QNAP dévoile sa première carte fille proposant deux ports QSFP28 100 GbE. Elle se nomme la QXG-100G2SF-E810. Cette QXG-100G2SF-E810 est une carte fille permet d’équiper une configuration de deux ports QSFP28 100 GbE. Sa mécanique s’appuie sur un contrôleur Intel E810-CAM2 et une interface PCIe 4.0 x16. Le constructeur précise « Notre QXG-100G2SF-E810 redéfinit la mise ...
The post Carte réseau PCIe 4.0 x16 QXG-100G2SF-E810, QNAP propose du 100 GbE appeared first on GinjFo.
Of all the devices that I talked about here and on YouTube, there is one device that I would wager is inside 99% of people’s homes these days, namely a router. For most users, the router provided by their internet service provider is more than proficient for the day-to-day handling of network and internet traffic in their home. After that, you enter the realm of prosumers, businesses and enterprise whereupon the typical low-level ISP router just will not cut it. It is at this point when premium and fully-featured routers enter the market and it is with this audience that we find QNAP launching their latest mesh router and combined NAS system. I say latest, as this is in fact the second router that QNAP has ever launched (the first being the QHora-301W – Review HERE) and the QMiroPlus-201W and QMiro-201W router systems are an impressive entry into this slowly growing product family. With the primary hub unit arriving with Intel-powered NAS architecture alongside RAID storage options and expandability, combined with the mesh connection and business class router software available in the QMiro-201W satellite pods, this is clearly something a little different to the mesh routers discussed throughout 2020/2021. QNAP has a long-established reputation in the NAS market and has expanded it noticeably with a significant range of network switches now in their portfolio. Are this new mesh router and NAS combination system a smart move by the brand or are they stretching themselves too far? Does the QNAP QMiroPlus-201W and QMiro-201W mesh system deserve your data?
QNAP has presented a fantastically unique router here and included hardware features that are genuinely unavailable from any other brand in the world like this right now in a single package. As mesh router systems go, it does seem a little pricey and given its lack of Wi-Fi 6 as available in the Qhora-301W, this may struggle with beating other solutions that support 802.11ax to the checkout. However, the QNAP QMiroPlus-201W and QMiro-201W mesh router system is at its best when it is purchased and deployed as a combined NAS storage system and intelligent mesh router. Indeed, an Intel quad-core 4GB memory 2-Bay NAS system will already set you back around $300-400 on its own and looking at this system in terms of purchasing it as an alternative to a NAS and router separately does makes that price tag a little bit more palatable. The QNAP QMiro-201W satellite modules on their own are perhaps a little underwhelming, but utilising them in conjunction with a QMiroPlus-201W unit, with its advantages in QTS for backups, multimedia, Plex media server, containers, surveillance and more 4K media and you’ll find that QNAP has really built something fantastically unique here. I just wish it had Wi-Fi 6…
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If you are thinking of buying a QNAP Solution, please use the links below
Understandably, QNAP has put a little bit more presentation into the retail packaging of the QMiroPlus-201W and QMiro-201W, given that this system is more likely to be sold on the shelf of your local I.T shop than many of their primary NAS solutions. Arriving with plenty of brand livery, product images and descriptions, this is all fairly standard and tells you plenty about the product’s hardware and software capabilities.
Removing the outer packaging, we find that QNAP has packed the QMiroPlus-201W and QMiro-201W in exactly the same way that most routers are packed (thin card moulded frame box) which bears stark contrast against how their NAS drives are packaged. Is this some kind of industry-standard or just the most effective way to package items like these? Who knows.
The included accessories for the QMiroPlus-201W and QMiro-201W are similar but with certain distinctions that are relevant to the scale of each device. The QMiroPlus-201W unit arrives with a cat5e 1M cable, screws for 2.5″ SATA drive installation, information on first-time setup incl, information on the inclusive 2-year warranty and an external PSU rated at 60W.
The QMiro-201W has near enough identical accessories, though understandably this unit does not feature the ability to install storage media aside from USB, the QMiro-201W simply has as the manuals, Ethernet cable and more modest external PSU at 24W.
As mentioned earlier, the QNAP QMiroPlus-201W allows you to install two hard drives or SSD inside the main chassis. This storage media needs to be purchased separately and QNAP has no plans to include the storage media in the system by default, which I think most users will be pleased with as it allows a certain degree a flexibility in its deployment. Additionally, as the QMiro-201W lacks the SATA storage bays, it is noticeably smaller in size. Let’s take a look at the design of the QNAP QMiro-201W and QMiroPlus-201W mesh router NAS combo systems.
Taking a closer look at the design and casing of each QNAP mesh router, you can see that it bears more than a striking resemblance to a number of their systems. Featuring a huge degree of ventilation to help maintain system temperature throughout the fanless QMiro-201W modules and fan-assisted QMiroPlus-201W hub, each unit is quite boxy in design and arrives at roughly the same height and width as a traditional hard drive. Though noticeably deeper. I’m still not a huge fan of the light blue colour scheme, but I know I am very much in the minority.
Taking a look at the QMiro-201W first. In all likelihood, this is the unit that will be most visible throughout your home or business if you deploy this system. There are no external antennas and the system is fanless. With a lot of mesh router providers creating much rounder and smaller mesh node points, QNAP has opted for a tall and narrow chassis design, likely because unlike a lot of other mesh node points, this has a noticeably larger degree of local connectivity over LAN and USB available.
The main QMiroPlus-201W unit however is significantly more capable and arrives in a larger chassis. This central unit features the same internal network processor and memory, but also features the parallel NAS storage system with its own dedicated CPU, memory and storage bays. Although the general design and shape on each unit are similar, the pub unit is around 3x larger in-depth and also features active calling internally.
The internal active cooling is assisted throughout the entire system by plenty of passive cooling throughout the entire external casing, with vents on almost every side. Indeed, the removable front panel only serves to cover the internal storage media days and does not cover any ventilation even when applied.
The QNAP QMiro-201W unit on the other hand relies exclusively on passive cooling due to its fanless design, with even more vents and physically large heatsinks internally. As mentioned, the individual QMiro-201W units may seem a tad larger than average mesh router points but there is a lot contained within each unit and needs appropriate heatsink coverage to maintain optimal efficiency one would assume.
The difference in scale between the QMiroPlus-201W and QMiro-201W is actually quite noticeable and the larger QMiroPlus-201W unit is as big as a regular NAS system.
Removing that front panel shows us the twin removable SATA storage bays. One main difference between this and most typical 2-Bay NAS’ is that this system utilizes more compact 2.5″ in storage media, which although more power-efficient and makes less noise, means that it does limit the available storage capacity that this system will be able to support at maximum. That said, this system does support 15mm height drives and therefore means it will support noticeably larger small form factor drives, as well as bulkier SATA SSD which marginally makes up for the total reduced capacity.
Inside these two storage bays, we find combined SATA power connectors and no unnecessary loose wires for installation. Indeed when installing the storage media inside, the system allows utilisation of individual drives or combined drives in a RAID 0/1 set. The storage media in these bays is primarily used by the parallel QTS NAS software for hundreds of different modern NAS purposes, as well as supporting snapshots and multiple types of backup operation between this, the router and other storage platforms like cloud, USB, cloned directory, other NAS and other client devices.
Although the use of 2.5 in SATA drives is a little underwhelming, it kind of makes sense in the stature of this device and the low-level discreet build of your average router. Also, 15mm height 2.5″ drives are pretty affordable these days and available from numerous brands. Personally, I would probably install a couple of SATA SSD in this system as then you can really take better advantage of the NAS architecture internally.
Taking a look at the rear of the QNAP QMiroPlus-201W and QMiro-201W, not only can we see plenty of ventilation but we can also see far more familiar connectivity as is found on typical QNAP systems. Even the relatively understated mesh satellite node QMiro-201W unit is a little bit more upscaled in design on the rear than a lot of other mesh router extras. Once again, I am still not a tremendous fan of the colour scheme, but I do like tonnes of passive ventilation and the good balance of functional yet compact design. It might be a little boxy for some, but I like it.
Taking a closer look at the QNAP QMiro-201W module on its own we find and that it arrives with multiple gigabit connections and the option to make local USB storage network accessible. Indeed, I like the fact that this system features twin RJ45 ethernet ports, one for WAN and another for LAN (though both can be used for typical LAN if preferred), it allows a decent depth of coverage across the three-band frequencies over Wi-Fi and these two local wired connections. Of course, giving this is Wi-Fi 5 in architecture and that this is going to be a mesh node point, it is pretty unlikely that this system could fully saturate both 100 Megabyte wire connections, but nevertheless, with the right port priority settings and the right mesh node layout in the environment, these would still prove very useful.
The system also arrives with USB 3.2 Gen 1 connectivity at 5Gb, which allows you to attach an external drive to be accessed via the QNAP QMiro-201W network. However, it is worth highlighting that when utilising just the QMiro-201W router, access to this drive is a great deal more limited than in the NAS software and hardware equipped QMiroPlus-201W system. Utilizing just QuRouter on the QNAP QMiro-201W will result in only having low-level breadcrumb style browser access to the USB drive and definitely not anything approaching the slick layout of File Station.
Switching over to the QNAP QMiroPlus-201W and things are noticeably ramped up in terms of port and connections. The system features a great combination of NAS and router style connectivity, from significantly more ethernet ports to local storage connectivity improvements. There is the active cooling fan, of course, something that is absent from the QMiro-201W unit, but this does not make much noise when in operation thanks to the system using rather modest style hard drives. The fans certainly ramped up when system was first initialising, but this soon passed.
Additionally, the main QMiroPlus-201W system arrives with two USB ports that are once again 5Gb in architecture, but this time the drives you attached can be utilised in creating a wider backup strategy, for use in virtual machines and containers on the NAS router, can be used for external storage and additional ethernet adaptors up to 2.5GbE and 5GbE. Lastly, QNAP also provides a range of USB expansion devices that allow you to add additional bays of storage to Venus and expand the storage pools and raid options available to you. Once again this is a significant jump over the available additional storage options available on most router systems and even a lot of 2 bay NAS systems in the market.
In terms of network connectivity, the QNAP QMiroPlus-201W has 5 available Ethernet ports. These can be broken down into 1 port for the NAS and 4 ports for the router, however, the router ports still allow complete access to the NAS GUI and system in general. The internet ports are all gigabit ethernet in architecture which is fairly predictable, however, the single dedicated NAS ethernet port is a 2.5GbE port, allowing connectivity of up to a potential 270MB/s per second. It is worth highlighting that both the NAS and router run parallel and both systems can be powered down or restarted for updates etc without it automatically affecting the other, something that will be hugely useful and relieve potential frustration in busier moments.
The active cooling fan mentioned earlier can have its RPM adjusted on the fly quite easily but it is recommended to leave the system running at automatic to ensure the system maintains perfect internal working temperatures. Also, we have to be realistic here and know that this is both a router and a NAS system, the latter of which can generate an impressive amount of heat whilst on for days, weeks and months at a time. This is made infinitely more important when you consider the system utilizes an Intel Celeron processor, which works at its best when the system has a clear and well-ventilated working environment.
That’s about it for the external connectivity on this rather innovative device and now I want to take a little look at the insides, the antenna and see how well organised the QNAP QMiroPlus-201W is internally.
Unsurprisingly, once we removed the external chassis of this rather compact NAS router combo, we find that the internals are packed together quite neatly in order to maximize available space. There are numerous smaller heatsinks around the system that cover the important dual CPU design and the storage media area, just above this large baseline heatsink for the controller board.
A closer look at the top of the device reveals the four antennas that provide full coverage across this system when in operation, not external antenna that allows a more customisable area of coverage control, which may disappoint some users. Alongside this, there is a slight concern about the heat and efficiency of a system like this in such a compact chassis with the antennas so close by. However, this is largely ignorable as even early testing of this system both in and outside of mesh setups proved very stable and in our software review, we were able to test this further with file uploads to the NAS. The lack of Wi-Fi 6 is still a bitter pill to swallow though.
The large silver heat sink that occupies the majority of the base of the system is where the bulk of the performance components are located. Considering the scale of the unit, it seems rather aggressive but given that you have the active cooling fan drawing are over this and the twin SATA storage bays, the more cooling, the better!
Both the QMiroPlus-201W and QMiro-201W use the same Qualcomm quad-core processor for handling the router operations, which also features 512MB of DDR3 memory too. As meagre as this might sound, this is pretty impressive for just handling the router side of things and along with the support of multiple SSIDs, different LANs supported and configuration options available in the QuRouter software for MAC Address/client device handling/IP tracking, that means this system can handle a decent number of simultaneously connected clients with ease and your network environment can be adjusted on the fly quite well.
The network-attached storage side of the QMiroPlus-201W on the other hand uses that Intel J4125 processor that hugely popular at the moment in a number of SMB NAS systems, with integrated graphics for 4K and 1080p video, handling of virtual machines and containers, supporting several surveillance applications and of course all of the multifaceted means with which to create a multi-tier backup strategy, there is a lot that this system can do and that this CPU supports in QTS. This CPU is further improved with the inclusion of 4GB of DDR4 memory to keep things running across multiple users and multiple services at once. Though it is worth highlighting that despite the fact that this CPU support up to 8GB of memory, the system cannot be upgraded from the standard 4GB in the baseline model. Not a huge deal breaker, but those of you that will expand the business utilities found in the NAS software may find 4GB a limiting long-term.
Overall, the internal hardware of both the QMiroPlus-201W and QMiro-201W is fairly impressive, though clearly the QMiroPlus-201W has the lion’s share of innovative internal tech. Arguably the QMiro-201W units are much less impressive when seen as stand-alone units, but the integrated hardware of the QMiroPlus-201W and then its scalability used in conjunction with one or more QMiro-201W units changes thing is dramatically for the better. However, good hardware is nothing without decent software and the new QNAP mesh router and NAS system are technically two parallel operating systems in one. So let’s take a look at both QTS and QuRouter.
The QuRouter software that is included on both the QMiroPlus-201W and QMiro-201W is functional if arguably fairly standard router control deck. There are a few features such as easy remote access, VPN integration, profile control and file management with the connected USB drive that are quite unique to the system and presented very well. But the rest of the features presented here are all quite standard for a paid router compared with that of your bog-standard ISP router. I have touched on the software side of things on the QNAP QMiroPlus-201W a little already, but to go into them in more detail, you need to look at them from two different end-user perspectives, home and business (enterprise really). Tools for both and the services are available to both, but each certainly has appeals to its own audience. The QMiroPlus-201W’s primary interface for most small-mid level users will be the new QuRouter software it arrives with. I will certainly go into more detail on the software review coming soon on the QMiro on Youtube, but even in this short stint of time using it, I am impressed by the GUI. Compared with the Netgear router management (looking remarkably 2000s even now in 2020) and my Virgin ISP router (fantastically limited UI), the QuRouter software is very clear, arriving with guides, tips and pointers – each allowing the user to create a very unique and secure setup that fits their needs. This software controls and manages all 4 of the LAN/WAN ports, allowing you to create quality of service protocols, priority assignment to ports and devices, as well as create virtual NETWORKS (vLANs) inside your main network, so you can group devices appropriately to their status in your home/business. Though the biggest question for many users looking at this system is not the LAN connectivity, but the choice to NOT include WiFi 6.
WiFi 5 vs WiFi 6
The QMiro is advertised as a AC2200 router which (as already touched on) means that you have blanket wireless coverage of a shared 220MB/s. This does not include the 400MB/s wired coverage via the 4x 1Gb LAN potential, but it is worth noting that no single band 5Ghz A/C/N connected client over wireless can get higher than 768Mb/s (76MB/s). The benefits of WiFi 6 in terms of data packet handling, both in rapidity and simultaneously are quite well noted, though the distance is not quite as broad as the older wireless protocol. Additionally, that wireless coverage in the QNAP Qhora-301W released last year is spread across multiple bands, with the system supported 3x 2.4Ghz and 3x 5Ghz bands, over MU-MIMO. It is still a tremendous achievement and still comfortably meets the WiFi 6 standard. So if QNAP could include it in the QHora, then why not the QMiro? Who knows. Another handy advantage of the QMiroPlus-201W is the ability to create 3 separate SSIDs (wireless networks) each with its own wireless connection name and security login credentials. The separate wireless networks use separate frequency/bands with 1 on the 2.4GHz band and 2 on the 5GHz band. Most routers include the ability to create a ‘guest’ SSID on the single lower 2.4GHz band, but on the QMiroPlus-201W, you can create fully featured wireless networks and give them appropriate security privileges and access to the selected wired networks and vLANs you create via QuRouter.
Under the traditional enterprise network architecture, multi-site connections must be connected back to the head office, which often suffers from insufficient bandwidth. In addition, the price of VPN equipment on the market is expensive, which is far from the load of ordinary SMEs. With QNAP SD-WAN technology (QuWAN), multi-point units can flexibly form a network at any point, realizing a low-cost and highly flexible network deployment architecture.
QuWAN Orchestrator provides a convenient and powerful cloud network centralized deployment and management platform. IT personnel can remotely deploy all local network equipment at each branch in the headquarters, without having to travel to various locations The network deployment of ZTP truly achieves zero-touch deployment (ZTP, Zero Touch Provisioning), and can perform multiple functions such as bandwidth monitoring, parameter setting, and traffic analysis on a single platform. Endpoint devices can directly connect to QMiroPlus-201W via wireless or wired LAN, and easily join the SD-WAN network. This is achieved with the three first-party tools:
QuWAN Orchestrator
Log in to quwan.QNAP.com , you can view the connection status of all devices that have joined the network, and apply network settings to all devices in batches. You can also set up real-time notifications for real-time remote troubleshooting and control connection problems
QuWAN Agent
You need to enable QuWAN Agent on the QNAP device and add your device to the Mesh VPN networking environment (that is, join QuWAN Orchestrator).
QVPN Client
After installing QVPN Client on mobile phones and computers, and connecting with QHora-301W, you can access multipoint intranet resources.
In addition to being built in QMiro and QHora routers, QuWAN is actually FREE and can also run on compatible devices such as QNAP NAS, QGD switches and QuCPE series servers. It also works with exclusive QVPN Client software to enable teleworkers/WFHers to pass Terminal devices such as computers, laptops, and mobile phones are connected to SSL VPN, which facilitates the formation of a micro-segmentation network architecture that is separated by different departments as large as a state or country, as small as a single site, and through the central cloud Unified management of the platform. QuWAN is now available for free in QNAP App Center, and the license fee is free of charge.
And the rest:
So, the QMiroPlus-201W really is a fully-featured router for home and business. This review is primarily centred on the hardware of course, but the software review below should give you a better understanding of what the QMiroPlus-201W and QMiro-201W can do in both router services and NAS:
The QTS NAS software included on the QMiroPlus-201W, on the other hand, is a great deal more unique and despite its rather modest stature and the fact that it shares billing with the router OS, this is not a pared-down version of the fully-featured NAS Software. The QMiroPlus-201W arrives with QTS 4.5 and access to all of the software and services that you would have in a prosumer class system. There are a few small differences such as the use of QVR elite and not QVR Pro for reasons of hardware efficiency, but all in all, this is a complete system server and cloud management user interface. For those unfamiliar with the QNAP operating system, it arrives with hundreds of free applications, can be accessed from a web browser or desktop client, arrives with many, many apps for mobile on IOS and Android and is definitely in the top two operating systems you can get for network-attached storage devices. Often compared with their biggest rival Synology NAS and DSM, QNAP QTS GUI is designed in a way that will definitely appeal more to Android and Windows users, giving you everything you will need from a network-attached storage device in 2021 and arrives with constant updates for added features and security.
