The QNAP QTS 5.2 Beta is Now Available

Most people who own a NAS drive, for business or for pleasure, will realise very early on that the software that these systems arrive with is more than just simple file/folder storage access. In particular, the QNAP QTS system software and services is one that has evolved a great deal over the years and has now found a pretty good balance between providing a user-friendly GUI experience and providing a good degree of system/storage information when needed. Add to this that QNAP has generally been the first to market when it comes to innovation in the NAS industry (sometimes a little sooner than some might like!) and this has led to them introducing a number of key applications in the past before their competitors in NAS (HybridMount, vJBOD, Container Station, Linux Station and Multimedia Console to name a few) in their previous versions of QTS. QNAP is now going to provide users access, test and provide feedback on QTS 5.2. The Beta of QTS 5.2 is now available to download from QNAP HERE and along with numerous background improvements, there are several new application service upgrades, new security improvements, dedicated SMB portal, additional storage and snapshot integration/improvements and thumbnail/file indexing enhancements. Let’s discuss the QNAP QTS 5.2 beta and see what’s new.

You can download the QNAP QTS 5.2 Beta HERE (select your NAS first)

Important – Get Your Backups in Order First!

REALLY IMPORTANT – If you want to go ahead and try out the QNAP QTS 5.2 Beta, double and TRIPLE check that your backups are in order. QTS 5.2 is a beta i.e not a finished operating system and needs to be treated as such. Do not use it for hot data or integral data! You can use the video below that covers all the different ways to backup your NAS, as well as created Sync connections with cloud/NAS devices to ensure that you have your 3-2-1 backup system in place!

Automatically restore accidentally disconnected disks

On some newer NAS models, QTS can now be used to automatically restore disks that are accidentally disconnected from the system. Enabling this feature will help speed up RAID group rebuilds and improve overall storage stability, but may slightly affect write performance. You can go to [Control Panel] > [System] > [Hardware Settings] > [General Settings] > [Enable Disk Automatic Recovery] to make this setting.

If you change this setting, connected devices that support this feature will be affected. To confirm whether the NAS or connected device supports this feature, go to “System Status” > “Hardware Information”, select the NAS or device, and then confirm whether “Automatic Disk Recovery” is on the feature list.

Snapshot size calculation can be performed to facilitate space management

It is now possible to calculate how much space is occupied by snapshots taken in a volume or LUN within a specified time range. The generated report includes an adjustable graph to determine how much space would be freed by deleting a specified snapshot. This feature is useful when you are running out of space and need to decide which snapshots to delete.

To use this function, please go to [Storage and Snapshot Manager] > [Storage Space] > [Storage/Snapshot], find the volume or LUN with the snapshot, and click the snapshot icon to open the [Snapshot Administrator] window , then click Calculate Size to open the Calculate Snapshot Size window.

Supports TCG Ruby Self-Encrypting Disk (SED)

In addition to TCG Opal and TCG Enterprise SED, users can now install and use TCG Ruby SED to meet the latest data security requirements of enterprises and data centers.

You can refer to apps installed on other devices and directly choose which ones to install.

You can now browse the list of installed applications on all devices linked to your QNAP ID and select which applications to install. To view apps installed on other devices, go to the App Center, click Install in the upper right corner, and select Apps Installed on All Devices.

If the devices have been registered as organizational devices in myQNAPcloud, you can manage the applications on these devices in [ AMIZ Cloud ] > [Device Applications]. It can be used to centrally manage applications on various devices belonging to the same organization.

Adopts OpenSSL 3.0 for enhanced security and improved performance

We’ve updated OpenSSL to version 3.0, improving cipher compilation performance, enhancing memory protection, and simplifying integration with modern APIs. The system response speed has been optimized and data protection has been strengthened to improve user experience.

Sync to disk immediately when requested by an SMB client

There is now an option to synchronize data to disk immediately upon request from an SMB client. If this feature is enabled, cached data can be written back to a more stable storage space whenever necessary to improve the data integrity of the system. Please note that while disabling this option may improve read and write (I/O) performance, it may also increase the risk of data loss or corruption during a power outage or system failure.

To enable this option, go to Control Panel > Permissions > Shared Folders > Shared Folders, select the shared folder, and edit its properties.

Enhanced support for file thumbnails in File Station

In addition to media files and PDF files, File Station can now display thumbnails of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and EML files (text-only emails). Now you can quickly know the approximate contents of various files even without opening the file. This function is especially useful when you need to find or select specific files from a large number of files; it can greatly improve the efficiency of file management.

You can enable file thumbnail display in [File Station] > [Settings] > [File]. To use this feature, you must first install Qsirch in the App Center.

ClamAV has become independent from the virus protection service

ClamAV is now a standalone application and consumes less memory resources than when it previously operated as a consolidated service. Standalone operation allows for faster scanning and less time required to react to security threats. But please note that to use the virus protection service, you must first install the ClamAV application in the App Center.

Reduced system startup and shutdown time

Improved the speed of starting and stopping applications during system startup, shutdown, and restart. The system is now more responsive when users perform power-related operations.

AD domain users can log in directly without entering the domain name

If you primarily access your NAS through a single AD domain, you can now easily log into your desktop without prefixing your domain name with your username. For example, now you only need to enter “myusername” instead of “mydomain\myusername”.

If multiple AD domains are used, or a domain user account is used to access the NAS in addition to the local account, please still enter the domain name when logging in with a domain user account.

Enhanced security for system administrator accounts

To enhance the overall security of the device and reduce the occurrence of brute force attacks, users are now prompted to create a new device whenever they restore or reset the device to factory defaults using the hardware reset button or the Control Panel Administrator account, or keep the non-default administrator account you are currently signed in to. In addition, the system automatically deactivates or strongly recommends that users deactivate the default system administrator account “admin”.

