Combining SSD Cache with M2D18 Card?

Hi there,

First off, great website! Lots of in-depth helpful info!

I have a slightly strange question. I'm running a Synology RS3617RPxs with a bunch of HDDs and 2 x Intel Enterprise class SSDs as Cache, installed in 2 of the drive bays. These SSD's equal around 480GB of Cache.

Is it possible to install the M2D18 card with M.2 drives and use this as additional Cache? Along side the existing Intel SDD cache setup? Or is it limited to one option or the other.

On the Synology website it states:
RS3617RPxs with M2D18 can only support M.2 SATA SSD. M.2 NVMe/AHCI PCIe SSD is not supported.

Would using the M2D18 yield any performance increase when used without NVMe SSDs ?- When compared to the existing Intel SSD configuration?

Many thanks for your advice!

Yes, RS3617RPxs only supports SATA M.2 so there is no speed difference between the existing 2.5inch bay SSD and M.2. I would rather save that port for a later 10GbE upgrade. You will need that one day. As you can not combine cache, need to choose one or another.I hope this helps.