Then you have KEY applications that are used on the QNAP NAS system that moves into tailored data access and use, such as:
You cannot really fault the level of software and service available in this single package solution. The fact that you only have access to QNAP QTS software platforms on the QMiroPlus-201W and not the QMiro-201W is disappointing but understandable. And the QuRouter software, despite still falling behind in a few key areas compared with Synology Router Manager, is still an excellent and functional router management software platform.
It is genuinely hard to dislike or write-off the QNAP QMiroPlus-201W system, giving it wide-ranging software abilities and impressive hardware available on both the router and NAS side. The capability, design and features of the QMiroPlus-201W do somewhat overshadow the QMiro-201W module, clearly leading to this system only really reaching its potential when purchased as a multi-node kit, but it is still a capable and functional system independently. The QuRouter software, although clear, user-friendly and functional, has perhaps not evolved as much as I would like in the six months since I first saw it, but QTS for NAS runs on this system beautifully and delivers everything I expected. Much like the QNAP guardian series that combined NAS and switches to relative success, the QMiro’s attempt to merge a separate private server and router purchase into one is still yet unproven in the eyes of the public, so its effectiveness will likely vary from user to user. Clearly, the lack of Wi-Fi 6 on this system is going to be a deal-breaker for many and the choice of media drives and inability to upgrade memory is definitely an area that QNAP dropped of the ball on here but nevertheless, I do recommend the QNAP QMiroPlus-201W and QMiro-201W as certainly your next NAS and as a viable alternative to separate hardware in your home or office.
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Bulletin d’actualité du 07/06/2021 Nous voici de nouveau ensemble dans notre rendez-vous de fin de semaine pour revenir sur les différents bulletins de sécurité publiés par le CERT-FR ! Durant la période du 31 mai au 6 juin 2021, le CERT-FR (Centre gouvernemental de veille, d’alerte et de réponse aux attaques informatiques en France) a …Welcome back to the final part of my Synology vs QNAP NAS comparison, where I go through the main differences between the two biggest brands in the world of NAS in 2021/2022. So far we have covered the brand’s rhetoric, the hardware, the graphical user interface (GUI), how they approach storage, mobile applications, multimedia sharing/streaming and desktop clients! In this final part, I will be moving into much more business-led subjects to compare the Synology DSM NAS systems and the QNAP QTS NAS devices and then conclude with which areas either brand excelled, failed or are identical. Both brands have a fantastic range of backup tools for home users to enjoy (with Synology Hyper Backup and QNAP Hybrid Backup Sync being the too most popular of course), but we are seeing a real emergence of cloud integration on either platform, as software as a service (SaaS) grows in viability – with either brand shouting loudly how they are the perfect bare-metal system to run parallel (bare metal = hardware server that is sync’d with your cloud services, among other things). So today I want to discuss their support of SaaS services, Virtual Machine self-hosting and migration from the likes of VMware and Hyper-V and a better look at Surveillance on each platform, AI-supported services and more. It is ALOT to pack into our final part before we conclude, so let’s get started.
LINK to PART I – The GUI, Control, Customization and Brand Focus
LINK to PART II – Storage Control, Mobile Apps and Multimedia
This is an interesting area to compare the Synology DSM and QNAP QTS NAS Software and services, as although at a balance it looks like the two brands provide the same functionality, there are a few tiny differences that (if you are not aware) may annoy yours later. As touched on early, the Synology NAS platform arrives with Hyper Backup and Active Backup Suite, whereas QNAP arrives with Hybrid Backup Sync and Hyper Data Protector. BOTH Synology and QNAP across their respective two apps each provide support of:
So, that just about covers 95% of traditional and most frequently asked backup methods. However, this is where the brand’s differing ideas of what users want/need step in. The Synology Backup applications are definitely the better looking of the two, with the Hyper Backup tool being the more chewable/easy one of the two, supporting quite a few cloud platforms (which obviously giving their own C2 service a decent bit of space – can’t blame them), and active Backup Suite ramps things up a bit for business, allowing a larger degree of business targets/sources to implemented. One particularly attractive feature of Synology Active Backup Suite is the Google Workspace and Office 365 addons that are license-free (ie provisionally free) that allow you to connect and sync your cloud software services with the NAS to act as a SaaS local syncing system (besides subscription costs and security, internet downtime is the biggest Achilles heel of Office 365/Google Workspace). This is available on QNAP too (with BoXafe) but requires additional license fees for cloud connections. To counter this, although both Synology and QNAP support inline deduplication, the QNAP ZFS based QuTS Hero platform provides it to a much better degree right now, with additional QuDeDupe software and inline compression too (with saving in data being visible analytically) and even handles encrypted backups better with localized client software that you can install on your business devices.
There are lots more that could be covered here (Synology Drive and its client apps, QSync Pro and its improved mobile client-to-NAS services, etc) but these are when we move into the subject of synchronization, file streaming and are less about backups and more about remote level access and synchronicity in your storage. Although the QNAP Software is still very good for numerous backup methods, ZFS and its file transmission benefits still shine and the support of more kinds of 1st/3rd party external storage and cloud are available – the Synology Backup tools and services are a tad better divided between home and business needs with which services are included in Hyper Backup and Active Backup Suite respectively.
Why Choose Synology NAS? – Active Backup Suite, Hyper Backup, Licence Free Office 365/Google Workspace Sync and Synology C2
Why Choose QNAP NAS? – Hybrid Backup Sync, Many More Cloud Services Supported and Hyper Data Protector has Better Retention Policies
Many users who are on the verge of buying a new NAS drive for home or business will often justify the purchase (to themselves or their finance manager) by factoring in that alongside the backup software safety, the multimedia streaming potential and potential saving versus long term cloud storage by ALSO considering using it as a Surveillance system. Both Synology and QNAP provide a genuine business class surveillance software package with their respective systems that allow you to utilize numerous IP Cameras, IP Speakers, network door locks and bring it all together with a single standalone security deck/feed that can be accessed locally over the network or remotely over the internet. Although both brands have done an incredible job with their respective software, over recent years we have seen a real divergence on how each brand has proceeded in their respective software. One very, VERY clear difference is that QNAP Surveillance gets spread across browser and local client app (windows, mac, phone, etc) less evenly, with adding cameras, extensively changing camera alert functions and customizing the setup being almost exclusively done in the web browser GUI but the local client allowing full camera access, PTZ control and actioning being almost exclusively on the client apps. Whereas Synology and Surveillance Station allow ALL of this to be done on the browser client and MOST of it to be possible on the desktop client app too. The Mobile client for QVR Pro and Surveillance station is a little more limited, but in terms of full software access, think the Synology platform keeps it a little more even. Here is a breakdown of the main benefits/PROs of each surveillance NAS software:
PROS of Synology Surveillance |
PROS of QNAP Surveillance |
| Considerably Better Browser Access & Controls
Beter 3rd Party Software integration with the Surveillance station API Better Camera Feed Accessibility in the Browser & Clients Fast Search Runs remarkably Smoothly LiveCam converts a Mobile to Live NVR IP Camera Feed Share Live Feeds to YouTube for Fast/Easy Sharing |
More Camera Licences (8x in QVR Pro)
Technically 3 Surveillance Platforms to Choose that vary in complexity Better Client App Control and Analytics Local KVM (Keyboard/Video/Mouse) Support AI Surveillance services can be added on Integrated CPU NAS, Google TPU card or a GPU Card USB Web Camera Support |
| CONS of Synology Surveillance
Only 2 Camera Licenses included AI Surveillance Services are ONLY available on the DVA3221 NAS Practically no KVM setup on Diskstaiton NAS systems |
CONS of QNAP Surveillance
QVR Elite for QuTS Hero Only has 2x Licenses Camera Feeds Cannot Natively be used and controlled by QVR Pro in the Browser Bulk of AI Supported Services are Annual Subscription Fee-Based |
Straight away, despite a rocky start, QNAP and QVR Pro grab a lot of the PROs back with their QTS QVR Pro version arriving with 8 Camera licenses (at the time of writing) which is massive compared with the 2x that Synology provides (bear in mind, a camera licence will cost between £30-50 depending on how big a multipack you buy). Likewise, the support of keyboard, video and mouse (thanks to QNAP NAS having HDMI on a large % of their systems) provides the means to interface with the system for surveillance if your network fails and the recordings are needed. Finally, a big, BIG appeal is that the AI-supported surveillance services that are growing in popularity in modern business class NVRs are available on QNAP NAS that has a decent enough embedded graphics CPU (i.e. an i3 and above), the google TPU M.2 Coral upgrade or a graphics card installed – whereas Synology has locked AI surveillance into ONLY two of their NAS systems that have a GPU card installed by default (and cost ALOT). These AI-supported services are pretty niche of course (facial recognition, people counting, zone management and object recognition) but still. many will find this hugely appealing. Here is my video breakdown comparing the two popular surveillance services for QNAP and Synology:
It is worth highlighting however that the AI-supported services on the QNAP QVR Platform are not technically ‘completely free’ and before you think that the Synology DVA3221 near £2K box is an overspend, it is worth highlighting that in order to use all the same AI-powered services on the QNAP NAS platform, you will need a NAS that either has a decent embedded CPU (starting at just over £1K for the QNAP TVS-472XT to start with) and/or a GPU card installed. Then you have to factor in the licences. Not just the camera licences (although both the DVA3221 and any QTS NAS have 8 camera licences for adding camera) but the license to use the AI services on the QVR Surveillance software. Somewhat annoyingly, QNAP has put each of the AI services (tracking faces, people recognition, AI recording analysis, Smart AI Door unlocking, etc) behind individual licenses that (for the most part) are all ‘annual’, so you will need to renew them (see below for current pricing and terms). This is quite a bitter pill to swallow in the long term and although the saving versus the Synology DVA system seems good at first, if you want to run a 4 Bay AI-Powered Surveillance system on the QNAP NAS system with 4-8 cameras, it ends up costing just as much (maybe even more once you factor in the annual fees) and only partially mitigated by the flexibility of the system you want to use.
Overall, it is pretty clear that QNAP gives the end-user ALOT in terms of surveillance for their money (although that licensing model structure gets a thumbs down from me), as well as allowing access to many modern AI CCTV services that Synology either choose to not pursue or only allow on a select few systems. Maybe you are reading this in the future and Synology have opened up this logic to allow ‘Synology supported GPU Cards’ to be installed, which would certainly give this comparison a different outcome, but there is no denying that the QVR Pro surveillance platform allows more flexibility in its setup. Alongside this, the QVR to software right now has a lot more camera licences included (though this drops to x2 on QVR Elite on the QuTS Hero platform – which though admittedly has higher performance on the local client integrated, is a bit of a shame) and many will end up seeing the potential savings being enough to overlook that Synology Surveillance station is the better Surveillance tool in terms of the GUI, supported service add ons and in how user-friendly it can be.
Why Choose Synology NAS? – Better Surveillance Software Overall, Especially in the Web Brower GUI
Why Choose QNAP NAS? – More Camera Licenses, QVR Pro has KVM Support, Wider AI Surveillance Support and Upgrade Options
It wasn’t such a long time ago that the use of virtual machines (VMs) was exclusively in the business sector. The ability and utility to create a virtual and remotely accessible version of a computer (giving you need a terminal in order to utilize them in most cases) was simply not of use to the average home or even small business user. However fast forward to 2021/2022 and you find that they have accelerated in popularity, thanks to businesses requiring centralized data storage for both the convenience of duplicating computers AND to simplifying the backup/restore process. Then you have the simple appeal for prosumer or small business users to be able to create an emulated version of their own computer in order to access it anywhere in the work, run test with software/updates that they are hesitant to run on their core system OR simply to allow them to create an accessible VM of an operating system that can be run parallel to that of the core hardware (i.e. a Linux/Unbuntu VM that runs in a window, on a Windows/Mac matching). Most high-end business users in recent years have used one of two popular 3rd party client TOOLS for this, VMware vSphere and Hyper V (with other smaller tools like VirtualBox popping up). Where a NAS can be integrated into this is actually pretty cool, such as:
Now it is worth highlighting that BOTH Synology and QNAP have excellent VM hosting applications, in Virtual Machine Manager and Virtualization Station respectively, which perform all of the above services, however, they do it in slightly different ways (involving other applications in the system that are integrated) but for VMware/HyperV, the restoration is arguably handled smoother with the Synology Virtual Machine tool and Active Backup Suite tool working together to allowing exclusive integration with Synology Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) as the temporary disaster recovery solution allows you to instantly restore services to the Synology storage server even when the production environment is down. QNAP have very similar services to this, but not the same fast, easy and integrated pass-over system. For a better understanding of the GUI of Synology Virtual Machine Manager vs QNAP Virtualization Station, take a look at the video below:
There are several very unique and arguable superior elements to the QNAP VM software that are worth highlighting. First off there is access to a VM marketplace from within the app that allows you to install Virtual Machines directly on the QNAP NAS without having to obtain the VM Image/ISO independently. These include firewall and network management virtual images such as Pfsense, RouterOS and Zabbix, but there is also a 3-click Windows VM installation option too. This allows users who just want to try out a Windows 7/8/10/Server VM before committing fully to a NAS based VM environment for business/home use and includes a 90-day trial (you can use your existing windows registered key/login if you want. Alongside this, there is also the improved VM-to-Hardware integration available on Synology Virtual Machine Manager and QNAP Virtualization station that allows you to connect USB ports to a VM and allow that virtual desktop environment to access physical local USB devices, however, QNAP takes this a noticeable degree further with the support of PCIe-to-VM connectivity that allows you to connect a Graphics card (or other suitable PCIe to that VM architecture) and allow the virtual environment to scale up considerably (perhaps for video editing or gaming, if the CPU is appropriate). Then there is the flexibility of setup on the QNAP, with Virtualization Station supporting a KVM environment and QVM (QNAP Virtual Machine) to allow a NAS with connected Keyboard, HDMI Video monitor and Mouse to have a local VM that can ALSO be accessed remotely too. Finally, QNAP has a dedicated Ubuntu application that allows you to create VMs of version 18, 19 or 20 of Ubuntu (the free Linux alternative to Windows and MacOS) in around 3-4 clicks of the mouse! This is a very rare occasion in this Synology vs QNAP comparison where I can genuinely 100% say that QNAP spent much, much more time working on 1st party support and Synology keeping it a little more openly supported with 3rd parties – though, given the maturity of the likes of VMware, this is understandable. This is also demonstrated on the subject of container image and deployment (if a VM is an entire OS, then a Container is an application or program that is running without an OS to live on to off) where the QNAP platform has its own Container Station application and download center/marketplace and Synology use the industry popular Docker tool.
Synology’s Virtual Machine Manager is a fantastic tool and definitely one that has enterprise users in its sights! With that improved integration with existing enterprise VM software providers in the market, they have made a very clear decision that their free VM software still has a business feel, whereas QNAP has shaped their VM tool to something more accessible for all tiers (though lacking the snap cloud-to-local VM deployment – which is a real shame). Much like AI surveillance on the QNAP platform, a few of the biggest features of Synology Virtual Machine Manager are license/subscription fee-based (which is a shame, but understandable given the target demographic and its scope when FULLY deployed, these include:
| Synology VMM
(Free) |
Synology VMM Pro
(License Required) |
|
|---|---|---|
| Supported Operating System | Windows, Linux, and Virtual DSM | |
| Cluster Management | Included | Included |
| QoS Settings | Included | Included |
| CPU Overcommit | Physical CPU threads x2 | Physical CPU threads x4 |
| Max Virtual Switches | 4 | 4096 |
| Max Snapshots per VM | 32 | 255 |
| VM Share Links per Host | 1 | 16 |
| Remote Replication Plan | Not Included | Included |
| Remote Storage Migration | Not Included | Included |
| Run VM on Remote Host | Not Included | Included |
| High Availability | Not Included | Included |
| Live Migration | Not Included | Included |
Overall, it is going to be a case of whether you are coming into the subject of virtual machines as a completely fresh start, coming from a moderately experienced background or are looking for a system to integrate into your already well established VMware or Microsoft VM environment. QNAP and Virtualization station provides a huge array of self-hosted VM deployment options, connecting with numerous 3rd party download centers to easily pull a VM image onto their system, restore an existing VM image, convert VMs into QNAP supported images and then allows you to integrate a greater deal of hardware resources towards them (GPU card, KVM, etc). They are certainly supporting those bigger VM platforms out there and allow backups, snapshots, faster restoration and making big moves into that SaaS and reducing downtime practices that businesses want, but this is where the Synology Virtual Machine Manager tools shine. With a grander focus on those Hyper-V/VMware VSphere established systems and presenting themselves as a failure and support system, they make their integration a great deal easier for companies to choose. They still take a big advantage by allowing a VM live backup to be stitched over to Synology Virtual Machine Manager as a viable recovery and restoration option, which is likely going to be the clincher for many.
Why Choose Synology NAS? – Synology Virtual Machine Manager is VERY intuative, Cloud VM-to-Local VM Migration & Restoration
Why Choose QNAP NAS? – QNAP Virtualization Station supports more OS/Formats, 3 Click VM download & Install, Dedicated VM tools for different VM Images and has Better Hardware Configuration Options Overall
It’s been a very, VERY long road but we can finally look just how Synology DSM and QNAP QTS for NAS (as well as all the hardware and services in between) compare. There has been a long-running theme all the way through that where Synology has focused on FIRST-PARTY (i.e. Synology-brand) software and hardware priority, then supporting THIRD-PARTY services/hardware when they haven’t got a viable alternative in-house – to mixed degrees of popularity. Whereas QNAP has been a much more level playing field where they have released their own innovative hardware/software (occasionally a little too quickly) and singing its praises, but also tried to keep customization and flexibility for 3rd parties as open as possible and shouting loud-and-proud about that too – which can be a tad overwhelming for the less tech-savvy. Both brands have done an incredible job evolve their platforms as much as they have in 2021/2022, especially when Microsoft, Google and Amazon are pouring BILLIONS into the SaaS (and PaaS and IaaS – Platform and Infrastructure as a Service) in order to create entirely streamable ecosystems for businesses, with NAS brands like Synology and QNAP not only integrating with them but also thriving alongside them as a local/bare-metal failsafe.
These are all very lofty ideas and ones that most home or small business users will likely have little time for right now (aside from where NAS fits in with their Google/Office 365 office tools like documents, email and spreadsheets at a pinch) and for those users, who the NAS stands on its own two feet is what is going to matter most. Synology is earning its position in the market as the complete 1st party software and hardware package in 2021/2022, with a genuinely groundbreaking range of available services, but still managing to make NAS accessible for all in DSM 6.2/7.0. That said, the trends we are seeing in those sub-enterprise services that are slowly receding in support of popular 3rd party hardware, software and services, making using a Synology NAS alongside your own existing setup in a frictionless way cannot be ignored and leading some to think Synology is shifting their industry position towards something higher.
