Download Center - DS218
Download Center - DS218
in 2 offers
The lowest price for Synology DS218 DiskStation 2 Bay NAS right now is $300.00 at CeX, compared across 2 retailers.
The all-time low was $300.00 on 2 Aug 2026. That's the lowest price we've ever tracked — a great time to buy.
Prices last updated 2 Aug 2026.
Synology DS218 DiskStation 2 Bay NAS
Download Center - DS218
Download Center - DS218
Last updated at 02/08/2026 05:13:25
Synology Disk Station DS218 NAS Enclosure (Diskless)
Free delivery
SYNOLOGY DISKSTATION DS218 2 Bay 3.5 Inch Diskless 1xGbE NAS Tower Black
Delivery between 6–10 Aug $9.95
originally posted on newegg.com
I have learned a lot about networking since purchasing the NAS. I bought it originally as a backup for my photos but it has since turned into a media server. If you're new the NAS game like I was, prepare to go down quite a few rabbit holes. But it's a pretty neat device with lots of capabilities. I love all of the software at your disposal. There's also no shortage of guides out there to help you because Synology is such a king when it comes to thisarea. As a big lover of movies, I really love the media server stuff. I use the Plex application to "direct play" 4k & regular blu-rays to my Nvidia shield. Be warned... unless you're playing content within your home network, don't count on the NAS and it's CPU to transcode for remote play. It is very slow and quite ... MoreI have learned a lot about networking since purchasing the NAS. I bought it originally as a backup for my photos but it has since turned into a media server. If you're new the NAS game like I was, prepare to go down quite a few rabbit holes. But it's a pretty neat device with lots of capabilities. I love all of the software at your disposal. There's also no shortage of guides out there to help you because Synology is such a king when it comes to thisarea. As a big lover of movies, I really love the media server stuff. I use the Plex application to "direct play" 4k & regular blu-rays to my Nvidia shield. Be warned... unless you're playing content within your home network, don't count on the NAS and it's CPU to transcode for remote play. It is very slow and quite frankly inadequate. You're definitely going to want a dedicated media server running on a computer or something. It can't even transcode content very efficiently on the LOCAL area network. Direct play is really the only viable option for today's level of HD content. (this is where your device reads the file directly from the NAS and play its on your screen without processing any video or audio. kind of like loading a video on a computer drive.) Despite that... great product!
originally posted on homeessentialsdirect.com
Don't cheat and buy cheep disk drives! Buy the WD "Ironwolf" drives to ensure long term viability of the drives. Go on YouTube and look for "Mydoodads" tips on the setup. These are FANTASTIC videos. He might not use your specific model but one can easily figure out the differences. DO NOT jump ahead of his videos. Determine AFTER you get into each video what options you want as his whole approach is "building blocks". As a major size airline flight instructor, I use building block learning and I do not skip around!
originally posted on newegg.com
Previous version was a DS211j. Worked OK, but it was a bit slow, so decided to upgrade. Pleasantly surprised to find out that Synology software figured out what I was doing and walked me through it. I was able to quickly transfer my disks from old device to new with very little effort. (NOTE: best approach is to leave old unit in operation. Add the new unit (without disks) to the network. Software will instruct you how to proceed).
| General | |
| Device Type | NAS server |
| Host Connectivity | Gigabit Ethernet |
| Total Storage Capacity | 0 GB |
| Max Supported Capacity | 24 TB |
Synology Disk Station DS218 NAS Enclosure (Diskless)
Free delivery
SYNOLOGY DISKSTATION DS218 2 Bay 3.5 Inch Diskless 1xGbE NAS Tower Black
Delivery between 6–10 Aug $9.95
I have learned a lot about networking since purchasing the NAS. I bought it originally as a backup for my photos but it has since turned into a media server. If you're new the NAS game like I was, prepare to go down quite a few rabbit holes. But it's a pretty neat device with lots of capabilities. I love all of the software at your disposal. There's also no shortage of guides out there to help you because Synology is such a king when it comes to thisarea. As a big lover of movies, I really love the media server stuff. I use the Plex application to "direct play" 4k & regular blu-rays to my Nvidia shield. Be warned... unless you're playing content within your home network, don't count on the NAS and it's CPU to transcode for remote play. It is very slow and quite ... MoreI have learned a lot about networking since purchasing the NAS. I bought it originally as a backup for my photos but it has since turned into a media server. If you're new the NAS game like I was, prepare to go down quite a few rabbit holes. But it's a pretty neat device with lots of capabilities. I love all of the software at your disposal. There's also no shortage of guides out there to help you because Synology is such a king when it comes to thisarea. As a big lover of movies, I really love the media server stuff. I use the Plex application to "direct play" 4k & regular blu-rays to my Nvidia shield. Be warned... unless you're playing content within your home network, don't count on the NAS and it's CPU to transcode for remote play. It is very slow and quite frankly inadequate. You're definitely going to want a dedicated media server running on a computer or something. It can't even transcode content very efficiently on the LOCAL area network. Direct play is really the only viable option for today's level of HD content. (this is where your device reads the file directly from the NAS and play its on your screen without processing any video or audio. kind of like loading a video on a computer drive.) Despite that... great product!
