Synology DiskStation DS716+II 2-Bay SMB NAS Review

Final Thoughts

Pricing

At the time of writing, you can find the Synology DS716+II for £389.99 in the UK and $449.00 in the US. Considering the hardware, power, and features, a very fair price.

Overview

Synology’s DS716+II was a pleasure to test. The simple design and small footprint will make it fit almost anywhere. It doesn’t matter whether you want to hide it away or show it off because it looks great too. The clean design with curved edges along with the matte finish gives the NAS unit a stylish appearance.

The DS716+II takes things back to the basics of what a NAS is. It is a tiny powerhouse that focuses on file storage and delivery without the extras such as direct-display-out and audio connections. That does not mean that you can’t use it for your media content, because you can. The CPU features hardware accelerated video transcoding, and there are plenty of streaming apps from DS Video and Audio over UPnP and DLNA streaming to Plex Media Server. You can also connect USB speakers directly to the NAS.

The transcoding function is a great companion when you’re using mobile and other restricted devices for your playback. Synology supports all three major systems, iOS, Android, and Windows Mobile, and it worked flawlessly during my tests. A few initial settings and the DS716+II handles everything for you in the background.

The Intel Celeron quad-core processor combined with the built-in 2GB RAM provide the platform for this amazing NAS. The processor also features hardware accelerated encryption engine, making it perform almost as well with encrypted shares as it does with plain ones. And we did see great performance figures in our benchmarks.

Two drive bays might sound like little, at least to begin with. But it really isn’t. We have 10TB consumer NAS drives these days and 12TB enterprise-grade drives on the market. Should that still not be enough, then that’s no problem either. The DS716+II is compatible with Synology expansion enclosures, allowing you to connect another five drive bays to the unit through the eSATA port. The unit also features three USB 3.0 ports for storage drives, printers, digital video receivers, speakers, and wireless adapters.

There are a lot of improvements in the latest version of DiskStation Manager (DSM), version 6.1, which powers this system. The Btrfs file system and improved resource monitor, as well as added IronWolf health system, are my favourites in this version. But, whether you need the NAS for business or pleasure setup, it will do the job for you, and it will do it great.

Pros:

• Powerful CPU with hardware 4K UHD transcoding and encryption engine
• Expandable through expansion enclosures, USB 3.0, and eSATA
• Dual Gigabit Ethernet
• Stylish design
• DSM 6.1 with Btrfs and SMB 4.4 upgrade
• Business ready with the proper features and apps
• SOHO ready with personal cloud system and loads of media functions
• Windows, iOS, and Android companion apps

Cons:

• No direct connections (Video/Audio/DAS)

“Synology’s DS716+II is a true NAS that focuses on the essential tasks of storing and sharing data. Thanks to a great operating system packed with features and apps, the DS716+II does it all this efficiently, quickly, and safe.”

Thank you Synology for this review sample.