QNAP NAS on the other hand, although maybe trying to cover too many bases at once, is still trying to cover as much as it can to appear to their audience. Their support of considerably more 3rd party platforms/software/services, even when they have their own software available, is certainly admirable and aside from rather aggressive pricing on their QVR Pro surveillance platform, are still the better choice for those who want a much more adaptable and customizable platform. Its a pretty understandable fact that most people who buy a NAS will be arriving with an existing collection of software in their daily workflow (Office 365 for docs, Gmail for their email, Plex for their media, Chromebook for their commute, Skype/Whatsapp for their communication, TB3 for their editing, etc) and it has to be said that QNAP keeps a more open platform to adapt a NAS into this mix than Synology – occasionally less intuitively and not without a little setup-friction, but certainly to more customizable results.
Unsurprisingly, I am going to tell you that both Synology and QNAP NAS are good NAS brands and have earned their place at the top of the industry (whilst both making their own respective moves to integrate into the next tier – ie SaaS providers, Hyperscale environments and Boundless cloud storage), but there is no denying that no one brand has managed to do EVERYTHING to perfection. So, if in double, below is how I would recommend QNAP and Synology NAS to you, for each user case scenario and I hope this guide and my recommendations help you with your next big data storage purchase.
Why Choose Synology NAS? Better Surveillance Software More Intuative and User-Friendly Design EXCELLENT 1st Party Alternative Apps to Existing 3rd Party Tools (including Synology Chat, Mail, Office, Drive, Calendar and more) Greater Support/Migration with VMware & Hyper-V Better Redundant System Options (SHA) Greater Support on Amazon Home Hardware Synology Hybrid RAID for flexibility in Media Upgrades BTRFS on Most systems Longer Warranty Available on More Systems First Party SSD and HDDs Available Typically Quieter Operation
If you are thinking of buying a Synology NAS, please use the links below
|
Why Choose QNAP NAS? Better 1st Party/Hosting Virtual Machines Better Plex Media Server NAS More Adaptable and Customizable Wider Support of Surveillance using AI Recognition EXCELLENT KVM Support More Camera Licenses ZFS or EXT4 File System Choice on many systems now 2.5Gbe Network Interfaces at 1Gbe Cost Allows NVMe SSD Storage Pools and Volumes Support of QTier for intelligent Data storage for Access Greater 1st and 3rd Party Hardware Upgrade Compatibility (including Graphics Cards, WiFi 6 and Thunderbolt)
If you are thinking of buying a QNAP NAS, please use the links below
|
Choosing the right data storage solution for your needs can be very intimidating and it’s never too late to ask for help. With options ranging from NAS to DAS, Thunderbolt to SAS and connecting everything up so you can access all your lovely data at the touch of a button can be a lot simpler than you think. If you want some tips, guidance or help with everything from compatibility to suitability of a solution for you, why not drop me a message below and I will get back to you as soon as possible with what you should go for, its suitability and the best place to get it. This service is designed without profit in mind and in order to help you with your data storage needs, so I will try to answer your questions as soon as possible.
Visit the NASCompares Deal Finder to find the best place to buy this device in your region, based on Service, Support and Reputation - Just Search for your NAS Drive in the Box Below
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Finally, for free advice about your setup, just leave a message in the comments below here at NASCompares.com and we will get back to you.
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Where possible (and where appropriate) please provide as much information about your requirements, as then I can arrange the best answer and solution to your needs. Do not worry about your e-mail address being required, it will NOT be used in a mailing list and will NOT be used in any way other than to respond to your enquiry.
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Alternatively, why not ask me on the ASK NASCompares forum, by clicking the button below. This is a community hub that serves as a place that I can answer your question, chew the fat, share new release information and even get corrections posted. I will always get around to answering ALL queries, but as a one-man operation, I cannot promise speed! So by sharing your query in the ASK NASCompares section below, you can get a better range of solutions and suggestions, alongside my own.
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We continue with our comparison of the two biggest brands in Network Attached Storage (NAS) and after comparing how each brand presents their platform, how they differ in releases and hardware, then finally the web-based GUI. Today we are going to cover how Synology and QNAP NAS systems storage/configure your data storage, how they can be accessed via mobile devices and how each brand handles multimedia, shares files and presents that information in their range of applications. Both brands have evolved MASSIVELY in these areas as the hardware and software demands of NAS buyers have increased, with Synology once again choosing the streamlined, user-friendly and premium feeling (if a little limiting at times) approach, whilst QNAP is taking the customizable, configurable and wider supporting (if occasionally confusing for newbies) approach. So, let’s crack on with Part 2 in this Synology DSM and QNAP QTS NAS comparison.
If you missed part I or Part III, you can find them here below:
LINK to PART I – The GUI, Control, Customization and Brand Focus
LINK to PART III – Backup Tools, Surveillance, Virtual Machines and Conclusion
Both Synology and QNAP have a wide range of mobile applications for iOS and Android – this should not be at all surprising! However, we are not just talking backup tools to make sure you do not lose your photos (although both have that backup tools, sync tools and file management tools that make mobile phone-based NAS access exceptionally easy and intuative), as both Synology and QNAP have applications that allow you to have tailored access to the NAS system depending on your access needs at the time (i.e a app specifically for photos, music, video, surveillance etc. The most popular apps are:
| NAS Access Type | |
|
| System Management | DS FInder | QManager |
| NAS File Management | DS File & Synology Drive | QFile, QSirch |
| General Phone Backup | DS Cloud | QSync Pro |
| Photography | DS Photo, Moments & Synology Photos | QPhotos & QuMagie |
| Video Streaming | DS Video | QVideo |
| Music Streaming | DS Audio | QMusic |
| Surveillance | DS CAM & Synology LiveCam | QVR Pro Client, |
| Downloading | DS Get | QGet |
| Synology MailPlus | QMail Client | |
| Notes & To-Do Lists | DS Note | QNotes3 |
| NAS-VPN Manager | Synology VPN Plus | QVPN |
| NAS Router Manager App | DS Router | QuRouter |
| Other/Misc | Synology Secure Sign in – Login 2 Step Authentication
Synology Chat – Synology Chat Service App |
OceanTV Client – Karaoke Mobile Client
QContacts – Contacts and Connections Database QRemote – HDMI enabled NAS Remote Control DJ2 Client – Livestream NAS Manager QMiix – Alternative to IFTTT client KoiCast & Koi Talk – Video and Internet Call Client |
Over the years, I have reviewed the majority of the core applications for system management, file management, backups, photos, music and video. Here are how each one faired and each video should give you a better understanding of how Synology DSM and QNAP QTS allow you to access your NAS drive o nthe go via your mobile in a much for data relevant way (click the video title to open in a new window on Youtube or watch them here in the article)
|
|
| NAS Control and Accessibility | NAS Control and Accessibility |
| NAS File Management | NAS File Management |
| Photography | Photography |
| Video Media | Video Media |
| Music Media | Music Media |
| Surveillance and Camera Access | Surveillance and Camera Access |
Even at a casual glance, it is clear that the Synology applications are more uniform across the board and have a greater degree of similarity to 3rd party applications (eg Synology Drive and Google Drive, Synology DS Video and Plex, Synology Chat and Skype), whereas QNAP applications (more recent apps are similar) seem to have noticeable differences in GUI and layouts that then require a pinch more time to learn individually. However, the QNAP mobile applications are almost all more customizable and allow a greater degree of control and customization – both in the individual applications and how they allow the end-user to control the NAS too. Despite the pros and cons in how each NAS brand has developed and executed their mobile applications, I would say the BIGGEST deciding factor for the end-user will be which platform they will predominantly access the NAS with – Desktop users will find the QNAP platform more geared towards desktop access, whereas the Synology Platform has spent more time bringing the mobile and desktop application experiences to the same standard and an exclusively mobile-based user or even one who will access 25% vs 75% mobile vs desktop will find the Synology platform considerably more intuitive and smooth.
Why Choose Synology NAS? – Intuative and Streamlined UI
Why Choose QNAP NAS? – More Apps and Greater Control
Synology and QNAP are both storage targeted platforms. Sure, they have different ways of displaying that information, different ideas on how the user can control and access it and even differ pretty wildly on the whilst storage trends they choose to support in their ecosystems BUT they are both going to give you a remarkably evolved and capable network storage system for keeping your data safe. Much like the apps, GUI and access discussed up to this point, Synology and QNAP have shaped the storage options and configurations on their system very different in recent years and now have several unique and brand-specific factors to their systems that might well make the decision between them 10x easier.
So, regardless of whether you buy Synology or QNAP NAS, you have a great deal of storage support available. However, there are a large number of brand SPECIFIC storage services and options that ONLY one brand of the two have. Let’s start with the Synology NAS DSM exclusive options.
So, as you can see, a large range of first-party prioritize storage that is still quite a capable list of support services, formats and hardware in terms of storage in a Synology NAS. None fo the above is currently supported/available from QNAP NAS, however, they have their own range of very unique and QNAP-ONLY available storage options. They are as follows.
The QNAP Storage options unsurprisingly are a great deal more open (wider HDD/SSD support on all their hardware, wider cloud support on their cloud gateway software, expansion chassis and connections), however, Synology and its focus on the 1st party R&D results in stronger and more evolved ‘in house’ results (such as Synology Hybrid RAID, their own range of media that has unique options, btrfs integration on all apps, etc).
Why Choose Synology NAS? – BTRFS, Synology Hybrid RAID and Ease of Use
Why Choose QNAP NAS? – ZFS, Better Encryption Options, HybridMount/vJBOD and Better Expansion Options
Alot of home user and Prosumer users will look at purchasing a NAS for their multimedia collection. With digital media being largely mainstream and the decline of optical media in the last 15-20years (with the ease of transferring your DVDs and Blurays being incredibly easy and affordable), the appeal of buying a NAS as your very own ‘Netflix’ is pretty appealing! Unsurprisingly both Synology and QNAP have evolved a great deal in the area of multimedia streaming and sharing in recent years and although the core business of ‘playing files on your DLNA Smart TV, Amazon firestick, phone, home cinema, etc) is technically very similar on both QNAP and Synology, each brand has definitely gone their own way with regard to presentation, 3rd party hardware support and how photos/music/video are handled internally. I will also add that both Synology and QNAP support Plex Media Server, Emby, Jellyfin, iTunes and traditional file/folder level DLNA media streaming to a largely identical degree (with a few differences simply down to the hardware in each NAS release). Below are guides on both Synolgoy and QNAP and how they compare in terms of photography, music playback in the GUI and video streaming.
First, here is how Synology DSM and QNAP QTS compare with Photography:
|
Synology Advantages Support of Live Photos/Gifs in the Browser/Apps Excellent Cross-App Support with Drive Synology Photos (beta) merges Photo Station & Moments Very Attractive and Easy to Control GUI Better Geo Location Recognition/Map View Better Multi Face Tag Searching |
QNAP Advantages
Album+File/Folder Browsing in QuMagie Better AI Recognition in QuMagie Allows Custom Photo Directories Multimedia Console Allows Better Indexing/Thumbnail Generation Better Cross-Software Tag Support |
Next, this is how Synology DSM and QNAP QTS compare with Music and the browser GUI:
|
Synology Advantages Support of DS Audio Skill on Amazon Alexa Voice Recognition GUI Very Appealing Better Config Options Better Album Thumbnail Utilization (especially Mobile) |
QNAP Advantages
Album/File+Folder Browsing Better DLNA Streaming Support of Local Speaker Connections More 3rd Party Audio Applications Support of more Formats, codecs and Compressions |
Finally, we have how both Synology DSM and QNAP QTS compare with Video Media in the GUI:
|
Synology Advantages Video Station/DS Video have VERY easy to use GUI DS Video App available on FireTV / Amazon Firestick Comparable to Plex and Emby Intuative Setup for Libraries and Metadata resource connections |
QNAP Advantages
Supports HDMI Out More Media Server Players available Better offline Transcoding Options Cayin player option for H.265/HEVC 10bit Support |
There is no avoiding that QNAP (for the most part) have a more ‘meat and potatoes’ user interface when it comes to music and video media, which is something that Synology have really poured money into with Synolgoy Video Station and Audio Station being comparable to Freemium services like plex Media Server and Whatsapp (thanks to enhanced metadata scraping and 1st party apps on Amazon FireTV and Alexa voice support in DS Video and DS Audio). In Photography, I think QNAP overall do a better job with their QuMagie platform allowing a greater degree of control, recognition, file/folder access and keeping it as 2 separate apps – at least at the time of writing!). Likewise, the multimedia console application on QNAP QTS is an absolute winner for me as the means to completely control ALL multimedia indexing, sharing and transcoding from a single portal point. It comes down to simply what kind of media you plan on watching, what device you want to watch it on and how much customization you plan on making!
Why Choose Synology NAS? – Video Station, DS Audio Alexa Voice Support – Choose for Amazon FireTV, Alexa and ‘Netflix-level’ video streaming
Why Choose QNAP NAS? – Multimedia Console control is Unparalleled, QuMagie provides better AI recognition and Custom Directories as standard. Also, H.265/HEVC 10bitplayback better with CAYIN player option
Click Below for PART III – Backup Tools, Surveillance, Virtual Machines and Conclusion
Why Choose Synology NAS? Better Surveillance Software More Intuative and User-Friendly Design EXCELLENT 1st Party Alternative Apps to Existing 3rd Party Tools (including Synology Chat, Mail, Office, Drive, Calendar and more) Greater Support/Migration with VMware & Hyper-V Better Redundant System Options (SHA) Greater Support on Amazon Home Hardware Synology Hybrid RAID for flexibility in Media Upgrades BTRFS on Most systems Longer Warranty Available on More Systems First Party SSD and HDDs Available Typically Quieter Operation
If you are thinking of buying a Synology NAS, please use the links below
|
Why Choose QNAP NAS? Better 1st Party/Hosting Virtual Machines Better Plex Media Server NAS More Adaptable and Customizable Wider Support of Surveillance using AI Recognition EXCELLENT KVM Support More Camera Licenses ZFS or EXT4 File System Choice on many systems now 2.5Gbe Network Interfaces at 1Gbe Cost Allows NVMe SSD Storage Pools and Volumes Support of QTier for intelligent Data storage for Access Greater 1st and 3rd Party Hardware Upgrade Compatibility (including Graphics Cards, WiFi 6 and Thunderbolt)
If you are thinking of buying a QNAP NAS, please use the links below
|
Choosing the right data storage solution for your needs can be very intimidating and it’s never too late to ask for help. With options ranging from NAS to DAS, Thunderbolt to SAS and connecting everything up so you can access all your lovely data at the touch of a button can be a lot simpler than you think. If you want some tips, guidance or help with everything from compatibility to suitability of a solution for you, why not drop me a message below and I will get back to you as soon as possible with what you should go for, its suitability and the best place to get it. This service is designed without profit in mind and in order to help you with your data storage needs, so I will try to answer your questions as soon as possible.
Visit the NASCompares Deal Finder to find the best place to buy this device in your region, based on Service, Support and Reputation - Just Search for your NAS Drive in the Box Below
SEARCH IN THE BOX BELOW FOR NAS DEALS
Finally, for free advice about your setup, just leave a message in the comments below here at NASCompares.com and we will get back to you.
Need Help?
Where possible (and where appropriate) please provide as much information about your requirements, as then I can arrange the best answer and solution to your needs. Do not worry about your e-mail address being required, it will NOT be used in a mailing list and will NOT be used in any way other than to respond to your enquiry.
[contact-form-7]
Terms and Conditions
Alternatively, why not ask me on the ASK NASCompares forum, by clicking the button below. This is a community hub that serves as a place that I can answer your question, chew the fat, share new release information and even get corrections posted. I will always get around to answering ALL queries, but as a one-man operation, I cannot promise speed! So by sharing your query in the ASK NASCompares section below, you can get a better range of solutions and suggestions, alongside my own.
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If you are looking at buying a new NAS drive (either as a first-time buyer or you can considering jumping from one brand to another), then the software that brands like Synology and QNAP include with your NAS purchase is always going to be an area of consideration. Many people just take for granted that the NAS system they buy will have ‘some kind of software’ included and that is enough to swing it for them to choose one NAS brand or the other. However, the reality is that QNAP and Synology are actually incredibly different systems in terms of the software design, priority of use, how that impacts the learning curve to the end-user and ultimately how suitable it will be for your needs. Even if you are a NAS Buyer that is going to mostly/exclusively use 3rd party software on your PC/Mac/Network Media hardware – you will still need to interact with the NAS software and graphical user interface (GUI) at the start and from time to time. So, although I have compared these two brands many, many times in the past, I rarely compare their software. This is because it evolves incredibly quickly and something set in stone today might well have changed within a month! So, let’s go through each of these popular NAS software systems and see how they compare, their strengths, their weaknesses and see if we can figure out which one is best for you!
Important – This is PART I of a three-part guide where I will compare the Synology NAS and QNAP NAS Platform on their software, their hardware and give you a better idea of how each brand tackles all the modern elements of network-attached storage in 2021/2022. This guide primarily covered Synology DSM 6.2 and QNAP QTS 4.5, however, DSM 7.0 and QuTS Hero will be referenced where appropriate. Despite the latter two platforms being available in beta at the time of writing or only higher-tier devices, I wanted to focus on the former as they are the ones that a larger number of users have used or will be using in the near future.
LINK to PART II – Storage Control, Mobile Apps and Multimedia
LINK to PART III – Backup Tools, Surveillance, Virtual Machines and Conclusion
Before I go any further into this comparison of Synology DSM and QNAP QTS, it is worth just briefly talking about the company priorities of each and how this impacts their software, hardware and usability between different users. In short, Synology seemingly has three consistent core brand traits.
First Party Priority in Hardware and Software – If they have a software/hardware tool that can do the same as a 3rd party alternative, they will always prioritize their own. In some cases (eg VMs, Cloud services, etc) they will also allow 3rd party support, but the clear emphasis on their own products in bare metal or DSM is undeniable. In other cases that will not support 3rd party alternatives, as they build their systems around their own products (eg newer rackmount releases and Synology HDDs, Memory upgrade modules, Synology C2 in HybridShare. etc)
Software Over Hardware – NAS systems are generally treated with a degree of scepticism by PC builders due to their arguable more modest specifications (CPU, Memory, etc) for the price tag. Although this is something that can be argued against with the fact that NAS are 24×7 systems that are storage prioritized, the Synology NAS systems do typically arrive with more modest specs than others (1Gbe for the most part, fewer upgrade options – especially in the 3rd party). The biggest reason for this is because the Synology NAS solutions are a much more software+hardware combined package than any other brand, with Synology investing considerably more in their software than anyone else. Later in the article, I will go through some stand out apps from them, but there is no denying that Synology PRIMARILY focuses on software and then get to work making sure the hardware in their systems can make the most of it.
