Synology DiskStation DS1515 Review: A home/small business NAS server with a lot to offer

[Julio Franco]

The DiskStation DS1515 is aimed at home users as well as small businesses. Out of the box this NAS can handle five 3.5" hard drives, giving it a maximum capacity of 40TB using the latest 8TB drives, while the addition of two DX513 expansion units boosts capacity to a whopping 120TB.

Powered by an Annapurna Labs Alpine AL-314 quad-core SoC, we are keen to see how well the DS1515 performs, particularly compared to its closest rival, the QNAP TS-651, which we've already benchmarked. From what we can see on paper, it looks like the DS1515 is trying to bring DS2015xs-like performance to home users at $650 versus the $1,500 that you have set forth for this kind power and expandable storage support.

Read the complete review.

 

[Guest]

Would be interesting to see a comparison with QNAP's newly launched TS-563: https://www.qnap.com/I/au/product/model.php?II=194&event=2

Should be lower priced than DS1515 so definitely worth taking a look at

 

[Steve]

Would be interesting to see a comparison with QNAP's newly launched TS-563: https://www.qnap.com/I/au/product/model.php?II=194&event=2

Should be lower priced than DS1515 so definitely worth taking a look at

I totally agree. I have been at QNAP for months to try and get a TS-563 sample. I really want to test out the AMD G-Series processor and I love that 10GbE networking can be added.

 

[madboyv1]

I've been thinking about getting a real NAS for some time, this sure is tempting since I've had a fairly positive experience using a few DS412+'s in the workplace. I'd probably have to buy a new switch though to take advantage of Link Aggregation.

 

[Adam1v]

I've been thinking about getting a real NAS for some time, this sure is tempting since I've had a fairly positive experience using a few DS412+'s in the workplace. I'd probably have to buy a new switch though to take advantage of Link Aggregation.

Really only useful if you have a lot of users or your constantly transferring lots of files at once.
If your only going to be transferring a single large (video?) file, then don't expect to see any benefit of link aggregation.

2GB memory should be ample for most users, but it'll really need upgrading once you start installing a lot of heavy apps.

 

[madboyv1]

Well, the idea is it would be storing large files, such as disk images and video files, with multiple systems accessing the NAS potentially at the same time. So at least in the way it appears to be implemented with this enclosure, I should be able to make some use of it. Unless I'm reading into it wrong.

 

[Guest]

You should revise your article. The DS1515+ is upgradable to 6GB within warranty specs and 16GB outside of warranty specs.

 

[Guest]

I have never been able to figure out why people drop so much cash for these for their homes. You can get perfectly fine transfer and atorage rates with a second hand PC for a fraction of the cost. That is what I have done for years.

 

[rockingitguy]

I have never been able to figure out why people drop so much cash for these for their homes. You can get perfectly fine transfer and atorage rates with a second hand PC for a fraction of the cost. That is what I have done for years.

From my experience; an old PC saves money but costs me more time and effort to setup and maintain. While a NAS costs more money, it saves me time and effort to setup and maintain. I'd rather have that time back to do or tinker with more interesting things.

 

[mctommy]

I have never been able to figure out why people drop so much cash for these for their homes. You can get perfectly fine transfer and atorage rates with a second hand PC for a fraction of the cost. That is what I have done for years.

Because time = money. You spend more money on a NAS box but you don't have to spend hours setting it up or customizing it. I have the DS1812+ and it's been a great box for me.