Direct read and write (I/O) is used in the core mode SMB resident program to improve read/write performance

We use direct read/write (I/O), which improves read/write performance when the core-mode SMB resident is enabled and all disks on the system device are NVMe SSDs.

To enable the core-mode SMB resident for Microsoft Networks, go to Control Panel > Network & File Services > Win/Mac/NFS/WebDAV > Microsoft Networks and make sure it is checked [Enable File Services for Microsoft Networks (SMB)]. Next, click “Advanced Options”, check “Enable Kernel Mode SMB Resident”, and click “Apply”. (Note: If the core-mode SMB resident is enabled, SMB encryption is disabled.)

SMB service has become a standalone application

Microsoft Networking (SMB) is now a standalone application that can be updated separately in the App Center, called SMB Service, and can be accessed remotely via the Microsoft Networking (SMB) and Common Internet File System (CIFS) protocols. Access files and folders on QNAP devices.

To enable the SMB service, you must first go to [Control Panel] > [Network & File Services] > [Win/Mac/NFS/WebDAV] > [Microsoft Network (SMB)] to enable the file service of Microsoft Network ( SMB).

Editable iSCSI target IQN

When or after an iSCSI target is created, the target’sIQN (iSCSI Qualified Name) can now be edited. To edit the IQN of an existing target, you must first disconnect all connections to the target, then go to iSCSI & Fiber Channel > iSCSI Storage, select the target, and click Actions > Edit . The maximum IQN length is 128 characters.

What are the QNAP QTS 5.2 Changes in full?

• Users can now select what apps to install by browsing the list of installed apps on any devices connected to their QNAP IDs. To access this feature, go the the App Center, click the “Install” icon in the top-right corner, and then select “Apps Installed on All Devices”.
• Added a setting on certain device models for enabling disk auto recovery, which automatically reconnects any disks that have been unintentionally disconnected from the system. The setting can be found in Control Panel > System > Hardware > General.
• File Station now supports the multimedia file formats WebM and WebP.
• Detailed event logs and access logs related to share links are now available.
• In File Station, thumbnail display is now available and configurable for Microsoft Office and EML files.
• Users can now configure 802.1X authentication for greater network security. SAMBA
• Added a shared folder setting which allows the system to immediately synchronize data to disks when requested by SMB clients, thereby enhancing data integrity. You can enable the setting on a shared folder by editing its properties in Control Panel > Privilege > Shared Folders > Shared Folder.
• Microsoft Networking (SMB) service is now a standalone application called SMB Service, which can be updated independently. SMB Service enables remote access to your QNAP device files and folders via the Microsoft Networking (SMB) and Common Internet File System (CIFS) protocols. To enable SMB Service, you must enable Microsoft Networking in Control Panel. Snapshot& Snapshots
• You can now calculate the size of snapshots in a volume or LUN that were taken within a specified time period. This feature can help you determine how much space you can free up by deleting a certain number of snapshots. To use this feature, open the “Snapshot Manager” window of a volume or LUN, and then click “Calculate Size”.
• Added support for TCG Ruby SEDs.
• Administrators can now disable 2-step verification for a user in Control Panel > System > Security > 2-Step Verification.
• To enhance device security, when you initiate restoring a device to factory default in Control Panel, you are now prompted to create a new administrator account or to retain the currently logged-in administrator account, and the default administrator account “admin” will be disabled.
• Administrators can now choose to skip a firmware update when the firmware update notification appears upon desktop login.
• Optimized the desktop loading speed.
• To increase device security, after restoring a device to factory default using the hardware reset button, and then logging in with the default administrator account “admin”, you are now prompted to create a new administrator account and to disable the “admin” account.
• Added support for copying and pasting security code (TOTP) credentials when configuring 2-step verification.
• If you access your NAS primarily through a single AD domain only, you can now conveniently log in to the desktop without including the domain name in front of your username. For example, you can now enter “myusername” instead of “mydomain\myusername”. (Note: However, if you use multiple AD domains or use both local and domain user accounts to access your NAS, you should still specify the domain name when logging in with a domain user account.) iSCSI&FC
• You can now edit an iSCSI target’s IQN during or after target creation (maximum 128 characters). To edit an existing target’s IQN, you must first disconnect all connections to the target, and then go to iSCSI & Fibre Channel > iSCSI Storage, select the target, and click Action > Modify.
• Users can now copy all network information (including IPv4, IPv6, and hardware) of any physical adapter or virtual switch to the clipboard with a single button. Open Network & Virtual Switch, go to “Network” > “Interfaces” or “Virtual Switch”, identify an interface, click “More” > “Information”, and then click “Copy”.
• Improved the calculation method and display of system memory information in Resource Monitor for greater clarity.
• Enhanced the Network Connectivity Status Indicator (NCSI) service, which periodically checks the network connection status. You can now enable this setting and configure its checking target no matter whether you choose automatic or manual selection of the system default gateway. To configure NCSI, go to Network & Virtual Switch > Network > Interfaces > Interfaces, and then click System Default Gateway.
• In the Volume Creation Wizard, the setting “Enable snapshot schedule and snapshot retention” is now disabled by default. This ensures that users who do not need snapshots will not unexpectedly encounter insufficient storage space caused by a large number of volume snapshots.
• Improved the synchronization process for read-only SSD cache to optimize data read efficiency and reliability.
• Optimized the RAID group resync speed for NVMe drives.
• Users can now view detailed temperature information about their Seagate EXOS JBOD enclosures in Storage & Snapshots > Storage > Disks/VJBOD > NAS and Enclosure.
• Added support for the newly upgraded QUSBCam (version 3.0.0, previous version known as QUSBCam2).
• The ClamAV antivirus engine is now an independent application, allowing the Antivirus service to consume less memory and spend less time scanning files. Note that in order to use Antivirus, ClamAV must be installed in App Center.
• The system now checks whether a new QNAP Software Terms of Use is available before performing a firmware update. Administrators must agree to the new terms to proceed with the firmware update. SAMBA
• In Samba, Implemented direct I/O in the kernel-mode SMB daemon to enhance read and write performance. System
• Improved the speed of starting and stopping applications during system startup, shutdown, and restart.

