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The UGREEN NASync DXP6800 Pro is the first non-Synology NAS server I've tested in a long time. Prior to this, I'd save time and recommend a DiskStation to anyone looking to get into the serious world of network-attached storage.
However, thanks to the practical design, the low price/hardware specs ratio, and the smooth UGOs Pro Linux-based operating system, UGREEN's NASync family of NAS servers, represented here by this DXP6800 Pro, has a lot of potential.
Here's the bottom line: If you're looking for a well-built and reliable NAS server with top-tier hardware for simple needs, the 6-bay DXP6800 Pro, with its souped-up specs and matching performance, is worth every penny of its $1199.99 (diskless) suggested cost—the street price will vary and other options, such as fewer drive bays and lesser processing power, cost less accordingly.
On the other hand, if you want in-depth and broad applications, enterprise-class network storage support, peace-of-mind reliability, and optimal performance optimization, the Synology DS1621+ or even the DS923+, which are significantly inferior in hardware specs, is still a safer buy.
UGREEN NASync DXP6800 Pro: A young server with impressive specs
The DXP6800 Pro is the top-tier server in the all-new 2024-debut NASync lineup from UGREEN, a Chinese company that, before this, was known for peripheral accessories such as power banks, chargers, and docking stations. And it made a great impression.
There's a DXP8800 Plus model that shares the same hardware specs but comes with two more drive bays.
Powerful hardware meets practical design
The DXP6800 Pro reminds me a lot of Synology's DiskStation lineup. It's a desktop server with six front-facing drive bays.
Each bay comes with a practical design that allows users to install or replace a standard 3.5-inch hard drive within a few seconds without any tool—you don't even need to undo and redo a latch like in the case of Synology. To use a 2.5-inch drive, though, you'll still need to attach it to the tray manually, and the server includes a handful of screws with a little screwdriver to match.
On the front, the server has two Thunderbolt 4 ports, an SD card reader, and a USB 3.2 port. On the back, there's another USB 3.2 port, two USB 2.0 ports, two Multi-Gig 10GBASE-T network ports, a standard low-profile PCIe 4x4 slot, and an 8K-capable HDMI port.
The HDMI port is designed to connect to a large display and will work with the server's built-in media server and app. However, that's not practical considering the server's size and the noise it often produces—more below. The PCIe add-on slot is hard to get since you'd have to undo the server's cover first. Considering the server is fully loaded as is, in most cases, there's no need to resort to this upgrade option.
And there's more. On the underside, the UGREEN server comes with a bay with two RAM slots (an 8GB stick occupies one) and two NVMe M.2 slots to host additional storage or cache. Additionally, the server has 120GB of internal SSD storage to hold its operating system and a few essential apps—it can run even with no storage in its drive bays or SSD slots.
It's safe to say that hardware-wise, this DXP6800 Pro outdoes any Synology DiskStation servers by miles. With most Synology servers, you'll need to pay handsomely to upgrade to 10GBASE-T alone, and a server of comparable stock hardware specs would cost double or more.
It's worth adding that, in my testing, the DXP6800 Pro accepted any standard hard drive, SSDs, or DDR5 RAM stick. There's no restriction or warning like in the case of Synology, which generally only prefers specific storage and memory. While having no "approved" hardware list can be a bad thing in terms of reliability, it gives users the option of using what they want instead of having to always pay for expensive storage or upgrades.
Hardware specifications: UGREEN NASync DXP6800 Pro vs. Synology DS1621+
The Synology DS1621+ was released a few years ago, but it's still the latest consumer-grade 6-bay server from Synology.
