Currently using Synology [DiskStation] in my entire office - the workstations, operational room, and our lobby. Keeps track of who came in and is an added security for our company. We have house cleaners that can only come into our lobby, as we have a separate lock into the rest of the office. This helps us ensure there were no theft occurrences.

Pros and Cons

Keeps track of all movements
Live Feed
Easily Zoom in.

Can't think of one.

Likelihood to Recommend

Synology [DiskStation] is well suited for any business, small or large. I currently have 5 in a 1700 sq ft office and it's got plenty of coverage.

July 22, 2021

DiskStation Review

Verified User

Administrator in Human Resources

Law Practice Company, 1-10 employees

Score 9 out of 10

Vetted Review

Verified User

Review Source

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Synology DiskStation acts as our onsite file server as well as internal messaging chat system. We are able to seamlessly integrate it as a shared drive across the office. Allowing everyone to have access to the same files. We are also able to control access so management has access to their specific filing.

Pros and Cons

Chat client
File Server

Remote access is a little cumbersome

Likelihood to Recommend

If someone is looking for onsite data storage without getting a server this is a good in between.

May 18, 2021

Got large files? Synology handles them with ease.

Verified User

Technician in Information Technology

Religious Institutions Company, 11-50 employees

Score 8 out of 10

Vetted Review

Verified User

Review Source

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use it primarily among our creative teams and content management teams. We have found it much faster and easier to manage than a typical Windows file share. It's super easy to transfer large files between users using Synology!

Pros and Cons

File storage
File backup
File transfer
Ability to set user permissions granularly on file levels

The UI feels a little too much like a desktop, I'd like to see a cleaner, more original interface
The mobile app is difficult to use when accessing files remotely.

Likelihood to Recommend

Synology DiskStation is well-suited for large file storage / transfer / backup. It's easy to add / retrieve content as an authenticated user on the network. We've used it to store media for a local ministry for backup and retention. There's a cloud backup plugin that we use to keep the data stored offsite.

March 03, 2021

Synology is the new Apple Server

Justin Esgar

CEO/President - 360° IT Consulting, Server Management, IT Security

Virtua Computers Inc. (Computer Networking, 1-10 employees)

Score 9 out of 10

Vetted Review

Verified User

Review Source

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We deploy Synology DiskStation across many clients who needed to have their Apple-based servers replaced. With easy filesharing on AFP or SMB protocols, the Disk Station was a no brainer. We have them deployed as a backup solution for some clients, and a Plex server for others. Using the built in tools that came with Synology DiskStation - such as Hyperbackup and Cloud Sync has made it very easy to provide solid solutions for clients.

Pros and Cons

Easy of Use
Storage controls are simple to use and manage
Ease of access, using their built in DDNS/QuickConnect tool
Price for the unit itself (w/out hard drives) is very competitive

They have been promising the next OS for over 2 years now
Support is iffy depending on the problem
Reporting is cumbersome - there are SO many reports - to manage them all is a pain.

Likelihood to Recommend

It's great if you need a simple server for filesharing, or to use one of the built in components, such as Drive Sync, Google/Office365 backups.

Due do the lack of fiber connectivity, or thunderbolt connectivity - doing video editing has been tough, even on units where we can bind all the ethernet ports (such as the RS4017).

November 06, 2020

Synology DiskStation is a great backup tool, for small to medium companies.

Filiberto Martinez

IT Coordinator

Chihuahua Electrical Wiring systems (Automotive, 1001-5000 employees)

Score 10 out of 10

Vetted Review

Verified User

Review Source

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Synology DiskStation is being used to perform local backups from multiple servers across our facilities. We manage an entire facility with more that 1000 employees and all information that is created under all applications from every department, warehouse, Final assembly, Quality etc, along with shared folder for all users is backup locally using Synology disk station. We rely in this unit perform daily backups for all information and to have this same date available at any time during any contingency.

Pros and Cons

Very easy setup.
Fast restores.
Excellent applications within the integrated OS.
Efficient support.
Easy to ready and understand log of events.

A display indicator in the device would be great for priority events.
The unit power supply failed, an alert with more details in this events would be great.
Even when restore is easy and in good time I believe it could be improved.

Likelihood to Recommend

It's a reliable backup system with great support for your local backups.

You can create multiple user, provide them with access you want, and create multiple backup routines.

