Pros: Software, software, software! That's what makes this NAS as great as it is. So yeah, the software is top notch which is a pleasant surprise when dealing with a product like this. Usually you get stuck with clunky, non intuitive software when you start dealing with network devices like this one but such is not the case here. The UI is well thought out and there are plenty of features available for the power users while not being overly complicated to the average user. This creates a different atmosphere then what many network admins may be used to when dealing with this device, but that is not to say it is bad. Honestly it is refreshing for a change and I suspect even the home user will appreciate the thought that went into the software design. Moving on from the software, I feel the need to praise the hardware itself. Before I even start, let me say that the average component quality of most consumer electronics are just that...average. Average is something that I have come to live with when it comes to the components typically used in your low to mid level electronics. Heck, even some upper end devices (im looking at you DVR's) have some of the lowest quality components that you could possibly use and this is always reflected in stability and longevity. The surprise that I got when I took the cover off of the DS1512+ was almost pure shock. In place of the usual capacitors that pop after a couple thousand hours I was greeted with solid state caps. In place of 5 pounds of plastic I got metal. Where you normally see some Chinese knockoff power supply you see a SeaSonic 80+ Bronze certified unit. Overall, the entire unit in and out is built like an 800+ dollar unit as opposed to the all too common looks good on the outside but is pure junk on the inside. The Synology DS1512+ has a very ample amount of processing power and shows no hesitation no matter what I request it to do. It runs very quiet and is almost inaudible to my ears. Granted I don't mind noise as much as many others might but this unit does not disturb my sleep at all. The unit comes packaged well and is a piece of cake to set up. Simply download the latest DSM from Synology's website and use the Synology Assistant to install it on the unit. In 10 minutes or less your unit is ready to set up the array of your choosing.

Cons: As with every device there will always be pet peeves. I have installed seven or so Synology NAS products for various customers and one of the biggest annoyances is the start up time. Depending on the unit, start up can take seven minutes or more. This is not enough to get too upset over since I understand it is a computer and will take some time to become ready to use. Another con is the power led. In a data closet its not an issue but in a bedroom that blue led will shine like the brightest star in the night sky. Its a minor issue that can be solved with a very small piece of electrical tape but it would be great if that light could be disabled. The locks for the drive trays are going to stop no one determined to take the drives. This holds true for most things though and it should be locked in a data closet if you need that kind of security. Don't rely on the plastic locking thing to keep anything but the honest people honest.

Overall Review: After installing a few Synology products for some of my customers I decided to get one for the house and I do not regret it at all. As far as money spent, sure it was a lot but it was worth it for what I got. I am the person who would usually build a freenas box for myself but after using this unit I am completely fine with having not taken that path. This unit comes with 1GB of ram and can be upgraded to 3GB without voiding the warranty of the unit. The specifications for the ram are sort of specific so I figured I would include what ram I used so that others can be sure they are getting something that will work with this unit. I used Kingston KVR1066D3S8S7/2G with successful results. I also went ahead and upgraded the two 80mm fans that come with the unit. The fans that are included are not bad fans its just that I wanted something a tad more silent and what I thought to be a much more reliable fan. I ended up swapping two 80mm Noctua fans in the unit and they work beautifully. If you are looking for a powerful NAS that is built well, has a great feature set and will serve you well for many years then look no further. This is the company to get it from. *I used 5 3TB Western Digital RED drives. They perform great in my raid 6 array.*

Pros: Great software, flexible, fast, wide range of options, expandable. Hands down the best! Supports migration from older/smaller models!

Cons: Price - But you get what you pay for.

Overall Review: I had an old DS410, was concerned about migrating. Figured I'd have to just re-setup and copy over files, etc. NO, not the case at all! They have a migration path from smaller models to this one. AWESOME. Created a backup to external drive, just in case. Turn off both Diskstation's. Then pulled drives directly out of my 4 bay model. (Important!: Keep drive order!) Put them in the same drive order as they were in the older model (bays 1-4). Turn on the new DS Box. Bring up Synology assistant and it immediately see's it and in status column you should see "migratable" for your new DS1512+ It will startup the install wizard and have you install the DS1512+ version of DSM. It will then install and migrate over most settings. - NOTE: it will not copy applications. You will need to re-setup any apps.. Was going to have to anyway, so worked out very well! Save me hours/days of moving over! Thanks Synology! Awesome job!

