Designed for personal cloud storage, the Synology DiskStation DS218j ($169.99) is a stylish two-drive network attached storage (NAS) device that offers lots of third-party apps and a user-friendly management console. Despite its relatively affordable price, you can configure it to act as a cloud server, a media server, an IP camera surveillance station, and a full-featured backup solution with multiple RAID options. It's also easy to install and uses Synology's intuitive DiskStation Manager operating system. An App for Everything With the same sleek glossy white enclosure as the DS216j that we reviewed back in 2016, the DS218j measures 6.5 by 3.9 by 8.9 inches (HWD). It has four LED status indicators on the front for system status, drive activity, and LAN activity. Below these indicators is a power switch, and around back are two USB 3.0 ports, a gigabit LAN port, a reset button, and a power jack. Powered by a 1.3GHz dual-core processor and 512MB of DDR3 memory, the DS218j can...
The Synology DiskStation DS218j is an excellent entry-level two-bay NAS device that's supported by a bevy of management options and third-party apps.
Very easy to install and manage; Robust apps; Stylish design; Reasonably priced
Middling file-transfer performance in testing; Does not come with hard drives