The front of the DS925+. Photo: Synology.
Synology says that its newly launched four-bay DiskStation DS925+ is designed “for professionals and businesses seeking high performance and reliable data management”. Pair it together with the new DX525 expansion unit, and you get a nine-bay device that takes your storage pool from 80TB up to 180TB.
Like all NAS devices, you can store, sync, access, and share data from any device, wherever you are. This allows you to work between different platforms and devices, and access your files through mobile apps, desktop clients, and a browser.
It comes powered by a four-core AMD Ryzen V1500B, 4GB of DDR4 memory, and 4GB of storage, with an additional two M.2 slots that can be used for either an all-flash storage pools or as cache to accelerate hard drive arrays. There are also two RJ-45 2.5GbE LAN ports, two USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports, and one USB-C port (unfortunately there is no further documentation about the port provided by Synology).
Synology says that this all results in performance gains with preconfigured settings compared to its predecessor (the DS923+), including 149% faster Server Message Block (SMB) downloads, 150% faster uploads, 131% faster reads, and 150% faster writes.
Synology drive locked?
The rear of the DS925+. Photo: Synology.
One recent point of concern for Synology users has been an announcement from the company a few weeks ago where it announced that it would be “relying on Synology's own storage media for the Plus series models to be released from 2025. As a result, users will benefit from higher performance, increased reliability, and more efficient support.” Using non-Synology branded drives would result in your NAS device failing to continue to create storage pools and lose volume-wide deduplication, and lifespan analysis.
Indeed, Synology says that “to ensure optimal integration and long-term dependability, DiskStation Manager (DSM) on the DS925+ requires compatible hard drives for installation”.
As mentioned in reports, Synology doesn't manufacture its own drives but packages and markets them from manufacturers, including Toshiba and Seagate, sometimes at higher prices.
We reached out to the company for a comment and Synology replied saying that this policy is not retroactive and will not affect existing systems and new installations of already released models. However, while drive migrations from older systems are supported, they will come with certain limitations.
The company added, “Synology's storage systems have been transitioning to a more appliance-like business model. Starting with the 25-series, DSM will implement a new Hard Disk Drive (HDD) compatibility policy in accordance with the published Product Compatibility List. Only listed HDDs are supported for new system installations.”
This has also caused concern amongst our forum members with some saying that they plan to move away from Synology NAS devices.
Moving forward, this could mean reduced choice and increased cost for customers, or at the very least, increased compatibility testing for HDD manufacturers as they try to keep up with any changes Synology introduces. Let’s hope this cost isn’t passed down to us.
Pricing and availability
The Synology DiskStation DS925+ is priced at S$899 and can be bought from Synology’s online stores on Lazada, Shopee, and online partner TechYard. For those interested, there is also a list of Synology partners and resellers available here.
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