Exploring Alternatives to Synology: Your Comprehensive Guide

Exploring Alternatives to Synology: Your Comprehensive Guide

As someone who’s spent a good amount of time exploring various network-attached storage (NAS) solutions, I’ve developed a particular fondness for Synology. Their user-friendly DiskStation Manager (DSM) software is a strong selling point, as are their robust security features and diverse range of applications. But let’s be clear—Synology doesn’t hold a monopoly on quality NAS…

TerraMaster F2-423 NAS Review – With Intel Celeron N5105, 2.5 GbE, DDR4, & 2x M.2 NVMe
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TerraMaster F2-423 NAS Review – With Intel Celeron N5105, 2.5 GbE, DDR4, & 2x M.2 NVMe

I have previously reviewed the TerraMaster F4-421 and F4-422 10GbE 4-Bay NAS enclosures and have been impressed with the well-specced but affordable nature of TerraMaster devices. While they were very good, they both used the ageing Intel Celeron J3455. They were also limited to DDR3 and lacked NVMe slots. The new TerraMaster F2-423 and its…

Best M.2 NVMe SSD For Cache on a NAS or Server – Synology / TerraMaster / QNAP etc
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Best M.2 NVMe SSD For Cache on a NAS or Server – Synology / TerraMaster / QNAP etc

Following on from my recent TerraMaster upgrade posts, I have been looking at the best SSDs to use in a NAS. I have already covered 2.5″ SATA SSDs, which was the only option for my TerraMaster F4-422. However, if you have built your own server or have a NAS with PCIe M.2 slots, then you…

The best 4-bay NAS Drive in 2021 for all budgets
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The best 4-bay NAS Drive in 2021 for all budgets

I have previously covered 2-bay NAS drives, which are great for keeping things as affordable as possible. However, everyone that I have encountered that has had a 2-bay NAS always regrets not getting a 4-bay. You obviously have to pay more for it, but it offers much more flexibility for storage, and the effective cost…

Synology D9220+ vs DS420+ vs DS918+ vs DS418play – New faster NAS solutions coming with DDR4 & NVMe support (now with DS720+)
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Synology D9220+ vs DS420+ vs DS918+ vs DS418play – New faster NAS solutions coming with DDR4 & NVMe support (now with DS720+)

[Update 27-May-2020] The DS420+ and DS720+ have now been maid official and are available now. Synology recently launched their new affordable  Synology DS220j which offers a significant performant bump from the DS218j thanks to the move from the dual-core Marvell Armada 385 chipset to the Realtek RTD1296 chipset. They are now preparing for the launch…

TerraMaster Announces Availability of qBittorrent and Transmission BT Apps for NAS drives including F2-210, F5-422 & F5-221
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TerraMaster Announces Availability of qBittorrent and Transmission BT Apps for NAS drives including F2-210, F5-422 & F5-221

I have previously reviewed the TerraMaster F2-210 and it is a superb affordable NAS giving you the same quality of hardware as Synology but at a lower price point. The downside is the number of apps for their OS is lower. They are however expanding the options and the latest apps to be released include…

Synology DS220j 2 Bay NAS Review – More affordable than the DS218play & better than the DS218j
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Synology DS220j 2 Bay NAS Review – More affordable than the DS218play & better than the DS218j

I recently personally bought the excellent Synology DS218play which I found offered enough additional functionality over the cheaper TerraMaster F2-210 to justify the extra £40. However, at the time, I was not aware that Synology had just launched the DS220j could be a better option overall than the older DS218jplay and DS218j and making the…

Synology DS218play 2 Bay NAS Review – Is it worth the extra £40+ over the TerraMaster F2-210?
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Synology DS218play 2 Bay NAS Review – Is it worth the extra £40+ over the TerraMaster F2-210?

After singing the praises of the TerraMaster F2-210 NAS for the level of value it offers over competing Synology devices, the DS218play dropped to its lowest price over on Amazon at just £183.99, and I couldn’t help but buy it so I can compare. Synology DS218play vs TerraMaster F2-210  Specification From a hardware point of…

TerraMaster F2-210 NAS Review – A cheap NAS, but is it good? How does it compare vs Synology DS218j
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TerraMaster F2-210 NAS Review – A cheap NAS, but is it good? How does it compare vs Synology DS218j

I have not used a NAS in years, instead opting with building my own servers, but they are big, ugly and use up lots of electricity. With a growing number of old hard-drives, I wanted something that was small, lower-powered and cheap enough for me to justify using my old smaller 4TB drives in it….