Support Rating

Our DiskStation had a power supply malfunction even when the warranty expired a month prior the event, they replace our unit.

April 22, 2020

Smart move which continues to pay dividends

Paul Tedder

IT Systems Administrator

Fellowship Greenville (Non-Profit Organization Management, 51-200 employees)

Score 9 out of 10

Vetted Review

Verified User

Review Source

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We have two Synology DiskStations. One we use in our production environment as network file storage for all of our users as well as a general file share. The other we use as offsite backup. We take our Virtual Servers VHDs and back them up there. Using Rsync we also backup our on-prem Synology.

Pros and Cons

Software interface is not overwhelming and relatively easy to use.
Reliable. Never have any issues with it.
Pricing. Much less expensive than other options we looked at.

It's different than a Microsoft solution - things laid out differently.
Meets our needs so hard to identify examples of improvement.

Likelihood to Recommend

It does not replace a SAN, but for light to general usage, it has worked great for us. The web interface works well. I like it so much that I bought a smaller version to use in my home.

Support Rating

Haven't really used their support, but I don't think it is all that robust. There does seem a good community of users though.

October 25, 2019

Just set it and forget it.

Harold Wu

Systems Administrator

Plexxikon (Biotechnology, 51-200 employees)

Score 10 out of 10

Vetted Review

Verified User

Review Source

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We needed a low-cost NAS solution, and low maintenance, due to a lack of staffing within the IT department.

Pros and Cons

Easy to setup.
Synology App Store grows with time and have access to a lot of 3rd party app options.
Ability to scale easily and economically.

Provide more options for expansion other than eSATA connectors.
Easier access to RAM and SSD upgrades on the lower end models, without having to pull the unit almost completely apart.
Management UI is slow to load on the lower end models, especially with multiple network connections.

Likelihood to Recommend

Synology is great to get working quickly. You don't need in-depth knowledge of NAS and SAN to deploy. For a small business without a dedicated IT team, a set-up wizard will get everybody up and running in no time. The cloud station needs more work.

Support Rating

Never have to use them.

November 07, 2019

Synology NAS - Perfect, low-maintenance network storage solution!

Verified User

Administrator in Information Technology

Telecommunications Company, 51-200 employees

Score 9 out of 10

Vetted Review

Verified User

Review Source

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use this as NAS to store off-site backups in a data centre. All we need for this purpose is straightforward network storage and it carries out this function perfectly with very little maintenance needed.The built-in functionality which comes as standard give some useful features and, in the past, I have used a variety of these tools from Surveillance Station to the built-in web server.

Pros and Cons

Out-of-the-box RAID configuration.
Loads of built-in applications.
Security - lots of features that can be enabled including MFA.

It would be nice to see a slightly better hardware spec for RAM and processor. Using the web interface can be slow sometimes.
We occasional get issues with iSCSI connections after firmware update. Not a huge issue as we know to check but would be nice if resolved.

Likelihood to Recommend

We use this as an offsite (second datacentre) storage for backups. We have Veeam Backup and Replication running in DC1 which then does a copy job over to DC2 and onto the Synology NAS. It works great connected via iSCSI to a repository server connected to Veeam.

Support Rating

We've never had any need to contact support for this product.

October 14, 2019

Turns your NAS appliance into a Swiss army knife

Verified User

Engineer in Research & Development

Pharmaceuticals Company, 5001-10,000 employees

Score 10 out of 10

Vetted Review

Verified User

Review Source

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

What doesn't DiskStation do? As a comprehensive network-attached-storage operating system, DiskStation offers a plethora of features from File Sharing Services to client OS backup integration (such as Apple's TimeMachine) to Surveillance Software, to Download software. It will even run Docker containers if your hardware appliance will support native virtualization. As a server, it really is a swiss-army knife of functionality. Over time, I've only grown more and more of what it offers.

Pros and Cons

Filesharing - This is an easy one. As it's loaded on a network-attached storage device, DiskStation provides robust file share support, supporting SMB/CIFS, NTFS, and more.
Additional package management - DiskStation offers a plethora of add-on packages (most free!) that enable you to customize your DiskStation experience to your liking. I personally like Surveillance Station, Download Station, and git add-ons.
Easy to understand administration - DiskStation's administrative console offers easy to understand options that make setting up, configuring, and managing multiple users trivial.

