Synology 2-Bay DiskStation DS223j (Diskless)

Finally took the plunge into getting a more solid backup solution. I have been backing up stuff for YEARS due to a heavy lost back in the 90's. So since then I've started to back up religiously!! The sad part is back in the 90's the HD was like what... 3GB maybe 6GB. Now you got TB's. Well more stuff on 1 disk, but if that disk dies or fails.... you are SOL right. Well, I've been just backing up from drive to drive piggy backing if you will and finally I decided to try a better solution with this drive/backup system.It was recommend by someone in IT as pretty decent and it didn't break the bank! So I got it, came pretty fast I think 4 days max along with a 14TB drive (different order) this thing doesn't come w/ a drive just so you know. Setup was pretty easy, but the interface is something I was not familiar with, so it took a little bit to get use to it, but now after a month or so its just doing its thing since I have it setup.PRO's - Nice design (looks nice), easy to open/close get your drive in etc. It also has USB port in the back which is excellent! I hooked up all my (old drives to be backed up) and once setup, I was able to transfer easily from those drives to my big 14TB. So pleased with that. The webpage/browser access is ok, lots of stuff which I have no clue how to use or why I would use it... Just wanted a drive that I could "share on network" without having to have it hooked up to a pc/laptop running 24/7. This does the trick as it has a network cable and is accessible without a PC being hooked up to it. *Although I haven't figured out how to access it lol* But hey any access I need I am at home so all good for me. For your techies you can probably figure out the offsite access fairly easy I am sure. Ohhhh one feature I did understand and was able to setup really easy is this power on/off of the drive. You can setup a power off and power on time, which is cool and I think that helps because I have it turn off like midnight and then back on around 7am. So it gets a little breather..... as I am sleeping. hahahahahaCON's - Hmmm the software is bit complicated for my taste, but maybe these types of setup are ALL like this so it may not be a huge CON if that makes sense. The stuff I needed to figure out and to use I did, so if you are along my speed (know enough to be dangerous) you should be fine. The only CON and its not huge, but it drives me crazy is this one. So when you plug in a USB drive to the system.... it calls the drive USB SHARED 1. I'd like to change the name to something I can remember... so my naming convention was out the window and luckily I still had my old laptop hooked up to figure out what drive what was so I could AT LEAST keep the (drive letter) the same. That I was familiar with so a little pain, but workable.Overall.... SOLID! I'd get this again for sure! If you don't have the $$$ for a larger drive system (like 4) then this TWO drive system is affordable and solid so far. I think there is even a RAID function for cloning drives in the system if you want to do that, but for me I just wanted to backup the other USB drives I had to another drive and I've done that. So I have 1 slot open for a drive to expand when the time comes. Maybe when I get bored I will look into the webpage "apps" and see what all I can do. There are photo apps and things which I think will let you share photos.... its basically like your "own" personal cloud although I don't have it setup for access like that it would seem. I did however get my PLEX stuff over to the drive and so that's cool!Hope this is somewhat helpful for at least those who may now be as knowledgeable like myself with these setups. :-)

I used a Western Digital MyCloud ex2 for 8 years, however the last handful of years it wasn't doing what it was intended to. I originally got a NAS to automatically back up our family mobile phone pictures as we don't subscribe to cloud storage, nor do I want my personal data in someone else's data center, no matter how secure they say it is. Western digitmade updates to Thier platform requiring the mobile app authenticate using cloud services vs connect directly over the local network. My NAS intentionally has no connection to the Internet, only our local network. With the Synology device, not only was it extremely simple to setup, the interface is amazing and not clunky like the WD EX2 was. It's a Linux desktop view and runs flawlessly in your web browser. Setting up raid 1, volumes, and shares was a breeze. User setup also simple and the way permissions is configured is simple and practical. They put a lot of work making the configuration process flow easy to follow. Most importantly, this is way faster than my EX2 was and the Synology photos app works perfectly for automated mobile backup and stays on the local network. I really like how the app gives options on when to backup, so I can say I want my phone to only backup when it's on the charger. The only downside, is the Synology device would not read my 2TB Hitachi drives. I can't complain as these drives are not on the compatibility list, but the device had no problem reading some very old SSDs that I had. It wasn't a huge deal, as it pushed me to increase capacity which I should do anyway. I purchased two WD 4TB drives on the compatibility list which worked fine.This device overall is doing exactly what I purchased it to do, it's performance faster with data transfera over my local network compared to the EX2, and the price was more than acceptable given the feature list. Last but not least, unlike the EX2, I connected my USB backup drive and restored to the Synology by drag and dropping in the Synology desktop. Was soooneasy, and took 1.5 hours to restore via direct connection vs transferring from USB, through my computer, then over the network which takes nearly 8 hours. Would buy again.

An absolutely stellar NAS solution for home and small office use! Synology's DS223j delivers incredible performance in a compact 2-bay design. Setup is remarkably straightforward, even for those not deeply technical. Robust build quality that feels premium and reliable. Incredible flexibility with multiple drive options and seamless data management. Synology's DSM operating system is intuitive and feature-rich, transforming simple storage into a powerful home server. Perfect for backups, media streaming, and personal cloud storage. Handles everything from photo collections to work files with ease. A game-changing storage solution that punches well above its weight class!