| UGREEN NASync DXP6800 Pro | Synology DS1621+ | |
|---|---|---|
 | | |
| CPU | Intel Core i5-1235U Processor 12M Cache, up to 4.40 GHz, with IPU | AMD Ryzen V1500B quad-core 2.2 GHz |
| System Memory | 8GB DDR5 | 4GB ECC DDR4 |
| Max Memory | 64GB via two RAM slots (32GB x 2) | 32 GB via two RAM slots (16GB x 2) |
| Built-in Storage | 128GB SSD | None |
| Dimensions | 16.5 x 14 x 10.75 in (41.91 x 35.56 x 27.31 cm) | 11.1 x 9.57 x 6.53 in (24.3 x 16.6 x 28.2 cm) |
| Weight (diskless) | 17.81 lbs (8.07 kg) | 11.24 lbs (5.1 kg) |
| Drive Bays | 6 | |
| Expansion Support | No | Yes (two units) |
| Drive Interface | SATA 6Gbps; Hot-swappable | |
| Maximum Raw Capacity | 152TB (6x 24TB HDDs + 2x 4TB NVMe SSDs) | 144TB (6x 24TB HDDs) |
| Built-in M.2 Slots | Two (storage or cache) | Two (cache only) |
| RAID Types | Basic, JBOD, RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 6, RAID 10 | SHR, Basic, JBOD, RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 6, RAID 10 |
| Ports / Interfaces | 2x RJ-45 10GbE LAN, 2x Thunderbolt 4, 2x USB 3.2, 2x USB 2.0, 1x HDMI 8K, 1x SD 4.0 slot, | 4x RJ-45 1GbE LAN, 3x USB 3.0, 2x eSATA |
| PCIe Expansion | 1x PCIe Gen4x4 | 1x PCIe Gen3x8 |
| Add-in Card Support (not included) | Standard PCIe cards | 10GbE Network Interface Cards (E10G18-T2 / T1, or E10G17-F2) |
| Operating System | UGOS Pro | DiskStation Manager (DSM) |
| File System | Btrfs, ext4 | |
| Power Input | 110V-240V | |
| Power Consumption (per 24 hours) | ≈ 785 Wh (real-world measured) | not tested |
| MSRP (Diskless) (check street price) | $1199.99 | $799.99 |
| Warranty | 3 years | |
The standard setup process with a rich Linux web-based interface
Like the case of most NAS servers, the UGREEN NASync DXP6800 Pro's Linux-based UGOS Pro operating system comes with a robust web user interface accessible via its local IP address (which is given out by the router).
If you don't want to figure out this address, you can download and install the UGREEN NAS client software on your computer or mobile device, which detects the NAS automatically within the local network. Still, the web user interface is where it's at. The client software itself doesn't include all the functions, and, in my experience, it often opened the browser when I needed to do specific tasks.
The UGOS Pro's interface resembles Synology's DSM. Within the web page, the interface behaves similarly to that of a native operating system, like Windows or macOS.
Specifically, there's a desktop area where you can place icons for different apps, a built-in Control Panel app to manage the server's settings, a Storage Center app to handle the server's storage, and an App Center as the store where users can add more apps, and more.
Covering all basic network storage needs
If you only need a NAS server for local network storage needs, which is generally the case for most homes or small businesses, the UGREEN NASync DXP6800 Pro has everything covered.
It comes with standard user management, where you can create an unlimited amount of user accounts and set up their access previously individually or via groups.
The Storage Manager app can handle many volumes and storage pools with ease. After that, the File Manager app will help create and manage shared folders. Then, the Version Manager helps keep your data safe from unintended alterations via read-only versions similar to the Snapshot app of Synology.
Folks with more advanced needs will be happy to find out that they can easily integrate the UGREEN NASync DXP6800 Pro with a domain controller via the built-in Domain/LDAP feature. There's also easy remote access via UGREENlink (similar to Synology's QuickConect) or Dynamic DNS.
The NAS server also features excellent hardware management. You can set it up to go to sleep, wake, or turn off and back on a schedule or via Wake on LAN. It can also integrate with many UPS backup batteries to automatically shut down properly during power outages and turn itself back on when power is restored.
So, for basic network storage needs, the UGREEN NASync DXP6800 Pro is a pleasure to work with. During my weeks-long trial, it worked without any hiccups.
However, if you want more than that, things can get disappointing
Shallow, lacking, or no app at all
As you will see in the screenshot below, at the time of this review, the UGREEN NASync DXP6800 Pro comes with 20 apps available at its App Center, including those that are essential parts of the operating system, such as the above-mentioned Control Panel, Storage Manager, and File Manager.
To put things in perspective, Synology's Package Center includes well over 120 native apps, excluding the OS' built-in essentials.
You'll note right away that many popular apps, such as the Plex media server, are not (yet) on the list. UGREEN told me that it would eventually be added. For now, advanced users will need to resort to Docker emulation to run it or any other currently unavailable app, though that's not ideal.
