What can the DS923+ run?
By Devin Chua · Data checked by Owen Nakamura · Updated · Prices checked The DS923+ runs Plex and Jellyfin for direct-play (software transcode only), full Docker via DSM and real virtual machines. On its AMD Ryzen R1600 (2 cores, 4 threads) with 4 GB (to 32 GB), the sweet spot is Home Assistant, Nextcloud, Pi-hole / AdGuard Home, Paperless-ngx.
The predecessor many bought for the drive policy, and still the only four-bay DiskStation with a genuine 10-gigabit upgrade slot. The Ryzen R1600 has only two cores: strong as a file store with ECC RAM, weak for many containers.
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Everything the DS923+ can run, at a glance
Rated from this model’s real AMD Ryzen R1600 (2 cores, 4 threads) and its 4 GB–32 GB of RAM. “Limited” and “No” are honest: an ARM box does not virtualize, and no hardware transcode is no hardware transcode.
| App | Runs? | Performance | What it needs on this model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plex | Yes | fair | Direct-play; software transcode only |
| Jellyfin | Yes | fair | Direct-play; software transcode |
| Immich | Yes | fair | Recommend a RAM upgrade to 8 GB+ · add RAM › |
| Home Assistant | Yes | good | Container or full HA OS in a VM |
| Nextcloud | Yes | good | Runs well in Docker |
| Frigate | Yes | fair | Add a Coral TPU (USB) for detection |
| Pi-hole / AdGuard Home | Yes | good | Lightweight container |
| Paperless-ngx | Yes | good | Runs well in Docker |
| Vaultwarden | Yes | good | Lightweight container |
| Minecraft server | Yes | fair | RAM upgrade recommended for headroom · add RAM › |
| Docker (general) | Yes | good | Full container platform (DSM) |
| Virtual machines | Yes | fair | Add RAM (16 GB+) for a useful VM · add RAM › |
| Surveillance recording | Yes | good | Scales to many cameras; surveillance drives |
| Time Machine / backup target | Yes | good | Any model |
App by app on the DS923+
Plex
The DS923+ runs Plex natively, but the AMD Ryzen R1600 (2 cores, 4 threads) has no integrated GPU: it direct-plays cleanly and its 2-core chip handles the library, yet 4K transcoding falls back to slow software. Over 2 × 1GbE, expandable to 10GbE with the E10G22-T1-Mini add-in card that is rarely the bottleneck: the transcode is.
Jellyfin
Jellyfin runs in a container on the DS923+, but with no Intel iGPU on the AMD Ryzen R1600 (2 cores, 4 threads) it transcodes in software only. Lean on direct-play over 2 × 1GbE, expandable to 10GbE with the E10G22-T1-Mini add-in card and it stays smooth.
Immich
Immich is a strong fit for the DS923+: DSM's Docker hosts the stack and, with 4 GB out of the box and room for 32 GB, you can feed its ML search the 8 GB+ it wants. Add RAM before pointing your whole library at it.
Home Assistant
The DS923+ is a comfortable Home Assistant host: run the light HA Container in DSM's Docker, or (because this 2-core AMD Ryzen R1600 (2 cores, 4 threads) virtualizes) the full Home Assistant OS with add-ons in a VM, with 32 GB of RAM to spare it.
Nextcloud
Nextcloud runs in DSM's Docker on the DS923+; with 4 GB out of the box and room for 32 GB and the 2-core AMD Ryzen R1600 (2 cores, 4 threads) it is responsive for a household over 2 × 1GbE, expandable to 10GbE with the E10G22-T1-Mini add-in card. It is heavier than a plain file share, so give the container room.
Frigate
Frigate will run on the DS923+, but the AMD Ryzen R1600 (2 cores, 4 threads) has no Intel iGPU, so it decodes on the CPU: keep the camera count modest and add a USB Coral TPU for the detection. The ECC RAM is a nice touch for a 24/7 recorder.
Pi-hole / AdGuard Home
Pi-hole (or AdGuard Home) is trivial for the DS923+: a few hundred megabytes in DSM's Docker, sitting on your 2 × 1GbE, expandable to 10GbE with the E10G22-T1-Mini add-in card as the network's DNS server 24/7. An always-on 4-bay NAS is an ideal host.
Paperless-ngx
Paperless-ngx runs in DSM's Docker on the DS923+; the 2-core AMD Ryzen R1600 (2 cores, 4 threads) handles a household's OCR in bursts, with 4 GB out of the box and room for 32 GB to keep indexing quick.
Vaultwarden
Vaultwarden is one of the easiest wins on the DS923+: a Bitwarden-compatible password server in a sub-gigabyte container under DSM, always available on your own 4-bay box rather than someone else's cloud.
Minecraft server
The DS923+ can host a Minecraft world in DSM's Docker: a world wants ~4 GB, and this model offers 4 GB out of the box and room for 32 GB. Add RAM before inviting a crowd; the AMD Ryzen R1600 (2 cores, 4 threads)'s clock does the rest.
