Synology DiskStation DS218play

Barebone Server 2-bay NAS with 4K transcoder

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Manage your multimedia library with the NASSynology DiskStation DS218play. This 2-bay model will be able to stream 4K Ultra HD source content in real time. It is powered by a Realtek Quad-Core processor with 1GB of DDR4 RAM.

Barebone Server 2-bay NAS with 4K transcoder

Overview

DS218play: A versatile storage server


Manage your media library with the Synology DiskStation DS218play NAS server. This 2-bay model will be able to performreal-time transcoding of 4K Ultra HD source content . It features a Realtek Quad-Core processor with 1GB DDR4 RAM. Get two USB 3.0 ports, one Gigabit Ethernet port, ext4 file storage, and an efficient sync and backup solution. In addition, a 2-year Synology limited warranty is included.

Protect Your Data with Excellent Performance


The Synology DiskStation DS218play is designed for small businesses looking for a compact yet powerful shared storage solution. Powered by a Realtek quad-core processor and 1GB DDR4 RAM, the DS218play offers an average read speed of 112.83MB/s and 112.1MB/s write speed, and an encrypted data transmission of 112.29MB/s read and 111.15MB/s write in RAID 1 configuration and Windows environment.

The DS218play features a hot-swappable hard drive tray design that allows for easy installation and maintenance on 3.5-inch hard drives without additional tools. A front-panel, brightness-adjustable LED with programmable control allows it to be configured to best suit your environment.

4K UHD Multimedia Bank


DiskStation DS218play features real-time and simultaneous transcoding of up to 2 channels of 4K H.264/H.265 video for enhanced support of the latest media formats and content. With Video Station, you can organize your personal digital video library with complete multimedia information and watch movies in 4K Ultra HD.

Photo Station 's intuitive design allows you to effortlessly organize photos into custom categories, smart albums, and blog posts, and link them to social networking websites with a few clicks. Audio Station comes with support for Internet radio and lossless audio formats, and allows you to listen to music via DLNA and AirPlay compatible devices.

Comprehensive business applications


Running under the innovative Synology DiskStation Manager (DSM) , the DS218play comes with applications and features designed for businesses:
  • Easy integration into existing corporate network environments via Windows AD and LDAP directory services without having to recreate user accounts.
  • Windows ACL provides flexible access control and efficient privilege setting, allowing the DS218play to integrate seamlessly with existing infrastructure.
  • Accessing files via the Internet is simplified by the encrypted FTP server and web-based file explorer, Synology File Station. The support of HTTPS, firewall, and IP auto-blocking ensures file sharing over the Internet with the highest level of security.
  • Synology Cloud Station allows users to sync files between multiple devices, including Windows PC, Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android tablets or phones, keeping files up-to-date.

Easy Backup Solutions


With block-level incremental backup and cross-version deduplication, Synology Hyper Backup is able to provide multi-version backup with optimized storage utilization and allows for multiple backup destinations on local shared folders, external hard drives, shared folders on a network, rsync servers, and public cloud services.

Synology High Availability Manager provides seamless transition between clustered servers in case of server failure with minimal impact on applications to reduce the risk of unexpected downtime and costly downtime.

Easy File Access with QuickConnect


Access the files on your Synology NAS over the Internet without the headache of setting up port forwarding rules, DDNS, or other complicated network settings. QuickConnect allows you to connect via a simple customizable address to instantly access media and work files on any Windows/Mac/Linux computer, laptop, or mobile device at no extra cost.

Synology provides mobile apps that allow you to enjoy the full variety of media library on the go. Available on iOS, Android, and Windows Phone platforms, DS photo, DS audio, DS video, and DS file allow you to mobilize your Photo Station, Audio Station, Video Station, and File Station by putting terabytes of media content at your fingertips. In addition, DS get allows you to remotely manage and monitor your download tasks from anywhere at any time.

Green design


The Synology DS218play is designed and developed to limit power consumption. Compared with equivalent average storage servers, the DS218play consumes only 16.79W in regular operation. Wake on LAN/WAN support and scheduled start/stop further reduce power consumption and operating costs. HDD hibernation can be configured to take effect automatically when the system has been idle for a specified period of time. This not only saves power but also extends the life of the hard drives.

All Synology products are created from RoHS compliant parts and packaged with recyclable materials. Synology takes its responsibility as a global citizen by striving to reduce the impact of each of its products on the environment.

