Brief Summary
This video provides a comprehensive review of UGREEN's NASync series, comparing it to Synology's DSM, a gold standard in the NAS device market. It covers hardware and hard drive compatibility, storage pools and file systems, operating system features, software and backup options, remote access capabilities, and the UGREEN mobile application. The review also discusses the possibility of using third-party NAS operating systems and identifies areas where UGREEN OS could be improved. The reviewer concludes with a personal recommendation on whether to buy a UGREEN NAS device.
- UGREEN NAS offers competitive hardware at its price point.
- UGREEN OS is faster and similar to Synology's DSM, making it easy to transition.
- The mobile application is a standout feature, offering comprehensive NAS management.
- UGREEN NAS supports third-party operating systems, providing flexibility.
UGREEN NASync Series
UGREEN has established itself as a notable NAS manufacturer, largely due to its competitive hardware offerings. The primary challenge has been refining its software. This video revisits the NASync lineup to assess the current state of UGREEN OS in comparison to Synology's DSM. The review is conducted independently, ensuring unbiased opinions.
Hardware & Hard Drive Compatibility
UGREEN NAS devices feature powerful hardware that is hard to beat from a price-to-performance standpoint. The hardware specifications are superior to Synology's offerings for both basic and power users. UGREEN NAS series supports a broader range of hard drives than newer Synology devices, offering true third-party hard drive support, which enhances system performance and compatibility.
Storage Pools & File Systems
UGREEN and Synology both support standard RAID formats for storage pools, as well as BTRFS and ext4 for volumes, resulting in similar general performance and file system features. A key difference is that Synology offers Synology Hybrid RAID (SHR), which allows the use of mixed-size hard drives to maximize storage space. While SHR is beneficial, its importance depends on the user's specific hard drive configuration. UGREEN lacks an SHR alternative and has a slightly different BTRFS snapshot handling.
Full OS Comparison: UGOS vs DSM
UGREEN OS has made significant progress but remains relatively new compared to Synology's DSM. UGREEN OS is faster in navigation and feature access due to efficient coding that maximizes performance. The interface is similar to Synology DSM, which eases the transition for users familiar with Synology. UGREEN OS includes most expected core operating system features, including UPS device support.
Software & Backups
Synology DSM has a large first-party ecosystem, but UGREEN OS offers similar options or alternatives for key applications. UGREEN OS includes first-party applications for photos, music, cloud drive, and sync and backup, which can be managed via Windows, Mac OS, or the mobile app. The mobile application is particularly well-designed. The photo application is a direct competitor to Synology Photos, with similar features including AI custom learning for photo searches. The music application is fast and effective across all UGREEN apps, including the mobile app, and is preferred over Synology's Audio Station. The cloud drive application supports Microsoft OneDrive and Google Drive, but lacks Dropbox support, an area where Synology offers more options. The sync and backup tool works well for device syncing, though it lacks on-demand sync like Synology Drive. Backups use Rsync or WebDAV, providing file copies on separate devices without versioning, unlike Synology's HyperBackup. UGREEN's virtual machine application performs well, making it a viable option due to the hardware capabilities of the UGREEN NASync series. Applications like Jellyfin, Home Assistant, and Docker also function effectively.
Remote Access
UGREEN OS does not have a built-in VPN application, but users can configure WireGuard via Docker due to the updated kernel, which is easier than OpenVPN setup on Synology NAS. Synology's older kernel does not support WireGuard. Alternatively, Tailscale can be used with Docker. A potential drawback is the need to manage separate credentials for WireGuard and the NAS. UGREEN also offers the UGREEN Link service, similar to Synology's Quick Connect, with better performance, averaging 4 MB/s download and upload speeds, which is two to four times faster than Synology Quick Connect. The security of UGREEN Link is still being evaluated over time.
UGREEN Mobile Application
The UGREEN mobile application is the best pre-built NAS mobile application, essential for system notifications. It allows users to manage the NAS, receive notifications, view and search data, listen to music, and automatically back up mobile photos. This all-in-one application is fast, effective, and reliable, making it a significant selling point due to the increasing shift towards mobile management.
Btrfs Snapshots
UGREEN recently added BTRFS snapshots. A versions application exists for file versioning, but it is not global, meaning entire shared folders cannot be restored to a previous version, which the snapshot application addresses.
Third-Party NAS Operating Systems
Unlike Synology, UGREEN NAS supports third-party NAS operating systems like TrueNAS or Unraid. This allows users to leverage UGREEN's hardware while using their preferred NAS operating system. This flexibility is particularly appealing to power users who may find certain features lacking in UGREEN OS.
UGOS Areas for Improvement
UGREEN OS could improve its backup options by adding support for cloud locations like Backblaze B2 and enabling backup encryption. Advanced features like iSCSI support are missing, but their absence may not affect most home users.
Would I Buy a UGREEN NAS?
The reviewer now recommends UGREEN NAS due to improvements made since its initial release. The focus has been on refining existing features rather than adding new ones, which has resolved previous issues. The photo and music applications are well-designed, and the mobile application is exceptional. While UGREEN OS is not yet on par with Synology DSM, it is a solid option for home users who need file and data storage, especially if they utilize Docker and can wait for future feature releases.
