5 Things to Know About the Synology DS1821+ PCIe Slot

The DS1821+ has a PCIe 3.0 x8 slot reserved for 10GbE upgrades. This slot is hidden inside the chassis and is not used for any other purpose.

The NAS ships with only four Gigabit Ethernet ports. There is no 10GbE onboard, so the PCIe slot is the only way to add it.

A 10GbE upgrade is almost essential for an eight-bay NAS. With six or eight drives spinning, Gigabit Ethernet quickly becomes a bottleneck.

The slot is compatible with Synology’s own 10GbE network cards. You can install a supported card to achieve faster network speeds.

The PCIe slot is Gen3 x8, providing enough bandwidth for full 10GbE performance. This ensures the upgrade will not be limited by the slot itself.