Applicable QNAP models that support the QTS 5.2 Beta?

• HS-251+,S2
• QMiroPlus-201W
• Mustang-F100,Mustang-V100,Mustang-200-i7-1T-32G-R10,Mustang-200-i5-1T-32G-R10,Mustang-200-C-8G-R10,Mustang-200
• QBoat Sunny
• QGD-1600P,QGD-1600
• QGD-1602P,QGD-1602
• QGD-3014-16PT
• TS-453S Pro,TS-853S Pro
• TS-216,TS-416
• TS-128A, TS-228A, TS-212P3, TS-130, D1 Rev-B
• TS-932X, TS-832X, TS-332X, TS-532X, TS-932PX, TS-832PX
• TS-432XU-RP,TS-432XU,TS-832XU-RP,TS-832XU,TS-1232XU-RP,TS-1232XU,TS-432PXU,TS-432PXU-RP,TS-832PXU,TS-832PXU-RP, TS-1232PXU,TS-1232PXU-RP
• TS-133, TS-233, TS-433, D4 Rev-C, TS-216G
• TS-1635AX
• TS-435XeU
• TS-251, TS-451, TS-651, TS-851, TS-451S, TS-251+, TS-451+, TS-351, D2 Pro Rev-B, D4 Pro Rev-B
• TS-251A,TS-451A,D2 Pro,D4 Pro
• TS-251B
• TS-451DeU,TS-453DU,TS-453DU-RP,TS-853DU-RP,TS-1253DU-RP
• TS-451U
• TS-253 Pro, TS-453 Pro, TS-653 Pro, TS-853 Pro, TS-453mini, IS-453S
• TS-453Bmini,TS-253B,TS-453B,TS-653B,TS-453BT3,TS-253Be,TS-453Be
• TS-853BU,TS-853BU-RP,TS-1253BU,TS-1253BU-RP,TS-453BU,TS-453BU-RP
• HS-453DX, TBS-453DX, TS-251D, TS-253D, TS-653D, TS-453D, TS-451D, TS-453Dmini, TS-451D2
• TBS-453A, TS-253A, TS-453A, TS-653A, TS-853A, D6 Pro, D8 Pro
• TS-453U, TS-853U, TS-1253U, TS-453U-RP, TS-853U-RP, TS-1253U-RP, R4
• TVS-463,TVS-663,TVS-863,TVS-863+,TS-563,TS-963X,TS-963N
• TS-463U,TS-463U-RP,TS-863U,TS-863U-RP,TS-1263U,TS-1263U-RP,TS-463XU,TS-463XU-RP,TS-863XU,TS-863XU-RP, TS-1263XU,TS-1263XU-RP
• TS-564,HS-264,TBS-464,TS-262C,TS-462C,TS-264C,TS-464C,TS-364,TS-464,TS-664,TS-262,TS-462,TS- 264,TS-464C2
• TS-464U,TS-464U-RP,TS-1264U-RP,TS-464eU,TS-864eU,TS-864eU-RP
• TVS-471,TVS-671,TVS-871,TVS-871T
• TVS-871U-RP,TVS-1271U-RP,TVS-471U-RP,TVS-471U,R8
• TVS-672N,TVS-872N,TVS-872X,TVS-672X,TVS-472X,TVS-472XT,TVS-672XT,TVS-872XT
• TVS-872XU,TVS-872XU-RP,TVS-1272XU-RP,TVS-1672XU-RP,TVS-2472XU-RP,TVS-972XU,TVS-972XU-RP
• TVS-473,TVS-673,TVS-873,TVS-473e,TVS-673e,TVS-873e
• TS-h973AX,TS-473A,TS-673A,TS-873A
• TS-873AU,TS-873AU-RP,TS-1273AU-RP,TS-1673AU-RP,TS-873AeU,TS-873AeU-RP
• TS-873U, TS-1273U, TS-1673U, TS-873U-RP, TS-1273U-RP, TS-1673U-RP
• TVS-675
• TVS-h875U,TVS-h875U-RP,TVS-h1275U-RP,TVS-h1675U-RP
• TS-1277, TS-877, TS-677, TS-1677X
• TS-877XU,TS-877XU-RP,TS-1277XU-RP,TS-1677XU-RP,TS-2477XU-RP,TS-977XU-RP,TS-977XU,TS-h1277XU-RP,TS-h977XU-RP, TS-h1677XU-RP,TS-h2477XU-RP
• TS-EC880 Pro,TS-EC1080 Pro,TVS-EC880,TVS-EC1080,TVS-EC1080+
• TS-EC880U, TS-EC1280U, TS-EC1680U, TS-EC2480U R2, TVS-EC1280U-SAS-RP R2, TVS-EC1580MU-SAS-RP R2, TVS-EC1680U-SAS-RP R2, TVS-EC2480U-SAS- RP R2,TS-EC2480U,TS-EC880U R2,TS-EC1280U R2,TS-EC1680U R2,TVS-EC1280U-SAS-RP,TVS-EC1580MU-SAS-RP,TVS-EC1680U-SAS-RP,TVS-EC2480U- SAS-RP,R12,R16,R24
• TVS-882T,TVS-1282T,TVS-682,TVS-882,TVS-1282,TVS-682T,TVS-1282T3,TVS-882BR,TVS-882BRT3
• TVS-882ST,TVS-882ST3
• TVS-1582TU
• TS-883XU, TS-883XU-RP, TS-1283XU-RP, TS-1683XU-RP, TS-983XU, TS-983XU-RP, TS-2483XU-RP, TS-h1283XU-RP, TS-h2483XU-RP, TS-h1683XU-RP
• TS-1685,TS-h886,TS-h686
• TES-3085U,TES-1885U,TS-1886XU-RP,TS-h1886XU-RP,TS-h1886XU-RP R2
• TS-2888X
• TS-h3088XU-RP
• TDS-16489U
• TS-h2490FU,TS-h1090FU
• TS-328,TS-428,TS-230,D2 Rev-B
• TS-551
• TS-473,TS-673,TS-873
• TVS-951X,TVS-951N
• GM-1000,TNS-h1083X,TNS-h1083X (A Side),TNS-h1083X (B Side)
• TS-i410X, TS-410E
• TS-253E,TS-453E
• TS-h1290FX
• TS-h987XU-RP,TS-h1887XU-RP,TS-h2287XU-RP,TS-h3087XU-RP
• TVS-h474,TVS-h674,TVS-h874,TVS-h874X,TVS-h674T,TVS-h874T
• TDS-h2489FU
• TS-1655, TS-855X
• TS-855eU, TS-855eU-RP
• TS-466C
• TS-AI642
• TBS-h574TX
• TS-h1277AXU-RP, TS-h1677AXU-RP, TS-h3077AFU

