Synology DS1823xs+: Powerful SMB NAS Server

Synology today released the DiskStation DS1823xs+, an 8-bay server with built-in 10Gbps Ethernet capability.

Per Synology’s naming convention, the xs+ signifies this is a high-end desktop server designed specifically for business users.

Still, running Synology’s DiskStation Manager (DSM) operating system, it shares the Plus notion of non-xs servers, such as the DS923+, meaning it can host two Synology DX517 expansion units to up the total storage bay to eighteen.

Synology DS1823xs+: A server for serious business environment

It’s important to note that as a business-oriented family, the xs+ series doesn’t support the consumer-friendly Synology Hybrid RAID (SHR). Instead, the new server, like the precious DS1621xs+, only handles standard RAIDs.

Other than that, running the latest DSM 7.1, the new DiskStation DS1823xs+ comes with all common features of the OS, available in all DSM7-supported Synology servers. DSM has been the best NAS OSes.

You can also use the server as a host for network backup, data sharing/syncing, media streaming, IP camera NVR, virtual machines, and more.

Here are the highlights of what the new server can do, per Synology:

• Over 3,100/2,600 MB/s sequential read/write performance supports large data transfer volumes and enables fast file sharing, syncing, and backup for multiple users.
• Support for all-flash and hybrid storage arrays allows combining the I/O performance of SSDs and the efficiency of HDDs by designating M.2 NVMe and SATA SSDs as storage volumes or as read/write cache to speed up HDD volumes.
• Built-in 10GbE connectivity is supplemented by a PCIe 3.0 expansion slot to boost bandwidth through optional 1/10/25GbE and Fibre Channel expansion cards.
• Simple capacity expansion to 324 TB of raw storage is available whenever needed with two Synology DX517 Expansion Units.

In many ways, you can think of the DS1823xs+ as the serious upgrade of the DS1821+ that came out two years ago. The table below shows the differences between the two.

Hardware specifications: Synology DS1823xs+ vs DS1821+

Model	DS1823xs+	DS1821+
CPU	AMD Ryzen V1780B Quad-core 3.35GHz	AMD RyzenV1500B  Quad-core 2.2 GHz
System Memory	8 GB DDR4	4 GB DDR4
Max Memory	32 GB  (16 GB x 2 slots)	32 GB  (16 GB x 2 slots)
Dimensions	6.53 x 13.5 x 9.57 in  (166 x 343 x 243 mm)	6.53 x 13.5 x 9.57 in  (166 x 343 x 243 mm)
Weight	13.7 lbs (6.2 kg)	13.23 lbs (6.0 kg)
Drive Bays	8	8
Expansion Support	2x DX517	2x DX517
Drive Interface	2.5 or 3.5 SATA Drives,  Hot-swappable	2.5 or 3.5 SATA Drives,  Hot-swappable
Maximum Capacity (at launch)	144 TB (8x 18TB drives)	128 TB  (8x 16TB drives)
Built-in M.2 Slots	Two (cache or storage pool)	Two (cache only)
RAID Types	Synology RAID F1, Basic, JBOD, RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 6, and RAID 10	SHR, Basic, JBOD, RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5,  RAID 6, RAID 10
Ports / Interfaces	1x RJ-45 10GbE LAN, 3x RJ-45 1GbE LAN, 1x RJ-45 1GbE Management port, 3x USB 3.0,  2x eSATA	4x RJ-45 1GbE LAN,  3x USB 3.0,  2x eSATA
PCIe Expansion	1x Gen 3 x8 PCIe slot	1x Gen 3 x8 PCIe slot
Add-in-card Support  (not included)	10GbE Add-on NIC card:  E10G18-T2 E10G18-T1 E10G21-F2	10GbE Add-on NIC card:  E10G18-T2 E10G18-T1 E10G21-F2
Operating System	DSM 7.1 (and later)	DSM 6 (and later)
File System  (Internal / External)	Btrfs, EXT4 /  Btrfs, EXT4,  EXT3, FAT,  NTFS, HFS+,  exFAT (app required)	Btrfs, EXT4 /  Btrfs, EXT4,  EXT3, FAT,  NTFS, HFS+,  exFAT (app required)
Suggested Retail Price (at launch)	$1799.99	$949.99
Warranty	5 years	3 years

It’s worth noting that while you can generally perform an easy migration from one Synology NAS to another by moving the internal hard drives, that’s only possible if the source server uses a RAID configuration it supports.

Specifically, if your old server is using SHR, which is popular, easy migration to the DS1823xs+ is not possible. But if you’ve been using the DS1621xs+, moving to the latest server will be seamless.

NVMe-as-storage support

Another significant notion about the DS1823xs+ is, like the DS923+, it supports NVMe SSDs both for caching and storage pools. It’s the first in the xs+ family that gets this capability.

Consequently, users can get a superfast volume out of it for frequently-access data, such as a database or network video editing.

Availability and pricing

Synology says the DiskStation DS1823xs+ is available now with the suggested price of $1799.99 (diskless). You can get one today or check out the review of the DS1821+ for some reference — below is its rating.