ReadyNAS is beginning to play up, the Transmission Bittorrent web interface still available but the admin one not unless I reboot.

My problem with the 220+ is that it's twice the price of the 220j, ~320 pounds vs 160. The 218play is around 210 pounds and the 218 around 260 pounds.
 
I was going to move the disks by:
  1. powering down the ReadyNAS
  2. taking one disk of the mirror out
  3. put it in the Synology and setup
  4. power up the ReadyNAS and copy all data from the now compromised mirror to the disk in the synology
  5. Power off the ReadyNAS and move the other disk into the Synology to create a mirror.
 
You can compare the NAS with these links (1st is the three Realtek CPU NAS and 2nd adds the Intel CPU DS220+)

The biggest hobble of the DS220j is the 512MB RAM. Until the DS220+ these NAS have fixed RAM and 512MB is the absolute lowest need to run DSM web portal. The AV Essential package is struggling to run on this NAS; I have the DS215j with 512MB and old CPU but it cannot complete an AV scan now as an overnight task and that's with virtually not data on it (I exclude the media folder I tested with Plex).

The ability of those NAS that support Btrfs file system will be to better optimise storage usage, and some packages require Btrfs (not the file serving ones you'd probably be using now).

But to give a little positive on the j-series, one my DS215j I recently set up a test Plex server to see if it could stream some MKV concerts in HD audio (from Blu-ray). While it could not transcode the video, indeed those options are disabled in Plex, it was able to stream the video and transcode the HD audio to stereo for playback on my Mac using Safari. So a +30Mbps stream can be done though the CPU was pretty well max'ing out on this single task. I also had to wait until Plex had finished tagging the files. I did this test before I knew a friend had a DS218play and he's now happy with playing his Blu-ray converted concerts.

Mostly the web heavy packages will be the ones that you will struggle to use/be happy with using. But the more traditional server packages can be used. Just not really Mail Server with AV enabled (not really enough RAM).
 
I was going to move the disks by:
  1. powering down the ReadyNAS
  2. taking one disk of the mirror out
  3. put it in the Synology and setup
  4. power up the ReadyNAS and copy all data from the now compromised mirror to the disk in the synology
  5. Power off the ReadyNAS and move the other disk into the Synology to create a mirror.
this will work
 

Create an account or login to comment

You must be a member in order to leave a comment

Create account

Create an account on our community. It's easy!

Log in

Already have an account? Log in here.

Similar threads

Yes, my MyCloud (not MyCloud Home) devices worked great for ~8 years until WD cut off support and remote...
Replies
13
Views
19,644
  • Question
Thank you very much for the replies. The 920+ it is going to be. And regarding the idea of 3x6TB - i like...
Replies
3
Views
1,502

Welcome to SynoForum.com!

SynoForum.com is an unofficial Synology forum for NAS owners and enthusiasts.

Registration is free, easy and fast!

Back
Top