Notes

Due to compatibility issues, please update your QVR Face Insight, QVR Face Link, or QVR Face Tiger to version 1.7.1 or later before updating QTS to version 5.2.0.

– Due to compatibility issues, QNAP NetBak Replicator is currently unable to establish an SFTP connection to a NAS running QTS 5.2.0.

 

 

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Plex Media Server Vs Synology Video Station on a NAS

One of the most popular reasons that users choose to buy a network-attached storage (NAS) device is for use as a media server. The appeal is pretty clear. With most users now owning decades of media (either in digital form or ripped from optical media at home), the ability to enjoy these box sets and Movies on the latest devices can be complicated. Despite this, streaming all of your multimedia from a NAS to all of your TVs, phones, tablets and other devices are growing increasingly popular and a lot of this is thanks to the increasing affordability of NAS from brands like Synology and QNAP and free software from companies like Plex and Emby. The most popular NAS for home media tends to be Synology, with its support of numerous media server applications and its own premium video service app too. This combined with the oversaturation of third-party online streaming services that ask you to pay a subscription (such as Netflix) with little control or right to ownership of the media you watch means that many users just want to enjoy their own unique media collections. So now that a lot of users are choosing to switch from the likes of Netflix and Prime Video towards an in-house media server, the next question is which piece of software they should choose.

The most popular private media server app right now worldwide to counter the likes of Netflix is Plex Media Server, software available in host and client form that allows you to transform your media collection into a glossy, slick and informative UI that genuinely rivals big online streaming platforms. Synology on the other hand would likely prefer users to stick with their own fully-featured media server application, Synology Video Station, which they have invested well in and developed to an impressive standard that easily rivals that of Plex. So today I want to compare these two media server choices and help you decide which one is the ideal media server choice for you.

Important – ‘Free’ Vs Paid Media Server Services on a NAS

Before going any further, it is worth addressing the elephant in the room, namely that a number of key media server services that are included with Plex Media Server are locked behind a paid subscription service known as Plex Pass. Whereas Synology Video Station is an application that is included with your NAS on Day 1 at no additional cost. All that said, neither service can technically be called free, as both still require you to purchase a Synology NAS. Additionally, it is still worth highlighting that some more recent Innovations in Plex online services and utilisation of hardware transcoding (the ability to use the CPU’s embedded graphics or an available graphics card to adapt files on the fly to make them better suited to a client) is not available on the free tier of Plex, but ARE available by default in the Synology Video Station application. You can still utilise software transcoding on Plex for free and this will deal with a large degree of transcoding requirements, but the fact that you have to pay extra within the Plex app to utilise the hardware already available on your NAS is something a number of users find difficult to accept. Throughout this article, any feature that is only available as a paid Plex Pass feature will be highlighted as such.

Plex VS Synology Video Station – Installation and First Time Setup

Installation of either the Synology Video Station or Plex Media Server application is near enough identical. Both are readily available in the Synology app centre and can be installed within two clicks. Both media server applications do not require your multimedia files to be stored in a pre-designated/directory location and the sources for TV shows, Movies and more can be scanned and indexed by each media server application after they are installed. In fact, the initial installation on both is incredibly straightforward and there is really only one main difference between them. That difference is that whereas the Synology Media application uses your original NAS login credentials, Plex will require you to set up an account with them online in order to use the software, even if you only intend to use your Plex Media Server on the local network/DLNA. As Plex is a third-party application, this is a little understandable if a tiny bit annoying for some. 

It is also worth highlighting that both media server applications will receive regular updates during their lifespan and this is treated slightly differently too. As Synology Video Station is a first-party app, as soon as an update is available, you will be notified immediately in the app centre and even have the opportunity to apply these firmware updates automatically. Plex updates on the other hand will almost always need to be installed manually, as the available default Plex application on the Synology app centre is updated considerably less frequently and as soon as you setup Plex for the first time, it will ALWAYS inform you that there is a new update available straight away. The Plex Media Server application itself will tell you when an update is available regularly at the top right and in the settings menu, but requires you to download the latest Plex server update to a connected computer and then you need to upload this update directly to the Synology NAS app centre manually. It is only a small inconvenience really, but does mean that regular updates on your media server of choice are handled more easily and with likely more frequency on Synology Video Station rather than Plex.

