The QNAP TS-251D is our runner-up.

After testing five new two- and four-bay network-attached storage space (NAS) products and comparing them against our past picks, we unearthed that the Synology DiskStation DS220+ may be the most readily useful house NAS for many people. The quickest NAS we tested, it includes hardware that is powerful the purchase price, includes AES-NI hardware encryption acceleration for additional security, has upgradable RAM, and is sold with software that is simple to use.

Buying Choices

In addition to speed, the Synology DiskStation DS220+ provides a number of back-up and syncing options, and it also has mobile apps for media streaming, file management, and much more. In addition it supports a range that is wide of apps, such as for instance Plex, BitTorrent Sync, and GitLab. You should use the DS220+ as a property back-up unit, a news streamer, a mail host, a website-hosting unit, a BitTorrent field, or even a video-surveillance recorder—nearly anything you are able to do having a Linux computer, while consuming about the maximum amount of electricity as a few Light-emitting Diode light bulbs.

The QNAP TS-251D is just a good option if the DS220+ is going of stock, or you wish to show media for a television. It really is about since fast during file transfers due to the fact DS220+ and adds an HDMI-out port in order to connect it straight to a television for news playback without needing a news streaming package. It makes use of the QTS that are same software as QNAP’s other NAS devices—we like Synology’s DSM pc pc software more, however it’s mostly a matter of choice.

Upgrade choose

Synology DS420+

For additional information storage and protection

The DS420+ has hardware that is similar the exact same pc pc software once the DS220+ but offers two more drive bays for additional storage space and information security.

Buying Choices

Might be rented out already

It adds two drive bays, for a total of four if you need more storage space, the Synology DS420+ uses the same CPU, hardware encryption engine, and hardware transcoding engine as the DS220+, but. Just like the DS220+, it adds another Gigabit Ethernet slot for website link aggregation, that could increase performance when you yourself have a router that is compatible numerous individuals make use of your NAS at a time. You have got access to any or all exactly the same mobile apps for streaming, back-up, and anything else the offers that are DS220. Because this model has two more bays than our top choose, you need to use various storage designs that provide better information security and gratification. This NAS is most effective for experts or anybody who would like to expand a NAS system with increased storage space later on.

Why you ought to trust us

Thorin Klosowski penned about electronic devices for longer than six years at Lifehacker and has now substantial experience with Linux and DIY NAS products. He has got put up more systems that are backup from NAS to cloud storage space, for members of the family and buddies than he cares to count.

Before joining Wirecutter, Joel Santo Domingo tested and had written about PCs, networking items, storage space, and tech that is personal PCMag and PC Magazine for over 17 years. Just before composing for an income, Joel ended up being an IT technology and sysadmin for little, moderate, and companies that are large. He’s got skillfully copied information because diverse as news tales on air air plane crashes and Mariah Carey record album art.

Whom it is for

A storage that is network-attached, or NAS, is a little always-on computer generally speaking useful for burning computer systems and serving files to products in your regional system. It offers one or more but frequently two (or maybe more) hard-drive bays, a (usually) Linux-based operating-system optimized for network storage space, and sufficient CPU energy and RAM to accomplish every thing it requires to do while using the much less energy compared to a repurposed old computer. Unlike a USB drive or an outside hard disk drive, a NAS with several hard disks can offer information redundancy, copying the contents of just one drive over to one other immediately.

A NAS is very good because you can store your files in one place and stream them locally to computers, phones, tablets, speakers, or media centers throughout your house (or even outside it) if you have a large media library,. Equivalent applies to photographers storing pictures, music manufacturers archiving music files, developers stockpiling massive Photoshop files, and someone else who has to access considerable amounts of information from numerous computer systems. A lot of people don’t need certainly to store large number of natural photo files, terabytes of natural movie, gigabytes of lossless electronic music, or backups of these Blu-ray collection, however a NAS is a good device for anyone that do.

You should think about a NAS for those who have several computer in the home, as you can straight back them as much as the NAS as opposed to link an outside back-up drive to every computer. And in case you intend to protect your computer data and backups from theft and normal catastrophes, good nas is capable of uploading files straight to a cloud back-up service, too.

A NAS can be of good use in the event that you have an excessive amount of data to keep in Dropbox or Bing Drive, or you don’t trust your computer data to cloud storage space providers. If you use a NAS, your computer data continues to be at home and will not go directly to the cloud until you tell it to take action. Many NAS devices have actually also added photo-management tools and file-syncing services that make an effort to reproduce different cloud storage offerings. While those NAS tools aren’t since rich with features as commercial solutions from Bing, Apple, as well as others, they could at the least provide an alternative that is adequate expensive subscriptions.

Most NAS products may also work as e-mail, database, and virtual network that is private servers. You can make use of them for BitTorrent, to host CMS, CRM, and software that is e-commerce or as DVRs for networked video security cameras. A NAS is a pc, so that it can do most situations a Linux computer can perform. While that freedom is very good, additionally earn some NAS products confusing to utilize. Each NAS possesses its own manufacturer-specific type of Linux, plus some tend to be more approachable than the others.