UGREEN are launching their NASync DH2300 and NASync DH4300 Plus to the UK and Irish market this week. To coincide with the launch, they have sent us a NASync DH4300 Plus to take a look at, and we have been putting it through its paces in the office over the last week.

The NASync DH4300 Plus is a four-bay NAS (Network Attached Storage) device that comes equipped with a host of the latest technology and features you would expect from a device like this.

What's in the Box

Inside the box, the NASync DH4300 Plus comes with a power supply, Ethernet cable, an instruction manual, a set of screws for fastening drives into the carriers for each bay, and a small screwdriver.

Everything is well packaged and has a premium feel, and everything that you need to get up and running is included.

NASync DH4300 Plus Specs

Drive Bays: 4-Bay (SATA)

Operating System: UGOS Pro

CPU Model: A76+A55 8 Core

CPU Brand & Architecture: Rockchip ARM 8 Cores 2.0GHz

Memory (RAM): 8GB LPDDR4X

Flash Memory (System Disk): eMMC 32GB

SATA Drive Bays: 4

RAID: JBOD/Basic/RAID 0/RAID 1/RAID 5/RAID 6/RAID 10

Maximum Storage: 120TB (4x 30TB)

LAN Ports (RJ45): 1x 2.5GbE

High-Speed USB Ports: (Front Panel) 1x USB-C (5Gb/s), 2x USB-A (both 5Gb/s)

HDMI: 4K 60Hz

Product Dimensions: L155 x W155 x H215.7 mm

Power Consumption: 12V/6A

Initial Setup

These NAS devices from UGREEN are being aimed mainly at the home user, but the four-bay model we are reviewing would be more than capable in a small office, too.

With the home user in mind, I wanted to see how easy it would be to get the unit up and running if you had little to no prior knowledge.

The instruction manual included is detailed, easy to follow and contains images to help along the way. UGREEN have also done a nice job with the UI you encounter on startup, guiding you through the steps and informing you about the impact of the different choices you have to make. We'll cover this more below.

Your first task is to install drives in each bay. The top of the device has a cover that slides up to reveal the four drive bays. Each bay has a hard disk carrier that slides out when you squeeze two tabs in at the top. We chose to install four 512GB SATA SSDs. These drives are in the 2.5" format, and the carriers have holes to allow for the correct mounting of them in the carrier. The carrier can also accommodate 3.5" drives, and with four bays available, you can add a whopping 120TB of storage if required.

The choice of what drives to use will really come down to what you intend to store on the device and how you intend to use that data. The smaller SSD drives are far faster than their mechanical big brothers, but that speed comes at a financial cost. The slower-spinning disk allows for larger storage amounts at a cheaper cost, but accessing your files will be slower. For the average home user, I think spinning disks are perfectly fine and probably the better choice unless you plan to access your files very regularly.

It is, however, important that you select drives that are the same size for each bay if you want to get the most out of the RAID features available and using at least three of the four bays is essential.

Once you have your drives fitted, you then need to connect the NASync DH4300 Plus to a power supply and to a spare port on your router.

Once you have powered on the device, the rest of the setup is completed in a browser on your PC or via a dedicated smartphone app from UGREEN. I much prefer to use the larger screen of a PC for setups like this, but it is possible to complete the setup on the app if that is your preferred method.

Getting Things Up and Running

For the next steps, you open a browser and navigate to find.ugnas.com, and your NAS device should be found on your local network.

The UI guides you through creating an Admin account, linking an email address, and once that is done, it configures the system for a few minutes and then presents you with the UI of the operating system.

There are just a few more ...