Synology RS3617xs+ optane support?

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marv

Active Member
Apr 2, 2015
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Hello,
I am wondering if there is any catch in Optane support in DSM of if its possible to use duo of 280GB drives as ssd cache in this NAS? I am choosing between RS3617xs (Xeon E3v2) with dual S3520 for cache and 12TB WD Golds or RS3617xs+ (Xeon D 1531) with dual optane 900p for cache (if supported).

Device has two pcie 3 ports in specs, so drives should fit, but how about software support?

So far my experience is only with lower-powered 2-5slot Synology devices without caching.
 

Net-Runner

Member
Feb 25, 2016
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I don't see any point in going overpay for Intel Optane, cause you could do that (cache) with SATA SSDs, and it would be significantly cheaper for very nearly the same performance. Another point is that people are still considering pretty crappy stuff for production use, while Synology/QNAP/Netgear boxes are not suitable for anything, except to be a backup repository. In this perspective, such a solution seems an apparent overkill.

Beyond the case in hand, I can accept that using Optane memory to cache slower SATA SSDs makes some sense (it would be better to say "offers practical advantages"), but not to HDD obviously. For that kind of money you can acquire a few SATA SSDs that, taken together, will provide the same performance and endurance, give or take (at least inside the Synology box).
 

EffrafaxOfWug

Radioactive Member
Feb 12, 2015
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Coming at this sideways, I'm about to chuck in a tiny (and dirt cheap) 16GB M.2 optane into a file server to act solely as a cache to see what sort of a different it makes; at £40 it sits firmly in the "toy" territory. AIUI linux - and thus hopefully OTS NAS units - see these as bog-standard NVME devices which should make them a doddle to integrate into mdadm/dm-cache ((I understand windows wants intel-specific drivers that'll only work on certain HW platforms). Server in question only has two 32GB SSDs for the OS so a seperate optane caching device would be ideal.

Back OT and FWIW, synology don't list any optane drives on the HCL so you're on your own as to whether they'll work as plain-jane NVME or not. There are other models that claim to support various NVME drives as cache (e.g. the DS918+) but again no optane and no indication of whether similar will work in the RS3617xs.

Just to echo Net-Runner's comments, this sort of lack of flexibility was why I gave up using OTS NAS units and started building my own again...
 
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marv

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Apr 2, 2015
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Back OT and FWIW, synology don't list any optane drives on the HCL so you're on your own as to whether they'll work as plain-jane NVME or not. There are other models that claim to support various NVME drives as cache (e.g. the DS918+) but again no optane and no indication of whether similar will work in the RS3617xs.
This is the reason why I created this thread. PCIe slots in 3617 are specified only for LAN cards, and NVMe seems to be officially supported only in new 18 models. But theyre still just PCIe slots so what could go wrong? :)

I will go the way of sata cache. Primary usage for this will be surveillance station for 20+ FHD cameras and then movies storage.
 

ServerSemi

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Jan 12, 2017
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Planning to do the same but with a supermicro chassis. Synology boxes are sooo expensive for what they offer
 

vrod

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Jan 18, 2015
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You could theoretically buy a SATA PCIe SSD... that would also work. :)
 
Sep 4, 2017
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Bear in mind the RS3617xs does not support HDD over 8TB due to tray design limitations. Unless you have a specific 2U size limit, putting a DS3617xs on a rack shelf is actually better all-around; takes larger drives, price is right and it's dead quiet. The RS3617xs+ doesn't have the 8TB size limit, but all you get going from the DS3617xs to the RS3617xs+ is 2 more cores and 2 10G ports for an $1800 price delta (and a very loud 50.2 dBA!)
 

marv

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Apr 2, 2015
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Is it because of shifted screw holes in those drives? I noticed that when I wanted to put 8TB REDs to my old Chieftec enclosures and had to drill additional holes in trays. Thanks for mentioning that, wouldnt have thought of that.

Is it possible to buy compatible trays for this NAS?
 
Sep 4, 2017
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I pushed Synology presales on the point, but they were evasive, stating quote, "The chassis itself is designed differently, has different trays, and it's not a matter of the drive tray holes."

The RS3617xs trays are a different design than the other current models, which you can see in the stock photos. The old RS3614xs and current RS3617xs are the same chassis reused with a new CPU and their trays are "Type R5". They must have had a bunch of chassis left over from 2014.

The RS3617xs+, RS3617RPxs, RS4017xs+ and RS18017xs+ trays are "Type R7".

Unfortunately I can't test for you if the R7 trays will fit an R5 chassis, because I switched from an RS3614xs to a DS3617xs for this exact reason, and the DS units use yet another tray, Type D6. Synology sells Type R7 on Amazon for $20 ea. which would be $240 for a set if they did fit which I doubt. Looking at the tray photos, the locking mechanism appears quite different between R5 and R7.

Besides, although the academic discussion of the physical trays is interesting, it's not really useful because Synology simply doesn't support >8TB drives on the platform so if you found a way to insert them they could deny you support and/or warranty.

Ironically, the RS3617xs does support >8TB drives when they are installed in the RX1217.
 

maze

Active Member
Apr 27, 2013
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The 10tb+ drives Are a little too tall if im not mistaking? - read so on a blog post somewhere..

Got the rs3617xs aswell and looking to add some ssd cache.. did you try it out yet?
 

marv

Active Member
Apr 2, 2015
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not yet, I was about to buy RP model because of the large drive support, but now that rs3618xs is out, I will go for that one.