Hiding/Removing Some Configuration/Customization options for Performance & Stability – This is likely the biggest area of contention for buyers of Synology NAS servers. The DSM platform is an incredibly slick system that (especially for something that you are accessing remotely over the network/internet) is fantastically responsive. Indeed, it is often easy to forget that the GUI and assets that you are managing are not local. Although a lot of credit has to be given to Synology for their R&D, it is also worth remembering that this is achieved in a number of hidden ways that people are less keen on. On the good side, they do this with intelligent memory caching and flushing all the time (with the system using more memory than strictly needed if it is available, then quickly flushing/emptying it when more current RAM demands rise), as well as (particularly in DSM 7) much better browser-based WebSocket tweaking than any other brands to increase latency and responsiveness. However, they also achieve this by forcing some (not all) applications to work from strict indexing rules (i.e files and resources you want to access for X application need to be in PRECISELY this directory and no other). So, sometimes using a certain first-party app (eg Synology Moments/Photos) mean you cannot store your data in any other location without missing out. Additionally, deeper levels of control and customization on some applications and services will be unavailable, so the high performing (if fractionally rigid) system software can operate as fast as possible. Most users will not even notice these things and unless you are a particularly adept IT enthusiast or run an especially nuanced network at work, these things can be forgiven by most.
QNAP on the other hand, although similar in a number of ways has a broader and more open platform. This typically means that a user who wants to create an especially bespoke setup, has lesser-known file formats to content with, wants to use their own software (with the NAS as a storage target) or just like to ‘have it their own way’ might prefer the QNAP QTS NAS ecosystem. Their brand priorities can be summarized as:
Balanced 1st Party and 3rd Party Software – You definitely get the feeling very early on when using QNAP NAS QTS software that they are trying to support as many types of user and utilities as possible – something that can come across as either incredibly versatile or a bit of a bombardment! QNAP and QTS have plenty of first-party applications included in the price of the NAS hardware (ranging from file management, smart multimedia management and backups, to business class services in VMs, Surveillance and Cloud Hybrid/Gateway tools to cover just a portion of them), but their support of 3rd party storage systems, software and being able to adapt to them is a big part of why some users choose them over Synology. The arguable rigid structure of Synology that maintains stability at the occasional cost of flexibility is absent here in favour of a much more open playing field for the end-user to shape the system towards their existing hardware/software. Just don’t expect it to be as easy in 1-2-3.
First To Release NAS Hardware – If you were to look at some of the BIGGEST innovations in the last 5 years of network-attached storage, then 95% of them were done by QNAP first! Late last year we saw QNAP unveil the TS-2490FU All NVMe U.2 and ZFS rackmount whilst everyone else in NAS was still pushing SATA/SAS EXT4/BTRFS solutions, QNAP introduced combined 10Gbe and NVMe SSD Combo cards first in their QM2 series, and QNAP changed the editing experience for many professional in video post-production with Thunderbolt-enabled NAS – in short, QNAP has been the first to the punch for most fo the game-changer in NAS as we know if for years. However, this is not always the best foot forward and some of their ‘first to the market’ innovations have taken time to really reach their peak. By that, I mean that some solutions arrive on the market in a somewhat barebones form that gets fleshed out over time, or is released in a form that (12-18 months later when brands like Synology jump on board) look limited/rough around the edges. QNAP are STILL the most innovative brand on the market, but occasionally a few of the more groundbreaking hardware could stand to be in the oven for a little longer. Below is an excellent example of this in how each brand approached 10G+NVMe combo cards, with the QNAP QM2 card and the Synology E10M20-T1 – released almost 18months+ apart, but with very, VERY clear build differences
Software Development On the Fly – Very similar to the hardware releases from QNAP getting there before everyone else (though a touch less polished), the same can be said for the application and service. However, the main difference is that 1) the software is included in the cost of your NAS, not a paid add-on/release and 2) these software innovations can be marginally excused with the label ‘beta’. On the one hand, the fact that QNAP has one of the most open and available beta programs allows users to experiment/test these new innovations very early and therefore take advantage of the benefits super early. On the other hand, that means that you can/will introduce quite a lot of beta software into your system – something that business users will be somewhat reluctant to do. Betas and Trials in NAS software (like any other platform for that matter) ARE a good thing and this has led to QNAP having a lot of services very early. Such as QNAP HybridMount, a hybrid cloud/NAS mounting system (not connect/sync, but actual localized integrated cloud storage) that allows you to bolt-on cloud storage like Google Drive, OneDrive, DropBox, etc and access with your NAS app services. Likewise, vJBOD allows you to bolt your NAS storage to a bigger storage platform like AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, Backblaze, etc and allows a cross-platform hybrid storage solution for an enterprise user. The list can go on for ages (QVR Face AI-Powered surveillance, BoXafe Cloud service sync with Google Workspace and Office 365, ZFS equipped QuTS Hero for systems that to-date only had EXT4, DA Drive Analyzer for enhanced drive health and failure prediction and more), ALL of these tools were in Beta for an extensive length of time (or still are) and although that means earlier access, this can sometimes result in a less cohesive platform compared with the controlled smoothness of Synology and DSM, which Does use Betas and Trials, but in a much, MUCH more controlled and limited fashion (eg DSM 7.0 beta).
The idea of Synology keeping thing concise/easier to understand (if a little limited to adapt) and QNAP giving you as much information and control as possible (occasionally to its own detriment) is a theme you are going to see over and over again when comparing DSM and QTS. In the past, I would often compare them like this: Synology is more like Console Gaming platforms (Playstation, XBox, Nintendo Switch, etc) and QNAP is more like PC ‘master race’ gamers. Synology/Console is a much more fixed and stable platform, games will have FPS locked by high, little mod/customization, higher price tag typically, BUT are much more reliable, have more uniform shared experiences and ultimately result in a smoother experience. QNAP/PC gaming on the other hand can require a higher learning curve for the components, require a little more configuration and results can differ from user to user (based on their hardware environment) BUT is better value for money, can result in SIGNIFICANTLY better performance and is considerably more adaptable and flexible. There are pros and cons on either side but the end-users expectations and willingness to invest in the setup will dictate a lot of the results!
Why Choose Synology NAS? – Smooth, Accessible, Easy to Learn
Why Choose QNAP NAS? – Adaptable, Capable and Wider Support Options
For most users, this will be the first real ways they interact with their new NAS system. The majority of users will access their NAS exclusively via mobile (with Some users evening using a mobile phone to initialize their NAS too – only available on Synology NAS) but to date, you still cannot match the configuration and control options that are available on the web-based GUI for both NAS brands. Synology DSM and QNAP QTS allow the user to access the NAS system over the network (or remotely with 1st party internet access portals in quickconnect and myqnapcloud) and over the years, these have started to resemble full operating system level control panels. Indeed, even though early versions of each looked the same with a different colour palette, now they are as distinct as Mac OS and Windows!
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Something between them is always going to be consistent (as it would be foolish to reinvent the wheel and make their system unintuitive) such as the options button at the top left, desktop shortcuts, notifications at the top right, etc. But even a click look at a recent overview of DSM 7.0 in Beta and QuTS Hero will give you a good idea of how QNAP and Synology allow the user to control their system via the web browser.
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The Synology DSM design feels very similar to that of Mac-based systems (especially in DSM 7.0), whereas the QNAP QTS design feels a little more ‘Android’ in how applications and options are presented. Of the two, I would say that Synology definitely feels a pinch more responsive and reactive to your clicks and mouse/keyboard commands, with QNAP QTS still feeling smooth for a network GUI (but when the screen gets busy, you feel a pinch of delay when flicking between apps and windows. QNAP QTS counters this by providing much more information on each screen (both graphical and analytical) that saves time selecting numerous areas of interest for the answer to your query as found in DSM from time to time. Of course, depending on your skill level or desire for clarity – this can be both a blessing and a curse. For example – the resource monitor on the Synology DSM software is concise, breaks the display into CPU+MEMORY+DISK+Bandwidth and if you want a little more information, you can dig a little deeper into each (with a lite CPU+Memory bar visible on the desktop at all times).
The QNAP QTS Resource monitor on the other hand provides a greater degree of information straight off the bat, allowing you to dig considerably deeper into the background processes (monitor/close as appropriate), but still providing more information per screen than any on the Synology DSM platform. Even the on-screen default resource monitor (clicking the speedometer dial at desktop) is more detailed than the actual DSM Resource monitor primary screen. If you are easily intimidated or just want to know how much memory ‘X’ app is using, then the QNAP offering will seem very ‘TMI’. However for those of you who use the resource monitor to see how far they can push the system, find out how much the system vs apps are using, troubleshoot or want to kill background processes – the QNAP Resource monitor will be exceptionally handy.
The logic that both Synology and QNAP provide to the end-user even in something as arguable pedestrian as a task manager will give you a decent idea of how they will be for you in practically every interaction moving forward. Below is a video on how each system compares in its graphical user interface, configuration and initial setup (users, folders, shares, etc):
In short, it comes back to that idea of control and customization. The Synology DSM Control is going to appeal more to new NAS users and those who want the system to just-shut-up-and-do-its-job! Whereas the QNAP QTS platform will throw more information (sometimes too much!) at you in the hopes that you can create a more bespoke and controllable environment.
Why Choose Synology NAS? – Easy to Use and Intuative
Why Choose QNAP NAS? – Better Analytics and Control
Click Below for PART II – Storage Control, Mobile Apps and Multimedia
Why Choose Synology NAS? Better Surveillance Software More Intuative and User-Friendly Design EXCELLENT 1st Party Alternative Apps to Existing 3rd Party Tools (including Synology Chat, Mail, Office, Drive, Calendar and more) Greater Support/Migration with VMware & Hyper-V Better Redundant System Options (SHA) Greater Support on Amazon Home Hardware Synology Hybrid RAID for flexibility in Media Upgrades BTRFS on Most systems Longer Warranty Available on More Systems First Party SSD and HDDs Available Typically Quieter Operation
If you are thinking of buying a Synology NAS, please use the links below
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Why Choose QNAP NAS? Better 1st Party/Hosting Virtual Machines Better Plex Media Server NAS More Adaptable and Customizable Wider Support of Surveillance using AI Recognition EXCELLENT KVM Support More Camera Licenses ZFS or EXT4 File System Choice on many systems now 2.5Gbe Network Interfaces at 1Gbe Cost Allows NVMe SSD Storage Pools and Volumes Support of QTier for intelligent Data storage for Access Greater 1st and 3rd Party Hardware Upgrade Compatibility (including Graphics Cards, WiFi 6 and Thunderbolt)
If you are thinking of buying a QNAP NAS, please use the links below
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Choosing the right data storage solution for your needs can be very intimidating and it’s never too late to ask for help. With options ranging from NAS to DAS, Thunderbolt to SAS and connecting everything up so you can access all your lovely data at the touch of a button can be a lot simpler than you think. If you want some tips, guidance or help with everything from compatibility to suitability of a solution for you, why not drop me a message below and I will get back to you as soon as possible with what you should go for, its suitability and the best place to get it. This service is designed without profit in mind and in order to help you with your data storage needs, so I will try to answer your questions as soon as possible.
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QNAP lance de nouveaux NAS : TVS-672X et TVS-872X. Ce sont les deux premiers modèles de la gamme TVS-x72X. Si vous êtes un peu perdu dans les références, on vous rassure : nous aussi ! Ces nouveaux boîtiers disposent d’un processeur Intel Core i3, un port 10 GbE, un port HDMI 2.0, mais ce n’est pas tout… QNAP TVS-672X / TVS-872X Les QNAP TVS-672X et TVS-872X sont des NAS respectivement 6 et 8 baies. Ils disposent également de 2 emplacements […]
Cet article QNAP TVS-672X et TVS-872X : Intel i3, 8 Go de RAM, 10 GbE, HDMI 2.0, PCIe… est apparu en premier sur Cachem
Plex has fast become the most popular media server software for home users in 2021. With a slick user interface, smart organization, relevant media images and descriptions sourced from many online sources applied automatically and clever show recommendations and watched records, it is easy to see why Plex challenges many of the online streaming platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Instant and Hulu. Another attractive feature of Plex is that the software is available free (or a more feature-rich paid version), whereas online streaming sources have monthly subscriptions, do not let you play your own content and change/rotate available media content on a monthly basis. With Plex, you play the media that you own and it is organized in an attractive and easy way. However in order to take advantage of Plex, you need a device for your media and the Plex media server to live, and this is where the money part comes. The best means with which to host a plex media server is a Network Attached Storage device (or NAS server). One of the biggest NAS server providers in the world right now is QNAP and they have a large range of NAS devices that support Plex in many, many ways (transcoding, smooth running, 4K, etc). However which QNAP NAS should you buy for your Plex media server, what is transcoding on a QNAP Plex media server like and what is the best QNAP NAS for a Plex Media Server (PMS)?
When media lives on your QNAP NAS, often the device a that you are playing back your plex media (Smart TV, iPhone, Laptop, iPod) onto cannot support the media file type, the resolution or audio codec. In this case, the Plex Media Server on your QNAP NAS will try to change the file to a more suitable version, on the fly, to ensure you can enjoy your media in the best way. This is known as transcoding and though the Plex application is actioning this with the software, the actual work is being done by the QNAP NAS CPU. Software transcoding takes a heavy toll on the CPU and you will need a relatively powerful processor in order to support this feature. Typically the CPU will need to be:
It is important to highlight that transcoding for Plex on a QNAP NAS only really needs more power in the case of converting/changing video files. Audio and Image files will not require much support from the NAS.
When it comes to choosing the right QNAP NAS for your Plex Media Server, below I have broken down the entire currently available NAS you can buy. I have broken them down into the following areas:
Model ID – This is the Name of the QNAP NAS Device
CPU – This is the central processor of the QNAP NAS server and this will be what decides the performance of your Plex Media Server
SD 480p / 576p –Most likely the lowest point at which you will need transcoding of a video media file, 480p was used for many early Plasma televisions, whereas 576p is considered Standard Definition in many countries worldwide
HD 720p – Otherwise known as ‘HD Ready’ or ‘Standard HD’, it is generally considered the lowest starting point for watching HD media and starts at 1280×720
HD 1080p – Widely regarded at ‘Full-HD’, it arrives at 1920×1080. Most media listed at high definition in 2021 will be 1080P
4K SDR 2160p – 4K SDR is the entry point into 4K Media. An SDR 2160p supported TV has around 4,000 lines of resolution (the lines across the screen that form the rows of pixels) but is not capable of completely showing the depth and richness of colours spectrum and contrast of 4K HDR. It is by no means a compromise and still an excellent picture, but rather this is due to the physical differences in the construction of the screen and not just how the images are processed, just like the differences between and SD and HDTV.
4K UHD HDR 2160p – The current top end of 4K Media file formats in popular commercial media. A 4K HDR TV has the same 4000 lines of resolution as those that support 4K SDR 2160p, but is physically capable of rendering an image with increased contrast and richer colours\separation thanks to the physical build superiority.
Be sure to check the kind of media you own (or plan on streaming from your QNAP NAS), as well as the devices you will be playing back on for a better idea of what kind of plex media transcoding support you will need from your NAS server from QNAP. Be sure to check the supported file types (most common modern files types you find for 1080p and 4K are .MKV .MP4 .MOV and .AVI).Below is the entire current QNAP NAS range and how well they perform in the Plex Media Server Application with a single Stream.
Guide for the Chart Below
Software Transcode = Uses the NAS software and CPU Power to alter a file to a more suitable Plex Playback type
Hardware – Accelerated Transcoding – Uses Embedded Graphics that are Integrated into the CPU to Alter a file to a more suitable version for Plex Playback
RED BOX – Recommended Synology NAS for Plex Media Server. Could be based on Performance, Price or Value between both
Use the FREE ADVICE Button to contact me directly for a recommendation on the Best Plex NAS for your Setup/Budget. Please bear in mind that this is a one-man operation, so my reply might take a little bit of time, but it will be impartial, honest and have your best interests at heart.