Don't cheat and buy cheep disk drives! Buy the WD "Ironwolf" drives to ensure long term viability of the drives. Go on YouTube and look for "Mydoodads" tips on the setup. These are FANTASTIC videos. He might not use your specific model but one can easily figure out the differences. DO NOT jump ahead of his videos. Determine AFTER you get into each video what options you want as his whole approach is "building blocks". As a major size airline flight instructor, I use building block learning and I do not skip around!
Previous version was a DS211j. Worked OK, but it was a bit slow, so decided to upgrade. Pleasantly surprised to find out that Synology software figured out what I was doing and walked me through it. I was able to quickly transfer my disks from old device to new with very little effort. (NOTE: best approach is to leave old unit in operation. Add the new unit (without disks) to the network. Software will instruct you how to proceed).
Being my first time using a NAS I didn't really know what to expect other than it made sense as a choice for my increasing storage needs and because those cloud storage fees do add up. Synology makes the process as simple as possible for first-time users with no previous NAS experience but who want to benefit from having a centralized content hub accessible from any devices on the same network — or even out of it. My needs are of the type of backing up personal data, streaming video and music at high resolution across all my home devices, and this NAS does it all flawlessly — in fact I have left most of the settings at its defaults for now. You can leave the settings as they come or you can go as customized and complex as you want. Synology's installable packages ... MoreBeing my first time using a NAS I didn't really know what to expect other than it made sense as a choice for my increasing storage needs and because those cloud storage fees do add up. Synology makes the process as simple as possible for first-time users with no previous NAS experience but who want to benefit from having a centralized content hub accessible from any devices on the same network — or even out of it. My needs are of the type of backing up personal data, streaming video and music at high resolution across all my home devices, and this NAS does it all flawlessly — in fact I have left most of the settings at its defaults for now. You can leave the settings as they come or you can go as customized and complex as you want. Synology's installable packages are a huge asset that simplifies the personal cloud experience greatly. This unit comes without any hard drives — those are up to your choice. Personally I decided to invest right from the start and included two Seagate Ironwolf (NAS-optimized) drives with it, expecting they can handle years of intense usage. You can set these on RAID 0 or 1, depending on whether you prefer as much space as possible or having a backup disk. The unit is lightweight, rather compact (easily conceivable) and makes little noise if any, other than a beep to announce bootup/restart completion.
Pros: Very quiet - I used the same 2 WD Red NAS HDDs that were noisy in a QNAP NAS box and I can't hear the DS218 at all.Very easy set up, just remove the front panel and mount the drives in the removable trays.Excellent performance, well worth getting this model with the 2GB of RAM.DSM is a breeze to set up and use. While it has a huge array of configuration options available they are presented in a user friendly interface. There's also a good selection of apps available for easy installation; one of the best for my use is Surveillance Station, it amazes me that it is free when you see the price of standalone Windows based programs that do the same or less for the money.Unit looks good and is well constructed.Cons: Front panel could be a bit more secure fitting; ... MorePros: Very quiet - I used the same 2 WD Red NAS HDDs that were noisy in a QNAP NAS box and I can't hear the DS218 at all.Very easy set up, just remove the front panel and mount the drives in the removable trays.Excellent performance, well worth getting this model with the 2GB of RAM.DSM is a breeze to set up and use. While it has a huge array of configuration options available they are presented in a user friendly interface. There's also a good selection of apps available for easy installation; one of the best for my use is Surveillance Station, it amazes me that it is free when you see the price of standalone Windows based programs that do the same or less for the money.Unit looks good and is well constructed.Cons: Front panel could be a bit more secure fitting; it doesn't fall off but is too easy to remove in my opinion, minor point though.
I use the DS218 with 2x Seagate Ironwolf 4TB in RAID1 (actually Synology Hybrid Raid, BTRFS), primarily for media storage and system backups on my home network. Setting up the hardware is extremely simple, and while the software requires slightly more knowledge, it is still not difficult due to the abundance of tutorials and forums online. I set it up for remote access, syncing with my other cloud accounts, etc. In only a couple hours. So far everything is working as it should! Performance is as expected, I can saturate the gigabit ethernet connection fairly easily. More than sufficient for my needs. Browsing the interface is also quite smooth. The apps and software are well designed and are fairly self-explanatory. If there is an issue or question, Googling leads ... MoreI use the DS218 with 2x Seagate Ironwolf 4TB in RAID1 (actually Synology Hybrid Raid, BTRFS), primarily for media storage and system backups on my home network. Setting up the hardware is extremely simple, and while the software requires slightly more knowledge, it is still not difficult due to the abundance of tutorials and forums online. I set it up for remote access, syncing with my other cloud accounts, etc. In only a couple hours. So far everything is working as it should! Performance is as expected, I can saturate the gigabit ethernet connection fairly easily. More than sufficient for my needs. Browsing the interface is also quite smooth. The apps and software are well designed and are fairly self-explanatory. If there is an issue or question, Googling leads to quick and well-explained answers. No complaints so far in terms of performance. The NAS runs fairly quietly with the fan on "Quiet Mode". Noise primarily comes from the hard drives spinning, which isn't Synology's fault and can be alleviated with SSDs (but the price - ouch). Other nice aesthetic/environmental features for me are the control over light brightness and the ability to schedule turning the lights off, as I don't want the super bright lights on my desk during the day, and I don't want them on at night at all. Didn't think those were things I needed, but they're nice to have. Environment/aesthetics wise, I'm pleased with this NAS.