Plex VS Synology Video Station – GUI, Media Support and Browsing

The user interface of Synology Video Station and Plex Media Server are quite similar when viewed on a client device, such as a console, TV and Amazon Fire TV stick. With all of your available Movies and Boxsets clearly shown and the metadata collected by each media server application creating a great user interface for your connected users. 

However the back end/server view of each media server application is considerably different and where the Synology Video Station application is designed exclusively around video media options and configuration (as Synology have a wide range of applications for different Media types and general NAS server maintenance already available), Plex, on the other hand, is a far better equipped tool for a complete server, with the bulk of server maintenance and customisation options built into the single Plex GUI. If you are something of an IT novice, the wide range of options that Plex Media Server throws at you for system maintenance can be a touch intimidating and because Plex is designed around many different kinds of media support (something we will touch on later) it’s configuration needs to be noticeably broader than the video-centric options in the Synology official video application. These additional options, if you take the time to go through them, will definitely lead to a better media server user experience and a far better multimedia streaming system overall, it’s just a question of how bespoke and how elaborate you want your media server to be.

As mentioned, there is a clear difference in the multimedia types supported in Plex Media Server or Synology Video Station. In terms of handling of video Media, they are near enough identical with some exceptions with regard to specialist audio handling for certain dense Media. However, much like the back-end server control mentioned earlier, Synology Video Station only handles video media and relies on alternative applications such as Synology moments, photo station, Synology photos, audio station and download station to play and obtain other kinds of multimedia. Plex Media Server is a much more diverse multimedia tool with support of your photo collections (AI-assisted too), album collections, podcast streaming and several online video streaming services included. In both cases, it makes a lot of sense why they are designed this way, but some users may prefer their media server to be more of a Swiss army knife and others may want their video streaming, music streaming and photo streaming to be different services for different devices and clients. Neither Plex or Synology Video Station really gain any advantage here but simply show how they are different in their architecture. If you want simplicity in the user interface, go with Synology Video Station. If you want simplicity in your media server as a whole, go with Plex Media Server.

Plex VS Synology Video Station – Meta Data Scraping

The scraping of metadata in a media server is precisely what separates a bog-standard selection of files and folders on your screen from a slick graphical user interface that is engaging, informative and a joy to use. When we talk about metadata, we are talking about thumbnails, box art, media descriptions, cast listings, review scores, trailers and more. When we say scraping, that is the process of the software accessing numerous online databases to retrieve and store this information locally to the NAS. The result is your years of TV and movie collection being transformed into something near identical to Netflix and Amazon Prime video in presentation. Metadata ultimately benefits connected users and their client hardware devices, with both Plex and Video Station being very similar in how they look to a client device, albeit with a few branded differences in colour and config.

However, on the server-side, both Synology Video Station and Plex have gone a different way with metadata scraping at a setup level. Of the two, Synology Video Station is definitely the less option-heavy and although this is thanks in many ways to a lot of key options being found in the general server GUI outside of the app, it is still pretty thin on the ground for configuration of your video media server. This is not an enormous surprise given how Synology have generally erred towards keeping things as user-friendly as possible and this is often done by simplifying configurations and sitting numerous settings to system default. The options for scraping metadata on the Synology are surprisingly thin on the ground and some more advanced options require you to sign up to some resource database websites to obtain a two-way key. Despite this, Synology still manages to scrape a tremendous amount of metadata without this key and resource linking. Indeed, although the number of supported databases for metadata listed on the Synology Video Station app is few and far between, it was still able to find the same level of metadata found on the Plex Media Server application and displayed all of the test media perfectly. 

Plex Media Server has access to significantly more online databases and although the system will generally ask you to select which one individually you wish to scrape for metadata in each library, it does do it with a high degree of accuracy. It also manages to scrape this metadata for more than just your Movies and applies this also to your music collection and podcast collection too within the app. Metadata scraping via Plex Media Server also does not require any kind of log-in to these individual databases and is largely automated off the bat, with users being able to switch designated databases for each Media type and folder on the fly. Of course, this all doesn’t guarantee accuracy and will still always be based on the format and layout of your Media in many cases (tv shows listed as S01E01 for season 1, episode 1, etc), but nevertheless, it has to be said that with more available resources and less configuration required for each of them, that Plex Media Server has the broader and more likely to succeed position on metadata scraping.

Plex VS Synology Video Station – Playback and Transcoding

This is one of the most important parts of any media server in the grand scheme of things – multimedia playback and transcoding. This is typically the action of changing a media file into a version that is more acceptable to the client device that you are enjoying it on (TV, Phone, Console, etc). This extends to but is not limited to, changing the resolution, changing the bitrate, changing the file format and ultimately compressing a file into a smaller version in most cases. Because Plex and Synology Video Station are available on the same NAS system, it means that media variations with regard to codecs, compressions and file types will be equally supported at the default level. If a file can be played back in its original version on Plex, it can be played back on Synology Video Station. However, it is when these files need to be adapted with transcoding that we see clear distinctions between each of them. Transcoding is something that remote accessing client users will likely use without even realising it, as they might well be on a limited data connection (speed or coverage at the time) or using a smaller device (such as a phone) to playback a monster 4K 60FPS movie that is overkill on that hardware. So, transcoding is at its best when you do not notice it is being done OR it is adaptable in as many ways as possible to cover all your likely scenarios.