Latest 2021 QNAP NAS Releases:
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Software Transcoding
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Hardware – Accelerated Transcoding
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| Model | CPU Model | SD 480p / 576p |
HD 720p |
HD 1080p |
4K SDR 2160p |
HD 720p |
HD 1080p |
H.264 2160p |
HEVC SDR 2160p |
HEVC UHD 2160p |
| TS-131K | ARMv7 (Alping AL-214) 1.7GHz | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-230 | ARMv8 (RealTek 1296) 1.4Ghz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-231K | ARMv7 (Alping AL-214) 1.7GHz | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-231P3 | ARMv7 (Alpine AL-314) 1.7 Ghz | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-251D | x64 (Celeron J4005) 2.0Ghz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | Yes | Yes | SDR Only | H.264 Output | H.264 Output |
| TS-253D | x64 (Celeron J4125) 2.7Ghz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | Yes | Yes | SDR Only | H.264 Output | H.264 Output |
| TS-431KX | ARMv7 (Alping AL-214) 1.7GHz | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-431P3 | ARMv7 (Alpine AL-314) 1.7GHz | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-431X3 | ARMv7 (Alpine AL-212) 1.7GHz | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-451D2 | x64 (Celeron J4005) 2.0GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | Yes | Yes | SDR Only | H.264 Output | H.264 Output |
| TS-451DeU | x64 (Celeron J4025) 2.0GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | Yes | Yes | SDR Only | H.264 Output | H.264 Output |
| TS-453DU (-RP) | x64 (Celeron J4125) 2.7 GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | Yes | Yes | SDR Only | H.264 Output | H.264 Output |
| TS-453D | x64 (Celeron J4125) 2.7 GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | Yes | Yes | SDR Only | H.264 Output | H.264 Output |
| TS-653D | x64 (Celeron J4125) 2.7 GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | Yes | Yes | SDR Only | H.264 Output | H.264 Output |
| TS-h973AX | x64 (Ryzen V1500B) 2.2GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Some | Some | No | No | No |
Previous 2020 and Older QNAP NAS Releases:
Software Transcoding |
Hardware – Accelerated Transcoding |
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| Model | CPU Model | SD 480p / 576p |
HD 720p |
HD 1080p |
4K SDR 2160p |
HD 720p |
HD 1080p |
H.264 2160p |
HEVC SDR 2160p |
HEVC UHD 2160p |
| TS-128A | ARMv8 (RealTek 1293) 1.2GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-131 | ARMv7 (Cortex A9) 1.2GHz | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-131P | ARMv7 (Alpine AL-212) 1.7GHz | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-228A | ARMv8 (RealTek 1295) 1.2GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-230 | ARMv8 (RealTek 1296) 1.4Ghz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-231 | ARMv7 (Cortex A9) 1.2GHz | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-231+ | ARMv7 (Alpine AL-212) 1.4GHz | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-231P | ARMv7 (Alpine AL-212) 1.7 Ghz | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-231P2 | ARMv7 (Alpine AL-314) 1.7 Ghz | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| TS-251 | x64 (Celeron J1800) 2.41GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | Yes | Yes | H.264 Only | Decode Only | No |
| TS-251+ | x64 (Celeron J1900) 2.0GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| TS-251A | x64 (Celeron N3060) 1.6GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | Yes | Yes | H.264 Only | Decode Only | Decode Only |
| TS-251D | x64 (Celeron J4005) 2.0Ghz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | Yes | Yes | H.264 Only | Decode Only | No |
| TS-253 Pro | x64 (Celeron J1900) 2.0GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| TS-253A | x64 (Celeron N3150) 1.6GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | Yes | Yes | H.264 Only | Decode Only | Decode Only |
| TS-253B | x64 (Celeron J3455) 1.5 GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | Yes | Yes | H.264 Only | Decode Only | Decode Only |
| TS-253Be | x64 (Celeron J3455) 1.5 GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-269 Pro | x64 (Atom D2700) 2.13GHz | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-328 | ARMv8 (RealTek 1296) 1.2GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-332X | ARMv8 (Alpine AL-324) 1.7GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-431 | ARMv7 (Cortex-A9) 1.2GHz | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-431+ | ARMv7 (Alpine AL-212) 1.4GHz | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-431P | ARMv7 (Alpine AL-212) 1.7GHz | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-431P2 | ARMv7 (Alpine AL-314) 1.7GHz | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-431U | ARMv7 (Cortex-A9) 1.2GHz | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| TS-451 | x64 (Celeron J1800) 2.41GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| TS-451+ | x64 (Celeron J1900) 2.0GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| TS-451A | x64 (Celeron N3060) 1.6GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| TS-451U | x64 (Celeron J1800) 2.41GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| TS-453A | x64 (Celeron N3150) 1.6GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | Yes | Yes | H.264 Only | Decode Only | Decode Only |
| TS-453mini | x64 (Celeron J3455) 1.5 GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | Yes | Yes | H.264 Only | Decode Only | Decode Only |
| TS-453B | x64 (Celeron J3455) 1.5 GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | Yes | Yes | H.264 Only | Decode Only | Decode Only |
| TS-453Be | x64 (Celeron J3455) 1.5 GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | Yes | Yes | H.264 Only | Decode Only | Decode Only |
| TS-453BT3 | x64 (Celeron J3455) 1.5 GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | Yes | Yes | H.264 Only | Decode Only | Decode Only |
| TS-453Bmini | x64 (Celeron J3455) 1.5 GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | Yes | Yes | H.264 Only | Decode Only | Decode Only |
| TS-453BU | x64 (Celeron J3455) 1.5 GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| TS-453U | x64 (Celeron J1800) 2.41GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-463U | x64 (AMD GX-420MC) 2.0GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-463XU | x64 (AMD GX-420MC) 2.0GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-469 Pro | x64 (Atom D2700) 2.13GHz | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-469L | x64 (Atom D2700) 2.13GHz | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-469U-RP | x64 (Atom D2700) 2.13GHz | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-473 | x64 (AMD RX 421ND) 2.1 GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-531P | ARMv7 (Alpine AL-314) 1.4GHz | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-531X | ARMv7 (Alpine AL-314) 1.7GHz | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-563 | x86 (AMD GX-420MC) 2.0GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-569 Pro | x64 (Atom D2700) 2.13GHz | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-569L | x64 (Atom D2700) 2.13GHz | Yes | Some | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| TS-651 | x64 (Celeron J1800) 2.41GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | Yes | Yes | H.264 Only | No | No |
| TS-653 Pro | x64 (Celeron J1900) 2.0GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| TS-653A | x64 (Celeron N3150) 1.6GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | Yes | Yes | H.264 Only | Decode Only | Decode Only |
| TS-653B | x64 (Celeron J3455) 1.5GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-669 Pro | x64 (Atom D2700) 2.13GHz | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-669L | x64 (Atom D2700) 2.13GHz | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-677 | x64 (AMD RX 421ND) 2.1GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-677-1600 | x64 (AMD Ryzen 5-1600) 3.2 GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-831X | ARMv7 (Alpine AL-314) 1.4GHz | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-831XU | ARMv7 (Alpine AL-314) 1.7GHz | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-832X | ARMv8 (Annapurna) 1.7GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-832XU | ARMv8 (Annapurna) 1.7GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| TS-851 | x64 (Celeron J1800) 2.41GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | Yes | Yes | H.264 Only | No | No |
| TS-853 Pro | x64 (Celeron J1900) 2.0GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| TS-853A | x64 (Celeron N3150) 1.6GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | Yes | Yes | H.264 Only | Decode Only | Decode Only |
| TS-853BU | x64 (Celeron J3455) 1.5 GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | Yes | Yes | H.264 Only | Decode Only | No |
| TS-853U | x64 (Celeron J1900) 2.0GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-863U | x64 (AMD GX-420MC) 2.0GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-863XU | x64 (AMD GX-420MC) 2.0GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-869 Pro | x64 (Atom D2700) 2.13GHz | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-869L | x64 (Atom D2700) 2.13GHz | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-869U-RP | x64 (Atom D2700) 2.13GHz | Yes | Some | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| TS-870 Pro | x64 (Core i3-3220) 3.3GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-873 | x64 (AMD RX 421ND) 2.1 GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-873U | x64 (AMD RX 421ND) 2.1 GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-877-1600 | x64 (AMD Ryzen 5 1600) 3.2 GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-877-1700 | x64 (AMD Ryzen 7 1700) 3.0 GHZ | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | Some | Some | No | No | No |
| TS-879 Pro | x64 (Core i3-2120) 3.3GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Some | Some | No | No | No |
| TS-879U-RP | x64 (Core i3-2120) 3.3GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-932X | ARMv8 (Annapurna) 1.7GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| TS-951X | x64 (Celeron 3865U) 1.8Ghz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-963X | x64 (AMD GX-420MC) 2.0GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | Some | Some | No | No | No |
| TS-1079 Pro | x64 (Core i3-2120) 3.3GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-1231XU | ARMv7 (Alpine AL-314) 1.7GHz | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | H.264 Only | Decode Only | Decode Only |
| TS-1253BU | x64 (Celeron J3455) 1.5 GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | Yes | Yes | H.264 Only | Decode Only | No |
| TS-1253U | x64 (Celeron J1900) 2.0GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-1263U | x64 (AMD GX-420MC) 2.0GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-1263XU | x64 (AMD GX-420MC) 2.0GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-1269U-RP | x64 (Atom D2700) 2.13GHz | Yes | Some | No | No | Some | Some | No | No | No |
| TS-1279U-RP | x64 (Core i3-2120) 3.3GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-1635 | ARMv7 (Alpine AL-514) 1.7 GHz | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-1635AX | ARMv8 (ARMADA) 1.7GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-1673U | x64 (AMD RX 421ND) 2.1 GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | Some | Some | No | No | No |
| TS-1679U-RP | x64 (Core i3-2120) 3.3GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-1277-1600 | x64 (AMD Ryzen 5 1600) 3.2 GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-1277-1700 | x64 (AMD Ryzen 7 1700) 3.0 GHZ | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-1677X-1200 | x64 (AMD Ryzen 3 1200) 3.1 GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-1677X-1600 | x64 (AMD Ryzen 5 1600) 3.2 GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-1677X-1700 | x64 (AMD Ryzen 7 1700) 3.0 GHZ | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-1685-D1521 | x64 (Xeon D1521) 2.4 GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-1685-D1531 | x64 (Xeon D1531) 2.2 GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| TS-EC1080 Pro | x64 (Xeon E3-1245 v3) 3.4GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-EC1279U-RP | x64 (Xeon E3-1225) 3.1GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| TS-EC1280U-RP | x64 (Xeon E3-1245 v3) 3.4GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-EC1679U-RP | x64 (Xeon E3-1225) 3.1GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| TS-EC1680U-RP | x64 (Xeon E3-1245 v3) 3.4GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| TS-EC2480U-RP | x64 (Xeon E3-1245 v3) 3.4GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No |
| TS-EC879U-RP | x64 (Xeon E3-1225) 3.1GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| TS-EC880 Pro | x64 (Xeon E3-1245 v3) 3.4GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| TS-EC880U-RP | x64 (Xeon E3-1245 v3) 3.4GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | |||||
| Yes | Yes | No | No | No | ||||||
| TVS-471-i3 | x64 (Core i3-4150) 3.5GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Some | No | No | No |
| TVS-471-PT | x64 (Pentium G3250) 3.1GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Some | No | No | No |
| TVS-472XT | x64 (Pentium G5400T) 3.1 Ghz | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TVS-473 | x64 (AMD RX-421BD) 2.1 GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| TVS-473e | x64 (AMD RX-421BD) 2.1 GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| TVS-671-i3 | x64 (Core i3-4150) 3.5GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| TVS-671-i5 | x64 (Core i5-4590S) 3.0GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Some | No | No | No |
| TVS-671-PT | x64 (Pentium G3250) 3.1GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | H.264 Only | Decode Only | Decode Only |
| TVS-672XT | x64 (Core i3-8100T) 3.1 Ghz | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No |
| TVS-673 | x64 (AMD RX-421BD) 2.1 GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | H.264 Only | Decode Only | Decode Only |
| TVS-672N-i3-4G | x64 (Core i3-8100T) 3.1 GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No |
| TVS-673e | x64 (AMD RX-421BD) 2.1 GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | H.264 Only | Decode Only | Decode Only |
| TVS-682-i3-8G | x64 (Core i3-7100) 3.9 GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | Yes | Some | No | No | No |
| TVS-682-PT-8G | x64 (Pentium G4400) 3.3GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | H.264 Only | Decode Only | Decode Only |
| TVS-682T-i3-8G | x64 (Core i3-7100) 3.9 GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| TVS-871-i3 | x64 (Core i3-4150) 3.5GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| TVS-871-i5 | x64 (Core i5-4590S) 3.0GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| TVS-871-i7 | x64 (Core i7-4790S) 3.2GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Some | No | No | No |
| TVS-871-PT | x64 (Pentium G3250) 3.1GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| TVS-871U-RP-i3 | x64 (Core i3-4150) 3.5GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| TVS-871U-RP-i5 | x64 (Core i5-4590S) 3.0GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Some | No | No | No |
| TVS-871U-RP-PT | x64 (Pentium G3250) 3.1GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | H.264 Only | Decode Only | Decode Only |
| TVS-872N-i3-4G | x64 (Core i3-8100T) 3.1 GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | Yes | Yes | H.264 Only | Decode Only | Decode Only |
| TVS-872XT-i5-16G | x64 (Core i5-8400T) 1.7 Ghz | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | No | No | No | No | No |
| TVS-873e | x64 (AMD RX-421BD) 2.1 Ghz | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | Yes | Yes | H.264 Only | Decode Only | Decode Only |
| TVS-882-i3-8G | x64 (Core i3-7100) 3.9 GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | Yes | Yes | H.264 Only | Decode Only | No |
| TVS-882-i5-16G | x64 (Core i5-6500) 3.6 GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | Yes | Yes | H.264 Only | Decode Only | No |
| TVS-882T-i5-16G | x64 (Core i5-6500) 3.6 GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | Yes | Yes | H.264 Only | Decode Only | Decode Only |
| TVS-882BRT3-i5-16G | x64 (Core i5-7500) 3.4GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | Yes | Yes | H.264 Only | Decode Only | Decode Only |
| TVS-882BRT3-i7-32G | x64 (Core i7-7700) 3.6GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | Yes | Yes | H.264 Only | Decode Only | No |
| TVS-882ST3-i5 | x64 (Core i5-6442EQ 1.9GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | Yes | Yes | H.264 Only | Decode Only | No |
| TVS-882ST3-i7 | x64 (Core i7-6700HQ) 2.6GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | Yes | Yes | H.264 Only | Decode Only | Decode Only |
| TVS-951X | x64 (Celeron 3865U) 1.8 GHz | Yes | Yes | Some | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| TVS-EC1080 | x64 (Xeon E3-1245 v3) 3.4GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| TVS-EC880 | x64 (Xeon E3-1245 v3) 3.4GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| TVS-1271U-RP-i3 | x64 (Core i3-4150) 3.5GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| TVS-1271U-RP-i5 | x64 (Core i5-4590S) 3.0GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| TVS-1271U-RP-i7 | x64 (Core i7-4790S) 3.2GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Some | No | No | No |
| TVS-1271U-RP-PT | x64 (Pentium G3250) 3.1GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | H.264 Only | Decode Only | No |
| TVS-1282-i3-8G | x64 (Core i3-6100) 3.7 GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | Yes | Yes | H.264 Only | Decode Only | No |
| TVS-1282-i5-16G | x64 (Core i5-6500) 3.6 GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | Yes | Yes | H.264 Only | Decode Only | No |
| TVS-1282-i7-32G | x64 (Core i7-6700) 3.4 GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | Yes | Yes | H.264 Only | Decode Only | No |
| TVS-1282T-i5-16G | x64 (Core i5-6500) 3.6 GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | Yes | Yes | H.264 Only | Decode Only | Decode Only |
| TVS-1282T-i7-32G | x64 (Core i7-7700) 3.4 GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | Yes | Yes | H.264 Only | Decode Only | Decode Only |
| TVS-1282T3-i5-16G | x64 (Core i7-7500) 3.6 GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | Yes | Yes | H.264 Only | Decode Only | Decode Only |
| TVS-1282T3-i7-32G | x64 (Core i7-7700) 3.6 GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | Yes | Yes | H.264 Only | Decode Only | Decode Only |
| TVS-1582TU-i5-16G | x64 (Core i5-7500) 3.4 GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | Yes | Yes | H.264 Only | Decode Only | Decode Only |
| TVS-1582TU-i7-32G | x64 (Core i7-7700) 3.6 GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| TVS-EC1280U-SAS-RP | x64 (Xeon E3-1246 v3) 3.5 GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| TVS-EC1580MU-SAS-RP | x64 (Xeon E3-1246 v3) 3.5 GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| TVS-EC1680U-SAS-RP | x64 (Xeon E3-1246 v3) 3.5 GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| TVS-EC2480U-SAS-RP | x64 (Xeon E3-1246 v3) 3.5 GHz | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | Yes | ||||
Some QNAP NAS arrive with a CPU that has improved rendering or graphical embedding enabled. This means that is Plex can utilize this hardware for transcoding, it will require much, much less of the CPU processing power to transcode a video file. In order to take advantage of Plex hardware transcoding on your QNAP NAS, you will need to first check which NAS supports the transcoding to the extent you need by checking below. Next, you will need to upgrade your Plex Membership from the free version to the paid ‘Plex Pass’ subscription, as the option of Accelerated Transcoding with QNAP NAS hardware is not included in the plex free subscription. However, below has included all the current available QNAP NAS and to what extent they support Hardware transcoding with a Plex Pass:How to Enable Hardware Acceleration with Plex Media Server on a QNAP NAS
To use Hardware Transcoding on your QNAP NAS in a Plex Media Server, you need to enable it using the Plex Web access (head over to your Plex User interface on your browser.
The changes should take place straight away and there is no need to reboot your QNAP NAS. Be sure to have updated to the latest version of the Plex Media Server application on your NAS and that Hardware Transcoding is listed as supported in the list above.
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Finally, for free advice about your setup, just leave a message in the comments below here at NASCompares.com and we will get back to you.
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Google Photos gratuit, c’est fini ! Le géant de Mountain View a décidé de revoir sa politique tarifaire. Il n’est plus possible de sauvegarder ses photos en illimité gratuitement depuis hier, 1er juin 2021. Si vous disposez d’un NAS (ou si vous réfléchissez à investir), voici les solutions disponibles… elles sont nombreuses et gratuites. Remplacer Google Photos avec un NAS Un NAS permet de remplir de nombreuses missions : stockage, partage, et sécurité. Au-delà de ses fonctions de base, il […]
Cet article Google Photos gratuit, c’est fini… voici nos solutions autour des NAS est apparu en premier sur Cachem
Le fabricant QNAP vient de lancer une nouvelle carte réseau : QXG-10G2T-X710. Il s’agit d’un produit disposant de 2 ports réseau RJ45 capable d’atteindre 10 Gbit/s et même 20 Gbit/s avec l’agrégation de lien. Cette dernière est PCIe Gen 3 et compatible PCIe Gen 2. QNAP QXG-10G2T-X710 QNAP continue de gonfler son offre Multi-Gig. En effet, le fabricant ne se cantonne plus au NAS… il explore les autres domaines du réseau : cartes réseau, switches… et il faut avouer que […]
Cet article QNAP QXG-10G2T-X710 : carte réseau double 10GbE est apparu en premier sur Cachem
Whether you are a professional, semi-pro or hobbyist video editor, the appeal of moving your editing suite over to a NAS based environment can be quite high. Although not quite as straightforward as utilising traditional an internal SSD or external storage on USB and thunderbolt, video editing on a NAS can bring a significant number of advantages and improvements to even a low-level post-production environment focused on editing video privately or commercially. It can be frightfully intimidating to understand which components you need to buy, let alone know how to create the ideal video editing set up on a NAS for multiple connected clients on windows and mac systems. So today I wanted to take some time and talked about why you should edit video on a NAS, why you shouldn’t and the key considerations when making the move towards network-attached storage for your video editing workflow.
Ready to Edit Video on a NAS Drive? Below is my FULL GUIDE to Edit on a NAS (Click Below):
Network-attached storage (NAS) has been around now commercially for more than 20-years and it has only really been in the last few years that the viability of editing dense media, such as 1080P and 4K raw, has become particularly viable. NAS brings a number of unique advantages to video editors that apply to both the process of rendering in post-production AND general good working practice with your data. Key benefits of using a NAS in your video editing workflow are:
One Area of Storage, Accessible by Many at Once – Multiple users can connect to the same storage device, internal and external backup routines can be managed by the device and connected storage
Diverse Connectivity – Multiple types of connection are available for users to interact with the device
Security Advantages – Encryption and multiple security access options are available on the storage side
Easy Distribution – Completed projects can be distributed to the network or internet without requiring an additional cloud storage platform
Mixed OS Support – Different OS and file structures can communicate with the same storage device without being incompatible
Scaled Storage Options – Storage capacity is scalable with the ability to gradually add hard drives and SSD as you need them and even attach additional enclosures – ie you are not limited on day one with a preset storage capacity
Users & Group Access Controls with Custom Privileges – Each user can have their own login with access to different areas of the system storage being allowed/denied on the fly
AJA Speed Test from 4x Synology HAT5300 Hard Drives in a RAID 5 over 10Gbe NAS Connectivity Below:
Of course, editing on a NAS is still not perfect for everyone and although it features numerous benefits to those working in post-production, there are still several hurdles that may be too much for some users. Below are several reasons why you may not want to use a NAS for video editing:
Top Speed Potential – Like-for-like a NAS will not quite hit the same top performance of a direct-attached storage device (DAS)
Arguable More Expensive – NAS costs more than a traditional DAS
Not Strictly Plug-n-Play – NAS is not as straightforward or feature the same level of plug-and-play that a regular DAS does
Additional Equipment (e.g Switches) – In order for multiple users to access a NAS at the same time, it can sometimes require additional hardware
Steeper Learning Curve – NAS systems have a marginally higher learning curve when it comes to setting up and maintenance when it comes to external network security
Overall, a NAS is still fantastic for video editing, but all the advantages that it brings for multi-editor environments and improving your workflow are not without a little friction at the start. That said, these are small in the grand scheme of things and most can be overcome with even a small amount of IT knowledge. Below are guides on how to setup your Synology or QNAP NAS for Video Editing for the first time:
In order to cover every aspect of how you can adapt a NAS into your video editing workflow, I have broken the whole thing down into several key considerations. Each one was selected based on its recurrence in the enquiry section here on NASCompares and I strongly recommend that you check the suitability of each in your setup before proceeding with purchasing any NAS solution for business class post-production, low-level video editing and even just for simple one-off tasks involving video.
