Specifications

This NAS uses an Intel Pentium N3710 quad-core CPU with a low 6W TDP, which means there is no need for active cooling on the CPU. The N3710 supports up to 8 GB, and Synology offers the DS916+ in two versions - one has 2 GB RAM and the other has 8 GB RAM. Upgrading the memory of the 2 GB model should you need or want to is possible since the mainboard features a RAM slot.

Up to four HDDs can be installed. Use an DX513 expansion unit and the capacity can be increased to 72 TB before any HDDs are formatted if you use 8 TB HDDs. The two Gigabit Ethernet ports can be teamed for up to 2 Gbit transfer speeds; we believe it is time to offer 10 Gbit ports with even entry-level NAS servers for business environments. The other I/O ports consist of three USB 3.0 ports - of which one is at the face of the NAS - and an eSATA port over which the DX513 can be attached.

The DS916+ can play a significant role in an advanced surveillance system because of Synology's excellent software support. This NAS even supports up to 40 camera channels of which two are free. Another positive is this unit's low power consumption according to data Synology provides, which we will check on with our own equipment.

It isn't large, which is mostly due to the fact that an external power brick is used; speaking of which, it is pretty strong with 100 W maximum power output. In the cooling section, we find two 92mm fans, which is enough to easily keep the HDDs and all other system components cool without it being noisy. Synology also offers a 3-year warranty, which is an additional year over what is usually the case for such high-end NAS servers.



The above table lists all the RAID levels this NAS supports, along with the number of HDDs each takes, and how much redundancy each offers. For sensitive data, we suggest RAID 6 with the second-best option being RAID 5 if you need more storage space and a basic level of data protection.