WD My Cloud EX2 Ultra vs. Synology DS216J: NAS Cloud Comparison

In the market for a managed NAS device? Confused between the WD My Cloud EX2 Ultra vs. Synology DS216J? Today we are going to discuss two of the best NAS storage solutions available out there on the market:

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WD My Cloud EX2 Ultra Diskless
Synology DS216J Diskless

NAS or Network Attached Storage is a dedicated file storage system. It is mainly used to provide LAN based storage nodes for a local area network. LAN nodes are merely file-based shared storage that works on the base of a standard Ethernet connection. Generally, NAS devices do not have standard input-output peripherals such as monitors and displays. Thus, to manage such NAS devices, a browser-based utility program is used. Each NAS has an independent network node and an assigned IP address. Storage drives used for NAS are different compared to traditional storage drives. They differ by models and that might create confusion to potential buyers. Now let’s move to the main discussion.

Table of Contents

WD My Cloud EX2 Ultra vs. Synology DS216J

Before we start comparing WD My Cloud EX2 Ultra and Synology DS216J NAS storage solutions, let us have a quick look at their technical specifications. Here are detailed specs and technical aspects related to both WD My Cloud EX2 Ultra and Synology DS216J NAS Storage:

1. WD My Cloud EX2 (10TB):

General

Total Storage Capacity	up to 32 TB
Manufacturer	Western Digital Corp.

Storage Controller

RAID Level	JBOD, RAID 0, RAID 1
Interface Type	Serial ATA-600

Power Device

Nominal Voltage	AC 120/230 V
Frequency Required	50/60 Hz

Processor / Memory

Processors Installed	1.2 GHz
RAM Installed	512 MB DDR3

Storage

Total Storage Capacity	10 TB
Network Storage Type	NAS server
ISCSI support	iSCSI

Chassis

Installed Devices / Modules Qty	2
Supported Devices / Modules Qty	2
Built-in Device:	LED panel

Processor

Clock Speed

1.2 GHz

Power

Voltage Required

AC 120/230 V (50/60 Hz)

Interface Provided

Qty	1, 2
Interface	Ethernet 1000Base-T, USB 3.0
Connector Type	RJ-45

Networking

Remote Management Protocol	SNMP
Network / Transport Protocol	FTP, SMB, iSCSI
Features	DFS support, FTP server, roaming function, wake on LAN (WOL), IPv6 support, Jumbo Frames support, SNMP support, UPnP Media Server, VLAN support, WebDAV server, backup server, iTunes server
Data Link Protocol	Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet
Compliant Standards	DLNA CERTIFIED, IEEE 802.1Q
Host Connectivity (for SD)	Gigabit Ethernet
Network Services Compatibility	Apple File Protocol (AFP), DFS, Internet Storage Name Service (DNS), Microsoft CIFS, Network File System (NFS), Web-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV)

Miscellaneous

Encryption Algorithm	AES
Features	Security lock slot (cable lock sold separately), built-in cooling fan, UPS support, Full Volume Encryption
Color	charcoal gray
Color Category	gray
Features	Full Volume Encryption, UPS support, built-in cooling fan, security lock slot (cable lock sold separately)

Hard Drive

Form Factor	3.5″
Installed Qty	2
Capacity	2 x 5 TB
Hot-Swap	hot-swap
Form Factor (metric)	8.9 cm

RAM

Technology

DDR3 SDRAM

Software / System Requirements

OS Required

Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Windows Vista, Apple MacOS X 10.6, Microsoft Windows XP SP3, Apple MacOS X 10.7 Lion, Apple OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, Windows 8.1, Apple OS X 10.9 Mavericks

Manufacturer Warranty

Service & Support

Limited warranty – 2 years

System Requirements

OS Required

Apple MacOS X 10.6, Apple OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Windows Vista, Microsoft Windows XP SP3, Windows 8.1

