The DS218+ comes well packaged, with all of the various accessories in their own packets. Included is the Power Supply, Power Cable, Ethernet Cable, screws for mounting hard disks, and a handy quick start guide.
The DS218+ itself is an impressive looking device, well built, with a nice finish. It has several connectivity ports available, 1x USB3 on the front, 2x USB3 on the rear, along with the socket for the power supply connector and the Ethernet port as well as an esata port.
The front of the unit has 4x LED's, indicating Status, Lan, Disk1 and Disk2. There is a power button and a button marked "C" which is used to copy the content of USB Flash Sticks to the device.
There is a panel attached to the front of the DS218+ which covers the disk drive bays. This cover has a number of rubber plugs built in that allows it to be pushed into the openings created by the drive bays, allowing it to remain in place without falling off. It feels nice and solid when attaching it.
There are 2x Drive Brackets which easily slide outwards after lifting a small clip at the top. Each of these brackets slide in and out of the device effortlessly and provide the option of either 3.5" or 2.5" storage.
The 3.5" drives simply click into the bracket, which has built-in pins that fit into the screw holes on the drive. If a 2.5" drive is used, then it is necessary to use the supplied screws to mount securely.
I chose to install 2x Western Digital 4TB Red Drives which are optimized for use in Network Attached Storage Devices.
After connecting the Ethernet and power cables, a touch of the power button brings the DS218+ to life. The unit automatically received an IP address from the DHCP server on my network and presented me with a welcome screen.
After running through the initial setup (Install the DSM Interface, Update the software, Create user account, Setup available storage) I was presented with several icons and menus to access the package center, control panel, applications, file manager, help etc.
After exploring the available options, settings, available applications and configuration settings, I was extremely surprised at the amount of applications which can actually be installed on this unit.
It has basically anything you could ask for, from an Active Directory Server, to Plex, to Docker, to Wordpress, to Github and way too many more to mention. I could spend months exploring each of these packages and still have only touched the tip of the iceberg.
There is a handy status box present at all times on the management interface that shows the current system health, uptime, ip address, as well as a resource monitor showing CPU, RAM and LAN activity with a nice graph.
What I liked about the device
* Very well built
* Extremely easy to install the hard disks into the unit.
* Empty Ram slot to allow the installation of additional ram is accessible by removing the bracket / drive installed in slot2. No covers to remove, screws to undo... simply insert a new ram module and off you go.
* Well packaged accessories, easy to follow quick start guide. Packing is nice and solid, well put together.
* Initial setup is easy and fast. I was blown away by the amount of packages available for installation, variety of different packages available from mail servers to vpn to docker to plex to wordpress and many many more.
* Web based management is very easy to use. Everything is easy to find and operate. I did not get lost and found the interface very easy to navigate.
What it does well
* Packages are easy to find and install, with a detailed description of what each one does.
* Many settings and options can be fine tuned to suit your requirements.
* Could not be simpler to install disk drives and connect to network
* Handy resource monitor indicates current status of the unit, storage etc.
* Being able to install Docker, Virtual Machines, A Surveillance station, a Plex Media Server (with native 4k transcoding) make this unit extremely attractive. I regret not having acquired one years ago!
Where it falls short
* I was unable to find anything which could be considered a negative. It is a very impressive device.
The DS218+ itself is an impressive looking device, well built, with a nice finish. It has several connectivity ports available, 1x USB3 on the front, 2x USB3 on the rear, along with the socket for the power supply connector and the Ethernet port as well as an esata port.
The front of the unit has 4x LED's, indicating Status, Lan, Disk1 and Disk2. There is a power button and a button marked "C" which is used to copy the content of USB Flash Sticks to the device.
There is a panel attached to the front of the DS218+ which covers the disk drive bays. This cover has a number of rubber plugs built in that allows it to be pushed into the openings created by the drive bays, allowing it to remain in place without falling off. It feels nice and solid when attaching it.
There are 2x Drive Brackets which easily slide outwards after lifting a small clip at the top. Each of these brackets slide in and out of the device effortlessly and provide the option of either 3.5" or 2.5" storage.
The 3.5" drives simply click into the bracket, which has built-in pins that fit into the screw holes on the drive. If a 2.5" drive is used, then it is necessary to use the supplied screws to mount securely.
I chose to install 2x Western Digital 4TB Red Drives which are optimized for use in Network Attached Storage Devices.
After connecting the Ethernet and power cables, a touch of the power button brings the DS218+ to life. The unit automatically received an IP address from the DHCP server on my network and presented me with a welcome screen.
After running through the initial setup (Install the DSM Interface, Update the software, Create user account, Setup available storage) I was presented with several icons and menus to access the package center, control panel, applications, file manager, help etc.
After exploring the available options, settings, available applications and configuration settings, I was extremely surprised at the amount of applications which can actually be installed on this unit.
It has basically anything you could ask for, from an Active Directory Server, to Plex, to Docker, to Wordpress, to Github and way too many more to mention. I could spend months exploring each of these packages and still have only touched the tip of the iceberg.
There is a handy status box present at all times on the management interface that shows the current system health, uptime, ip address, as well as a resource monitor showing CPU, RAM and LAN activity with a nice graph.
What I liked about the device
* Very well built
* Extremely easy to install the hard disks into the unit.
* Empty Ram slot to allow the installation of additional ram is accessible by removing the bracket / drive installed in slot2. No covers to remove, screws to undo... simply insert a new ram module and off you go.
* Well packaged accessories, easy to follow quick start guide. Packing is nice and solid, well put together.
* Initial setup is easy and fast. I was blown away by the amount of packages available for installation, variety of different packages available from mail servers to vpn to docker to plex to wordpress and many many more.
* Web based management is very easy to use. Everything is easy to find and operate. I did not get lost and found the interface very easy to navigate.
What it does well
* Packages are easy to find and install, with a detailed description of what each one does.
* Many settings and options can be fine tuned to suit your requirements.
* Could not be simpler to install disk drives and connect to network
* Handy resource monitor indicates current status of the unit, storage etc.
* Being able to install Docker, Virtual Machines, A Surveillance station, a Plex Media Server (with native 4k transcoding) make this unit extremely attractive. I regret not having acquired one years ago!
Where it falls short
* I was unable to find anything which could be considered a negative. It is a very impressive device.
