Synology DS423+ 4 Bay Desktop NAS Storage Server

I purchased this to replace a 4TB Raid 1 Synology unit which was getting a bit full. 40TB seemed like a good size, but by the time Raid 5 has been applied and the system set up you are looking at only just under 18TB of admittedly well protected storage.This model needs a lot more setting up than the consumer models, so for example if you want it to be seen as a media server on a Windows PC and on your TV etc. then you have to install the Media Server application. That threw me, because it was already installed automatically on the cosumer models. You also need to create network places and mapped drives yourself, whereas with the consumer version only mapping a drive was needed. There is also very little documentation supplied with the unit and a lot of the online information is not relevant or not dated so you cannot always be sure if it relates to the model you are working with.So, why have I given it five stars? Well, at a little under two grand it gives you a lot of bang for your buck. Installing Media Station and Video station gives you media access anywhere in the world, and you have private cloud storage which in my case was a key requirement as my development computer was close to having a full SSD. 18TB is 18 times the amount on my PC, and 4.5 times the space on my previous Synology, for only three times the price of the old one, so the alternative of buying three more of the old NAS boxes would have been way more expensive. The Raid 5 means that an entire drive could fail without loss of data and just plugging in a spare would result in it rebuilding itself, protecting you against everything but a physical disaster like fire.The software on it is good, it works fine with my phone and my computer, the music seems to be noticably faster to load on the Android app, and data transfer is quick, so what's not to like? The only thing I think is the difficulty of backing up such a large amount of data. Basically you can't unless you want to purchase a massive online backup service at vast cost, or buy two of these and set up a VPN. RAID certainly helps to protect you, but there are circumstances which would cost you your data. A massive media collection and vital data are both things that you do not want to lose, so I will be reviewing my options.This review is based on only a couple of days ownership, so I will definitely come back and edit if anything changes, whether good or bad. For the moment, this is easily the best NAS I have ever owned.

I’ve been really impressed with this NAS drive.The set up was simple and easy to follow, it has plenty of power to process data/photo or video streaming. It’s capable of running apps in docker containers.I did actually upgrade the RAM with an additional 16 GB crucial branded dual rail stick - it’s important to get the ‘DR’ version of SODIMM to make sure it works as expected as I believe the single rail is not compatible or cause issues.The bill quality is great, it’s solid. It’s quieter than my old enclosure using the same drives, the sound dampening is good.I’d recommend this for anyone looking for a medium spec network attached storage enclosure, with the appropriate size drives for your needs.

£395 at time of reviewSynology have just announced the DS425+ but I grabbed this one instead, as Synology now lock their NAS systems down to using their own drives (which is incredibly frustrating), plus they cost significantly more if you go for the enterprise data centre drives. I have Seagate ST16000NM002H Exos Enterprise (X24) 16TB SATA Hard Drives, but these are not compatible with the new 2025 systems. The only difference between this 2023 version with the 2025 version is the 2.5Gb ethernet connection and the fact that it forces you to use Synology drives… so these 2023 systems are going to become like hens teeth soon, so I grabbed it while I could (plus it is now on sale!If you’re here then you’ve likely already done your homework about varying NAS systems… I’ve been in the tech business many many years, and while I’m no networking aficionado I know the difference between an RJ45 & an RJ11 ;) but I can say hands down Synology lead the way when it comes to NAS software that is easy to use. If you really really know what you’re doing then you’ll likely grab a different NAS system as Synology are a bit like Apple, you pay extra, but what you get is ease of use… it just works! So if you want something that you can set up in no time yet can still get under the hood and tinker if you want of need too then seriously look no further (I’ve recommended Synology to many of my clients over the years and they’ve always thanked me)I have this particular model at home, I bought it to replace my DS224+ as that only has two bays and I need the extra storage, I have a couple of 16TB Exios drives in it, running in a Raid 1 configuration, so mirrored continually, but I shall add two more 16TB drives bring the total up to 32GB of useable space (64G in total mirrored)Frustratingly this only has two 1G network ports, although for the majority of home users this will be fine, especially if you’re connecting to it over WiFi anyway! But you can always attach a 2.5Gbps adapter (although this is not supported natively by Synology, you’ll need to do a bit of tinkering and installation yourself but there’s easy enough tutorials to follow online). Talking of which, if you haven’t already, check out Space Rex on YouTube, the guy is a Synology guru, what he doesn’t know about Synology systems isn’t worth knowing! NAS Compares is also a good channel, although a lot more technical and mainly a comparison channel (hence the name!)So if you’re looking to have a system to run your Plex or JellyFin library this is great as it has an intel CPU with integrated gfx acceleration, meaning 4K HEVC streaming across your network without the need to transcode, the integrated photos app and mobile apps, means you have your own private iCloud or Google photos library at home for the whole family to share, all with your own private areas for photos, videos, documents and mobile phone or computer back ups, and sharing photo libraries or files with friends and work over the web etc is easy too. Plus if you have your own security cameras etc, then all that footage can be stored locally too, plus running your own home automation using homebridge or hoobs etc is easy to set up and get running tooSome reviewers mention noise… the NAS itself it completely silent, the noisy bit from time to time will be the hard drives, so it will depend on which drives you get, and yes they can click away at times when it’s doing a back up or indexing a load of photos and videos, so don’t expect to leave this on your bedside table ;) but they’re not that noisy, and certainly not as annoying as a high pitch fan… plus you can leave this pretty much anywhere, it’s relatively small, as long as it’s in a ventilated space it will be happy, tucked away behind your sofa, or on top of a book shelf beside your WiFi router you’ll forget it’s even there most of the time. Oh and upgrade the RAM, a 4Gig SIMM should cost around £25-30 (although you can install a 16G SIMM if you think you’ll need it for heavy loads and virtualisations etc although I’ve had 6G in total running in mine at home for the past three months and it’s been plenty)I honestly can’t recommend having a NAS at home enough! for the modern family (or a small home office), it means everyone’s photos and precious memories and files are all stored centrally and easy to back up… and remember, just because it’s running in Raid 1 so mirrored mode, that’s not a back up! Yes it saves you from a hardware fault as you can hot swap out a hard drive should one of them ever fail (highly unlikely if you use server grade drives), but do get a large external hard drive too and back up the whole thing either automatically or manually, then you can keep that drive in your office or at a relatives, so you always have that back up in case disaster strikes or someone breaks in and steals your NAS!Hope my review was helpful

The DS423+ is a great NAS and should be more than enough for most users, with having the expandability of the 4 drive bays. Synology DSM is still the best NAS operating system and has the most quality apps available of all the competition- This is really what you are paying for with synology's prices.The hardware inside is mediocre at best for the price, but it all works flawlessly and is so user friendly- Synology is the 'Apple' of the NAS world.Its a shame you cant upgrade this model with a faster network card, so you are stuck at 1gbe speeds.Id recommend this over the 'just released' models because you can use any drives with this, where as the newest version forces you to buy Synology's own brand hard drives- very naughty IMO.

If you want an easy to use NAS that is easy to setup and versatile this one is great.