Let’s start with something straightforward and easy to understand, namely the subject of storage space and capacity. The amount of storage you’re going to need in a NAS that you plan on using for video editing may seem simple at first. Depending on whether you plan on utilising the NAS to its fullest in terms of editing, distribution and archiving, or simply plan on using the NAS for just the editing, you will need to make sure that you have enough storage for current projects and long-term storage. Typically, it is recommended that you work out how much data you generally create per year and times it by x5. However, capacity is only a small part of the importance of storage on your video editing NAS.
Here is a Guide to Understanding Each of the Main RAID Types (Click Below to read in a new tab)
In order to improve the performance of the NAS for optimal video editing, it is recommended that you use a NAS setup that features multiple hard drives or SSD in order to take advantage of both the redundancy and multi-disc access performance benefits available in RAID (redundant array of independent disks). A single hard drive can provide around 150-260 Megabytes per second of performance on average, but with each additional hard drive you add to a NAS system, it increases the overall performance by around 70-150MB/s per drive (more so with SSD). Although hard drives are traditionally slower than more expensive SSD, this can be negated via the use of multiple hard drives in a RAID and provide a much better price per terabyte investment. This also means that the NAS is able to store more projects for editing and archiving overall.
Finally, there is the consideration for the number of bays available on the video editing NAS. If you intend to take advantage of the performance and redundancy that RAID provides, you will need to ensure that you buy a NAS system that allows enough bays for you to populate with hard drives or SSD. However, you may also need to consider adding more drives later in your NAS drives life, whether to increase capacity later or just do improve performance when you need it. So it never hurts to consider partially populating a NAS in order to give yourself a little more flexibility later with your capacity, whether it is installing four hard drives in an 8 bay NAS or choosing a NAS that has the option of expandability with an externally connected expansion chassis.
Another massively overlooked area in using a NAS for video editing, and one that when overlooked can lead to enormous irritation, is avoiding ambient noise that some enterprise NAS devices generate. One of the biggest differences between editing using an SSD inside your Mac or Windows system compared with editing on an external device like a NAS/DAS is that due to the larger array of storage media combined with external enclosure design, the clicks, hums and vibration can create a noticeable increase in ambient noise. This can obviously vary based on the NAS and drive media you choose to use, but still nonetheless the general rule of thumb is that high performance in a NAS will equal a larger volume in in operational noise. If you are running a less noise prohibitive workflow, take advantage of professional headphones or maintain a decent distance from the system, you should be perfectly fine. However many users do not realise that video editing on a NAS enclosure can be rather noisy. To give you an example, below is some examples of general ambient noise generated from just a single NAS based hard drive when in operation:
Audio/Noise Tests of FOUR Popular NAS based Hard Drives:
Seagate Ironwolf Noise – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgXtQ1nGMI0/
WD Red Noise – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qf23exhPDXg/
Seagate EXOS Noise – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BW4FIWX1QKo/
Western Digital UltraStar Noise – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THYPA5FMiD4/
Most people are already well aware that although hard drives bring a tremendous amount of storage potential at an affordable level, they pale in comparison to SSD when it comes to performance. Solid-state drives provide read and write speeds that practically no modern traditional hard drive can match. That is the main reason that a lot of people rely on SSDs inside their modern computers for operating systems and general high-performance file handling. However, when it comes to network-attached storage the gap between hard drives and SSD performance can be closed significantly via the utilisation of RAID (redundant array of independent disks – mentioned earlier), which allows a user to install multiple hard drives inside I NAS and because each Drive is being read and written to at the same time, it results in something that far surpasses that of a singular hard drive in speed. In short, if you look at the price of per terabyte of an SSD as around 4-5x that of a regular hard drive, you can still achieve these speeds by simply using 4-5 hard drives instead, but actually having more capacity available to you, as well as the option of a safety net that most RAID configurations offer by default. So do not assume that video editing on a NAS will be better just because you spent more money on SSDs. If you did choose to spend significantly more money in fully populating a NAS with SSD only, this could potentially over-saturate the connection between your NAS and your editing computer, so if you are running a 10 Gigabit connection (i.e 1000MB/s), on a NAS fully populated with SSD, you cannot actually exceed 1000 megabyte per second – so you would have wasted a lot of money on SSD to start with.
Of course, there is the third option of utilising both storage media in an intelligent way. The act of using a mixed media storage configuration can be realised in either taking advantage of a tiered storage system that moves data inside to whichever storage media is the most beneficial (i.e more regularly accessed on SSD, least accessed on HDD – known on QNAP NAS as QTier), or SSD caching that moves a copy of more frequently accessed data from the hard drive RAID storage array onto a smaller but higher-performing area of SSD storage media. The benefits of SSD caching on video editing are negligible unless you are utilising many, many smaller files and need these files more frequently accessed at any given time. Ultimately, this all means that you are not locked in on utilising just one kind of storage media on your video editing setup and it is recommended that you investigate the benefits of either or both in order to maximize your investment in a NAS for video editing.
For those who are looking at purchasing a NAS system for video editing, the appeal of 10-gigabit ethernets is largely inarguable. One of the biggest problems when it came to editing video and even photos on a NAS until recently was that you simply could not get the bandwidth and performance through it that you would need in order to edit a big single file. This changed when 10-gigabit ethernet became available, but more so when you became affordable. You can now pick up some 10Gbe NAS systems for as little as £200-300, which might leave you feeling that a NAS for video editing can be spectacularly cheap. However, it is so much more complicated than simply having a 10Gb port on your NAS to allow video editing in any seamless form. Indeed, there are several key factors that a lot of 10G buyers either overlook or consciously cheap-out on, which inevitably leads to slower performance. These are as follows:
As mentioned, there are several very affordable 10Gbe NAS systems out there that highlight how competent they are at file server handling. However, not all CPUs are built the same and unless you are using an x86 64-bit CPU, you are not going to get the performance needed to edit video smoothly. Most affordable alternative systems arrived with ARM-based processors (Realtek, Marvel, Annapurna, etc), in 32-bit and 64-bit. These CPU are designed for maximum efficiency but low heavy performance handling and along with featuring lesser power frequencies, cannot handle larger instructions particularly well. Video editing is an intense operation with numerous read-write actions happening in the background that is often unknown to the editor (caching, editing multiple streams on a timeline, etc) and an ARM processor is just not up to the task. This can be marginally mitigated with improved memory, but even this is like sticking a plaster on a shotgun wound! You need to opt for 10Gbe NAS that have either an Intel or AMD based processor that is 64-bit in architecture in order to ensure smooth editing of your videos personally or professionally. I recommend at last an Intel Xeon, Intel Core, AMD Ryzen or Pentium at the very least.
Although nowhere near as important as selecting the right CPU in a 10Gbe NAS solution, Memory still needs to be considered when setting up the device for video editing. This is because although a chunk of memory will be used by the NAS for individual video editing instructions and operations, the NAS will also need additional reserved memory for running background system operations, backup routines and any additional apps you have installed from the brand respective app centre (surveillance, snapshots, cloud synchronisation, etc). The majority of budget 10Gbe NAS solutions arrived with 2GB of memory (sometimes non-upgradable and soldered via individual memory chips to the motherboard), though I strongly recommend that video editors use at least 8GB of memory if you have at least two editors. There are also differences in memory types and frequency, but these are less vital in video editing NAS and generally the better CPU your NAS has, the better the memory it will include.
Having 10G on a NAS does not mean you INSTANTLY guarantee 1000MB/s performance. The number of hard drive SSD bays that the NAS has is actually an extremely important part of setting up a NAS for 10G editing. Individual SATA hard drive or SSD arrives with speeds ranging from 160-550MB/s, with faster drives obviously being the more expensive. But if your system has multiple drive bays, with the right RAID configuration you can read and write from multiple disks at once and this multiplies the performance possible. This also means that cheaper, larger but slower hard drives can get a great deal closer to the performance of SSD if they are used in larger configurations of 6 or 8 bays. The performance of 10Gbe does not guarantee 1000MBs, it simply opens the channel to push that much data through. Utilising a NAS with more Drive bays and drives inside will allow you to maximize this connection and fully saturate 10Gbe for video editing.
An often-overlooked factor, just because you buying a 10Gbe equipped NAS does not guarantee you 10G performance with all of your connected devices externally. 10Gbe on a NAS arrives in an available ethernet port in copper or fibre connectivity, 10GASE-T or SFP+ respectively. However, you still need to make sure that other devices in your network involved in connectivity and video editing also have this connection. Typically that means that you either need to upgrade your network switch to include one with 10Gbe on board and/or you need to upgrade the video editing workstations in your home/business environment with 10Gbe connectivity. Typically these connections arrived as either thunderbolt external adaptors or PCIe upgrade cards (not suitable for MacBooks, Mac minis or laptops). There are lesser connections such as 2.5G and 5G that allow USB upgrades by providing 250-500MB/s, but if you want to take advantage of 10GBe, you need to look at applying upgrades to any devices involved with video editing. Below is a guide to 10Gbe Upgrades:
Just remember that regardless of the hard drives you use, the memory you install and the number of hard drives you install inside, these all primarily affect internal performance and it is only by upgrading your ethernet connectivity to greater than 1Gbe that you will see external performance improve – VITAL for video editing!
Although by no means a new way to edit video on a NAS, connecting to a NAS via thunderbolt is still a comparatively recent method and one that is largely only available from QNAP. In many ways, utilising a Thunderbolt 3 equipped NAS for video editing is largely identical to 10Gbe and is heavily dictated by many of the factors detailed above (CPU, memory, connectivity, etc). However, Thunderbolt NAS eliminates a lot of the client upgrade hurdles for many users, particularly Mac users, allowing them to connect directly with the NAS over TB3/USB-C for performance speeds much greater than traditional Gigabit LAN. Many users have edited video on local thunderbolt storage for years, more commonly referred to as DAS (direct-attached storage), a thunderbolt NAS allows multiple users to connect via thunderbolt and edit video on the same storage enclosure. The reality though is that thunderbolt NAS does not provide the same level of performance and throughput as a regular thunderbolt DAS enclosure. This is because it is utilising network protocol in its connectivity (in order to ensure that multiple users can connect at once – something a DAS drive cannot do). It can still provide potentially thousands of megabytes per second depending on the media inside and CPU, but there is a notable disparity between a DAS of the same scale. Additionally, whereas the majority of thunderbolt DAS (LaCie, G-Tech, Drobo, etc) are almost completely plug-n-play and appearing as an external drive immediately upon connection, Thunderbolt NAS requires a little more work in order to appear as an available drive on your Mac or Windows system. Most of these connection hurdles only need to be configured during the first time setup and then saved for the future, but it can still be a notably intimidating move to switch to a thunderbolt NAS for video editing. Nevertheless, thunderbolt NAS is still one of the best options out there are for video editors who work in a team and need to share the same storage array for backups, live editing, distribution and managing multiple archives in house.
So, those were the key considerations for those looking to buy a new NAS for video editing, or looking to upgrade/migrate from an existing DAS/External drive setup. However, there is still so much that you may need to know ranging from software compatibility, how to connect the NAS in the best way, Shoadowfiles and the best backup methods. If you still need help choosing the NAS solution for your needs, use the NASCompares free advice section below. It is completely free, is not a subscription service and is manned by real humans (two humans actually, me and Eddie). We promise impartial advice, recommendations based on your hardware and budget, and although it might take an extra day or two to answer your question, we will get back to you.
Learn More About Multiple Backup Strategies on your Synology NAS in the Guide Below:
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Finally, for free advice about your setup, just leave a message in the comments below here at NASCompares.com and we will get back to you.
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Si vous souhaitez booster vos performances réseaux, QNAP dévoile la QXG-10G2T-X710. Cette carte fille Ethernet embarque une puce Intel X710 et assure un débit maximal de 20 GbE. Au format PCIe 3.0, cette QXG-10G2T-X710 est une carte PCIe Gen 3 rétro compatible avec le PCIe Gen 2. Il vise les PC sous Windows ou Linux ...
The post QXG-10G2T-X710, QNAP propose du 2 x 10 GbE pour nos PC appeared first on GinjFo.
Bulletin d’actualité du 25/05/2021 Nous voici de nouveau ensemble dans notre rendez-vous de fin de semaine pour revenir sur les différents bulletins de sécurité publiés par le CERT-FR ! Durant la période du 10 mai au 16 mai 2021, le CERT-FR (Centre gouvernemental de veille, d’alerte et de réponse aux attaques informatiques en France) a …Samedi dernier, nous avons tenu notre premier webinaire autour des NAS. L’objectif était de fournir toutes les informations nécessaires pour aller plus loin dans le paramétrage d’un NAS QNAP et plus particulièrement avec les instantanés (snapshots). Pour ce premier webinaire, c’est Stéphane de QNAP France qui est intervenu une bonne partie de la démonstration. Pour cette première expérience, nous avons dû limiter les places et comme promis, voici la vidéo… Il y a eu un petit souci pendant la capture […]
Cet article QNAP – Webinaire instantanés / snapshots sur NAS (vidéo) est apparu en premier sur Cachem
Good news for those of you whose QNAP NAS systems were affected by the QLocker Malware attack last month – a recoverable solution has been produced by QNAP on this (with assistance from 3rd party open source project PhotoRec) that, although a little long and technical, is a great deal more understandable than many QLocker solutions that have appeared yet. This new method does not need users to open SSH on their system and although there is a degree of command/code entry involved, it is moderately straightforward and will hopefully allow you to avoid paying the ransomware fee to recover files. This method centres around file recovery, rather than breaking the encryption, so like any data recovery practice, this is not going to be tremendously quick – i.e. it will be largely dictated by the volume of files that need recovery. It will be interesting to see how much QNAP HQ have learned from this Qlocker business, what can be done to avoid this in future and if QRescue and collaborative builds with recovery software like PhotoRec can build towards a standardized NAS tool that can be used more generally in recovery in the future. Nevertheless, below is the guide that was provided by QNAP and includes tools and links to resources that will help you get the recovery completed.
Important Note – Do not attempt this ‘casually’. This method is by no means as intrusive as other methods in the last few weeks that involved messaging with the encrypted files themselves but IS a guide you should be prepared to action from beginning to end in a single session – so make sure you have allowed a good stretch of time to do this! Additionally, you WILL need access to an external Hard Drive/SSD that is 1.5-2 times the size of the data you are trying to recover, as additional space is liked needed during the recovery of files before they are completed. Make sure the external drive is EMPTY as it WILL be formatted.
Make sure your QNAP NAS is running normally and no firmware/restarts are scheduled during the process of running PhotoRec or QRescue on your NAS. Additionally, another reminder that the external HDD/SSD that you use for the recovered files from QLocker WILL be formatted during following these steps. This Guide covers:
Steps
Let’s begin.
QRescue is the data recovery tool for Qlocker-encrypted 7z files. It contains:
QRescue will process the recovery process to external drive first, and we need to do some configuration for this recovery process and create the specific destination and folder name.
Notice:This QRescue app is a special build. Therefore, you need to manually install this app from the QTS App Center.
Running PhotoRec can help you to recover the lost files from hard disks to the external drive. Now you will recover the NAS files to the “recup1” (example: recup+{disk_number}) folder on the external drive.
Run QRescue can help you to recover the files retrieved by PhotoRec. Now you will recover the files from the “recup+{number}” folder to the “restore+{number}” folder which auto creates on your external drive.
You can move the recovery data to your NAS by File Station
So, did this QLocker recovery guide work for you? How did you find the PhotoRec and QRescue applications did their job? Let me know in the comments and share with others how well/poorly this guide helped you recover your files from ransomware encryption.
Alternatively, If you still need help choosing the NAS solution for your needs, use the NASCompares free advice section below. It is completely free, is not a subscription service and is manned by real humans (two humans actually, me and Eddie). We promise impartial advice, recommendations based on your hardware and budget, and although it might take an extra day or two to answer your question, we will get back to you.
Visit the NASCompares Deal Finder to find the best place to buy this device in your region, based on Service, Support and Reputation - Just Search for your NAS Drive in the Box Below
SEARCH IN THE BOX BELOW FOR NAS DEALS
Finally, for free advice about your setup, just leave a message in the comments below here at NASCompares.com and we will get back to you.
Need Help?
Where possible (and where appropriate) please provide as much information about your requirements, as then I can arrange the best answer and solution to your needs. Do not worry about your e-mail address being required, it will NOT be used in a mailing list and will NOT be used in any way other than to respond to your enquiry.
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Alternatively, why not ask me on the ASK NASCompares forum, by clicking the button below. This is a community hub that serves as a place that I can answer your question, chew the fat, share new release information and even get corrections posted. I will always get around to answering ALL queries, but as a one-man operation, I cannot promise speed! So by sharing your query in the ASK NASCompares section below, you can get a better range of solutions and suggestions, alongside my own.
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Recently there has been a spotlight on some NAS brands and their security and protection from attacks by hackers and online intruders. In some cases, this has been down to holes being found in the system software or system protocol over time that, if left unpatched can lead to Ransomware like the QNAP QLocker of 2021, the Synology Synolocker of 2014. Typically, these can stem from many methods but ultimately revolve around hackers boarding the latest firmware and finding loopholes/backdoors within the system software each time it has an official update. This is not unusual and practically ALL the computer software-related services and hardware in your home/business environment go through this – most updates to the firmware in everything from your phone to your TV, router, console and more are specifically designed to close these newly found chinks in the armour. It is a constant game of cat and mouse, however, in almost all cases the vulnerability in software (that led to your system being penetrated) will be down to the fact your device has not been updated in firmware/software in a considerable length of time.
Of course, updating the firmware on your NAS every single time a new system software version is released is not quite as simple as that. Sure, the actually ACT of updating is super easy and the NAS system will constantly remind you of updates in your system firmware or individual app software – but many still do not immediately action this update. This is by no means exclusive to NAS either, with many, MANY users choosing to ignore the windows update icon at the bottom right of the screen right now, or the recommended system update restart/remind option at the top right on a Mac. There are several reasons that people do not immediately update their firmware, such as:
So, it is all fair and well for me to say ‘you should always update’, but the truth is that many have rather valid/understandable reasons for not actioning these straight away. Of course, the alternative would be for brands to automatically FORCE system updates through, or restrict an app/system able to connect with online services until the update is installed (as found with gaming services like Playstation Network and XBox Live) – but in a NAS, or even desktop/computer/phone-based systems these options would be INCREDIBLY UNPOPULAR! So, that is how we reached the current state of affairs between the NAS Brands, their system updates, individual app updates and how/when users choose to action them. So, how do we resolve this?
| How to Remove QSnatch from your QNAP NAS | Protecting Your Synology NAS from Ransomware |
| What is QNAP QLocker? | How to Remove QLocker from your QNAP NAS |
Many users might not be aware, but the majority of NAS brands (and indeed this extends to enterprise service providers like NetApp, cloud storage like Google Drive and large blob type storage like AWS and Azure) have an online portal that, known as the Security Advisory, that details the latest vulnerabilities, issues, faults and issues that are raised on their respective platforms. These are then available for public view (as they are submitted) and their effect, danger, current investigated status, date of the resolution and recommended action are then displayed. See Below:
Click to view slideshow.
