Exterior

The design is simple: This NAS resembles a plain black box, and unlike the competition, there is no LCD screen at the front. It is compact enough, and all trays feature locks, which is useful in a business environments where physical protection is essential. At the top of the front are several LED indicators, and there are no USB ports here, which is a major disadvantage.


Synology's logo has been punched into one of two sides; it also acts an exhaust grill.


The bottom comes with four stands and a small label with the model number and the unit's power specifications.


The I/O ports are comprised of four Ethernet, two eSATA and four USB 3.0 ports. There is also a Kensington lock, and a reset button for which you will need a sharp, thin object.


Synology also priovides a useful description of all the LED indicators and I/O ports.


We removed all the candies to install the HDDs with which we conduct our performance tests and power consumption measurements.


The trays are unfortunately out of plastic. An SMB NAS should in our opinion come with metallic trays instead, but Synology obviously doesn't agree. The trays also don't feature any anti-vibration materials, which might lead to some rather annoying noise issues. The DS1815+ has the same trays and suffers from some rather loud and annoying noise issues because of it, but it actually wasn't as severe with the DS1515+. The installation of HDDs is tool-less since no screws are required—you will only need screws if you install 2.5" HDDs or SSDs.