Limitations of a Synology device?

[gmoniey]

My old DS211j isn't cutting it anymore, so I'm looking to upgrade. I'm strongly considering the DS1515+, but given how much it'll run me (well over $1k with drives) I want to make sure I don't have any regrets down the road. The one question I've been struggling to answer is what Synology cannot do in comparison to a microserver (say the HP ProLiant Gen8 Xeon which I've been also looking into as they are in the same price range)

My primary use cases aren't too advanced

Current:
- File Server
- Plex Server for media
- Backup to 3rd Party (CrashPlan)
- occasional scripts pulling data from a 3rd party webserver

Future (don't do this at the moment, but plan on it soon):
- Capture recordings from IP Cameras
- Home Automation

I'm a huge fan of the DSM, but want to make sure I do my due diligence. Surprisingly, in all my googling the most common theme is that a microserver provides more flexibility (potentially to install different OSes, etc), but nothing beyond that. Assuming I always stick with some flavor of linux, are there specific things that the Synology devices can't (or aren't designed to) do?

Thanks!

 

[kamina]

The main thing Synology does compared to a "build your own" solution is builds it for you.

I would be surprised if you could not implement pretty much all the functionality in the Synology, but unless you do that for a living or want to learn then it can take quite a while (I work as a systems architect and set up / manage all kinds of stuff for work and still can't be bothered to do it at home). The fancy UI is probably the only thing that would give Synology or Qnap an edge, but since you would be building everything up that should be pretty meaningless as you'd have to understand each feature anyway.

A Xeon is a lot faster then the CPU in the NAS lines, even the fastest ones are using i3's. On the other hand I can saturate a gigabit link with my 453s using 5400rpm 2.5" disks so for what I do I don't need something faster.

 

[stevech]

A DIY NAS will have a small fraction of the apps and features, ease of use, etc., of a good NAS from QNAP or Synology. By far. They're very refined.
Try these two companies' on-line demos - - get a feel for what they do. Beware that the demos don't enable all features (to avoid abuse).

NASes usually don't need a high speed CPU nor gobs of RAM. They tend to be I/O bound on the disk and network I/O. Costly NASes that (optionally) transcode video have hardware to do so, not the CPU.

Opinion: A 2 bay NAS is less expensive and simpler than a 4 bay and is adequate for the majority of home and SOHO users.

 

[sfx2000]

The Tier 1 NAS Vendors (QNAP, Synology, ReadyNAS, Thecus) have already done the HW/SW integration and tuning, and deliver a turn-key solution...

And, if things go wrong, most have good user communities and TechSupport to help out... and a warranty..

DIY is fun, I've been there myself, but there gets to a point where spending a little bit more is worth more to me, as I have other things to do with my time...