If for some reason you think the recently announced DiskStation DS1621+ doesn’t have enough storage space, Synology has something new for you. The NAS vendor announced today the availability of the DS1821+ that has an additional two more drive bay out of the box.
The 2nd AMD-based server
And the number of drive bays is about the only thing that makes this new server different from its older cousin. Both share similar specs, using the same AMD Ryzen V1500B quad-core 2.2 GHz processor and 4GB of DDR4 RAM (upgradable to 32GB.)
The DS1821+, too, comes with the same amount of ports, including two eSATAs to host two additional 5-bay DX517 expansion units to give a total of 18 drives bay. But with eight built-in bays, chances are you won’t need to resort to using the extensions.
Still, though, disappointingly, there’s no built-in multi-gig port. Instead, if you’ll use the server’s PCIe slot that can host an E10G17-F2 (dual-SFP+), E10G18-T2 (dual-RJ45), or E10G18-T1 (single RJ45) add-on card that costs extra.
Like most other DiskStation Plus servers of the 2021 model year (that’s all except for the DS220+) the DS1821+ have two NVMe M.2 slots to host two SSDs for caching. And you can also use the server’s two SATA bays for that.
Hardware specifications: DS1821+ vs. DS1621+
| Model | DS1821+ | DS1621+ |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | AMD RyzenTM V1500B quad-core 2.2 GHz | |
| System Memory | 4 GB DDR4 | |
| Max Memory | 32 GB via two memory slots (16 GB x 2) | |
| Dimensions | 6.53 x 13.5 x 9.57 in (166 x 343 x 243 mm) | 6.53 x 11.1 x 9.57 in (166 x 282 x 243 mm) |
| Weight | 13.23 lbs (6.0 kg) | 11.24 lbs (5.1 kg) |
| Drive Bays | 8 | 6 |
| Expansion Support | Yes (two units) | |
| Drive Interface | 2.5 and 3.5 SATA 6Gbps/3Gbps; Hot-swappable | |
| Maximum Raw Capacity | 128TB (8x 16TB drives) | 96 TB (6x 16TB drives) |
| Bulit-in M.2 Slots | Two | Two |
| RAID Types | SHR, Basic, JBOD, RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 6, RAID 10 | |
| Ports / Interfaces | 4x RJ-45 1GbE LAN, 3x USB 3.0, 2x eSATA | |
| PCIe Expansion | 1x Gen 3 x8 PCIe slot | |
| Add-in-card Support (not included) | 10GbE Network Interface Card: E10G18-T2/E10G18-T1/E10G17-F2 | |
| Operating System | DSM 6.x (and later) | |
| File System (Internal / External) | Btrfs, EXT4 / Btrfs, EXT4, EXT3, FAT, NTFS, HFS+, exFAT (app required) | |
| Suggested Retail Price | $949.99 | $799.99 |
| Warranty | 3 years |
Familiar feature set and apps
Out of the box, the DS1821+ runs DiskStation Manager (DSM) 6.0 operating system, but you can upgrade to DSM 7.0 (currently in public beta). Consequently, you can expect the same set of core features and settings found in all Synology NAS servers.
These include robust business and home apps for camera surveillance, data sharing, media streaming, backup, collaboration, and a lot more. On top of that, the server also has a Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) and allows you to run other servers (including Windows server) within it.
Pricing and availability
Synology says the DS1821+ is available today with the suggested retail price of $949.99 (diskless).