Pros: I bought this to replace an aging Synology DS211 which has served me well over the last 10+ years. It was still working but it was time for a proactive replacement. The new unit is quicker, quieter and easier to use (installation of the disks etc.) so is highly recommenedCons: None I can think of.
My old Synology 211, while still alive and functioning, was beginning to struggle to keep up with the demands placed on it so I bought this unit as an upgrade. I originally targeted the 218 play but this unit was only 20 more and has double the RAM, a "better" case and the capability to do "hot swaps" on the drives so I thought it was worth the extra. I began the migration with some trepidation, expecting to have to spend half my weekend re-building settings but needn't have worried. My old 2TB HDDs moved really easily into the new enclosure and the set up was extremely painless By following the synology instructions on their website one can migrate very straightforwardly including all existing user accounts and settings. It even transferred across the details of my ... MoreMy old Synology 211, while still alive and functioning, was beginning to struggle to keep up with the demands placed on it so I bought this unit as an upgrade. I originally targeted the 218 play but this unit was only 20 more and has double the RAM, a "better" case and the capability to do "hot swaps" on the drives so I thought it was worth the extra. I began the migration with some trepidation, expecting to have to spend half my weekend re-building settings but needn't have worried. My old 2TB HDDs moved really easily into the new enclosure and the set up was extremely painless By following the synology instructions on their website one can migrate very straightforwardly including all existing user accounts and settings. It even transferred across the details of my IP surveillance camera and recording settings. Following installation all I had to do was change the IP address on my router so that the new unit used the same address as the old one, thereby allowing all other devices that pointed to my old NAS (eg other computers that I back up on the synology HDD) to automatically connect to the new one. The unit is extremely responsive and fast and data transfer speeds seem pretty high. Only minor disappointment is that the unit is no quieter than the one it replaced. It doesn't mean its loud, but in my study the fan noise is quietly audible even on the "quiet" setting. So far so good, I hope it lasts 6 years like its predecessor!
Now that i have this up and running its great. But what hassle getting it set up. Unbelievably there is NO guidance for setting this up and despite watching youtube reviews and so on i had a relative nightmare getting this going. Now that may be because im not as tech savvy as some and it did need my IT department to log on and sort things out. In the end i just hadnt clicked on a few buttons to make cerain files visible but it would have been so easy to write some documentation to get you going. Still giving it 4 stars because as a unit its great. Small, sits out of the way in complete silence doing its thing. I think 2 hard drives will be plenty for most people and i have started with 2x3Gb which i think we will see me good for a number of years. If you have ... MoreNow that i have this up and running its great. But what hassle getting it set up. Unbelievably there is NO guidance for setting this up and despite watching youtube reviews and so on i had a relative nightmare getting this going. Now that may be because im not as tech savvy as some and it did need my IT department to log on and sort things out. In the end i just hadnt clicked on a few buttons to make cerain files visible but it would have been so easy to write some documentation to get you going. Still giving it 4 stars because as a unit its great. Small, sits out of the way in complete silence doing its thing. I think 2 hard drives will be plenty for most people and i have started with 2x3Gb which i think we will see me good for a number of years. If you have thousands of large photos, perhaps taken on an slr then you will probably need bigger. But as i said, once running it think its great, well built and discreet. Once im using the full features of what it can do this will be a gamechanger i reckon. So far im just touching the tip of the iceberg with using Plex for movies. On a significant sidenote: Be warned that if you think you're just going to plop all your blurays and dvds on this thing then think this through. Again, not being massively tech savvy, i had no idea that the transcoding process is so paaaaaaaaaaaaainstaaaaaaaaaaaking. It would be better to call it a labour of love, because oh my god its labour intensive. My PC has been on 24/7 for the last couple of months first converting the bluray to mkv file and then transcoding using handbrake which literally takes 2-12 hours per Bluray and i have a i7 6700. It does crunch a 40Gb to between 2-8Gb but it involves a lot of attention and ideally a powerful CP. But in the end its worth it and after 2 months i have gone through about 180blu rays so far!
So far its been solid except for two small issues: 1.) The included fan is crap. Its loud and mine broke in less than two weeks. Its easy to replace with a quality, quiet fan (you can buy any 3 pin 92mm fan you want) I got a warehouse deal so I cant really whine about that though. I recommend swapping the crappy fan even if yours doesnt break. 2.) They charge 3 or 4 bucks to allow you to read/write the exfat file format. This is really chintzy to not include in a $200+ device.
| General | |
| Device Type | NAS server |
| Host Connectivity | Gigabit Ethernet |
| Total Storage Capacity | 0 GB |
| Max Supported Capacity | 24 TB |
