Synology is drastically limiting the choice of drives on its more professional NAS devices: all drives over 4TB must now be purchased from the company itself.
The first models to which this applies are from the XS+/XS series, namely the RackStation RS3621xs+ and the RackStation RS3621RPxs. The smaller Plus model series, for example the new RackStation RS1221+/RS1221RP+ seems to be exempt from these restrictions, as well as the smaller home models. Apparently, for the time being, only the professional devices would like to be restricted in the choice of drives.
For all operators or new buyers, this is important news, because it means you have to rely exclusively on Synology for drives over 4TB in size. Of the smaller sizes, third-party manufacturers are also allowed, but the interesting large capacities are only available from Synology. Currently, the 16 TB variants are not available at all. So if your business depends on it, you have to decide now if you agree with this situation or if the free choice of drives is essential for you.
By and by, all major models should come with this limitation. It is up to Synology to show if not only the company but also the customer will benefit from it (better reliability, better availability of the drives, better performance).
- Tackle multi-user environments effortlessly with up to 2,315 MB/s read and 1,147 MB/s write performance
- The RS1221+ and RS1221RP+ feature a short depth of just 298 mm and 399 mm respectively
- Improve network performance by 5X with a PCIe SFP+ or RJ-45 network card from the compatibility list
- Configure two units together to create a Synology High Availability (SHA) cluster for maximum service uptime and minute-level failover