When the NAS needs to perform a transcode on a file on the fly (eg, so you need to convert a video file into a better-suited version for the client watching device upon request and without delay) it will typically do it with software transcoding or hardware transcoding. Software transcoding is when the system uses the raw resources of the CPU and memory inside the NAS to convert the file. Hardware transcoding is when the NAS system features a graphical component (such as embedded graphics featured on a CPU) or an available graphics card that is installed – as these are designed for handling video files and/or graphical manipulation tasks, and will therefore utilise considerably fewer resources. Plex Media Server only provides hardware transcoding in the paid subscription service Plex Pass and then needs to be enabled in the encoding section by selecting the option ‘make my CPU hurt’. Software transcoding is available for the free version of Plex Media Server but is far less efficient and will result in much higher-end Media in 4K and 1080p playback consuming the majority of hardware resources to transcode or will simply not play at all. 

Synology Video Station on the other hand, because it is a native first-party app, has full access to the hardware transcoding element of the NAS and therefore allows users to take advantage of it easily and immediately, and at no additional cost. This has been one of the driving forces behind the popularity of Synology Video Station application, as although the majority of NAS brands have their own video player, Synology is the only one that manages to merge the slick meta-data supported graphical user interface found in Plex but still manages to provide the free and unlimited limited access to the hardware resources you would expect after spending several $100s on a NAS. That said, the way that Synology handles the subject of transcoding in its user interface is a little peculiar, especially for users who are trying to balance the best possible playback vs the most appropriate transcoding level on the fly/manually. 

When you wish for the NAS system to transcode a file in the Video Station user interface, you are presented with the options for adjusting the picture quality to high, medium, low, very low, etc. This is exactly what one might expect from a brand that wants to consistently keep things as simple as possible, however, for those who want to select a specific quality level to playback the file or want a better idea of the best quality level in future should be for other files, this will be extraordinarily limiting. Plex Media Server on the other hand allows you to switch between an automatic transcode option that changes the file to the recommended quality level for the client and connection, or you can specifically switch one of numerous video quality levels that break down into both resolution and bitrate in several places. Overall, the ability for Video Station to be able to take advantage of hardware transcoding at no additional cost and with little or no intervention from the end-user is still ultimately the best thing here. I just wish they gave uses a better degree of control and choice as found in Plex Media Server.

Plex VS Synology Video Station – Client Support

Having a slick and well-performing media server is always good, but if you cannot watch the media inside it on the devices you regularly use, then it’s all a bit pointless. Most people are already well aware that the multimedia collections they have on a NAS can easily be streamed over the local area network via popular methods such as DLNA and UPnP (digital living network alliance and universal plug and play). However, they are much more file and folder, breadcrumb level streaming and in order to enjoy the pretty GUI of Plex and Synology Video Station, an official client app needs to be available on the respective app centre or made unofficially and manually installed. This is an area where Plex Media Server almost completely wins over Synology Video Station, as it simply cannot compete with the variety and accessibility of the Plex client availability in popular app centres. 

Full credit to Plex, they have really taken the time to make sure their platform is available on pretty much any modern device, in what multiple client or media server application forms. They also take the time after an official update of services and then push these updates across each available downloadable client. This is largely impossible for Synology to compete with and they instead opt for a much more targeted client support regime, supporting all modern mobile phone OS’, desktop operating systems and some of the major sofa accessible app centres on TVs and streamers like Amazon fire TV. In  8 out of 10 cases, your device will support both Plex and Synology Video Station, but this is by no means total and sometimes a hardware client (such as an off-brand Android phone, tablet or media box) that you hope to support Video Station will sadly not. 

It is once again worth mentioning that Synology separates different multimedia types towards their own individual client apps, for example, DS Audio or Audio Station for music and DS Photo for photography. Indeed, some of these apps are quite advanced with practically unique connectivity to the likes of Amazon Alexa (something currently impossible on any other NAS platform without a 3rd party application like ‘my-media’ Alexa skill. But this, unfortunately, does not make up for being truly overshadowed by the wider degree of support available on Plex across numerous clients and smart Home devices – though the latter does require a Plex Pass. For sheer volume of connectivity on the clients, Plex wins by an absolute landslide.

Plex VS Synology Video Station – Conclusion

Throughout this comparison of Plex Media Server and Synology Video Station, it has become abundantly clear that one tool is designed around being a Swiss army knife of features and functions, whilst the other performs a smaller but key range of services exceptionally well. Those who have been using Plex Media Server for a number of years are highly unlikely to make the jump to Synology Video Station, as it may feel less feature-rich and perhaps a tad bare-bones. However, those users who are new to the idea of private NAS based multimedia streaming would do very well to try out Synology Video Station first, as I genuinely believe when it comes to concentrating on video streaming services, it is genuinely one of the best platforms out there – albeit clearly restricted to just Synology NAS devices. Plex Media Server attempts to do many things in its pursuit of being the go-to media server of choice for those jumping ship from Netflix and succeeds in most cases, it is just worth remembering that in recent years the platform has perhaps tried to diversify a tad too much. 

PLEX MEDIA SERVER	Synology Video Station
Best for Mixed Media Best for Ease of Access on Client Hardware Best for Transcoding Control Best for Add On Services Best for Metadata Sources	Best for Price Best Performance for Transcoding Best for Ease of Use Best for Ease Setup Best for Updates & Firmware Revs

Thanks for reading and I hope this guide helps you choose the perfect multimedia server for streaming with your friends, family and colleagues. If you are still lost on the right NAS, multimedia software or ideal backup system for your needs, then take advantage of the free advice section below. This is a completely free and unbias service to help work out their ideal data storage solution for you. It is manned by my myself and EddieTheWebGuy, so although replies may take an extra day or so, we will answer your email and have your best interests in mind! Have a great week.

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Where is the Synology RS1224+ Rackstation?

