DS725+ Expandable NAS Storage - Private Cloud for Home and Small Business (2-Bay Diskless NAS)

I use these more for NVR Camera systems. Now that Synology has stopped stunt with forcing you to use expensive synology drives, this system works great. I already had two WD Red drives and they fired right up. The other thing that's good about Synology Camera system is they use almost any brand of camera, as long as the camera uses the industry standard ONVIF. I used this system to replace a 10 year old HikVision NVR which only worked on Internet Explorer. Almost all Synology systems come with a 2 camera free license, so to add more cameras runs about $50/camera one time license fee. As to the DS725+, this is one of the best values for the money Synology has. It's small, and for a NVR system, two disks in mirror mode provides enough backup to keep the system going for a while. It's using very little power compared to the older HikVision system and the DS725+ understands a much newer [H.265 and H.265+] standard. So I'm using less local bandwidth and saving on storage space while getting a clearer picture.

Unfortunately Synology DS NAS's quality and support are not what they use to be. I have owned and installed DS415, DS416, DS718, DS920, DS923 over the last decade. I ran into problems with the new DS725+ as DSM would not create a Storage Pool after many attempts (over 2 days) and two phone calls with Synology including an escalated Ticket. I wound up myself self diagnosing the problem before Tech Support followed up with an email that asked for the same information that I provided verbally to two prior Tech Support personnel ... waste of my time. The Change in October, 2025 by Synology's CEO to allow you to use disk other than Synology is not really endorsed by Synology despite what was communicated in the Press. I installed previously installed HGST NAS drives that worked in older Synology systems successfully even though Synology has a big warning label telling you the disk are not compatible with the DS725+ which means Synology is not supporting the HGST disk drives - the company they bought to now sell their own (Synology) NAS drives. After I installed HGST NAS Drives in DS725+ successfully, I was able to upgrade to Western Digital Purple drives (that previously kept stating Storage Pool error messages). Ironically WD Purple drives were recommended by Synology when I called support years ago. I do not know what is going on at Synology, but they appear to be falling on their own sword. I would recommend for the future you avoid Synology (believe me I have been a big fan over the last decade and recommended their equipment to small and mid-sized businesses and personal home users) however the problems they created themselves plus the additional quality problems with little to no service is not a recipe for a happy relationship with your NAS provider. Hope this helps.

Synology is a great NAS for personal and small business use, despite their recent attempt at drive restrictions. I have a competitors NAS running UGOS, and there is no comparison. DSM is much better, even running on lesser hardware. I picked up the DS725+ as a backup for my DS1522+. And also to run some additional containers & VM's. It performs great as expected. Is it possible that Synology pulls their drive restriction nonsense again? Yes. Would I prefer to be able to bring my own drives? Absolutely. Would a drive restriction deter me from buying another Synology? Not unless their competitors catch up with features and performance.

Perfect for my surveillance needs. Synology is a go to for me.

I have tried other servers and realized I don't have the time to noodle with the OS. Synology makes it so easy to set up the server and when you are upgrading from one Synology to the next it is an easy migration without any concerns. Compared to other servers, Synology is more expensive but I have found that the OS is what you are really paying for. One criticism I have is that this NAS should include a minimum of 16GB ram based on the OS. It's a little annoying that it includes 4gb and I would need to buy additional ram at this price point. Similar setups include higher ram and better specs at a lower price. If I had the time to noodle around with 3rd party OS I would shift to another brand.

The NAS station exceeded my expectations. The software is really nice, and it performs very well. The 2.5 Gbit connection gets fully loaded, so it is maxing out the line speed.

I've deployed at least a dozen previous versions of this device before and loved them. I didn't realized they have started restricting you to use their own brand HDD until I'd purchased this one. The two WD Red disks I purchased get locked out and cannot be used. Just ridiculous. Don't buy this unless they change their restrictions.

Great NAS!

Pour un néophyte, l'installation et le déploiement sur les différents terminaux est un peu complexe mais une fois tout mis en place, c'est d'usage très fluide et intuitif. La complexité vient en partie de la variété des réglages et des choix possibles, contrepartie des usages disponibles. Le NAS fonctionne aussi bien avec Windows qu'avec IOS sur PC, tablette et téléphone. De nombreuses applications disponibles gratuitement. La migration d'un DS718+ vers un DS725+ a été rapide et sans problème, une fois les disques recopiés. Les données sont sécurisées via le QuickConnect. Enfin, la documentation de Synology est abondante pour traiter tous les aspects et toutes les fonctionnalités.