What Docker won't help, however, is the lack of IP SAN support, making the server unsuitable for a network with IP-based storage needs.
Additionally, it's worth pointing out that NASync has no flexible RAID like Synology Hybrid RAID (SHR), and the DXP6800 Pro takes a really long time to build a standard redundancy RAID setup with hard drives.
In my experience, the server took over an hour for each TB of protected space. So, a RAID 5 out of six 4TB HDDs will take about 20 hours to finish. That was how long I needed to wait during testing when switching from one RAID to another.
To make matters worse, the currently available apps are generally shallow or lacking. Here are some examples:
- The Downloads app doesn't offer a search function. Instead, you'll need to enter the URL or the torrent file manually. That alone means it can't hold a candle to Synology's Download Station.
- The Virtual Machine app can't create a VM from scratch but can only import existing images or backups. And even then, in my testing, the imported VMs often ran into trouble. It took me over an hour to get a clean Windows 11 VM running from an OVA backup file. Compared to Synology's Virtual Machine Management, this app is still miles behind.
- The Sync & Backup app currently only works with other NASync servers and won't support servers of other brands, including those supporting the standard Rsync protocol. It's still so much inferior to Synology Drive.
Considering how young this NASync product line is, there's hope all of these will be added or improved via future updates. After all, it's a bit unfair to compare UGREEN to Synology, which has been making NAS for over two decades.
UGREEN NASync DXP6800 Pro: Fast, but could be faster, performance
I tested the UGREEN NASync DXP6800 Pro for over two weeks and was generally happy with it. As mentioned, all of the essential functions of a NAS server were there and worked as intended. The server didn't show any bugs, nor did it crash even during mild abuses, which was quite impressive for a hardware lineup that's less than one year old.
In terms of performance, the server was, as expected, fast thanks to its souped-up hardware specs and two 10Gbps ports. Compared to previous servers I've tested, it was among the fastest.
It wasn't consistently so, though. Specifically, in tests with two NVMe SSDs running in RAID 0, which is the highest possible performance, the UGREEN NASync DXP6800 Pro's sustained copy speeds were slower than the DS923+, the first Synology server that features NVMe SSDs as storage space and has a 10Gbps upgrade module. The UGREEB's NVMe SSD performance seemed similar to that of regular SATA SSDs.
Still, the UGREEN NASync DXP6800 Pro is no doubt a speedy NAS server. It has more than enough power and performance to be an excellent Virtual Machine host.
During my trial, the server remained cool throughout and was silent for the most part (other than the sound of the hard drives). However, once in a while, its fans revved up and stayed that way for a few minutes at a time without any apparent reason. That, plus the bulky design, means this is not a machine you want to leave in your bedroom or even living room, making its HDMI port somewhat gimmicky.
UGREEN NASync DXP6800 Pro's Rating
Pros
Top-notch stock hardware (dual 10Gbps ports, Thunderbolt 4, built-in NVMe M.2 slots for storage or cache) with largely matching performance; easily upgradeable
Robust UGOS Pro operating system with standard management, functions, and add-on apps, including built-in support for shadow copies, virtual machine, and Domain/LDAP
Convenient, tool-free design; runs cool
Cons
App Center lacks popular apps, such as Plex or IP camera support; no flexible RAID; super-slow RAID build time
Many apps, such as VMs or Downloads, are poor in functionality; no IP SANs (yet)
NVMe-based storage performance could be better; hard-to-access PCIe slot
Periodically noisy fans; bulky
Conclusion
For $1200, the UGREEN NASync DXP6800 Pro is an excellent NAS server that gives you everything you'd want in specs. While its UGOS Pro OS is still young and shallow, its ability to run a few virtual machines alone is enough to justify the cost. That's not to mention the possibility of running a third-party OS, such as UnRAID or TrueNAS. So, if you're among those who love tinkering with the hardware, get this fun box today!
On the other hand, if you want a well-thought-out system you can count on for mission-critical applications, the Synology DS1621+ or any similar Synology server will give you the type of peace of mind that, for now, UGREEN can't even dream of.
Probably silly question here, but is the 10gb LAN interface backwards compatible with a 2.5gb LAN (that is, will it perform at 2.5gb or fall back to 1gb)?
Yes, they are Multi-Gig ports.