Synology is arguably one of the most popular brands in the entire private server market, and once you then factor in the large number of small and medium-sized businesses migrating away from cloud services and onto their own private NAS, who have been flocking in their droves towards Synology, you can understand why they are something of a big deal. Almost 25 years, the brand has been producing numerous desktop and rackmount NAS solutions (alongside a bunch of other side hustles like routers, storage media, business surveillance tools, and more), but in particular, their growth in the rackmount market in the last 5 to 7 years has been genuinely impressive. Which brings us to the subject of today’s article, where the hell is the Synology RS1224+ RackStation NAS? There has been an undeniable shift in the home lab and small business community away from desktop NAS devices and towards small-scale rackmount solutions, and Synology’s recent releases have certainly capitalized on this, thanks to improved smaller-scale four and eight-bay rackmount servers appearing in their product portfolio.

This combined with changes in the baseline hardware of several of their more recent releases have led to many users looking for a very specific kind of Synology rackmount! It has to be compact, it has to be powerful, it has to be scalable, and it has to be reasonably priced – currently, Synology only provides one solution that fits the bill in every regard, the 2020/2021 released RS1221+, which, despite its merits, is still a system that is almost 3 years old, leading many to question the benefits of investing in a system that is perhaps not as cutting edge as the rest of Synology’s portfolio currently stands. The answer, of course? A refresh (something Synology tends to do with their portfolio every two to three years), which would be the Synology RS1224+. Today we want to discuss everything we know, confirm this unit is coming, the expectations we have, and whether it’s worth waiting for it.

Is the Synology RS1224+ Rackstation NAS ACTUALLY Coming? YES

Is the Synology RS1224+ NAS coming? Well, yes! As early as autumn 2023, we saw numerous references to the RS1224+ model ID floating around in the backend of firmware updates and accidentally left in product compatibility pages on official Synology sites. Equally, there was even a Synology RS1223+ model ID appearing in summer 2023, perhaps indicating that this system was designed to arrive earlier than it has. In more recent weeks, users have taken to digging into the latest Synology DSM firmware updates and finding further references towards the existence of a Synology RS1221 (along with a couple of powerhouse expandable rack mounts, and a series of expansion boxes).

None of this is unusual, and for those willing to put in the extra time, you can often find model IDs of upcoming devices if you know where to look. The crucial detail is that clearly a half-depth eight-bay rack mount is indeed on the way from Synology and given its formative mentions in summer 2023, and continued references in 2024, it would indicate that this is a system that Synology has already well featured on their roadmap and factored into their product portfolio.

If you want to play devil’s advocate, one might argue that this product is only a placeholder, a spreadsheet template item, or a hypothetical product that Synology just wants to enter in order to maintain its position in their database. Although that’s not impossible, realistically, there are simply too many references available at this point to deny that Synology is clearly rolling out a product of this hardware and model configuration. Equally, off-the-record discussions with Synology representatives further bolster this point. Ultimately, I think it’s undeniable that Synology is going to continue this product series, but that leads us to the next question: why are users so enamored with the release of the RS1224+?

Why Are Users Waiting for the Synology RS1224+ Rackmount NAS?

As I mentioned earlier, there has been a trend shift away from desktop devices for certain kinds of users. Home enthusiasts often find it considerably more convenient to purchase a small or even medium-sized rack cabinet to be kept somewhere on their property, which can be considerably more efficient for applying numerous rackmount servers than the alternative of utilizing desktop space filled with tower chassis devices. Equally, most businesses do not want to run their main backup or operation server in the same offices they work in and either wish to utilize a separate storage area on the premises or even a small area of physical storage off-site for network and remote personal cloud storage. Much like home lab users who do this for fun, business users can often see tremendous benefits in more modular and compact multi-rackmount devices compared with that of desktop.

However, this reasoning was also largely born out of the fact that right now devices and their physical scale have changed dramatically over the last few years. If you go back even as little as a decade ago, a rackmount device was considerably bigger in depth, much less power-efficient, considerably noisier, and was just generally a much more enterprise and industrial proposition. Thanks to growing efficiencies in server components, smaller but effective cooling systems being developed, and larger storage media allowing systems to occupy fewer storage bays for higher capacity, rackmount devices no longer need to be the big hulking metal monsters they once were, and these days you can pick up four and eight-bay rackmount servers quite easily and affordably. All of this has added up to why users would not only be positively in favor of the release of a new compact, but powerful rackmount NAS system, and why a system like the RS1224+ would be equally popular.

Synology has released several half-depth 30 cm rackmounts (and 40 cm dual power supply rackmounts) in the last few years, a great example being the Synology RS422+, a small, affordable rackmount that provides a decent base level of hardware but does lack the expandability of other devices in their portfolio. Equally, at the start of 2023, Synology rolled out several new medium and large business rackmount devices that provided tremendous power and scalability – but these systems were considerably larger, much more power-hungry, and several times more expensive than the older RS1221+. The perfect middle ground here is the Synology RS1224+, hence why users are sitting quite comfortably on the fence about every other device until they know whether this system is truly arriving and, when it does, what exactly its hardware caliber will be. Let’s discuss what we predict and what we comfortably know about the Synology RS1224+ hardware.

What Are the Estimated Hardware Specifications of the Synology RS1224+ NAS?

As I mentioned earlier, the Synology RS1224+ would not be a completely new and unique product series by the brand but would be a refresh of the existing compact eight-drive rackmount series that the brand has been working on now for more than 5 years. Alongside maintaining a clearly defined portfolio across the whole range of desktop and rackmount devices that they provide, Synology also takes special care to make sure there is not too much overlap when it comes to all of their solutions. Typically when you look at the Synology portfolio, you find that solutions tend to be between $50 and $100 difference in price, and each solution takes that extra bit of investment and puts it into internal performance, total storage, or network connectivity. That also means that products in the Synology portfolio have a tendency to use a small group of CPU and memory combinations and then spread them across a variety of different storage scale devices. This all adds up to us being fairly confident in predicting the internal hardware that the RS1224+ arrives with.