These pages are almost certainly a legal requirement as part of their term of service and due diligence, not just a kind and wholesome gesture. However, it can be INCREDIBLY INTIMIDATING to read through them – even a 5-minute glance will make you question how on earth you have not been hacked yet! However, many of these vulnerabilities are exceptionally small and are built on exceptionally outdated firmware (perhaps 2-3 years overdue), require exceptionally weak security settings in place, DMZ network settings or simply are specific to a particular tool being used in a certain way. Nevertheless, many users will see these listings of issues and go one of two ways. One, they IMMEDIATELY UPDATE EVERYTHING and regularly update as soon as updates appear (regardless of the reasons against it listed earlier). Two, they look at the vulnerabilities, scroll through, see that none of them appear to be applicable to their own network hardware/storage setup and then continue to not-update until something more specific to their setup appears. There are pros and cons to either action of course, but better to have all the facts and listed vulnerabilities at your disposal than to proceed on just hunches and guesses!
Pretty much ALL of the brands in NAS, Data Storage and Cloud services have these security advisory pages, but the idea of checking these pages manually (i.e. bookmark etc) every day, week or month is too much of a hassle for many. On the other hand, they all arrive with an RSS feed link that allows users to subscribe to updates BUT many users are not even aware of how to apply an RSS feed (it’s a complex XML feed of text that needs to be injected into an appropriate RSS feed client/agent – so yeah, hardly noob friendly). So, in order to make this 1000x easier, I have (and by me, I mean Eddie the Web Guy spent time on it and I made this article!) made this page that will be constantly updated with the latest vulnerabilities reported on the popular NAS brands and storage-related manufacturers. It is still being built (so more brands are being added) but it will allow you to just chuck your email address below (will not be used for profit or spamming etc) and then you will get an alter EVERY TIME a new security vulnerability is updated by the brands (this is automated, so it will appear here as soon as it appears on the respective security advisory page). Additionally, there will be links back to the brand/manufacturer site so you can find out more about individual exploits and vulnerabilities, how they work, what they do and (most importantly) give you a better idea of whether you should update your NAS/Storage system or not. I hope you find it helpful and if you have any recommendations or idea of what we should add to this page/service to make it even better – let us know in the comments or directing here – https://nascompares.com/contact-us
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Work In Progress – More Security Advisory Updates and Reports Coming Soon for Other Brands
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In the last few years, we have seen the evolution of network-attached storage from being a simple hard drive that you can access remotely, to something far more evolved and capable. Innovations in everything from the hardware available, to what the software can do has resulted in even modest budget home users jumping on board with more and more capable solutions. One of the latest releases from QNAP to arrive on the market is a slight change on an existing system that although is tough to call something new, can certainly be called popular in the hardware it brings to the table. The brand new QNAP TVS-872X system is a non-thunderbolt alternative to the 2018 generation TVS-872XT, arriving at a lower price point, including ZFS support and still featuring 10G. This overwhelmingly popular Intel i3 -bay has been in our top-5 lists in its thunderbolt form for many years, but does this reimagining of the formula make the QNAP TVS-872X still worth your money and your data in 2021? Let’s take a look.
The QNAP TVS-872X is undeniably still a great example of the wide-ranging features available to prosumers who want a storage system heavily geared towards high-performance transmission via high-performance media with higher tier hardware at their disposal. It would be misleading to think of this NAS as any kind of significant upgrades over the XT, and the price tag that the TVS-872X currently arrives at (£1700+ / $2400) is perhaps a tad closer to that of the thunderbolt version than can be justified, but with an increasing over-reliance by brands on Xeon based systems, the TVS-872X is one of the most graphically well-equipped systems in the market today. If you are looking for a NAS for video editing, Plex media server, AI-assisted surveillance or virtualisation in a more compact form, the TVS-872X and its hardware has a heck of a lot to offer you.
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What the QNAP TVS-872X can do (PROS):
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What the QNAP TVS-872X cannot do (CONS):
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If you are thinking of buying a QNAP NAS, please use the links below
The retail box for this 8 bay NAS is pretty large and in its defence, certainly needs to be. Aside from the large metallic 8 bay chassis inside, QNAP has not scrimped on the protective packaging that the TVS-872X arrives in. The box is fairly nondescript and is largely the same 8 bay desktop carton that we have seen in other hardware releases, with a addition of the specific model label of course, but all the information you’re going to need is visible and they have certainly made sure that this unit will be well protected from motion and shock damage whilst in transit.
Opening up the retail box shows us the chassis contained in rigid foam from all angles. Sure, it isn’t going to protect the unit from any kind of aggressive ‘warehouse-forklift-based-mishap’, but it is more than enough to withstand worldwide traditional transit bumps and knocks.
Inside we also find a box of accessories for setting the device up for the first time. The TVS-872X is sold unpopulated, so hard drives and SSD will need to be purchased separately. However, practically every other component needed to set this device up for the first time, as well as a few small extras, is available in this accessories pack and it is surprisingly diverse.
Although the obvious things like setup guides, screws for hard drives and SSD and power cables are clearly present, the fact that this system arrived with individual heat sinks for the internal M2 SSD batteries is a nice little extra (small, but appreciated). There is information on the warranty and details on extending that warranty (2years by default – something I will discuss later on) if you wish, as well as ethernet cables. Also a tiny thing, but I am pleased to confirm that the unit arrives with Cat6 Ethernet cable. A very, VERY small thing to highlight but you would be amazed at the number of 10Gbe solutions that arrived with less appropriate cat5e cables.
It’s easy to argue that the cost is tiny and the end-user can easily buy the Cat6 themselves – but then, if the cost is so low, then why not inc them? So yes, I like this.
All in all, a familiar and fairly reliable range of accessories included with the system. Again, most of what we see today will bear remarkable similarity to our TVS-872XT reviews a few years ago.
The chassis that the QNAP TVS-872X utilizes is one that originally premiered in the thunderbolt model several years ago and has had little change in the intervening years. This is not strictly a bad thing and along with provisions for more sophisticated cooling internally, it is a remarkably compact casing for 8 hard drives, 2 SSDs and two PCIe upgrade cards with one at PCIex16. It is a fairly stocky build but certainly exudes ruggedness.
The front of the chassis is subtly ventilated and is mostly grey, black and blue in colour. Despite the rather impressive NAS hardware included in this system (that we will touch on later), the external chassis is a mix of rugged metal, with occasional economic choices subtly hidden in between. Of course, the immediate thing that gets your attention is those 8 SATA storage bays. Each bay supports a traditional 3.5″ hard drive (I recommend Pro class NAS or Data Center hard drives such as Ironwolf Pro, WD Red Pro, Western digital Ultrastar and Seagate EXOS, currently available in up to 18 TB) or 2.5″ SATA SSD.
It is worth noting that the QNAP TVS-872X does not need to be fully populated at initialisation and you can run the system with as little as a single hard drive, then add further storage media later. This is of course not recommended and at least two drives should be used to benefit from RAID support. It is also worth noting that the system allows you to utilise all three kinds (if you use the m.2 slots) of media internally with systems such as SSD caching, individual Storage Pools and Qtier, to vastly improve the internal operations speed of the NAS and ensure that more frequently accessed data is living on the most beneficial storage area. This system arrives with both ext4 and ZFS as a choice of the file system, with numerous performance benefits accessible in ZFS, but note that currently QTier is still not supported (at time of writing) on the QuTS Hero ZFS based system software.
Removing all of the drives inside reveals a sleek and well-ventilated internal chassis that is clear of loose cables, taking advantage of combined data and power SATA connectors. The QNAP TVS-872X is deceivingly good at passive airflow and a lot of this is to do with strategically placed vents throughout the chassis, around the storage bays and with lots of surrounding airflow. This is is pretty necessary when dealing with a compact system like this and is arguably a tad more aggressive in its hardware than most typical desktop solutions in the market. The media trays themselves are plastic, click and load in design, which is almost a little disappointing after the aggressive metallic chassis and rugged design. Some users are less keen on plastic trays, as early generations of trays like these would be prone to cracking as they gave in to heat and vibration over the years. I’m pleased to confirm that more modern plastic trays are a great deal more rugged and enduring, with the added benefit that they also reduce ambient vibration by a small degree. It is still a contentious point of course and many would highlight that plastic trays in a system that is almost exclusively metal in every other way are a little late to the party when it comes to ambient noise.
Another cool feature of the TVS-872X and one that is present in the majority of QNAP NAS is an LCD panel to provide real-time information about the system whilst in operation. This display allows you to check system health, details on alerts, a breakdown of the currently used IPs and just generally gives you more information about the health and status of your system at a glance. QNAP is one of the last brands to still continue to include LCD panels on their NAS systems, with many others switching towards utilising LEDs only (which QNAP does too), and along with the utilisation of HDMI, is one of those things that the brand still garners a certain keen and dependable audience with.
The LEDs and the system features on the front of the chassis can be broken down into two varieties. There are the usual individual LEDs for denoting the initialization, activity and health of individual SATA storage bays, and there are also three LEDs at the top left of the system display that the network activity system status and activity on the individual M2 PCIe NVMe SSD slots. Of course, all of these LED lights can be dimmed or completely turned off if you choose. I personally quite like the LCD panel on my solutions, as it is considerably quicker than logging in via a client device to check any alerts on the fly.
Another rather long-standing staple of NAS systems, especially QANP it should be said, is the inclusion of a USB Copy button on the front of the system. To allow on-the-fly backups to and from the system onto an external HDD at the physical touch of a button. Of course, this can be completely automated if you choose when a drive is connected utilising the hybrid backup sync software, with numerous methods of backup. These range from whole drive clone, to incremental and time managed – again, in either direction whether you want to backup a regular USB drive or you want regular backups of the NAS on a removable drive to keep off-site. The appealing thing here though is that it has both a physical button to provide you with that peace of mind that the job has been actioned, but also there is the fact it is USB 3.2 Gen 2. That means that this system supports the 10 gigabit per second more modern USB connection and for those looking at faster backups, this will be a godsend. It genuinely annoys me in 2021 that we are still seeing hardware arriving in the thousands of pounds with USB 3.2 Gen 1 (USB 3.0 5Gb/s) and I am pleased this is avoided here.
Ventilation on the external chassis of the TVS-872X is fairly well placed, with vents on either side, 2x on the rear of the device, tons surrounding the internal storage media and slotted ventilation underneath the base of the system to assist air passage on the storage drives. With a reported 24.2db(A) by QNAP when the unit is in operation, this is going to be even higher when using the recommended enterprise-grade drives. So do bear in mind that this system is not going to be especially quiet in typical operation. For those thinking of utilising the TVS-872X for video editing over 10Gbe, you may want to put some distance between you and it.
You can’t really question the passive cooling vent on the TVS-872X, as they are on practically every side, also take advantage of a metal chassis to assist heat dissipation and the system boasts technically five active internal cooling fans, two on the rear, two on a dedicated CPU cooling fan and of course the one on the PSU. Let’s have a look at what port and connections the TVS-872X has to offer.
The differences between the TVS-872X and TVS-872XT NAS come down to one simple difference, that of thunderbolt on the more expensive device. When the TVS-872XT was first released at the start of 2018, it was highly praised for being a remarkably future-proof desktop NAS system, with its use of high-performance PCIe bandwidth options, onboard 10GbE, 10G USB throughput, HDMI 4K 60FPS and NVMe storage pool options. Fast forward to 2021 with the TVS-872X and what we have is still a very good NAS, but those same hardware factors from before are now arguably more mainstream. That said, the system still boasts some hardware highlights that are unique to the TVS-X72 series.
The rear of the system is dominated by those two large active cooling fans. There is lots of passive ventilation around the rear of the chassis, but those big fans will keep the internal chips, heatsinks and media at a very good operational temp. You can lower the RPM manually, to reduce any ambient noise, but this system will work at its best if you leave this at automatic and allow the system to raise/lower RPM as the sensors dictate.
The system also features an internal PSU, rated at 250W, which is going to come in pretty handy if you are looking to max out the potential 1,000MB/s on the 10G, or want to install some hefty PCIe cards inside. That said, the system is a little more power-hungry than recent releases like the TS-873A or TS-653D, with a reported 65.03W whilst in operation and 41.47W whilst in standby.
The dedicated 10Gbe port featured on the TVS-872X does not arrive on a dedicated PCIe card (as seen in the likes of the TVS-1282T3 etc). However, a quick check internally shows that it has its own dedicated Aquantia controller located underneath the main heatsink alongside the CPU. The 8 Bays of storage found inside this system alongside the impressive i3-8100T CPU, will mean that fully saturating a 10G connection will be incredibly easy. However, this external 10Gbe connection may ironically come across as a bottleneck once you consider utilising a full 8 enterprise drive setup, as well as the NVMe drives as tiered storage or separate storage pool. At this price point, 10Gbe would be fully expected but given its similarity to the thunderbolt 2018 alternative that also had 10Gbe on board, it might have been nice to see a 2 port 10Gbe setup.
Alongside the 10-gigabit ethernet connection, we find two standard gigabit ports. These are fairly normal, even if other QNAPs in 2020/2021 feature 2.5G in the (e.g the TS-453D and TVS-872X), these are still perfectly acceptable alongside the existing 10G port. My complaints of improving the bandwidths externally on this system may seem a tad churlish and perhaps limitations have resulted in QNAP presenting these connections as the most efficient way to share up those PCIe lanes, I still think it would have been nice to see a little more evolution between the TVS-872X and TVS-872XT given the 3-year difference and only a modest £300 price difference.
One connection that the TVS-872X features that I will always approve of are the inclusion of USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports. The system arrives with four of these much faster 10Gb USB ports in type A and type C connectivity which support everything from external storage drives, peripheral control devices, 5Gbe network adaptors, office hardware and more. For a faster local backup drive in a wider backup strategy, these port are ideal for keeping this process as quick as possible across multiple drives. Equally, these ports can be used for high-end web cameras for surveillance and assigned individually to virtual machines.
Then there is the range of RAID enabled expansions from QNAP in their TR and TL series. Utilising those 1000Mb/s local connections with an expansion will ensure that the bottlenecks occasionally associated with equipping expansions are largely avoided.
Another area of NAS that QNAP is one of the largest supporters of is the utilisation of HDMI on devices for creating a visual and parallel GUI to enjoy your visual data on a locally connected monitor. Support of KVM environments and a wide range of official (and custom/unofficial applications over on QNAPClub) mean that your NAS can be utilised as a stand-alone computer, standalone surveillance system, stand-alone entertainment system and all the while still supporting the network and remote shares of your network-attached storage system simultaneously. Much like the older unit, the TVS-872X features 4K 60hz HDMI 2.0 output and particularly for standalone surveillance uses and multimedia buyers, this will be very appealing. It is worth highlighting though that HDMI enabled applications on NAS have grown a little thinner on the ground in recent years, but the bulk of the core services and applications still support this visual out option, receiving regular updates, even going as far as to support connecting a virtual machine to the HDMI via QVM and connecting any USB keyboard and mouse.
A staple of 8-bay desktop solutions, the TVS-872X also has PCIe upgradability and much like the previous thunderbolt release, it has two PCIe slots. The first is a PCIe 3×4 slot that comfortably provides support for the majority of modern network interface cards, Wi-Fi 6 cards, SSD Media upgrades and even accelerator cards from QNAP themselves and third-party cards like Google’s TPU AI acceleration card.
The second slot however is particularly interesting as it is a PCIe gen 3×16 slot. This really opens the door to more aggressive cards and substantially bigger upgrades to the system, with dual-port greatly increased fibre network interface cards in 25-100Gbe SFP and a small but effective range of graphics cards supported. The TVS-872X already features quite an impressive CPU and 10-gigabit ethernet by default, but the bandwidth available to this upgrade slot means that the upgradeability of this system down the line is pretty fantastic. In its thunderbolt variation, a 2 port thunderbolt card occupied one of these slots but now this new version allows greater upgrade options, even if the physical installation of cards in this system is a little tighter than some might like.
As mentioned, the TVS-872X bears a near-identical comparison with the TVS-872XT, with only that dual-port thunderbolt card serving as any difference in ports and connections. Even 3 years since they similar systems debut, this is still an impressive arrangement of physical local connections on offer and aside from perhaps swerving the opportunity to upgrade those 1Gbe ports into something attached more exciting, there is little to critique in this system connectivity. Let’s take grab a screwdriver and see what is going on under the bonnet.
The metal external casing is easily removed with 3 screws and slides off to reveal a surprisingly spacious chassis. The passive ventilation throughout this system that is pushed by those active fans has plenty of room to work with and although perhaps the level of space available will be less in smaller models in this family, there is plenty of airflow available here. This is not the first QNAP system to also feature the enhanced cooling deck internally, which comprises an additional dual-fan array that lives above the controller board and feeds into a phenomenally sized heatsink.
As mentioned earlier, the system features two dedicated NVMe M2 slots that allow the installation of much faster modern SSD. Now it should be highlighted that these M.2 slots are PCIe gen 3×2 in bandwidths, so media will not be able to exceed 2000 Megabytes per second on either slot (most PCIe Gen 3 NVMe are advertised at speeds of 3000-4000MB/s Read Max). This is still a remarkably large amount of potential throughput however and once you factor in RAID support and using them as a storage pool, they provide a substantially faster area of space for editing. As well as the aforementioned support of caching and QNAP’s QTier system. These slots also arrived on the other side of the main controller board, not in line with the two fan active cooling system that the CPU and 10G controller benefit from. However, they are directly in line with the two massive rear fans and metal heat sinks are included in the accessory box mentioned earlier, so heat should not be a worry.
The memory slots on this system are located on the inside of the core storage bays and the TVS-872X arrives with 8GB of memory by default. This memory is DDR4 SODIMM in architecture, across two slots and the default memory arrived in a single module. Thanks to the Intel Core CPU, this system can support up to an impressive 64GB of memory which is hugely beneficial to virtualisation and network surveillance deployment. QNAPs main rival, Synology, have opted for ECC memory in their comparative system (the Synology DS1621xs+ – Read my comparison HERE) and although it is absent on the TVS-872X, it does arrive with significantly higher maximum memory potential instead (64GB rather than 32GB). One important factor that should be mentioned on the memory that the QNAP TVS-872X arrives with is that although the system features the choice of ZFS as a filesystem at the start, some of the features of ZFS such as inline deduplication are not available without a minimum 16GB of memory. This is especially galling for some who see the thunderbolt model arriving with 16GB of memory and an i5-8100T processor at just over £300+ more. Still, 8GB of memory is a good base level for this system and it is still a respectable i3 8th Gen CPU.
