8 Bay RackStation RS1221+ (Diskless)

An upgrade on an older '+' style Synology box. The previous physical drives transferred over fine and the new PAT rebuilt the DSM without too much hassle. I forgot to delete the Bond setting from the previous Synology box (before backing it up) and thought I'd have to fry the DSM on the RS1221+ in order to clear that setting (moving from 2 ports bonded to 4 ports bonded) but I managed to use the reset and force it to delete and reconfigure. Only one Cat 5 could be plugged in while achieving this reset—not all four—once realised easily fixed. The password reset method isn't well described but otherwise everything is fine. Still running the drives back in on the new box without upgrading the RAM (32GB) or network connection (10Gb). It's nicely built, not over the top, and fits well into the rack. The fan noise has increased considerably over the smaller Synology boxes but not quite as loud as a dedicated server build (though this is only a quarter of the size). A two bay Synology is whisper quiet, a 5 bay had some fan noise but can be drowned out by drive chatter, this 8 bay unit has real fan noise (on it's lowest, 'quiet' setting) and has a presence in the office. Destined for a cupboard anyway but I'd suggest planning for isolation if you like peace and quiet. My last Synology box lasted for over 10 years without any huge issues but doesn't match this for pace of file delivery, build quality (much more metal involved) or simple storage capacity. It doesn't present the fastest preview yet (for really big files) but with plenty of upgrades to come it has the legs to be a powerful performer in a small form factor. It came double boxed and is well protected for transportation. It's a nice unit for those who just need things to work; have large storage needs; don't like constantly rebuilding backup solutions or having multiple drives rolling around. The Synology DSM has many reviews elsewhere. Thumbs up.

My deskside 19" rack is only 12 inches deep! This Synology fits in the rack perfectly. It's dead silent and after about 6 months of use, has been flawless in operation. This is my second 8-bay Synology and I wish I would have bought this originally instead of the DS series that I bought. Why, you ask? Because this NAS works with the Synology 10gb/s ethernet adapter, which also has two M.2 2280 NVME drive slots. This allows you to use the NVME as write cache. The combination of the NMVE cache and the 10gb/s ethernet will make you forget that this thing is running spinning disks at all. Very fast, very quiet, very trouble free, and for that it has earned my 5 star stamp of approval.

Originally rated this with 3 stars due to no power cord, I was mistaken, the power cord did come with the equipment. Equipment is working great, has been reliable, no issues.

Solid product. When RAM is upgraded it handles NAS tasks easily, and can still support additional tasks like operating as a NVR and running both docker containers and even a VM. Con: When using as an NVR, keep in mind you only get two free camera licenses. After that there is a per camera licensing fee. However, once you have your license key it CAN be transferred from one DSM to the next when you retire/upgrade hardware.

Replaced my older desktop model. Added RAM and some other addons. Unit is very quiet and gave me the 10gb support i needed. I wish they made this form factor more.

Upgraded from ad DS1515+ to the RS1221+ Though it work fine with 4GB RAM as default I'd recommend going with 32GB if you can swing it, the VM hosting capability is worth using but you do need RAM for it. I migrated, some WD Red Pros 3.5 spinners over and Seagate IronWolf Proa from the DS1515+ to the RS1221+, installed a non NAS WD Black 3 TB for the odd ball for DSM install in Bay 8 . It's working without complaint with the 3TB WD black, though un-raided. Migration from the DS1515+ into this was painless , followed the instructions on DSM update and them power down, moving to the RS1221+ installing in same drive order. Upgraded DSM following the prompts, no issues at all. I'm enjoying smooth operations and it's even snappier with the Ryzen 1500 over the 1515+'s Atom. My 1515+ was one of those that was eventually plagued by that Atom CPU defect where the device would no longer power on due to CPU manufacturing flaw. ****( Thank you Synology ! For extending extra year of free warranty to cover that issue and get a DS1515+ replacement to me free of charge. That alone earned you my trust in that you stood by a customer. ) I was testing a DS920+ and had nothing but issues with it corrupting Seagate Ironwolf Pros 4TB. several times. I returned that 920+ and just threw in the towel and jumped into the RS series and elected to go with the 1221+ 1/3 depth. ( Non-redundant power supply model ) I believe I got what I paid for and do like it a lot. Once difference between the DS1221+ and the DS1515+ is the Drive caddy installation. I like the 1515+better since it is screwless and the retainers just pop in on the sides of the trays. The RS1221+ do not have the pop-in retainers but bottom screw-in retainer, not as handy on hot swaps if you need to. Other than the retainers , small issue, I like everything about the RS1221+. ** Now the cost of official RAM and the 10GB Ethernet cards are another matter, way too expensive to just pull triggers on and buy, you do have to plan, save and think about it a bit. Come on Synology, I know the chipsets you use and the coding, it doesn't cost that much and the restrictions to OEM assets are a bit much especially with the OS ' capability for support.

業務用途として RS1221+ を購入しました。通常運用では性能も十分で、筐体の作りもしっかりしており、DSM の使い勝手も良好でした。この段階では特に不満はありませんでした。 問題は、DSM の定例アップデート後の再起動で突然まったく起動しなくなったことです。電源ボタンを押しても反応がなく、LED もファンも一切動作せず、完全に沈黙しました。ハードウェア故障自体はあり得るとしても、その後のサポート対応でより深刻な問題が明らかになりました。 Synology も、正規代理店である 株式会社フィールド・レイク も、先出し交換（Advanced Replacement）を日本では一切提供していません。ビジネス用途であっても例外はなく、保証金や本人確認などを提示しても不可能との回答でした。その後の案内でも フィールド・レイク から「日本では先出し交換の仕組みがそもそも存在しない」と明言されました。 唯一の対応方法は「故障品を先に送り、台湾から届く代替機を代理店経由で受け取る」方式だけです。 ユーザーが故障機を フィールド・レイク に送付し、代理店が台湾から代替機を受け取り、それをユーザーに再発送する流れです。どれだけ急いでも数日〜数週間かかります。 業務用途でこの対応は現実的ではありません。北米や欧州で提供されているようなビジネス継続性を前提としたサポートは、日本には用意されていません。つまり、製品は「ビジネス向け」として販売されている一方で、故障した瞬間にサポート体制は完全に「家庭向け」レベルになります。ダウンタイムを抑える手段が存在せず、業務継続という観点では非常に脆弱です。 RS1221+ は正常に動いている間は問題なく使えます。しかし一度故障すると、日本国内のサポート体制では業務継続がほぼ不可能になります。Synology が日本でも本当にビジネス用途を想定するのであれば、サポート体制の抜本的な改善が必要です。 家庭用途やメディア保存用途であれば問題ありません（ラックマウントとしてはやや特殊ですが）。 しかし、業務用途、特にダウンタイムが許されない環境では適した製品ではありません。