Environmental Parameters

Min Operating Temperature	41 °F
Max Operating Temperature	95 °F

Header

Brand	WD
Product Line	WD My Cloud EX2
Model	WDBVKW0100JCH
Country Kits	Canada, Latin America, United States
Packaged Quantity	1
Compatibility	Mac, PC

Dimensions & Weight

Width	3.9 in
Depth	6.1 in
Height	6.7 in
Weight	5.29 lbs

Expansion Bays

Total Qty	2
Free Qty	0
Type	hot-swap
Form Factor	3.5″
Form Factor (metric)	8.9 cm

Cable Details

Type	network cable
Included Qty	1

Service & Support

Type	2 years warranty

Service & Support Details

Full Contract Period	2 years
Type	limited warranty

General

Manufacturer

Western Digital Corp.

Buy it here:

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2. Synology Disk Station DS216j – NAS server – 0 GB:

General

Total Storage Capacity	0 GB
Installed Devices / Modules Qty	0 (installed) / 2 (max)
Max Supported Capacity	16 TB
Manufacturer	Synology

Storage Controller

RAID Level	JBOD, RAID 0, RAID 1
Interface Type	Serial ATA-600

Power Device

Power Provided	60 Watt
Nominal Voltage	AC 120/230 V
Frequency Required	50/60 Hz

Processor/Memory

Processors Installed	1 x Marvell ARMADA 385 1 GHz
RAM Installed	512 MB DDR3
Max Supported Qty	1
Number of Cores	Dual-Core

Storage

Max Supported Capacity	16 TB
Total Storage Capacity	0 GB
Network Storage Type	NAS server
ISCSI support	iSCSI

Expansion/Connectivity

Expansion Bays

2 (total) / 2 (free) x internal – 2.5″ / 3.5″

Chassis

Installed Devices / Modules Qty	0
Supported Devices / Modules Qty	2
Built-in Devices	LED panel

Processor

Type	ARMADA
Installed Qty	1
Clock Speed	1 GHz
Number of Cores	Dual-Core
Processor Number	385
Manufacturer	Marvell

Interface Provided

Qty	1, 2
Interface	Ethernet 1000Base-T, USB 3.0
Connector Type	RJ-45, Type A

Processor / Memory / Storage

Max Supported Qty

Networking

Remote Management Protocol	HTTP, HTTPS, IPP, SNMP, SSH, Telnet
Network / Transport Protocol:	DNS, FTP, IMAP, L2TP, LPR/LPD, POP3, PPTP, SMTP, TCP/IP, iSCSI
Features:	Access Control List (ACL) support, Advanced Data Streaming (ADS), BitTorrent Client, DLNA Media Server, DNS server, E-mail alert, FTP server, IP address filtering, IPv6 support, LDAP support, MySQL server, PXE support, RADIUS support, SMS alert, SSH support, Samba support, Syslog support, UPnP Media Server, VPN Server, VPN support, backup server, bandwidth control, cloud backup, download client, e-mail notification, e-mail server, eMule client, file sharing, firewall protection, iTunes server, mobile users support, print server, reset button, surveillance station, wake on LAN (WOL), web server
Data Link Protocol	Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet
Compliant Standards	DLNA CERTIFIED, UPnP
Host Connectivity (for SD)	Gigabit Ethernet
Network Services Compatibility	Apple File Protocol (AFP), Calendaring Extensions to WebDAV (CalDAV), FTP, File Level Security (ACLs), Microsoft Active Directory (AD), Microsoft CIFS, Network File System (NFS), Web-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV)

Miscellaneous

Encryption Algorithm	SSL, TLS
Cables Included	1 x network cable
Color Category	gray, white
Features	built-in cooling fan, hardware encryption, security lock slot (cable lock sold separately), wake on LAN

RAM

Technology

DDR3 SDRAM

Software / System Requirements

OS Required	Microsoft Windows XP or later, Apple MacOS X 10.7 or later, Ubuntu 12 or later
Storage Operating System	Synology DiskStation Manager