Pros: This thing rocks. Out of the box ISCSI, shares, and packages are a snap! It runs on a linux kernel so you can pretty much put anything on it. I setup JAVA, ipkg, SVN, and Crashplan using the linux environment. This is a very powerful little package. Does not take up much room. It works great in a home or an office. It has 2 x 1GB ethernet ports that can be merged with LACP. As with any RAID environment, expanding or rebuilding with large disks can take a long time. I've been extremely happy with this purchase. The DSM 4 also has a drop-box style feature and push notifications when something goes wrong. This model also has USB 3.0 and eSATA for external devices.

Cons: At $800-900 with no drives, it's not the cheapest.

Overall Review: You might be able to build one yourself, but with the features, size, and power usage, this thing is unbeatable!

Pros: Awesome user interface! Awesome speed (I upgraded the RAM on mine to 3Gb)! Awesome apps to be able to control your server. I set mines up to be able to just log in from anywhere online. Its awesome, the server let you make a domain like "DiskStationRocks.myDS.me"... you type that into the address bar of a web browser and presto you're connected your server remotely with all of the user functionality of being right there in your own home!! WOW! I have hundred of 1080p mp4 movies rips and over 150k songs, plus thousands of pictures. I use the PS3, Xbox, WD Live TV, iPhone, laptop, PC, and iPad to connect to the server and get my media. Works FLAWLESSLY!! I only wanted this thing as a giant media server (setup with 5 3tb WD Red Nas HDD's in a RAID 5 array). It is AWESOME! Up until now I was using the old WD Sharespace. But this thing is WAYYY better. LANSpeedtest had me at an avg write speed of 186.97Mb and and avg Read speed of 454.98Mb!! Look no further. This is the NAS for you! Plus its future proof as you can simply add upto two expansion modules for a total of 15 drives!!! AWESOME! AWESOME!! AWESOME!!!

Cons: NONE

Pros: The unit is sleek and is a very budget friendly solution for smaller businesses as opposed to purchasing a new server with a copy of Windows Server and the appropriate licenses. If used mostly as a fileserver, you will not be disappointed. I can't speak to much on the other functionality though. What I can say is that all the included extras and downloadable extras are very easily accessed and used; I just haven't used them much. Time Backup is simply just awesome. Buy yourself the biggest external hard drive you can afford, leave it plugged in, and set Time Backup on a schedule with Smart Recycle enabled. You won't regret it. Setup was a breeze and I had all users and groups set up within an hour. I will definitely recommend this unit to others.

Cons: USB 3.0 was really awesome at first but it has stopped working. Synology support has been working with me to determine if it is the unit failing or the hard drive. Nothing worth taking an egg away over though.

Pros: Room to grow, quiet, small form factor, fast transfer, Excellent Web Interface, USB3, Key to lock drive bays, Dual NICs and the list goes on.

Cons: Atom processors take forever to covert large amount of photos and video.

Overall Review: After seeing the issues experienced from other users with the blinking blue light, I waited to buy. I was told from Synology that the issue was resolved and it has been. I have rebooted multiple times with no problems. It now has been 6 days up time with no problems. It you are looking to buy this, there is no reason not to at this point. Price is more than others and more than you could build one for but I believe you get what you pay for. This is a great NAS!

Pros: This is the second one of these I've purchased. An excellent NAS device. Highly reliable with many features.

Cons: Unit had been used. It was obvious that this was a return. A few years back I purchased a Nikon D300 that had been used. This is a concern to me. If I pay for a new item, I expect a new item.

Pros: Silent. Fast. 5-bays. USB 3.0 eSata connectivty. Great software.

Cons: Price

Overall Review: I bought this unit to replace an aging WHS frakenbox that had grown to 12T across 11+ disks connected internally, via esata enclosures and USB. While i loved WHS the noise forced it into the basement, the hardware sprawl made my wife hate it, and demigrator plus updates caused user experience and playback issues with my various media players. I populated the DS1512+ with 5 WD 2T EARS drives (have 4 spares so not worried too much about failure), and connected one of my esata top load hot swap enclosures to it for additional snapshot backups and moved the entire thing into one cubby in an Expedite Ikea cabinet upstairs. It is now loaded up with 4T movies, TimeMachine for the Mac Air, COP's for calibre, Transmission for BT, Wordpress for blog/server documentation etc and runs cool and quietly like a champ. I really could not be happier. Excellent bit of kit, you will not be dissapointed.