Final Thoughts
The Synology DiskStation DS1618+ has been a highly anticipated product, and we can say that the wait was probably worth it. Offering six drive bays for a theoretical local storage capacity of 72TB, this NAS should provide plenty of room for most users. And if that much space isn’t enough, additional external units can bump the max up to 192TB. The DS1618+ offers multiple RAID levels, as well as Synology’s own SHR, so performance and data integrity options are quite robust for both beginners and advanced users.
Setup was a breeze, as Synology’s DSM environment is very well laid out and organized. From the time we powered the NAS on to the time we were up and running was less than 10 minutes, and if we didn’t have to let the array initialize, we would have been out of the gates and running right then. The common menu-driven UI offers tons of customization options for the NAS, and can be easily navigated by anyone that has used a modern operating system.
Designed for power users and small businesses alike, the DS1618+ focuses on performance and reliablity, rather than multimedia entertainment duties. Sure, the NAS has the ability to serve as a Plex server, but you won’t find the ability to transcode files with this unit; you’ll have to look to one of Synology’s “play” units for that functionality. But what the DS1618+ lacks in “fun”, it makes up for in “work”. Hosting VMs locally or acting as an iSCSI target make the DS1618+ a compelling option for users looking to take advantage of the many options VMs offer. You can also utilize one of many packages to facilitate file backup or synchronization with multiple public clouds, or even between other Synology devices. These use cases are also just the tip of the iceberg, as Synology’s DSM environment offers many other great packages for both power users and small businesses alike.
Our only complaint with the DiskStation DS1618+ is the cost, but only after you factor in the price of drives. Currently selling for $791.99 at Amazon, some users may have trouble justifying that price at first. But when you think about it, this unit offers up to 72TB of locally hosted capacity with multiple options for redundancy and data backup. Pair that with the compute and connectivity options that offer VM and throughput expandability, and things become more and more enticing. With consumer-oriented NAS drives available in multiple sizes from 1TB to 12TB, the final cost of implementing a DS1618+ is ultimately up to the consumer, and if you are already considering a six-bay NAS, you are probably aware that storage options at this level are not exactly budget-friendly.
We can safely say that the Synology DiskStation DS1618+ is a hit. That’s as simple as we can make it, and if you are in the market for a high-capacity NAS with plenty of room to grow with regards to not only capacity, but performance and application expansion as well, we highly recommend the Synology DiskStation DS1618+, giving it a 9 out of 10 score and the ThinkComputers Recommended Award.
Pros
- Easy setup
- Up to 72TB of local storage
- Up to 32GB of RAM
- Optional M.2 SSD caching card
- Optional 10Gbps NIC
- Plenty of connectivity options (3 x USB 3.0, 4 x 1Gbps NICs)
- Synology Disk Station Manager is easy to use
Cons
- Price – Increases depending on disk size and quantity