As enterprises undergo deeper digital transformation, the demands on storage I/O performance from local high-load applications and databases are becoming increasingly stringent. Synology has announced the launch of its new generation of all-flash storage arrays, the FS6420 and FS3420. These two new 24-slot, 2U rack-mount servers are designed for latency-sensitive enterprise-class mission-critical workloads. They not only offer significant double-digit leaps in IOPS (Input/Output Operations Per Second) and throughput compared to their predecessors, but also incorporate intelligent storage tiering and out-of-band (OOB) management capabilities, providing medium to large enterprises and data centers with an ideal solution that combines high performance with cost-effectiveness.
Significant performance leap: directly addressing high IOPS and high bandwidth requirements
For environments running large databases or intensive virtual machines (VMs), the random read/write performance (IOPS) of storage devices is often the most critical bottleneck determining overall system smoothness. Synology's two new machines deliver impressive performance figures:
• FS6420 (High-end flagship):It delivers up to 929000 random reads and 257000 random writes per second, representing significant improvements of 40% and 26% respectively compared to its predecessor.
• FS3420 (High-Performance Main Engine):It boasts 478000 read IOPS and 169000 write IOPS, while also showing significant performance increases of 21% and 32% respectively.
In addition, for scenarios such as video post-production teams or large CAD projects that require frequent access to large files, both models have an increase of "over 60%" in SMB read and transfer volume, ensuring absolutely smooth high-bandwidth file sharing.
High hardware availability and flexible network expansion ecosystem
As devices targeting core enterprise hubs, the FS6420 and FS3420 offer ample flexibility in terms of hardware reliability and network expansion.
Both new machines come standard with a backup power supply to eliminate the risk of single points of failure and have built-in dual 10GbE ports to support failover and load balancing. If an enterprise has already upgraded to a higher-speed backbone network, it can also be equipped with a 25GbE network card or a Fibre Channel interface card through the PCIe expansion slot to seamlessly integrate into the existing high-speed network infrastructure.
In addition, the system supports server-level out-of-band (OOB) management. This means that even in extreme situations such as system crashes or server shutdowns, IT administrators can still remotely access system logs and troubleshoot through a dedicated network channel, significantly reducing geographical limitations and time costs associated with maintenance.
DSM software support: Virtualization authentication and "intelligent storage tiering"
The FS6420 and FS3420 are equipped with Synology’s highly acclaimed DiskStation Manager (DSM) operating system, which is officially certified by major virtualization platforms such as VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V, Citrix and OpenStack, and provides highly cost-effective data management strategies.
The most crucial highlight is the Synology Tiering suite. This feature allows enterprises to use all-flash models such as the FS6420/FS3420 as a dedicated buffer for "hot data," ensuring that critical workloads enjoy ample IOPS. At the same time, the system automatically moves less frequently accessed "cold data" to lower-cost, high-capacity HDD storage devices in the background.
When used with license-free backup and snapshot tools such as Active Backup for Business and Snapshot Replication, businesses can easily achieve stringent RPO (Recovery Point Objective) and RTO (Recovery Time Objective).
