Editing Synology DS 1513+/1515+ (section)

=== Why Are They Good For Home Labs ===
These devices are particularly good for home lab users as they are the entry point where you get a lot of useful features or supported modes not available (or as flexible) on lower end NAS devices.  Hilights include.

* 4 x Gigabit Network Ports - The devices have 4 network ports that support link aggregation (for combining multiple ports into a higher bandwidth) either via Synology's own aggregation tech (which doesn't require a compatible switch) or via the industry standard 802.3ad protocol.  This is especially useful for bumping up bandwidth for storage traffic etc.
* iSCSI support is built in and simple to use.  Allowing you to s3qet up iSCSI LUNs and targets for use in the lab (helping to seperate storage traffic from general purpose use).
* Expandable  Each NAS device has 2 x extSATA 600 Ports to which you can attach two additional expansion bays.  2 and 5 bay expansions are available. This allows a max of 15 drives from the one NAS.
* USB 3.0 ports exist on the  back and can be used to connect USB HDDs to for NAS to USB backup.  A nice cheap way to back up your lab.
* Docker Support - Synology's Disk Station Manager operating system supports docker so you can run docker containers on the NAS when a VM isn't required or you want something running all the time.
* Affordable - At time of writing a second hand DS1513+ can be had for around £300 and a new DS1515+ at around £580.  Expansion bays (5 bay) are around £325.  For the power and versatility you get it's very good value.