Synology DS 1515+?

[jcoli90]

Hey @mmomega I was wondering if you are still running this system and if its going all good?

I'm trying to set this up for my art department as a server for us to hardwire in via ethernet, total of 2-3 max users. I'm hoping to read and write all design, photo and video files live.

Would love to hear you advice on moving forward with this set-up as I'm ready to pull the trigger but are trying to match sure this is the right set-up as

Best Regards,

 

[mmomega]

Hey @mmomega I was wondering if you are still running this system and if its going all good?

I'm trying to set this up for my art department as a server for us to hardwire in via ethernet, total of 2-3 max users. I'm hoping to read and write all design, photo and video files live.

Would love to hear you advice on moving forward with this set-up as I'm ready to pull the trigger but are trying to match sure this is the right set-up as

Best Regards,

Actually yes I still use it all the time.
It is my Plex Server now as well. I haven't read back through the thread to see if I had done that back when I first got it.

I also have a 1515+ at the office and I have probably 25-28 users daily on it. I haven't received any complaints about it being slow. I do have all 4 ethernet ports hardwired and teamed. It is my main file server there. I took the files off of the main Windows Server just to see how it would do and no-one ever noticed the change so I take that as a pretty good thing.
Now we don't do large video/photo files so it may be something to research a little further with those that do. But this has been a very solid NAS for my office and home.
I did upgrade RAM and took the NAS apart and added a small fan to the CPU heatsink to keep temps down but other than that, I don't touch it at all on a regular basis other than checking to see if packages installed may need updating. It's a very cool little system imo.

 

[satcomer]

Actually yes I still use it all the time.
It is my Plex Server now as well. I haven't read back through the thread to see if I had done that back when I first got it.

I also have a 1515+ at the office and I have probably 25-28 users daily on it. I haven't received any complaints about it being slow. I do have all 4 ethernet ports hardwired and teamed. It is my main file server there. I took the files off of the main Windows Server just to see how it would do and no-one ever noticed the change so I take that as a pretty good thing.
Now we don't do large video/photo files so it may be something to research a little further with those that do. But this has been a very solid NAS for my office and home.
I did upgrade RAM and took the NAS apart and added a small fan to the CPU heatsink to keep temps down but other than that, I don't touch it at all on a regular basis other than checking to see if packages installed may need updating. It's a very cool little system imo.

Maybe you could add/ upgrade the RAM on the device.

 

[mmomega]

Maybe you could add/ upgrade the RAM on the device.

I have them both upgraded to 16GB from the stock 6GB.

 

[DarwinOSX]

Using a Mac Mini server makes zero sense over a NAS. Too expensive and too much hassle. I'm actually pretty surprised someone is recommending that and TB 2 over a Mac Mini is just silly.
There are plenty of NAS devices that use Plex to do much of what you want as well as iTunes libraries. Tie machine can be problematic in general and there are other ways to backup.
Read up on the other NAS devices available. More ram is for the OS especially if you run virtual machines but also video transcoding.

 

[arggg14]

A little off topic as I'm going to reference another device, but the Synology 916+ has been working like a dream for me as my storage location/Plex Server. I find that it can transcode anything I throw at it (60GB Blu Ray) on the fly and the only limiting factor seems to be the remote connection I'm on depending on where I am in the world. I also use it for my TM backups, photos library, and I use WD Red drives.

 

[hollandog]

I've been using my DS412+ since 2014 and never failed me. I have 4 x 4TB WD Red running RAID5.

I've located the NAS to basement so there ain't all kinds of electronics on my desk. My house is Cat 6 hardwired throughout. I also have 2 IP cameras running with it. It's very nice. Saved me the hassle of NVR and extra wirings.

Make sure you have a good backup power for the NAS. If power goes out while the NAS is writing on the drives, it will screw the RAID and might corrupt the system.

My NAS is only running Intel Atom 2.13 GHz Dual-core, 1gb Ram but so far it's handling the job fine.
- 2 active IP cameras recording 24/7
- Time machine backing up 2 MBPs
- storage for all my photos in RAW and video footages
- all other data like media/softwares
- weekly backup important files to external USB3 drive connected to it
- access away from home
- good apps for phone

I'm very pleased with it so far. Performance is limited to gigabit ethernet but I don't work off the NAS. It's mostly for archives. I could upgrade the RAM but with my usage it might not be necessary. If I have a 6+ bays unit I would add a SSD cache to improve performance.

 

[Dukat]

It is already performing hands-down quicker than my old WD NAS in RAID0.
That WD World NAS would transfer around 10-18MB/s.

The DS1515+ is currently transferring at 98 - 120MB/s. This is pretty much the bandwidth of a single Gigabit Ethernet line(125MB/s) so in that respect it is performing as it should be.
I'll connect my MacMini with Dual Gigabit later and retest transfer speeds. Which should be about 240-250MB/s max.


On another note: adding the other 4GB RAM seems to have raised the temps up about 4-5deg F. I'll remove the extra RAM and retest for 15-20minutes while transferring large files and see if I notice a change.

You're getting considerably faster transfer speeds on your Synology than me.
Are you connecting via SMB or AFP? I heard Apple recommends SMB since they stopped development of AFP and SMB 2/3 is faster, however in my experience I get much better speeds using AFP connecting to the NAS.

I tried ethernet and transfer speed is identical to wifi. The NAS is using 5400 WD Red's but I'm still only getting like 20-30MB/s.

Did you format the NAS drives to something other than the default, which I assume is SMB or Exfat? I use it with Windows PC's so it needs to be cross-platform compatible.

Thanks

 

[garyleecn]

Using a Mac Mini server makes zero sense over a NAS. Too expensive and too much hassle. I'm actually pretty surprised someone is recommending that and TB 2 over a Mac Mini is just silly.
There are plenty of NAS devices that use Plex to do much of what you want as well as iTunes libraries. Tie machine can be problematic in general and there are other ways to backup.
Read up on the other NAS devices available. More ram is for the OS especially if you run virtual machines but also video transcoding.

A mac server is always easier to manage, mor software options, better compatibility.