Docker (general)
Docker is the DS923+'s superpower: DSM's container platform runs the whole self-hosted world, and with 4 GB out of the box and room for 32 GB you decide how many services to stack on the 2-core AMD Ryzen R1600 (2 cores, 4 threads). This is what turns it from 4-bay storage into a home server.
Virtual machines
The DS923+ is a real VM host: the 2-core AMD Ryzen R1600 (2 cores, 4 threads) virtualizes and 4 GB out of the box and room for 32 GB lets you hand a guest a proper slice while the NAS keeps serving over 2 × 1GbE, expandable to 10GbE with the E10G22-T1-Mini add-in card. Fill it toward 32 GB if VMs are the point.
Surveillance recording
The DS923+ runs Synology's native NVR app, and the 2-core AMD Ryzen R1600 (2 cores, 4 threads) scales to a real camera count over 2 × 1GbE, expandable to 10GbE with the E10G22-T1-Mini add-in card. Size the 4 bays by cameras × retention, and use surveillance-tuned drives (WD Purple, SkyHawk) for the continuous writes.
Time Machine / backup target
Like every NAS, the DS923+ is an excellent Time Machine and backup target over SMB: set a per-user quota so backups do not fill its 4 bays. With 2 × 1GbE, expandable to 10GbE with the E10G22-T1-Mini add-in card it soaks up a household's Macs and PCs effortlessly.
Local AI on the DS923+
Out of the box the DS923+ cannot load Llama 3.1 8B: the model plus a 4k conversation needs about 5.9 GB, and only 2.0 GB of its 4 GB is free once the NAS software takes its share. With 8 GB it fits.
Speed on a chatbot is set by memory bandwidth, and that is the number missing here: the AMD Ryzen R1600's memory speed is not published by Synology or the chip maker.
As shipped, no model in our list fits the DS923+ comfortably. Best upgrade: a matching second RAM stick. It fills the empty memory channel and doubles memory to 8 GB. That is enough for Gemma 3 4B. Going all the way to 32 GB fits models up to Qwen3 32B.
For AI photo search on the DS923+: CPU only: works, but indexing a large library is slow. For camera detection in Frigate: CPU detection is not recommended; add a USB or M.2 accelerator.
| Llama 3.1 8B (Q4, 4k context, Ollama's default) | Does not fit as shipped; fits at 32 GB |
|---|---|
| Largest comfortable fit | None as shipped |
| AI photo search (Immich) | CPU only: works, but indexing a large library is slow |
| AI camera detection (Frigate) | CPU detection is not recommended; add a USB or M.2 accelerator |
| Best single upgrade | Second RAM stick (to 8 GB) |
Try other models on the DS923+ in the AI NAS calculator › · Compatible RAM for the DS923+ ›
The DS923+ at a glance
| CPU | AMD Ryzen R1600 (2 cores, 4 threads) |
|---|---|
| RAM | 4 GB DDR4 ECC SO-DIMM (2 slots), up to 32 GB (ECC) |
| Bays | 4 |
| Container platform | Yes, DSM |
| Virtual machines | Yes |
| Plex/Jellyfin transcode | No iGPU: software only, not for 4K |
| OS | DSM 7.x |
Read more
- What can I run? The full matrix
- Best drives for the DS923+
- RAM for the DS923+
- DS923+ capacity calculator
- What it costs to run (power calculator)
- AI on a NAS: what actually matters
Frequently asked questions
Can the DS923+ run Plex with 4K transcoding?
Not well. The AMD Ryzen R1600 (2 cores, 4 threads) has no integrated GPU, so the DS923+ direct-plays 4K fine but can only transcode in slow software. For 4K transcoding, choose an Intel Quick Sync model instead.
Can the DS923+ run Docker?
Yes. DSM includes a full container platform, so the DS923+ runs the whole self-hosted world (Pi-hole, Vaultwarden, Nextcloud and more), limited only by its 4–32 GB of RAM.
Can the DS923+ run virtual machines?
Yes. The DS923+ supports hardware virtualization, and with up to 32 GB of RAM it can give a Windows or Linux guest a useful slice while still serving files.
Can the DS923+ run Immich?
Yes. With a RAM upgrade toward 8 GB, the DS923+ runs Immich's machine-learning photo search comfortably in Docker, a strong self-hosted Google Photos replacement.
Can the DS923+ run Home Assistant?
Yes. Home Assistant Container runs in Docker on the DS923+ and barely touches the CPU, and you can run the full Home Assistant OS in a VM if you prefer add-ons.
Is the DS923+ a good home server, or just storage?
It is a genuine home server: full Docker (and VMs) turn it into a platform for Plex, photos, automation and more, not just a file box. RAM is the main lever on how much you stack.
Can the DS923+ run a local AI chatbot like Ollama?
It fits an 8B model in memory, but there is no published memory speed or measurement for the AMD Ryzen R1600 (2 cores, 4 threads), so we do not estimate its speed.
Devin Chua works out which drives, RAM and NVMe cache fit which NAS model at nasdrives.ca, and what the RAID choice means for usable capacity, checked against what is in stock on Amazon.ca.
Data checked by Owen Nakamura, Technical editor (data checking)