Side-by-side specifications of the Synology RS214 and RS217, from official datasheets. Differences are highlighted.
| RS214 | RS217 | |
| CPU | — | Marvell ARMADA 385 88F6820 1.33GHz |
| Cores / threads | — | 2 cores / 2 threads |
| RAM (base) | — | 512 MB DDR3 |
| RAM (max) | — | 512 MB |
| Drive bays | 2 | 2 |
| Expandable to | 0 | 0 |
| M.2 slots | 0 | 0 |
| Network | 2 x Gigabit | 2x 1GbE RJ-45 |
| 10GbE | no | no |
| Max raw capacity | 8 TB | 28 TB |
| Hot-swap | yes | yes |
| Form factor | 1U rackmount | 1U rackmount |
| Released | 2014 | 2016 |
| Power consumption | — | — |
| DSM at launch | — | — |
Choose the RS217 unless you only need the cheapest basic 2-bay box: it has a faster CPU and more RAM headroom than the RS214, while both are still 2-bay units with no expansion. Neither model has built-in 10GbE or M.2, so if you need those, skip both and look higher up the Synology line.