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Title: Synology Locks Key NAS Features Behind Proprietary Drive Requirement

Link: https://it.slashdot.org/story/25/04/17/197239...

Synology's upcoming Plus Series NAS systems will restrict full functionality
to users who install the company's self-branded hard drives, Tom's Hardware
is reporting, marking a significant shift in the consumer NAS market. While
third-party drives will still work for basic storage, critical features
including drive health monitoring, volume-wide deduplication, lifespan
analysis, and automatic firmware updates will be disabled, the publication
said. The restriction doesn't apply to Synology's 2024 and older models, only
affecting new Plus Series devices targeted at SMBs and advanced home users.
Synology itself doesn't manufacture drives but rebrands HDDs from major
manufacturers like Seagate, Western Digital, and Toshiba, often with custom
firmware that functions as DRM. According to Synology, the change follows
successful implementation in their enterprise solutions and will deliver
"higher performance, increased reliability, and more efficient support." A
workaround exists: users can initialize a non-Synology drive in an older
Synology NAS and then migrate it to a new Plus model without restrictions.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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