Synology DS420+ 4-Bay NAS DiskStation (Diskless)

The Synology DS420+ is a four-bay NAS centered on an Intel dual-core processor with AES-NI hardware encryption — a specification that separates it from ARM-based competitors when it comes to encrypted volume throughput and compute-intensive tasks like photo indexing and container workloads. The rated 226 MB/s sequential read and 225 MB/s sequential write speeds describe the storage subsystem's ceiling; what makes those numbers usable rather than theoretical is the dual M.2 2280 NVMe SSD cache slots, which sit entirely outside the four primary drive bays. SSD cache in front of spinning disks compresses the latency gap dramatically for workloads with repeated access patterns — file serving and database applications see the most consistent benefit.

In practical terms, the DS420+ is aimed at power users and small teams who want NAS functionality beyond simple file storage: Synology Photos with AI subject recognition, Surveillance Station for IP camera recording, Docker-based self-hosted applications, and virtual machine hosting all run on DSM with genuine stability. The 2GB DDR4 base is adequate for lighter workloads but should be treated as a starting point — the upgrade path to 6GB is inexpensive and recommended for anyone deploying more than two or three active applications simultaneously. The platform's long-term value is in DSM itself: Synology's software track record means the DS420+ receives meaningful feature updates years after purchase, making it a more durable investment than comparable hardware running less-maintained firmware.