Let put things in a simple manner, by checking out the major differences between both these devices. The EX2 Ultra provides you with a better overall speed, it has more memory (installed), and it at the same time also offers a larger raw capacity. On the other side, the Synology DS218J is not going to cost you as much and what I really like about this device is that its support for browsers is really great.
The My Cloud ex2 ultra is very fine in the case of speed as it comes with 116 Mb/s read and 112 Mb/s write speed. In the case of average latency under 100% read/write activity ex2 ultra is dominant over many other devices in read activity as the latency lower to 776.99ms in iSCSI.
But when we talk about write activity of EX2 ultra the average latency under the same conditions is much higher in iSCSI and CIFS as compared to that in non ultra cloud devices.
When maximum latency under 100% read/write activity is measured then in the case of write activity the latency comes out to be lowest in CIRS as it was only 2295.5ms but the write latency touches the peak value of 8800.4ms in iSCSI. However the read latency of ex2 ultra devices dominates over that of non ultra devices.
The Synology DS218j shows the speed of 113 Mb/s in read activity and 112 Mb/s in write activity.
Synology is usually slow with large file transfer and offers higher latency.
This may be due to network, drives or the Synology itself. Along with these higher latencies read/write activity of Synology is much comparable to ex2 ultra devices.
Let’s check out these devices side by side.
Table of Contents
Side By Side Comparison:
| Ex2 Ultra | Synology ds218j | |
| Processor | 1.3 GHz Marvell Armada 385 dual core processor | 1.3 GHz Marvell Armada 385 dual core processor |
| Installed memory | 1 GB DDR3 | 542 MB DDR3 |
| Maximum raw capacity | 28 TB (14 TB Drive × 2) | 24 TB ( 12 TB drive × 2) |
| Drives included | 2 × TB HDDs | 2 × TB HDDs |
| Interface | USB 3.0, GBE | USB 3.0 |
| Speed | 116 Mb/s read and 112 Mb/s write | 113 Mb/s read and 112 Mb/s write |
| Number of bays | 2×3.5” | 2×3.5” |
| Ports | 2×USB 3.0 Type A 1×RJ-45 1GBE | 2×USB 3.0 1×RJ-45 1GBE LAN |
| Physical Dimensions | 6.1”× 3.9”× 6.75” | 8.88”× 6.5”× 3.94” |
| Weight | 3.53lbs | 1.92lbs |
The design of My Cloud ex2 ultra (compared with Synology DS220+) is industrial. It is 6.1”× 3.9”× 6.75” (HWD) in dimensions.
Having three LEDs in front ex2 ultra appears as Western Digital My Book.
The drives are places from the top of the unit in a vertical manner.
There are small plates which functions to keep the drives in place. In addition plastic handles are also attached with each drive to pull them out of the bay.
The design of Synology Ds218j make these devices much attractive and gives them a prominent rectangular box like look.
The dimensions are 8.88”× 6.5”× 3.94 (HWD). There are four LED status indicators in front.
There is a power switch below these indicators, 2 USB 3.0 ports, 1 Gigabit LAN port, power jack and a reset button as well.
What models do they offer?
When we talk about My Cloud ex2 ultra the devices are categorized into various models on the basis of the storage space they allow.
All of following lies in expert series
- Expert Series 4TB ex2 ultra
- Expert Series 8TB ex2 ultra
- Expert Series 12TB ex2 ultra
- Expert series 16TB ex2 ultra
- Expert series 28TB ex2 ultra
Here on the other hand Synologyalso offers variety of models as they are divided into different series such as FS series, SA series, XS/XS+ series, plus series, value series, J series and UC series.
Synology DS218J belongs to the value series which also involves the following models:-
- DS218 Play
- DS118
- DS418
- RS819
Synology offers different space variants as well in which maximum raw capacity reaches to 200TB.
Compare EX2 Ultra with Synology DS218+ here: https://comparecloudstoragedevices.com/wd-my-cloud-ex2-ultra-vs-synology-ds218-plus/
What’s their Cloud interface like?
As we know ex2 ultra devices are branched into various models depending upon the raw capacities they offer.
Each model has USB and Gbe interface. In the case of Synology DS218j the storage capacity does not exceeds 24TB that is the only capacity range offered by the device.
It is a part of one of the Synology series.
The storage capacity increases with the higher series and reaches up to 200TB but that model does not belong to the plus series of which DS218J is a part.
Moreover DS218J offers only USB interface.
Which has better Backup/sharing?
If you are WD ex2 ultra user you can enjoy multiple backups and sharing of files and folders is quite easy as you can sync content across various PCs.
Synology DS218j offers multi-Version backup and you can backup data to various destinations such as network shared folders, local shared folders, external hard drives and public cloud services.
Setting up these devices:
Setting up of ex2 ultra involves connecting one end of the provided Ethernet cable to the Ethernet port of the device and connecting the other end to the routers LAN port.
Wait for the connection and once it is made connect the device to an electrical outlet using power adapter.
The device will turn on within seconds and after that the power LED of device turns blue.
Setting up of Synology DS218j requires connecting one end of the AC power adapter to the power port and the other end to the power outlet.
After that LAN cable is used to connect the disk station to to the switch or hub.
Pressing the power button turns on your device.
Noise Levels of these Devices:
Noise does not act as a disturbing factor while using any of the two devices.
However this noise can be due to vibrating drive plates or movement of drive fans but the noise level remains up to 18.2 dB(A) in both the devices if you wipe away the dust from your device for the smooth movement of fans.
What about Warranty?
My Cloud Ex2 ultra comes with limited 3 years warranty whereas the Synology devices are limited to 2 years warranty.
The warranty policy of Western Digital devices varies according to the models and you have to provide company the legit proofs that the device wasn’t okay technically.
If we talk about Synology devices the warranty is not applicable to the software contained in the product.
You can also return it to the reseller from where you purchased that device.
Keep in mind that Synology warranties are not applicable to all the countries so that they may refuse your request of return or repair.