With businesses bracing up for the imminent Wi-Fi 6 rollout, the demand for better network infrastructures and data storage devices has plausibly gone up. Synology RackStation RS3618XS is one of the more popular network-attached storage (NAS) systems that are designed to meet the storage demands of large-scale enterprises with multiple computers and sophisticated applications to run. The system has 12 drive bays, which allow the user to manage a storage center of up to 144TB as well us run several virtual machines simultaneously. What’s more, the RS3618xs is highly flexible and can support up to 36 drives if connected to a maximum of two RX1217RP2 OR RX1217 expansion units. This scalable storage server makes the RS3618XS one of the most suitable external backup and data storage devices for virtually any size of an organization.

Memory and Performance

The RS3618XS sports the quad-core 2.4 GHz Xeon D-1521 Intel processor – a chip revered for its superior performance per watt, energy efficiency, and built-in GPU. It also comes with 8GB onboard RAM, which users can upgrade to 64GB. The four memory slots can hold modules of up to 16 GB each. This is the standard for most present-day network-attached data storage devices.

The RackStation RS3618xs comes with two USB Type-A ports, from which you can connect the NAS to your Mac or Windows PC. The system’s quadruplet of Gigabit Ethernet ports also comes with failover support for backup in case one port experiences a LAN connection problem. Additionally, link aggregation or port channeling through the four LAN ports speeds up connection without regard to a single port’s limits. With link aggregation enabled, RackStation RS3618xs can achieve upwards of 4,000 Mbps sequential reading. For encrypted data, the NAS can deliver well over 1,150mbps and 2300mbps in write and read speeds respectively.

The Synology DiskStation Manager (DSM)

The RackStation RS3618xs uses the DSM operating system, which has been shown to not only simplify the use of your NAS and linked data storage devices but also abridge access to data. It comes with a ton of useful applications and features, including file sharing and collaboration, and can be integrated into an existing virtualization environment with the utmost ease.

Storage Management

The OS supports several RAID modes, including RAID Basic, Synology Hybrid RAID, and RAID 0, 1, 6, and 10. If you are using RAID 0, it means all your hard drives are connected to each other and share tasks equally. RAID 1 replicates your data in all drives, meaning if you have 12 hard drives and 11 of them conk out, the remaining drive will still have all the data from the damaged drives. The downside to this is that your total usable storage will be reduced several times over every time new data is entered. RAID 5 is a far more convenient option as it assigns each drive unique data, and if one of the drives fails, the data in them is copied over to the other drives. Anyone who doesn’t need a RAID can use JBOD 0, 1, 5, 6, or 10. JBOD (just a bunch of disks) allows each bay to be utilized as separate data storage devices.

Power Consumption

As regards energy efficiency, the RackStation RS3618xs is fitted with four fans to keep the system cool at all times. It also comes with prescheduled drive hibernation and on/off cycles. This combination of features helps minimize power consumption and operation expenses. High power consumption is one of the most pervasive downsides of older-generation data storage devices.

Backup Solutions

The NAS offers you multiple backup options including active backup for server, which is not available with other data storage devices. Active backup protects data on Linux and Windows PCs and allows for the management of all backup devices and applications in the network from the same point. No additional software applications are needed on servers or devices that are connected to the RS3618xs backup system, which is not only convenient for the user but also highly cost- and time-effective.

Hyper backup enables you to save your data to the cloud or separate data storage devices. Active backup for Office 365 and G Suite, on the other hand, enables users to own and be in total control of data backed up to cloud storages. Note, however, that active back up for G Suite and Office 365 are only supported on 64-bit NAS.

Another crucial feature that comes with the active backup for G Suite and Office 365 is the automatic detection of new accounts. This eliminates the possibility of a new employee not being backed up. It also cuts back on management costs.

Compatibility with most Virtualization Solutions

Virtually all standard virtualization systems can be supported on iSCSI storage.

The BTRFS System

This copy on write system is packed with advanced storage facilities, writeable snapshots, quota support, RAID and LVM incorporation, compression, incremental backups, and CRC32C. CRC32C helps prevent data corruption. Snapshot replication offers additional protection for shared folders in the event a disaster strikes.

The Bottom Line

While network-attached devices may set you back a king’s ransom in up-front costs, they are a bargain in the long run. Most alternative data storage devices wouldn’t offer half as much storage space in a single unit as contemporary NAS devices. The Synology RackStation RS3618XS can hold upwards of 100TB of data from a network of computers. And this is without mentioning the extremely high standard of data safety it guarantees you. Today’s network-attached devices, the RS3618XS included, come with redundant components that facilitate failover in case of imminent disk damage. For an organization whose operations revolve around data management, this is nothing to sniff at.

The RackStation RS3618XS fits well into a huge array of environments. It allows for simultaneous access from different computers running on various computing platforms and using disparate file sharing protocols. Small- to medium-sized organizations with an extensive network of interconnected computers would find this quite convenient as little adjustment is required upon installation of the NAS.

Compared to cloud-based storage and other physical data storage devices, the RackStation RS3618XS promises a higher return on investment (ROI) for organizations whose data growth exceeds 15 percent a year. Below that, alternative data storage devices can work just fine and may offer more value for money.

The bottom line is to invest in a system that not only has the capacity to hold all or the bulk of your business’s data but also guarantees safety for the data. Even after deciding that a NAS would be a suitable option, be sure to come up with a list of options which you can then narrow down to the one product with the best combination of the features you are looking for. Among 12-bay network-attached storage units, the RackStation RS3618XS sits up there with the most advanced and feature-packed options and could serve as a great yardstick as you weigh your options.