Synology has announced a new 4-bay NAS model. This is traditionally one of the company’s most popular lines. According to Synology, the DS925+ is aimed at professionals and businesses that need high performance and reliable data management. In addition to the new NAS, Synology is also introducing the DX525 expansion unit for extra storage capacity.
The new DS925+ is the latest addition to Synology’s Plus Series, following in the footsteps of the 4-bay models that have already been installed more than a million times. According to Synology, the 4-bay Plus Series models have always been among its most popular products. They are not only used as central file servers by professionals, but also as edge servers by companies in remote locations and sister offices.
Performance improvements and scalability
The DS925+ has been developed with a focus on performance and efficiency. It is equipped with two 2.5GbE ports and two M.2 slots for creating all-flash storage pools or cache. According to Synology, this should deliver significant improvements over its predecessor. Synology claims 149% faster SMB downloads, 150% faster uploads, 131% faster read speeds, and 150% faster write speeds. Please note that this is with an optimal configuration.
Read also: How do you deploy a Synology NAS in large organizations?
In addition to improved performance, the DS925+ also offers scalability, an important feature for businesses with growing data needs. In combination with the simultaneously introduced DX525 expansion unit, the system supports up to 9 bays, providing up to 180 TB of raw capacity.
Works only with Synology HDDs
A notable feature of the new DS925+ is that it only works in combination with Synology HDDs. It is the first NAS in the 25 series that is only compatible with Synology HDDs. According to Synology, this strategy has several advantages, including optimized performance, more stable NAS performance thanks to special firmware, and simplified technical support with a uniform solution. Synology emphasizes that this approach is based on rigorous drive testing (more than 7,000 hours of rigorous testing) to ensure optimal compatibility.
On the one hand, enforcing the use of its own HDDs in the DS925+ is understandable from Synology’s perspective. This allows Synology to provide better guarantees and support. For some business users, this may be the deciding factor in choosing Synology. On the other hand, this does offer considerably less freedom of choice. We can also imagine that it does not necessarily make things easier for Synology partners.
However, it is worth noting that Synology is not closing the door completely to other HDDs. It explicitly states that a validation program is available for third-party drive manufacturers to have their products certified. Only HDDs that meet Synology’s requirements will be added to the compatibility list. Whether HDD vendors want to go through this testing, remains to be seen of course.
Availability
The Synology DS925+ and DX525 expansion unit are available immediately through Synology’s global network of partners and resellers.