Key Features :

  • Quad-Core Realtek Processor
  • Encryption performance in excess of 112.83MB/s read and 112.1MB/s write
  • On-the-fly H.264/H.265 4Kvideo transcoding
  • DLNA certified for media streaming
  • Runs on Synology DiskStation Manager(DSM)
  • Hot-swap hard drive tray design for easy installation and maintenance
  • LED Indicators Brightness-adjustable front LEDs with programmable control
  • A Versatile Storage Server for Small Business
Specifications
Select your criteria

General information

Product name

Synology DiskStation DS218play

Brand

Synology

Model

DS218PLAY

Processor

CPU frequency

1.4 GHz

Memory size

1 GB

Memory type

DDR4

Network

Network standard(s)

10/100/1000 Mbps

Network connector(s)

1 X Gigabit Ethernet - RJ45 Female

Wake On LAN

Yes

DLNA certification

Yes

Storage

Capacity

0 GB

Internal interface

2 X Serial ATA 6Gb/s (SATA Revision 3)

Hard drive format

2" 1/2
3" 1/2

Hard drive

Without hard drive

Number of discs

0

Max number of discs

2

RAID supported

Yes

Supported RAID Modes

0
1
JBOD

File system

NTFS
HFS+
Ext4
Ext3

Connector(s)

2 X USB 3.0

Compatibility

Server functions

FTP
Printing
Photo
Web
iTunes
Video surveillance
Multimedia

Windows ADS

Yes

iSCSI (SCSI encapsulation)

Yes

Download without PC

Yes

Scalable

Yes

Physical characteristics

Rackable

No

Sound level

19.9 dB

Consumption

16.79 W

Width

100 mm

Height

165 mm

Depth

225.5 mm

Weight

0.87 kg

Warranties

Commercial warranty

Seller 3 years

Legal warranty

See terms & conditions

Product referenced on 27 Oct 2017

Customer reviews
  • 76%
    25 reviews
  • 15%
    5 reviews
  • 3%
    1 review
  • 3%
    1 review
  • 3%
    1 review
  • by DidierM
    Posted on 14 Jan 2024
    Product bought from LDLC on 15 Dec 2022
    Number of reviews: 7 Average rating: 10

    Fine

    With this NAS I was able to recycle my old 500GB HDDs. Easy to install and intuitive to set up. The updates are very simple to perform and monitoring is regular. The performance is good for the price of the device.
    I bought it from the ldlc shop in Orléans, very friendly and professional.
    Thank you ldlc.

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  • by Bruno A
    Posted on 18 Dec 2022
    Product bought from LDLC on 9 Apr 2018
    Number of reviews: 1 Average rating: 10

    Very good NAS, I recommend

    I have a DS215j model, which is very good, but sluggish when the load increases. So I bought this higher end model and am very happy with it. Each is installed in a remote location and both synchronise via the internet.
    The product is good, the applications and the documentation too. A bit technical when you want to synchronize, but the Synology help pages are well done.
    My advice: if you can afford it, buy the top of the range (+ series, like the DS220+), you will avoid the slowness that occurs when the load increases on the "j", "play" and "no mention" ranges. The same goes for the disk capacity: as it works well and avoids having disks all over the place, you tend to store everything on it. So my advice would be to buy large capacity disks, not necessarily the maximum (16 GB I think), to avoid having to change them quickly. I was disappointed with the WD NASware drives, although they were designed for NAS, I switched to Toshiba drives recently, let's wait and see how they hold up over time.
    I recommend this NAS and the Synology NAS range in general.

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  • by nicolasW
    Posted on 6 Apr 2022
    Product bought from LDLC on 29 Jan 2020
    Number of reviews: 1 Average rating: 4

    Barely 2 years of life ...

    I had bought this device here because I had already had two other models in the para before (a ds 216 se and a ds 218 play). The 1st one having given up after 2 months and the following one that I got after many discounts at the SAV of another company that had disappointed me, I decided to buy the same one at LDLC because of their quality. The result is that after 2 years of service, the device is slowly giving up on me (slow execution, interface that time out, no access from outside my house, cascading errors, ...). I'm not sure if it's the best quality, but I'm not sure if it's the best quality, but I'm not sure if it's the best quality, but I'm not sure if it's the best quality. And if they are the best in quality what is the quality of other brands on the market! I'm disappointed and I'm not ready to buy a server from them again.

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  • by DavidA
    Posted on 6 Jan 2022
    Product bought from LDLC on 25 Nov 2021
    Number of reviews: 1 Average rating: 10

    Good product

    Use in the context of a VSE;
    No worries about setting up. Smooth, simple and low-noise operation

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  • by Gael R
    Posted on 20 Jul 2021
    Product bought from LDLC on 21 Jun 2021
    Number of reviews: 14 Average rating: 8

    ideal as a multimedia base

    This NAS is really convenient to use live or remotely.
    It's best to have fibre to take full advantage of the optimum copy speeds.
    The apps are well diversified to offer a complete private platform.

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