Synology DiskStation DS925+ review: versatile, expandable NAS drive

Best prices today: Synology Diskstation DS925 +

$ 639.99

Synology manufactures a wide range of high -end NAS systems for business and business users, but it is also one of the few manufacturers that is always aimed at small businesses and people working at home. Its latest version is the DS925 +diskstation, which provides an extensible storage system with great scope to develop in the future.

At first glance, the DS925 + seems almost identical to its predecessor – called DS923 + – with a dark black design which provides four training berries for the hard drive or SSD storage. There are also two M.2 locations on the basis of the reader that can be used to install SSD modules for a high speed cover to increase performance. However, the former DS923 + is still sold online by a certain number of dealers, so be sure to buy the new DS925 + model when ordering online.

The Improved DS925 + includes an AMD Ryzen V1500B Faster AMD Ryzen processor working at 2.2 GHz, as well as two 2.5 GB Ethernet ports for a high -speed network connection. Synology says that this makes it considerably faster than its predecessor, offering a maximum writing speed up to 565 MB / s and a reading speed of 522 MB / s – although, of course, this will depend a lot on how your network is configured and the type of disks you install.

Like many Synology NAS training sessions, the DS925 + is sold “not jostled” – like a simple empty chassis, without records included. The non -populated variation costs £ 575.00 / $ 640.00, you will therefore have the budget for hard drives or additional SSDs in addition to this basic price. You must also make sure to select SSD hard drives of 2.5 inch or 3.5 inch that have been approved as “compatible” by synology. These can be purchased directly from Synology itself, or through some of its online dealers. However, you cannot buy the DS925 + itself from Synology, so you will have to go online for the best offer.

The maximum size of the hard drive compatible with the DS925 + is 20 TO, so its four bays provide a maximum of 80 TB of storage (with a certain number of raid options also supported). However, an extension module is also available, called DX525, which can be connected to the DS925 + if you want to further upgrade your storage. This costs £ 467.00 / 449.00 $, and provides five additional driving berries, which gives you a maximum of 180 TB of storage, so that the DS925 + will be able to follow as your business develops in the future. There are also USB-A ports (3.2) on the front and rear panels, which allow you to connect individual external readers if necessary.

But although the design of the hardware is neat and efficient, Synology software does not allow new users to start easily. There is a label with a QR code included in the box, but that simply brings you to very long and complicated help files on the Synology website, which could easily confuse any person who uses a NAS reader for the first time.

There is an application, called DS Finder, which is available for iOS and Android, and this application was able to see the DS925 + when it was connected to our office network. Unfortunately, the application simply told us to use a web browser to download and install the main operating system software, called Diskstation Manager (DSM), which is necessary to control the reader.

Unfortunately, the option of the web browser did not work either, and simply displayed a message indicating to us to download a separate office application for Mac or PCS, called Synology Assistant. It did not work at the start either, although it at least provided some tips to adjust the encryption settings on the reader. It finally worked, and once we had installed the DSM software, we were able to return to the DS Finder application on our iPad to complete the reader’s configuration process. And, as well as a local network connection, the application also includes an option called QuickConnect which provides a remote connection to the DS925 +, so that you can use it as a kind of “private cloud” to access your files when you are far from the office.

Foundry

Unfortunately, the DS Finder application also tells you to install a certain number of additional applications in order to manage your files, photos and other features, so synology must really rethink its documentation and its confusing selection of applications and public services to make them a little more user -friendly for small businesses and home workers who do not have a team formed by its staff to set up everything.

If you buy the DS925 + disk

The compact design of the DS925 + makes it a good option for a very small business or office, and its extension options guarantee that it can provide additional storage in the future. However, the software side is rather disorderly, so the DS925 + will be best suited to people who already have a small networking experience and implementation of a NAS reader.

Consult the other NAS discs that we examined during our gathering of the best NAS disks for Mac.