System Requirements

OS Required

Apple MacOS X 10.7 or later, Microsoft Windows XP or later, Ubuntu 12 or later

Environmental Parameters

Min Operating Temperature	41 °F
Max Operating Temperature	104 °F
Humidity Range Operating	5 – 95% (non-condensing)

Header

Brand	Synology
Product Line	Synology Disk Station
Model	DS216j
Packaged Quantity	1
Compatibility	Android, Apple iOS, Mac, PC

Security DVR

IP Cameras Supported

Dimensions & Weight

Width	3.9 in
Depth	8.9 in
Height	6.5 in
Weight	31.04 oz

Expansion Bays

Total Qty	2
Free Qty	2
Type	internal
Form Factor	2.5″ / 3.5″
Form Factor (metric)	6.4 cm / 8.9 cm

Cable Details

Type	network cable
Included Qty	1

Software

Type	DS audio, DS cam, DS download, DS file, DS finder, DS photo+, DS video, Drivers & Utilities

Service & Support

Type	2 years warranty

Service & Support Details

Full Contract Period	2 years
Type	limited warranty

OS Provided

Storage Operating System

Synology DiskStation Manager

General

Manufacturer

Synology

Buy it here:

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WD My Cloud EX2 Ultra vs. Synology DS216J:

So that now you had a look at all the important technical aspects of both the NAS storage solutions. Let us put over the perspective of which is better in what aspect and which is not. Since they are from a same price range and category of products, most of the features are pretty same on both devices, however, here is a quick comparison:

Both devices were launched about two years ago for small-scale use
WD My Cloud EX2 Ultra has compact and small design compared to Synology DS216J, and it also weighs less. EX2 weighs 800 g where Synology weighs 880 g.
They both provide double 3.5” SATA II bays; however, WD My Cloud EX2 supports SSDs, where Synology DS216J doesn’t.
Moreover, WD comes with JBOD, RAID 0 and RAID 1 support. Synology supports Synology Hybrid RAID as well along with these RAID supports
Talking about the connectivity, both of these NAS comes with Gigabit Ethernet LAN port. However, only Synology supports wireless connectivity using a USB dongle
Synology offers more cloud backup options compared to WD. WD offers Amazon S3, Dropbox and Elephant drive where Synology provides Amazon S3, Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, and Microsoft One Drive.
Both NAS have Marvell Armada 385 CPU, but WD works at 1.3 GHz where Synology works at 1 GHz. WD has 1 GB RAM where Synology has 512 MB only and naturally, they both operate on their respective OS from manufacturer
WD has a fanless design, so it is silent but a little hot most of the times. Synology comes with a cooling fan, so it gets a bit noisy on peak moments, but it keeps the system cool most of the times

Conclusion:

We hope this post helps you to understand how WD My Cloud EX2 Ultra and Synology DS216J differ from each other. We just pointed out significant differences here. However, you can also find all the technical details in the tables above. If you have any question, query or suggestion, feel free to use the comment box below.

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WD My Cloud EX2 Ultra vs. Synology DS216J

1. WD My Cloud EX2 (10TB):

General

Storage Controller

Power Device

Processor / Memory

Storage

Chassis

Processor

Power

Interface Provided

Networking

Miscellaneous

Hard Drive

RAM

Software / System Requirements

Manufacturer Warranty

System Requirements

Environmental Parameters

Header

Dimensions & Weight

Expansion Bays

Cable Details

Service & Support

Service & Support Details

General

2. Synology Disk Station DS216j – NAS server – 0 GB:

General

Storage Controller

Power Device

Processor/Memory

Storage

Expansion/Connectivity

Chassis

Processor

Interface Provided

Processor / Memory / Storage

Networking

Miscellaneous

RAM

Software / System Requirements

System Requirements

Environmental Parameters

Header

Security DVR

Dimensions & Weight

Expansion Bays

Cable Details

Software

Service & Support

Service & Support Details

OS Provided

General

WD My Cloud EX2 Ultra vs. Synology DS216J:

Conclusion:

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