Synology just announced two new rackmount NAS units based on the Intel Atom C3538 power efficient quad-core processor. The Synology RackStation RS2418+ and RS2418RP+ units are 2U rackmount NAS that take advantage of the newest Intel Atom C3000, codename “Denverton” SoCs to sip power. Even though the new quad-core Intel Atom C3000 chips are faster than their predecessors, the new units are rated at as low as 50W with disks in hibernation mode and up to 119W during access. That is just barely enough to fit into a 1A on 120V allotment in a data center.
Synology RackStation RS2418+ and RS2418RP+ Rackmount NAS
We like the move by Synology to embrace the quad-core Intel Atom C3538 CPU for the Synology RackStation RS2418+ and RS2418RP+. RAM is set at 4GB via a single non-ECC DIMM. Our suggestion would be to immediately upgrade this unit to 32GB or more of ECC memory to take advantage of the great software suite Synolgoy has within DSM.
The key difference between the Synology RackStation RS2418+ and RS2418RP+ is that the RS2418RP+ utilizes a redundant power supply design (“RP” in the model number.) Here is a side-by-side view of the rear of each unit:
As you can see, there are four 1GbE ports, two USB 3.0 ports and an expansion port for adding additional disk shelves to the mix. The rear I/O expansion slot is there to handle high-speed networking.
Synology allows adding a low profile 10GbE card to the system in that expansion slot. Synology chose to utilize add-in networking rather than moving up in the Atom C3000 stack and adding a 10GbE capable SKU.
Another option is a dual SATA M.2 SSD card that can be added to the platform. This is SATA III SSD only and does not work with NVMe SSDs.
Synology RackStation RS2418+ and RS2418RP+ Specs
Here is an excerpt of key specs for the new Synology RackStation RS2418+ and RS2418RP+ units:
| Hardware Specifications | |
| CPU | |
| CPU Model | Intel Atom C3538 |
| CPU Architecture | 64-bit |
| CPU Frequency | Quad Core 2.1 GHz |
| Hardware Encryption Engine (AES-NI) | |
| Memory | |
| System Memory | 4 GB DDR4 |
| Memory Module Pre-installed | 4GB (1 x 4GB) |
| Total Memory Slots | 4 |
| Memory Expandable up to | 64 GB (16 GB x 4) |
| Storage | |
| Drive Bays | 12 |
| Maximum Drive Bays with Expansion Unit | 24 |
| Compatible Drive Type |
|
| Maximum Internal Raw Capacity | 144 TB (12 TB drive x 12) (Capacity may vary by RAID types) |
| Maximum Raw Capacity with Expansion Units | 288 TB (144 TB + 12 TB drive x 12) (Capacity may vary by RAID types) |
| Maximum Single Volume Size | 108 TB |
| Hot Swappable Drive | |
| Notes |
|
| External Ports | |
| RJ-45 1GbE LAN Port | 4 (with Link Aggregation / Failover support) |
| USB 3.0 Port | 2 |
| Expansion Port | 1 |
| PCIe | |
| PCIe Expansion | 1 x Gen3 x8 slot (black, x4 link) |
| Add-in-card support |
|
| Notes | RS2418+/RS2418RP+ with M2D17 can only support M.2 SATA SSD. M.2 NVMe/AHCI PCIe SSD is not supported. |
