Product Comparison: QNAP TS-228A vs Synology DS218play

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QNAP TS-228A 2-Bay Desktop NAS Enclosure

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Synology DS218play 2-Bay Desktop NAS Enclosure

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General Specifications

Brand

QNAP

Synology

Model

TS-228A

DS218play

Origin

China

Taiwan

About the Product

Equipped with a Realtek RTD1295 quad-core processor, the TS-228A provides home users with powerful features including snapshot-based backup, file synchronization, and private cloud services. The TS-228A is also a one-stop home entertainment portal for streaming photos, music, and videos to multiple devices throughout your home and beyond.

Synology DiskStation DS218play is a feature rich, two-bay tower equipped with a 64-bit quad-core processor. Designed for multimedia enthusiasts, DS218play provides smooth streaming experience to your TV, smartphone, and media players no matter you're at home or on-the-go.

Key Specs

Hard Drive Capacity

24 TB

32 TB

Number Of Slots

2 -bay

Storage Drive Type

3.5”, 2.5”, SATA 6Gb/s, SATA 3Gb/s

2.5”, 3.5”, SSD

Hard Drive Capacity
Number Of Slots

What customers say about "Key Specs"

QNAP TS-228A 2-Bay Desktop NAS Enclosure

I use a larger-capacity one of these at work and it works great so I decided to buy one of these for home and it fits the exact need a backing of files that you never want to lose
Keep in mind that this is an “entry level” NAS, so it’s not going to have a ton of processing overhead or RAM.
Holds 2 drives. Connects easily to wifi. Seems reliable.
Worked for 5 weeks, then completely dead. I used new Seagate drives and had this plugged in to an APC UPS.
I bought 2-2 TB hard drives one for the location and the other for mirroring for security purposes like if the 1st hard drive fails.

Synology DS218play 2-Bay Desktop NAS Enclosure

For a 2 bay NAS this is a great little box.
Looks like it works well, it's quick and a reasonable price.
This is a great device and has worked well for me so far.
2-Bay NAS devices are not ideal, with you losing half the storage to the parity drive.
The installation and configuration are not very straight forward. It basically has its own operating system and is not very intuitive.

Size & Weight

Color

White

Black

Height

7.4 in.

6.5 in.

Width

3.5 in.

3.94 in.

Depth

4.9 in.

8.88 in.

Weight

3.4 lbs.

1.92 lbs.

Features

CPU

Realtek RTD1295

Realtek RTD1296

RAM

1 GB

RAID Support

RAID 0, RAID 1, JBOD, Single

RAID 0, RAID 1, JBOD, Basic, Synology Hybrid RAID

Extras

LED Indicators, GDPR Compliant, Hybrid Backup Sync, 3 multimedia "stations"

SSD TRIM, Hardware Encryption Engine, Brightness Adjustable Front LED Indicators, Wake on LAN / WAN

Included Software

Qsync, myQNAPcloud, Helpdesk, Hybrid Backup Sync, Qcontactz, Notes Station 3, Download Station, iSCSI

iSCSI, Download Station, QuickConnect, Cloud Backup Station, Video Station, Music Station

What customers say about "Features"

QNAP TS-228A 2-Bay Desktop NAS Enclosure

Qnap Customer service is great through facebook.
I set this to RAID 10 with enterprise SATA drives in it and I am getting transfer speeds of 85MB per second. This is seriously a game changer for my clients that fall somewhere between being too small for a server but to robust for cloud storage.
We use the backup sync feature to backup into OneDrive, we use the VPN to work remotely, we iPad and android apps to cast files to a display.
As a NAS I expect to be able to choose RAID levels and filesystems. QNAP does not allow anything other than EXT4, citing performance.
The platform is completely locked down and although it advertises linux installation as a feature it is only on top of the base install, not in place of.

Synology DS218play 2-Bay Desktop NAS Enclosure

I'm really impressed with the software available for this device although I've not used many to date.
Very quick to respond when accessing or downloading files.
Pretty quiet and usefue photo management and other widgets.
Installation is a breeze. Software is totally reliable and relatively easy to use.
The capabilities of this thing far exceed what I need and I'm usually a demanding user.

Interfaces

LAN Speed

1000 Mbps

Number of LAN

Number of USB

eSATA

HDMI

What customers say about "Interfaces"

QNAP TS-228A 2-Bay Desktop NAS Enclosure

I'm satisfied with that. It replaces 2 USB enclosures that I had connected to the computer in my office area.
Having said that, the installation of a couple of hard disks and the connection to a home network was uneventful.
Got everything set-up and working over a WiFi ac connected laptop.
Support is slow and not terribly helpful. Connectivity is spotty.
Second GigaEthernet Port faulty in less than a year, can only connect at 100Mbps.

Synology DS218play 2-Bay Desktop NAS Enclosure

Very quiet - runs in a bedroom wardrobe no problem. Gigabit network is very helpful.
The Synology interface is very easy to use and configure. Great connectivity options.
This is simple to set up. Nearly 'plug n play'.
Has a ton of features and configuration is very easy. Great number of USB connectors.
Simple and stable connection via USB port.

Warranty / Certifications

Manufacturer Warranty

2 year(s)

Certifications

CE, FCC

Other Information

Manufacturer

Link

Manual

Download