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The Synology DiskStation DS1813+ ships in a large branded box with the product information available via a sticker on the top.
The DS1813+ is protected between foam and a plastic sheet.
There is a peripherals box supplied which includes a regional specific power plug, drive mounting screws, a key for locking the bays and some lan cables. Synology software and an installation guide is also included.
The unit itself is built to the standards we have come to expect from Synology, with a metal body housing the inner components. The rear of the unit has several USB 3.0 ports, an eSATA port, a power port, two fans, several USB 2.0 ports, 4 GB Lan ports and a reset button.
The unit dimensions are 175x340x233 mm.
The front fascia has a power switch and LED indicators for network and drive activity.
The side panels have the company logo nicely engraved into the metal.
Each of the eight drive bays can be pressed in for release and drive installation. Each bay can be locked with the supplied key, a necessary option given the business oriented environment.
With all the drive bays removed, we can see the SATA daughtercard in all its glory, complete with 8 power and data connectors.
The drive bays are well constructed and have the necessary holes for mounting 3.5 inch drives. The front locking mechanism of each bay is well made and should last a long time. Unfortunately Synology have opted for tough plastic for each of the drive bays, rather than metal.
Removing the outer shell is easy enough and we can see the construction inside. Synology are using a high grade metal chassis for this unit which is the reason it weighs over 5kg.
The motherboard is located on the side of the DS1813+, protected against the outer metal chassis by a plastic cover. There is a hole cut in it as there is a ram expansion slot here. There is a single SODIMM slot which can accept a 2GB module, to double the count from 2GB to 4GB.
The power supply is vertically mounted at the side of the unit, and the power cable runs across the top of the chassis to the motherboard. Synology are using a 250W Delta power supply in the DS1813+. The dual core 2.13ghz processor is passively cooled, aided by the high air flow from the two large rear mounted fans.
