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I've watched several of your videos, and they were extremely helpful, but I'm still a little confused on a few points... First, we only have a 100up/100down (Mbps) network speed in our home, and I don't know how that might affect which kind of ethernet port I'd use on the back of these devices? Also, I am not sure how the RAM differs from the Nvme SSD, and what they offer? I was about to purchase 4x 16TB Ironwolf Pro Hard Drives, and was looking at the DS923+ or the DS1522+, but again, not sure about the RAM choices, vs the Nvme SSD option, and the ethernet speed as a factor... Does that make sense? Just want to make sure I am buying the correct configuration.
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Regarding network speed, a 100Mbps up/down connection is well within the capability of even the most basic ethernet port on any modern NAS device. So you should be able to use any available ethernet port on the back of your chosen Synology NAS device, without worrying about the network speed affecting your decision.
Now, onto the question of RAM vs Nvme SSDs. These are two very different components that serve different purposes in a NAS system.
RAM (random access memory) is used by the NAS to temporarily store data that it's currently working with. This could include things like file system information, network protocols, and application data. Having more RAM generally allows the NAS to perform more tasks simultaneously and more quickly, since it has more space to store data that it needs to access frequently.
On the other hand, Nvme SSDs (Non-Volatile Memory Express solid-state drives) are a type of storage that is much faster than traditional hard drives. They allow for much quicker data access and retrieval times, which can make a big difference in performance for certain types of tasks, such as database access or serving up frequently accessed files.
For most home NAS users, having a sufficient amount of RAM is more important than having Nvme SSDs. This is because the vast majority of NAS tasks involve reading and writing data to the hard drives, which are generally the slowest component in the system. Having more RAM will allow the NAS to cache more frequently accessed data, which can speed up read and write times and improve overall system performance.
As for the Synology models you mentioned, the DS923+ and DS1522+ are both excellent choices for a home NAS setup. The main difference between the two is that the DS1522+ can accommodate more hard drives (up to 15 drives), whereas the DS923+ can accommodate up to 9 drives. As for RAM, I would recommend going with at least 8GB, but more if possible, depending on your budget. The Nvme SSD option is mainly useful if you plan on running applications that require very fast storage access times, such as running a database server on the NAS. If you're mainly using the NAS for file storage and media streaming, you probably won't see much benefit from having Nvme SSDs.
