Synology DX517 or a New NAS

[Enquiries]

I am using a Synology 1817+ with 12TB x 8 running RAID 6. I have 4 x 6TB spare hard disks and will like to utilize them.

I am considering the following options:
1. Getting the external enclosure from Synology DX517

2. Get a 4 or 5 Bays NAS instead?

3. Get a USB external enclosure with RAID support?

What is your recommendation?

[ed]

Option 1: Using the Synology DX517 external enclosure would allow you to add the 4 spare hard disks to your current NAS, increasing the storage capacity with an additional RAID. This option would be the most cost-effective and easiest to set up.
Option 2: Getting a 4 or 5 Bays NAS instead would allow you to use the spare hard disks and increase your storage capacity, but it would be more expensive than option 1. The plus side is that it has its own CPU that can be used to offload few things from the main server. Either Plex or backup tasks or anything else.
Option 3: Using a USB external enclosure with RAID support would also allow you to use the spare hard disks and increase your storage capacity, but it would be limited in its functionality. If you connect to a PC, only one person can access the data. If you connect it to the NAS, you can use it for backups and file access. But not things like shared folders or any internal system related use space.
Overall, the most cost-effective and easiest to set up option would be to use the Synology DX517 external enclosure to add the spare hard disks to your current NAS.
I hope this helps.

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