Exterior

The NAS's exterior design is identical to that of the DS215+, and Synology decided to go with metallic enclosures instead of the plastic ones their previous models in this category used. This is something we approve of since metal dissipates heat better than plastic and is more durable. At the face of the NAS are three LED indicators and the power switch. Synology unfortunately didn't install a USB port on this side, which is a big disadvantage.


The Synology logo punched into both sides also acts as an exhaust grill.


On the back are the 92 mm fan and its protective grill, along with all the I/O ports, including an eSATA and two USB 3.0 ports.


The NAS stands on four small rubber feet that can be removed if you want to lower its height. A small label on this side mentions the model number and its power input specifications.


As per usual, we made a point of removing the trays to take a shot of the HDD compartment.


Seagate was kind enough to send us two HDDs especially designed for NAS usage. Their model number is ST4000VN000, and they are equipped with 64 MB of cache. The asking price of a ST4000VN000 HDD at Newegg was $150 at the time of review, and Seagate provides a three year warranty with this particular model.


The plastic trays feature locks, which are nothing special. Their purpose is to simply prevent the accidental removal of these trays, rather than to offer serious physical data protection. We found the complete lack of anti-vibration materials on these trays disappointing. Noise due to these vibrating is audible and annoying, and we had to stick various things between the tray and drive to reduce noise output. Such an expensive NAS shouldn't have such problems, and Synology definitely has to include vibration-proof trays of higher quality.