Source
r/synology•
Fatuousgit

USB drives with DS218+

I have a DS218+ that has 2 12TB WD reds and I also have 2 14TB external USB drives. The internal drives are full, and the externals are filling fast (UHD media). I was thinking of buying an external drive enclosure that can take up to 5 drives, putting the 2 external drives into and then adding more drives as needed.

Does anyone known if the NAS will be able to differentiate and use up to five HDDs via USB? The enclosure is powered separately so the NAS will only need to use data over the USB connection, not power it.

Posted Sep 26, 2022, 6:59 PM UTC

213
fender4645•

Unless something has changed recently, you can't create a storage pool from drives connected to USB. All you can do is mount whatever the enclosure presents. So if the enclosure presents as JBOD, that's what the NAS will see. And I think you're also limited on how the USB volume is shared.

3
FatuousgitOP•

Thanks for the reply. I should have said I already use only JBOD as I have separate HDDs I use for backups so didn't use RAID. I was really only asking (not clearly) if the NAS would see the separate disks through a single USB connection. The folders on the disks will just contain media files for a Plex server. The Plex server will just be given the location of the media folder to read from. Sorry if this isn't clear, I don't know a better way of describing what I am asking.

-1
fender4645•

Got it! Looks like someone else answered your question. Good luck!

2
FatuousgitOP•

They did but thanks again anyway.

1
fakemanhk•

It can, just consider it as a big USB hub, however drive order might be a problem if you don't put all drives in from beginning, needs to be very careful about disk names.

2
DaveR007•

Be aware that with many JBOD USB enclosures don't play nice with a Synology.

I have an Icy Box IB-3640SU3 and via USB to the Synology all the drives appear with the same null serial number so DSM can't tell which drive is which. I can't run SMART tests on the drives, and the Synology mounts the drives in a different order each time you turn on the USB enclosure. Their volumeUSB# switch.

Via it's eSATA cable the Synology can only see 1 of the 4 HDDs. I believe you need a JBOD eSATA enclosure that has a SATA port multiplier. Or an enclosure that can do RAID.

Your other (better) options are a bigger Synology or a Synology expansion unit.

1
FatuousgitOP•

Your other (better) options are a bigger Synology or a Synology expansion unit.

Thank you. This is what I wanted to avoid. I have worded my initial question badly. I can't afford to buy another NAS at this time. I just wanted to know if my NAS could handle a USB connection from an enclosure with more than one HDD. I have been told it can, so I can buy an enclosure with multiple slots for expansion. Buying another Synology NAS is off the table sadly. I appreciate trying to help me though. Many thanks!

1
Proki63•

It's 218+ it wouldn't go with an expansion unit. The DS718+ is necessary to make that functional setup..

1
DaveR007•

The DS218 doesn't have an eSATA port but according to Synology the DS218+ does have an eSATA port and supports the DX517.

https://www.synology.com/en-au/compatibility?search_by=products&model=DS218%2B&category=expansion_units&p=1&change_log_p=1

https://global.download.synology.com/download/Document/Hardware/HIG/DiskStation/18-year/DS218+/enu/Syno_HIG_DS218_Plus_enu.pdf

1
Proki63•

Surprising, thank you. I totally miss the point to make the DS718+ front figure 2+5=7 then :)))

1
MazinEddit•

You definitely can! I have A Terramaster with 4 4tb HDDs and 1 WD 4tb connected with my main DS918+ NAS. All working solid.

0
FatuousgitOP•

Thank you. I was hoping I didn't need to buy another NAS with more bays.

1
MazinEddit•

As far as I know my NAS works with the external bays. Just make sure the DS218+ actually does work. Just do a quick search on the Synology site. The only thing I'm missing is the RAID capability, but since I'm storing just movies, then is not a big deal to me. I'd also back up whatever is more important on the cloud or in your NAS. Up to you!

2