Synology J series

Jus to hard – this system is so hard to set up and has not real instructions, NOT user friendly. Do not buy

Android software doesn't work – DS Photo is absolutely unreliable and renders the main purpose of me buying the DS 119 entirely unfulfilled. Very disappointed. The upload is slow and the indexing takes an eternity, so overall a bad experience.

Horrible user experience – Here is some of Synology's marketing of the DS220j: "entry level NAS" "intuitive data protection" "easily back up computer data" "with just a few clicks" . As someone with no time or interest in learning IT administration, I purchased the DS220 because of such claims. The reality is very different, as per an earlier review. Hardware seems good, but software & documentation let it down. Apparently everything is possible, but no clear guidance on any one objective. There are dozens of different apps for slightly different things, explained in jargon. No diagrams. Very confusing. Eventually, I thought I'd got it working to satisfy my relatively simple needs, but there are bugs that prevent some features from working. With the result that you might think you've secured all your data, but you have NOT. Synology points the finger at Windows for a bug, which is probably true but they still advertise the feature. Customer support response time is relatively OK (2-3 days), but thus far not very good at supporting the non-expert customer. After months, still don't have reliable data duplication.

Silent, secure, reliable, not for the faint hearted – The Synology DS218J is a consumer grade storage device, perfect for the home user or very small business. It is fast, silent, and efficient at syncing files. A range of setup options are available so pretty much all needs can be met whether that is to maximise storage or space. The default is RAID striping which should suit most home users. Being able to backup and retrieve files using the 'Cloud Station Backup' application allows mobile access to all of your data.

On the down side, it is not for the faint hearted. If you've never worked with NAS devices you will be in for a steep learning curve - but it's worth the trouble. There is an immense range of software options, all of which have regular security and management updates and are many are free of charge. The DS218J also looks after its own firmware upgrades so overall security is excellent.

The three stars is because I feel it should have a basic set of backup software preinstalled so the average home user doesn't need to spend a lot of time getting the device connected and operational. Overall though, for the price this is a very solid unit and I would certainly recommend it for someone with a little experience in such things.

Failed after a few weeks – While Synology has a good reputation, I'm sorry to report that the DS119j failed 5 or 6 weeks after being purchased and set up. There didn't seem to be any reason for it, one day it just had the "flashing blue light of death." Two long support tickets with the retailer and Synology ensued, and the unit is now back at the retailer being "assessed". (Synology support were more helpful than the retailer has been so far and agreed to replace it, but I would have had to post it to Taiwan.) Frankly, it's not been worth the hassle for what should have been a simple network storage solution.