Synology DiskStation DS920+ Review

 

Towards the end of 2020, Synology added the DiskStation DS920+ to their lineup of NAS devices. The DS920+ leans to the smaller size of a NAS and offers a robust solution to streamline data and productivity within the environment that it is placed in. The DS920+ offers four bays, while also featuring two built-in M.2 slots allowing the device to take advantage of the Synology SSD Cache functionality.

As we have stated in other NAS reviews, with what happened in 2020, along with more people working from home, there was a need for mass amounts of data that people needed to access or even save too. Since cloud service can only bring people so far before having to pay monthly or get in the hassle of using another service, NAS became a viable option when it came to storing and accessing data.

This Synology DiskStation proves to be a very good option when it comes to a consumer-grade NAS. With four drive bays, supporting up to 100TB (9 total 3.5″ bays with expansion unit) for maximum single volume size and easy to use Windows-like OS, it doesn’t come as a surprise when people and small businesses alike select Synology NAS.

As with all Synology NAS, the DiskStation DS920+ is powered by the Synology DiskStation Manager (DSM). With this device manager, it allows for a range of uses including, complete multimedia management, streaming, and playback; it allows for various types of backups, a virtual machine manager, or even a surveillance station.

Synology hasn't changed the design of its NAS servers in a while, and as a result the DiskStation DS920+ has a familiar aesthetic. The server features a lot of plastic and aluminum, and the black paint job makes sure it doesn't call attention to itself. The build quality itself is among the best you'll find in this category, and the understated design means you can easily tuck the DS920+ away in a rack server or entertainment cabinet.

The DS920+ has top-notch build quality and all the connectivity options you want.

You'll find the four drive bays at the front, and you can install standard 3.5 or 2.5-inch HDDs, or go with 2.5-inch SSDs if you don't want to use mechanical drives in your NAS. I slotted in a few IronWolf drives in the enclosure, and the best part about the drive tray is that it allows for tool-less installation. You can also lock the drive bays via the bundled key.

There's a USB port at the front for plugging in a thumb drive or portable storage, and you get LED indicators for the HDDs and the overall system status. The power button is located at the bottom, and you'll find the Synology logo on either side of the server, with a vented design that allows for better airflow. I've found the vented logos to be a good ingress point for dust, so you will have to shut down the NAS once every few months, take out the hard drives, and clean the dust that accumulates within.

Round the back is where you'll find all the connectivity options. You get dual Gigabit Ethernet ports with Link Aggregation, second USB port, and a connector for attaching an external drive unit. If you need more Gigabit ports for failover or load balancing, you'll need to take a look at the DiskStation DS1520+. It has the same internal hardware as the DS920+ but comes with 8GB of RAM out of the box, and has four Gigabit Ethernet ports.

Conclusion

The Synology DiskStation DS920+ is a midsize NAS that is all about optimizing performance, and productivity. With the built-in M.2 SSD slots, using the Synology SSD Cache technology, it allows anyone to boost system I/O and application performance. The DS920+ leverages the Intel Celeron J4125 quad-core processor and up to 8GB of DDR4 RAM. There are four internal 3.5-inch storage bays, allowing a capacity up to 100TB with an added expansion unit, along with two USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports to expand to even more capacity.

For testing, we ran the WD Red Pro 14TB HDD in RAID6. For SMB configuration, we saw 4K throughput of 301 IOPS read and 1019 IOPS write, 4K average latency of 849ms read and 253ms write, 4K max latency of 2,862ms read and 5569ms write, 8K sequential of 28,403 IOPS read and 27,502 IOPS write, and finally, in 128K large block, it tested at 232MB/s read and 227MB/s write in SMB.

In iSCSI configurations we saw 4K throughput of 2,953 IOPS read and 999 IOPS write, 4K average latency of 87ms read and 256ms write, 4K max latency of 962ms read and 2,491ms write, 8K sequential of 28,567 IOPS read and 27,569 IOPS write, and, again, the biggest boost in performance was seen in the 128K large block with 233MB/s read and 228MB/s write.

This NAS was designed for a blend of performance, capacity, and cost. It performed decently well, especially for the form factor and connectivity. The DS920+ would be perfect for any small home/office setup or even a small business. It’s also nice to see the M.2 slots go NVMe, although in this case we’re limited by the Gigabit connectivity. Directionally though, it’s a harbinger of what’s to come as Synology updates its portfolio.