NAS DS923+, WRX560 WiFi router: feedback on Synology’s announcements

At its annual conference, which took place in Paris, Synology, manufacturer with 10 million NAS sold, focused on its new products for professionals. A way to gradually break its image as a provider of consumer solutions, recalling how important its development with companies is for its growth.

On the NAS side: an unmotivating DS923+

But I promise: this change of course is not to the detriment of those who have made the success of the company, individuals, who want to save their documents and holiday memories. However, it is clear that there are fewer and fewer new products on this market.

Thus, from the 2023 series DS NAS range, we will only have been able to see the DS923+. A model that uses a technical platform already seen, based on the manufacturer’s mid-range chassis with plastic shell, external power supply and network slot in a proprietary format. It is only compatible with the E10G22-T1-Mini at 10 Gb/s, sold for €175.

We took the opportunity to question the brand on its refusal to offer 2.5 Gb / s ports as standard or optional. She confirmed to us not to change position: it is not on the program. A NAS can in theory have one or more ports at 1 Gb/s, 10 Gb/s or even more… Enough to delight competitors such as ASUSTOR and QNAP, which have long offered models with ports at 2.5 Gb/s, appreciated in France because of their compatibility with certain ISP boxes.

The DS923+ offers five slots for 3.5-inch HDDs, a figure that can increase to nine with an extension (eSATA). It has two 1 Gb/s RJ45 ports and two USB 3.x. Its advertised price is €529, with its launch expected in the coming weeks. Synology has nevertheless confirmed to us that it will use a Ryzen R1600 (2 Zen cores) like the current DS1522+, but with 4 GB of memory.

It is expected to perform better than the current DS920+ based on the Celeron J4125, without disrupting habits. However, we regret the choice of a model without an integrated graphics part, and therefore without management of the hardware (de)compression of video streams.

This platform should nevertheless be used on other NAS, the 2023 harvest should be an opportunity to renew many models awaiting a successor for several years.

A more affordable wifi 6 router

Synology also introduced a new wifi router, the WRX560. It is placed between the current RT2600ac (wifi 5) and RT6600ax (wifi 6) and uses the SRM interface, with the same functionalities. It can thus be used within a mesh network (as a router or satellite) with any other model of the RT range.

Under its dress reminiscent of the Netgear Nighthawk X4S (EX7700) hides a wifi 6 model announcing a speed of 2.4 Gb / s (5 GHz) and 600 Mb / s (2.4 GHz). It is also compatible with the 5.9 GHz band (which is not usable in France). As a reminder, the RT6600ax offered three bands, including two at 5 GHz: 4.8 Gb/s, 1.2 Gb/s and 600 Mb/s. The model retains the dual Wan with a 2.5 Gb/s port and a second at 1 Gb/s, allowing you to alternate between two different internet connections. Three other 1 Gb/s ports are present, as well as a USB 3.2 Gen 1 x 1 port (5 V and 0.9 A). This router would show an idle consumption of 7.94 watts and 10.8 watts when active. It will be launched on November 2 for a price of €250.80. Synology has confirmed to us that no wifi 6E model is expected at this time.

DSM 7.2 is coming

Finally, there could not be an annual Synology conference without the announcement of new features concerning the DSM interface. It will thus be upgraded to version 7.2 during the first quarter of 2023, notably bringing the encryption of entire volumes rather than simple shared folders. Enough to improve performance by 48%, promises the manufacturer.

It will also rely on the arrival of multi-channel SMB, part of version 3.0 of the standard, to boost performance when NAS use several ports at 1 Gb / s. Indeed, this feature makes it possible to split a file transfer into several simultaneous channels, which was impossible before. It is already offered by ASUSTOR within its ADM interface.

We can also declare Worm files (single write, multiple reads), with more or less flexibility. A feature that will be especially useful to companies, in particular to ensure their compliance. Hyper Backup will offer to create immutable backups, which cannot be modified, even by an administrator. Enough to allow you to restore your data for sure if unfortunately a virus or ransomware attacks your data. The tool will also offer the creation of “bare metal” backups of the NAS, including the system.

A host of small service improvements

2023 will also see the implementation of many new features within C2 online tools and services. Drive will be easier to deploy en masse, will better manage file locking in the event of access edits from different devices and will allow erasing synchronized folders remotely in the event of theft or loss of a device under macOS or Windows.

Synology Office will make importing easier, enable file encryption, and have an improved review mode. A Synology Backup platform must unify access to certain services via a portal. C2 Transfer will (finally?) enable public sharing and add custom watermarks to files shared with third parties, based on their email address.

Active Backup now has 320,000 deployments (+34% in 2022 compared to 2021), backs up 6 million Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace accounts, as well as 1.13 million devices and virtual machines. Its availability for macOS is expected by the end of 2022.

C2 Identity will enable login to local or online devices/services without a password, ensuring compatibility with Apple’s FaceID and Touch ID, as well as Microsoft’s Windows Hello. It has been confirmed to us that FIDO standard Passkeys will also be supported.

5 questions about passkeys, this system that wants to replace your passwords