NAS Synology RackStation RS1221+

The Synology RackStation RS1221+ is a compact 2U rack NAS designed for small and medium businesses that require reliable, high-performance storage in space-constrained environments. Powered by a Ryzen Embedded V1500B processor and 4 GB DDR4 memory, the RS1221+ delivers high sequential throughput and strong random IOPS to support data-intensive workloads. The RS1221RP+ variant adds redundant power supplies for extra protection. The unit supports up to eight drives natively and can be expanded with an RX418 expansion unit for additional capacity.

Advantages

The RS1221+/RS1221RP+ combines a shallow-depth chassis that fits 2-post and shallow rackmount enclosures with enterprise-oriented features such as ECC memory, the Btrfs file system, and Synology DiskStation Manager for centralized management. It provides high sequential read/write performance and high random IOPS for demanding tasks, supports SSD caching and 10GbE network upgrades, and—on the RP+ model—offers redundant power supplies to reduce the risk of downtime from a single power channel failure.

Suitable for

• Small and medium business file storage and sharing
• Backup and disaster recovery targets (Hyper Backup, Snapshot Replication)
• Virtualization storage for VMware, Hyper-V, and OpenStack Cinder
• Centralized user file access and collaboration (Synology Drive, Collaboration Suite)
• Edge or remote racks with limited depth and space

Key specifications

• Model: Synology RackStation RS1221+
• Processor: AMD Ryzen Embedded V1500B (2.2 GHz)
• Memory: 4 GB DDR4 (ECC supported)
• Drive bays (native): 8 (HDD & SSD supported)
• Expandable to: 12 bays with RX418 expansion unit
• Sequential throughput: up to 2,315 MB/s read and 1,147 MB/s write (model-dependent)
• Random IOPS: over 100K 4K random read
• Chassis: 2U rackmount, shallow depth (30 cm for RS1221+, 38 cm for RS1221RP+)
• Redundant power: available on RS1221RP+ variant
• Weight: 6.9 kg
• Colour: Black

How to use

Install the RS1221+ into a 2-post or shallow-depth rack enclosure, populate drives as required, and power the unit. Use Synology DiskStation Manager (DSM) to initialize storage pools and volumes, enable Btrfs for snapshot capabilities, and configure RAID according to desired redundancy. To increase performance, configure NVMe or SATA SSD caching and upgrade network interfaces to SFP+ or 10GbE where supported. For high availability, pair two identical units and enable Synology High Availability to allow automatic failover between clustered servers.

Recommendations

For production deployments, use enterprise-grade HDDs or Synology drives for continuous 24/7 operation, enable ECC memory and Btrfs where data integrity is important, and consider the RS1221RP+ model with redundant power supplies for environments that require higher service availability. Regularly configure Hyper Backup and Snapshot Replication to meet your recovery point objectives.