While Synology has remained committed to keeping my older NAS device up to date with DiskStation updates, they are starting to make it feel slower than when I first got it. I'm not complaining, almost no one supports 5-year-old devices with current software, but Synology does.
As easy as the Administrative console is to use, the Surveillance Station plugin is equally difficult to configure. Surveillance requires more knowledge than I care to invest in for configuring my security cameras to be captured by that package. While I ultimately got it running right, it took multiple Google searches and countless hours of tinkering to make it happen.
Diskstation alerts need to be more robust. I find after a time, they just stop working. If I reboot DiskStation or reconfigure it, I start getting alerts again, but sometimes it's not until I've identified a problem that I notice the absence of working alerts.

Likelihood to Recommend

DiskStation really fills a niche when you're looking to fulfill a need for a small, easily managed server that a typical developer can use and configure without much training. If you need enterprise-class features such as replication or deduplication, you should look elsewhere. However, if you just need a NAS appliance that can act also expose some other nice-to-have functionality, DiskStation is the way to go.

Support Rating

Unfortunately, the one time I've had to reach out to DiskStation support, it did not go well. My NAS appliance wasn't appearing on the network, and no matter what the support team tried, they could not get it back online. Instead of offering to send me a new unit, they told me to go buy a new one - obviously, this was a disappointing response and not very eco-friendly either!

Fortunately, through some internet research of my own, and some ingenuity, I figured out I could restore my NAS to factory settings by removing all the drives and resetting. Only then did I realize I had a bad disk. I had to experiment for a while to figure out which one it was. Once I had done that, though, I was able to get the latest DiskStation loaded back on, no thanks to the DiskStation support crew. If notifications were rock solid, I suspect I would have caught the bad disk before it because an OS problem, but I never received a bad-disk notification.

December 13, 2019

Synology DiskStation Review

Verified User

Administrator in Information Technology

Biotechnology Company, 51-200 employees

Score 8 out of 10

Vetted Review

Verified User

Review Source

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

It is used to share files with other companies.

Pros and Cons

We use it with our consultants to share files.

It should be a little easier to use.

Likelihood to Recommend

Synology is good for sharing large documents.

Support Rating

Our Synology has been working fine. No need to call support.

August 20, 2019

Powerful NAS with great bang for your buck

Verified User

Director in Marketing

Marketing and Advertising Company, 11-50 employees

Score 9 out of 10

Vetted Review

Verified User

Review Source

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

The Synology DiskStation is used by our small business as our primary storage device. Since we use Office 365 for email and do not require any other server-based software, we use the Synology as our "server" to store and access all client and company files. Everyone in our company has access to the device and we have found its usage to be a huge benefit to our company.

Pros and Cons

Stores company files in an easy-to-access NAS configuration.
Highly reliable and stable.
Easy-to-access web interface for employees on the go and working remotely.

The sophistication of the alert system is somewhat lacking.
While the web interface is easy to use, it lacks the sophistication that some would expect.
Reporting features are hard to find and set up.

Likelihood to Recommend

Synology DiskStation is perfect for companies that are looking for an affordable and reliable, no-frills NAS for their network storage. It can also be used as a backup device. We currently have two Synology Diskstations with one serving as the primary NAS and the other as a redundant backup device.

Support Rating

Support is pretty solid. There is good documentation and the help articles inside the interface provide you answers to common questions and instructions for many scenarios that you may encounter. I have not needed to speak with support very often and my experiences have been good overall with their support team.

DiskStation Scorecard Summary

Likelihood to Recommend (11): 92%
9.2
Likelihood to Renew (1): 100%
10.0
Usability (2): 97%
9.7
Support Rating (12): 83%
8.3

What is DiskStation?

DiskStation is a line of network-attached storage (NAS) solutions from Synology headquartered in Taiwan.

DiskStation Pricing

More Pricing Information

DiskStation Technical Details

Operating Systems	Unspecified
Mobile Application	No

Frequently Asked Questions

What is DiskStation?

DiskStation is a line of network-attached storage (NAS) solutions from Synology headquartered in Taiwan.

What are DiskStation's top competitors?

FreeNAS, Windows Server, and Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365 are common alternatives for DiskStation.

What is DiskStation's best feature?

Reviewers rate Support Rating highest, with a score of 8.3.

Who uses DiskStation?

The most common users of DiskStation are from Mid-size Companies and the Information Technology & Services industry.