ioSafe 1019+ NAS vs. 1517 NAS: What’s the Difference?

Lately, I’ve been asked quite often about the key differentiators between the legacy ioSafe 1517 NAS and the newer 1019+ NAS.

Throughout this review, I’ll delve deeper into their specific capabilities, why the 1019+ adds value to our client’s infrastructures, and how it helps them achieve their goals. Whether it’s data protection, resiliency, or promoting business continuity and Hybrid technologies, we aim to support safeguarding the key elements of a successful organization.  

First and foremost, it’s a must to mention that the ioSafe NAS devices are based on the Synology Software DiskStation Manager (DSM). We typically follow Synology’s product releases to offer the latest capabilities of the software platform and DSM, along with enhancements to the hardware and usability in any IT environment. Today we’ll take a look at both the hardware and software capabilities.

If you’re familiar with ioSafe products, you’ll understand that the goal of our brand is to protect your critical data in the face of adverse natural or human environmental impacts. For businesses, we help protect your organization during disastrous events that could otherwise (and with other manufacturer’s products) destroy the critical data driving your company’s success, potentially damaging your business continuity to the point of lost revenue—or worst case—closing your business. 

The 1019+ continues to hold data securely when exposed to fire reaching 1550°F for 30 minutes and completely submerged in 10ft of fresh or saltwater for 72hrs.

With those major factors in mind, let’s move on to some of the more impactful changes.

Hardware

While the 1517 integrated a CPU based on the Annapurna labs AI-314 with a 32-bit architecture, the 1019+ boasts an Intel based Celeron J3455 with a 64-bit architecture, providing more processing power and faster completion of tasks for our clients.

Put simply, the 64-bit processor can handle more data at once and accomplish your tasks faster while utilizing the standard and increased RAM available in the 1019+ (from the previous 2GB in the 1517 to 8GB in the 1019+).

The 1019+ also boasts a Hardware Transcoding engine. This can be beneficial if working with any organization that’s going to use the NAS as a multimedia server. Typically, these are hospitals, schools, or other locations where multiple people or groups might be trying to view stored media or streaming media at the same time. The 1517 didn’t have this capability.

General DSM Specifications

One of the most notable changes regarding the 1019+ is supporting the BtrFS file system architecture, which wasn’t available in the 1517.

Many times, a key component of your backup solution will include snapshots. A BtrFS file system is required for snapshot replication.

Along with the above-mentioned enhancement comes the SSD cache. The 1019+ supports M.2 NVMe read-write cache support, while the 1517 didn’t. The availability of SSD cache provides the ability to accelerate your system performance well beyond what was possible with the 1517.  

iSCSI Storage & Virtualization

Newly added is the Virtual Machine Manager. Now you can deploy and run various virtual machines on the ioSafe 1019+, which wasn’t possible on the 1517 system. With virtual machines being very standard in a modern IT environment, this is a critical enhancement.

Data Protection & Backup Solutions

One of the central aspects of the ioSafe product family is to protect your critical data, which is why we’ve added these crucial features:

• The backup tools of the 1019+ now support a maximum of 32 tasks, when previously the 1517 only supported 2.
• Snapshot replication is now available due to the addition of the BtrFS file system support.
• Active Backup for G Suite, Office 365, and business are all additional critical enhancements.

For a side by side comparison, take a look at the table below. And keep an eye out for future publications, where we’ll delve deeper into discussing these capabilities and more with the ioSafe 1019+.