The previous generation arrived with an AMD V1500B quad-core x86 CPU, but Synology has slowly started refreshing all devices with this CPU from the 2019 and 2020 generation towards the new AMD embedded Ryzen V1780B processor. Alongside a higher base clock speed, this is also a more capable CPU, though it does still arrive in the same V1000 product family from AMD. The Synology RS1224+ will definitely arrive with this CPU, as the company has already started rolling it out in their Plus series rackmount, as well as the system definitely arriving with ECC memory. ECC memory has been provided with every single Plus series rackmount that Synology has rolled out in the last 5 years and the RS1224+ will be no exception to this. However, it is still yet to be seen whether the system will arrive with 2GB, 4GB, or 8GB, as Synology has been scaling up the base level of default memory on their systems in the most recent generation refreshes. The rest of the system architecture is fairly easy to predict, with the exception of the network connectivity (more on that in a moment), but below is the expected specifications of the Synology RS1224+ RackStation:

Specification	Detail
Model	Synology RS1224+ NAS
Price	$(TBC)*
Form Factor	Half-depth / 2U RackStation
CPU	AMD Ryzen Embedded V1780B*
CPU Details	4-Core/8-Thread, 3.35GHz
Memory	8-32GB DDR4 UDIMM ECC
Storage Bays	8x SATA 3.5″/2.5″ (Add 4x More drives with the RX Expansion)
Networking	1x 10GbE Copper (10GBASE-T)*
Expansion Slots	1x PCIe Gen 3×8
LAN Ports	2x / 4x RJ45 1GbE LAN*
Expansion Port	1x eSATA
USB Ports	2x USB 3.2 GEN 1 (5Gb/s)
Dimensions	88 mm x 482 mm x 306.6 mm
Dimensions (RP Version)	88 mm x 482 mm x 407.5 mm
Warranty	3-Year Warranty (5yr Opt)
Additional Notes	*massively TBC!!!

There is, however, one area of ambiguity that is still present in the specifications of the Synology RS1224+, the default network connectivity! The system will definitely arrive with at least a couple of 1GbE network ports and will definitely provide a PCIe 3 x8 slot in order to upgrade network connectivity and add combo cards later in the system’s life if needed.

However, what about 10GbE? At the tail end of 2023, Synology saw the release of the Synology RS2423+, a similarly hardware-designed Plus series RackStation solution, that was fully expected to arrive with gigabit networking only. However, when it arrived, Synology provided a 10GBase-T networking port by default (not via a PCIe upgrade, but as standard). Now, this is a 12x HDD system, so there is more than enough media to fully saturate a 10GbE network connection. However, this did not stop Synology in the previous four generations of that RackStation product series from only providing 1GbE by default, so why the change now?

Synology has faced growing criticism from prosumers and small business users for their rather restricted default network connections, limiting the majority of solutions to either 1GbE in their standard class and 10GbE in the power user and enterprise models. Many users have raised questions about Synology perhaps utilizing 2.5 gigabit Ethernet network connections, as used by a majority of their competitors. Others would state that 2.5GbE is something of a technological fad, and 10GbE is the only natural path to go down, so that does bring into question allocating lanes internally to this network bandwidth. The reason I bring the whole thing up is simply that if Synology changed its position on 10GbE on the 12-bay RackStation, it is totally believable to think that they would do so on the Synology RS1224+. Plus, as this is still an eight-bay system and that too could fully saturate a 10GbE even with hard drives, not just SSD. This is still a lingering question on this system and one that we probably won’t know the answer to until launch, but nevertheless, I think there is enough evidence here for us to wonder if Synology will do the right thing and roll this system out the gate with 10G.

When Do I Think the Synology RS1224+ Rackstation Will Be Released?

Given that the model ID of the RS1224+ and RS1224rp+ both arrive with the ’24’ suffix, that typically means that Synology will roll this system out in the first 6 months of 2024. That is still quite a wide and broad remit for a release date, but typically Synology tends to roll out business and enterprise-grade solutions in the first quarter of the year (based on previous experience and other releases we have observed). Nevertheless, at the time of writing in February 2024, we are making our way into the halfway point of the first quarter of 2024, so Synology would be cutting it quite fine, and we have yet to even see provisional leaks of this system via the usual supply chain and compatibility listings to the degree that we normally would prior to a launch. With regards to pricing, that is one area where Synology tends to be thankfully incredibly consistent, and you can fully expect the RS1224+ to match the $999 to $1199 price tag of its predecessor. Stay tuned to NAS Compares as we keep an eye out for this system and discuss whether it deserves your data.

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Need Advice on Data Storage from an Expert?

Finally, for free advice about your setup, just leave a message in the comments below here at NASCompares.com and we will get back to you. Need Help? Where possible (and where appropriate) please provide as much information about your requirements, as then I can arrange the best answer and solution to your needs. Do not worry about your e-mail address being required, it will NOT be used in a mailing list and will NOT be used in any way other than to respond to your enquiry. [contact-form-7] TRY CHAT Terms and Conditions   Alternatively, why not ask me on the ASK NASCompares forum, by clicking the button below. This is a community hub that serves as a place that I can answer your question, chew the fat, share new release information and even get corrections posted. I will always get around to answering ALL queries, but as a one-man operation, I cannot promise speed! So by sharing your query in the ASK NASCompares section below, you can get a better range of solutions and suggestions, alongside my own.

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