Synology DS1513+ 5-Bay NAS Review

Final Thoughts

Pricing

Synology‘s DS1513+may be nearly a year old now, but it still has a very strong position in the market being the only 5-bay system in a desktop format to offer the ability to work with four Ethernet connections out of the box. Since its release its price has also held a very firm position with US pricing around the $780 mark from both Newegg Business and Staples and UK pricing at Overclockers UK and Scan Computers just under £650.

Overview

When we look at the vast number of network attached storage solutions that are out there on the market, the gap between the four and six bay options is rather bare in consideration. Even though there are an adequate set of options to choose from, there is not a lot that sets them apart from a four bay system apart from the addition of an extra drive bay and thus a slightly larger storage capacity. As we’ve seen many times over, it is the little things that sets the class-leading products out in front of the rest and in the case of the DS1513+, its performance as well as the capacity to scale four network connections is a real decision maker. Although a large number of users will not fully utilise this part of the systems specification, for those who do and in particular those who have the ability to set up a four-way link-aggregation for up to 4Gbps bandwidth, this system stands out from the crowd.

Looking at the ability to scale to this level of network connectivity, yes there is the option out there on some units to add in a secondary network card to the system, but this is an additional cost to add-on to the top of the price of the system and drives. Top this off with the matter of installing it, then setting it up after the system has recognised the device, the quad-Ethernet option that the DS1513+ is becoming more of a desirable option to go for.

Moving away from the hardware and over to the firmware and performance that is on offer, as highlighted above the throughput that is given across all RAID levels is exceptionally strong for a system in this class, even though the SATA ports are running at 3Gbps speeds – this is a true demonstration on the power that RAID arrays have to offer. Since this system was originally launched mid way through last year, where the then current version was 4.2, Synology have given the firmware a complete over haul, making everything easier to work through and find, and even though this is not really a system for the entry-level user, the same version of DSM has been rolled out across the product range so it suits every technical ability from the novice user, right up to the professional.

On the whole, the DS1513+ even a year on is top grade system and until another system of this level gets announced and launched, either by Synology or their competitors, it will have a strong position in the market as a perfect NAS solution for the SMB and SOHO markets.

Pros:

• Quad-Ethernet ports
• Option for a locking power cable
• Scalable storage via DX513 expansion units
• Upgradeable memory
• Strong levels of performance throughout

Cons:

• Drive locking system is rather basic
• Including a locking power cable would be a bonus

“Synology’s DS1513+ 5-bay NAS may be nearly a year old now, but with its quad-Ethernet ports, scalability and strong levels of performance right throughout the range of RAID options it is by no means an outdated unit. For the SMB and SOHO market this is an ideal stepping stone between the four and six bay systems that are out there on the market – the latest release of DSM 5.0 additionally keeps things well up to date for today’s demanding user base.”

Thanks to Synology UK for providing us with this review sample.