The CPU inside the TVS-872X is an Intel i3-8100T. Rated at over 5000 on CPU benchmark currently, it is a quad-core 3.1GHz processor that also features UHD 630 embedded graphics. QNAP is one of the last NAS brands and server makers in the market to still utilise Intel core processors, ranging from Pentiums to i5 and i7’s. The majority of NAS released for business and enterprise storage in the last 3-years have almost exclusively arrived with Xeon based processors. This is thanks to Xeon’s exceptional file handling and consistent performance (pretty much series-wide), as well as arriving in significantly more core configurations and efficient power vs performance design. However, many uses prefer Intel core processors with NAS systems because alongside aggressively high-performance they also arrive with embedded graphics, which is hugely beneficial in Virtualisation, 4K Multimedia, widespread camera surveillance and are especially adept in thunderbolt NAS solutions (even the latest TB3 NAS, the TVS-h1288X is a graphically embedded Xeon). There was a time when simply featuring an Intel core CPU would increase a NAS’s price by 20-30% over Xeon systems, but in these times of widespread use and increased investment by Intel in xeon development, the result is that intel core powered NAS are a pinch more affordable, if a touch less available.
Adjacent to the main processor of this device, we also find the dedicated 10Gbe network processor. In the last few years, this brand has managed to make 10-gigabit ethernet performance considerably more affordable and the majority of NAS brands and network manufacturers owe a large debt of thanks to them for ultimately making 10Gbe notably more accessible for home and prosumer users worldwide. Although this particular Aquantia is the same processor debuted in the thunderbolt model over 3 years ago, it is still an excellent 10Gbe handling chip and this combined with the throughput of the i3 and 8-bays of storage will present you with an impressive system to edit with. Both the CPU and 10G network controller are covered by an especially large (by the standards of NAS certainly) heat sink that ensures that these two key components are being kept at an ideal operating temperature. Heat sinks in NAS’ are not new and largely are used to minimise power consumption when compared with dedicated CPU fans, furthering the lifespan of the product. Unusually though, this heat sink is also being directly cooled by a unique slim twin fan box located immediately next to it.
This two-piece low noise fan kit utilises two main vents to push and draw air around the system and predominantly throughout that large heatsink. This is one of few qnap NAS systems to do this and it is no coincidence that this compact desktop NAS chassis with its arguably more aggressive components would feature it. Despite their low noise and low impact design, these twin fans add to the general ambient noise of the system when in operation and only further highlight why this system, although ideal in power for those video editors looking to switch to NAS, is going to be less fun to work in close proximity to.
Noise criticisms aside, this is still a remarkably well-engineered NAS device even by 2021 standards and although the majority of the hardware architecture we are seeing here has changed very little since the TVS-872XT release back in 2018, it still holds up remarkably well. Next, we’ll talk about how this device delivers in the software department, as well as what this device brings to the table that may have been absent in previous versions.
The software found with the QNAP TVS-872X NAS can be broken down into 2 sections. namely those of the advantages that QNAP QTS already bring to a business user, and then the widespread system and storage advantages that QuTS Hero and ZFS bring as well. For those unfamiliar with the QNAP operating system, it arrives with hundreds of free applications, can be accessed from a web browser or desktop client, arrives with many, many apps for mobile on IOS and Android and is definitely in the top two operating systems you can get for network-attached storage devices. Often compared with their biggest rival Synology NAS and DSM, QNAP QTS GUI is designed in a way that will definitely appeal more to Android and Windows users, giving you everything you will need from a network-attached storage device in 2021 and arrives with constant updates for added features and security.
Then you have KEY applications that are used on the QNAP NAS system that moves into tailored data access and use, such as:
Above are a few of my software overviews that cover the general GUI and system of QuTS Hero on the TS-h886, as well as RAID rebuild and storage management overviews of the system to give you some idea of what the TVS-872XT can and cannot do:
Space Saving Efficiency – Inline data deduplication, compression, and compaction reduce file size to conserve storage capacity and optimize performance.
Intelligent Memory Cache – Main memory read cache (L1 ARC), SSD second-level read cache (L2 ARC), and ZFS Intent Log (ZIL) for synchronous transactions with power fail protection are simultaneously supported to boost performance and security
RAID Z – Multiple RAID levels allow flexible capacity utilization. RAID Triple Parity and Triple Mirror deliver higher levels of data protection.
App Center – Apps for backup/sync, virtual machines/containers, content management, productivity, and more features can be used to expand the application potential of the TS-h972AX.
All in all, the fact that the QNAP TVS-872X arrives with the option of the ZFS or EXT4 versions of the QNAP Software and GUI is a large part of what makes these NAS appealing.
If this was the first time I was seeing the hardware featured on the QNAP TVS-872X, with its Intel Core CPU, 64GB of potential memory, 10Gbe on-board, NVMe equipped slots and USB 10G throughout – I would have been reasonably impressed. Likewise, the scalability in PCIe, storage expansions and network connectivity down the line is also a very valid and positive aspect of this system. But for me, it will always live slighting in the shadow of its Thunderbolt 3 equipped older big brother in the TV-872XT. The software on either ZFS or EXT4 file system is still doing what it does well, finding the line between 1st party apps, 3rd party support, customization and (mostly) getting it right – if occasionally trying to be too big for its boots.
The QNAP TVS-872X is undeniably still a great example of the wide-ranging features available to prosumers who want a storage system heavily geared towards high-performance transmission via high-performance media with higher tier hardware at their disposal. It would be misleading to think of this NAS as any kind of significant upgrades over the XT, and the price tag that the TVS-872X currently arrives at (£1700+ / $2400) is perhaps a tad closer to that of the thunderbolt version than can be justified, but with an increasing over-reliance by brands on Xeon based systems, the TVS-872X is one of the most graphically well-equipped systems in the market today. If you are looking for a NAS for video editing, Plex media server, AI-assisted surveillance or virtualisation in a more compact form, the TVS-872X and its hardware has a heck of a lot to offer you.
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What the QNAP TVS-872X can do (PROS):
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What the QNAP TVS-872X cannot do (CONS):
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For many users, the first NAS they ever owned was the affordable and sturdy WD My Cloud NAS drive. From students and teachers to console gamers and small business, the WD My Cloud range of NAS devices was one of the earliest attempts by hardware manufacturers to bring the arguably tricky subject of home server ownership in an affordable and easy to use way. Indeed, in previous years I have recommended the WD My Cloud Pro P2100 and PR4100 NAS systems for use in Plex, low-level surveillance and prosumer home network storage. However, in the last few years brands like Synology and QNAP have absolutely dominated the home and small business NAS market with a large portfolio of solutions that effectively surpass the majority of WD NAS’ in every possible way. So, we sadly face the fact that given WD has not released a new generation of their My Cloud series for a number of years and desirability has begun to fall, many users are deciding on where to go with their data, whether it’s in a new NAS or upgrading on an older WD My Cloud system. Today I’m going to discuss which NAS brand you should choose when upgrading from a WD NAS and which manufacturer deserves your data.
It is important to highlight that this article is not about me saying the WD My Cloud range is bad, because it really isn’t and it is still one of the best bang for your buck NAS solutions you can buy right now in 2021 – as well as being remarkably user friendly for the first time NAS user! Additionally, with the majority of WD solutions arriving with bundled hard drives, a simple streamlined user interface and considerably better high street availability than any other brand, they are still a good solution. However, like most technology, the evolution and expectations in what it can do in the eyes of buyers change rapidly and although most other brands have pushed software and hardware innovation to some incredible lengths, the WD My Cloud NAS range has remained quite steadfast in its refusal to adapt. Although WD My Cloud is sturdy, safe, robust and makes no promises it cannot fulfil, in terms of what you can do with it and how you can evolve the system in its lifespan is tremendously limited. This along with some third party app brands not updating their applications for the WD NAS OS system has led to an increasing lack of support of these popular software platforms. Ultimately, the majority of people reading this are owners of a WD My Cloud NAS that are now looking to upgrade to something with a little more future-proofing and modern innovation. However, don’t overlook the fact that you can still use your WD My Cloud NAS as another tier of your backup strategy, by synchronising over the network or internet with numerous application methods available from WD themselves and others brands.
Unsurprisingly, if you have been researching the subject of NAS and thinking of upgrading from a WD My Cloud NAS, then the name ‘Synology’ and its incredible software will almost certainly have appeared on your radar. Although the brand is not as establish or steeped in years as Western Digital, Synology is still over 20-years old and has produced hundreds of NAS solutions in their portfolio. The main difference between Synology and WD when it comes to NAS software is twofold. The first major difference is the first party software on offer. WD and it’s NAS OS have surprisingly thin software add-ons available, with most of the system abilities being classed more as day-to-day services – RAID functionality, USB backups, synchronised backups and low-level account control. WD-OS is very functional but it has not changed much in the last 5-6 years in terms of innovation and most of its key abilities are considered rather rudimentary in 2021/2022. Synology on the other hand includes its DSM (Diskstation Manager) software platform with every NAS, which is is the equivalent of an entire operating system comparable to a desktop OS that can be accessed via the web browser and numerous mobile apps. The Synology supports all of the services that the WD My Cloud does, but has also evolved every one of them into a central data ecosystem. The range of first-party services, applications and add-ons that Synology provide are extensive and cover surveillance, virtual machine deployment, intelligent multi-tier backups, bespoke email server deployment and more. Alongside this, DSM also provides applications that attempt to wrestle the user away from third-party desktop client apps for business. Examples include Synology Chat that serves as an alternative to Skype, Synology Office which serves as an alternative to Google Docs/Office 365, Synology Video Station is a popular alternative to Plex Media Server as well as an alternative to the slick and easy UI of Google Drive and Dropbox with Synology Drive. The evolution of Synology software where is genuinely unparallel and although QNAP is always getting closer, it is still going to be very impressive for the end-user when switching away from WD My Cloud NAS OS to DSM.
The second reason that the Synology NAS software platform is significantly superior to the WD NAS software is the support of third-party applications. WD NAS OS does have access to a small apps centre that includes easy installation of a few third-party applications. Although the majority of these have been all but abandoned in terms of updates and utility in recent years, one popular 3rd party application that most users a few years ago purchased the WD My Cloud NAS for was Plex media server. However updates on the Plex media server application on the WD NAS platform have slowed down and because this is a third-party application, you are heavily reliant on the manufacturer to develop updates for the WD NAS platform – something that has become increasingly less frequent from 2020 onwards. Synology NAS on the other hand supports significantly more third-party applications in it’s app center, as well as numerous custom apps that can be installed manually. There is certainly a few bits of bloatware in this application centre that can be overlooked, but nevertheless, there is still a good 30-40x third-party applications here that are worth your time and updated with more frequency than those found on the WD NAS platform. Equally, as the popularity of Synology NAS has increased, so has the amount of time that developers have spent on both the first and third-party applications for this platform and this combined with the improvements in mobile applications has led to the Synology NAS range being wildly superior to that of WD NAS My Cloud in software. Add to this that Synology also provides the option of BTRFS as a filesystem choice option with its file self-healing and lower resource-consuming snapshot creation, as well as the Synology Hybrid RAID (SHR) configuration for allowing mixed hard drive capacities, and the Synology NAS software is easily the preferred upgrade choice for those moving away from the WD My Cloud NAS platform for apps and services.
The performance of a NAS drive will often be dictated by both the internal and external hardware available. The quantity and number of hard drives you install inside will always provide something of a performance boost, but overall the performance will always be dictated by the primary components that the brand chooses to use and the external connectivity that a system features by default. Each one of the WD My Cloud range of devices are very efficient, make the most of the hardware inside and are designed for smooth running with little or no intervention by the end-user at any point. However, it has to be said that the hardware featured inside pales in comparison to that of QNAP alternatives in the last few years. With the WD My Cloud series largely concentrating on an Intel Pentium processor from 2015/16, alongside several ARM processors in 32-bit and 64-bit, they are certainly comparable to a number of QNAP NAS systems in the TS-X31K, TS-51D and TS-53D Series. Unfortunately, they soon get surpassed in comparison to the wide array of more modern processors available in QNAP desktop systems that can range from Pentium Gold, Newer Gen Celeron and Ryzen, to Intel Core i5, i7 and Xeon. This disparity also extends to the memory available, with most WD My Cloud systems arriving with between 1-2GB of memory that cannot be upgraded – where has QNAP arrive with vast memory upgrade options and many models arriving with 4GB and 8GB by default.
The difference between QNAP and WD My Cloud is made even more clear when you learn that the majority of QNAP NAS systems also include M2 storage upgrade slots internally that allow you to install SSD in SATA or NVMe that can be used for an area of superfast storage, tiered storage for data to be scanned and moved to the most appropriate media source or for caching to allow frequently access data to be copied over to the SSD for improved performance in the files that need it most. Although the use of SSDs for intelligent caching is by no means a new feature of NAS, it is still something that WD My Cloud NAS has yet to integrate and something that QNAP NAS has applied to the majority of their hardware portfolio. So, with both the baseline level of hardware AND the upgradability of the internal hardware found in a QNAP NAS to be better than that found in WD My Cloud NAS, it’s a great upgrade for those that are interesting in improved internal performance in their next NAS purchase.
The connectivity between the network-attached storage device and your local network hardware environment will massively dictate the speed at which your client devices can access your data for home or business use. Although there are a handful of more enterprise-level WD NAS solutions available, all of the WD My Cloud Feature 1Gbe with no means with which to upgrade that connectivity. Some NAS in the My Cloud range are a little better with dual 1Gbe RJ45 connections, but even then this is a small all edition that in 2021/2022 is less desirable than it once was. However if you are looking for the best possible external connectivity in a modern NAS when choosing from or upgrading from a WD My Cloud NAS, then QNAP have easily the best selection of external connectivity on even their modest hardware solutions available.
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Rear of the WD My Cloud Pro PR4100
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Rear of the QNAP TS-453D 4-Bay
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Even on the 1/2-bay NAS solutions, you can find 2.5Gbe connectivity on a number of QNAP solution, which then scales progressively throughout their portfolio to multiple 2.5Gbe connections, 5Gbe connections and 10Gbe very easily while still maintaining a price point that remains compatible with that of even the biggest WD My Cloud solution. Then you have the fact that a number of QNAP solutions can be upgraded via PCIe or USB upgrade adaptors for more numerous external connectivity or at the enterprise level with larger bandwidth connections such as 25Gbe and 40Gbe of PCIe Gen 3 NICs for just a few £100s. Finally, there is the growing collection of Thunderbolt 3 equipped NAS systems from QNAP that allow a marginally more plug-and-play connection between the NAS and a thunderbolt 3 USB-C equipped client device. Ultimately QNAP NAS wildly outpaces the WD My Cloud range in terms of external connectivity and is arguably better for its external bandwidth than most NAS brands on the market today.
As mentioned at the start of this article, many users purchased the WD My Cloud Pro NAS system as it was remarkably proficient at Plex Media Server, thanks to its choice of Pentium Processor and hardware transcoding in Plex as standard utilization. However, due to Plexnot frequently updating the WD NAS Media Server application in line with how the platform has evolved over time, the WD My Cloud Pro PR2100 and PR4100 have grown increasingly less proficient at Plex Media Server, leading to guides and support walkthroughs being needed to bridge the gap more informally and this has been one of the largest driving force for users wishing to trade away from a WD NAS and onto something a little more modern. When it comes to buying a NAS that is primarily used for Plex media server, for the sheer simplicity and Performance it is hard to argue with a Synology NAS as a better Plex media server. Although many would argue that a QNAP NAS would serve as a better Plex media server due to a higher class of CPU, the Synology NAS platform tends to get more out of the hardware at any given time in terms of efficiency which for most users and Plex media server is highly desirable for a stress-free, set up and forget architecture.
Here is my FULL Guide on Synology NAS for Plex in 2021 (Click Below):
The performance of Plex media server on a Synology NAS when compared with that of a WD My Cloud NAS though is not quite as clear-cut as you might like though. For a start, in order to take advantage of hardware transcoding on the Synology, you are going to need a paid Plex Pass, which may come as a real disappointment given that earlier revisions of Plex media server on the WD My Cloud allow Plex to use this CPU and hardware transcoding for free by default. However, the performance of this older Pentium in hardware transcoding is of a similar level to the software transcoding of the much newer Celeron found in the Synology recent diskstation releases – so this advantage can be largely negated. One final point that, although not applicable to everyone is still worth considering when looking at a NAS for Plex media server, is how the system utilises the hardware resources available between both the Plex application, other software services and the system in general. Plex media server in its recent 1.23 version consumes the majority of the hardware available on the WD My Cloud Pro system with even modest playback of 1080p media and is all but consumed by 4K files, leaving little or no resources for the rest of the NAS and it’s applications. The majority of Synology Plus Series Diskstation NAS systems, by comparison, thanks to using more modern hardware architecture and upgradeability in their design result in a smaller percentage of resource consumption buy Plex media server and therefore more fuel in the tank for other services too.
When network-attached storage was in its infancy, it was presented as a means for prosumers and small-medium business users to have an alternative to subscription-based Cloud services (DropBox, Google Drive, etc) with improved customizable security and larger capacities. Due to the nature of data and how it is the centre of all kinds of business in the last few decades, the idea of a business having its own server is hardly a new thing, given the importance of data retention and GDPR. However, the expectations from a business in what a server can do at even the most modest level have grown rapidly and a simple hard drive connected to the internet will simply not do! As mentioned earlier, the software available on the WD NAS OS platform is starting to look a little underwhelming in 2021, whereas Synology has invested heavily in software development for the NAS systems likely more than any other brand. This extends to more than the brand trying to ape popular business software and extends to numerous business class advantages and functions in even the comparatively small hardware options by comparison.
A business user already knows that a Synology NAS will be able to store the data in a centralised manner. However, Synology DSM also features business class surveillance with the Surveillance Station 8 platform that can easily rival that of enterprise-class NVR/CCTV utilities like Milestone. There is also the Active Backup Suite software that is included with every Synology NAS that is a licence free multi-platform backup and synchronisation tool that extends from NAS and server utilisation to Office 365 and Google workspace platforms. Moving forward there is also the Synology Virtual Machine Manager platform that not only allows you to deploy VM (virtual machine) images directly from your NAS, but also allows synchronisation and third party software OS migration from the likes of VMware and Hyper-V in just a handful of clicks. Thanks to services like these used in conjunction with the first party communication tools such as Synology Chat and Synology Mail, spreadsheet and document editing with Synology Office and even data pinning and on-the-fly streaming locally with Synology Drive for Mac and Windows – Synology provide an extensive range of business tools in their NAS software that is still a few steps ahead of practically any other brand.
So, if you have reached this far in the article, you are likely wondering whether you should switch from a WD My Cloud NAS towards either a Synology or QNAP NAS? It’s a valid question, as both brands (especially in recent years) managed to carve their own very distinct design, the priority of build and available utilities for different end-users. Synology will always be the software optimized choice over hardware (60/40) and manages to get the very most possible out of comparatively less hardware in their own first-party applications. QNAP NAS on the other hand has more of a hardware focus (again 60/40) which means that they have a better 1t and 3rd party hardware balance when it comes to using their system in your environment. Synology is a solution that wants you to do things its way and in return gives you a smooth if safe and predictable outcome. QNAP NAS manages to be exceedingly customizable and adaptable and for those who take the time to tweak it, setup it up from scratch or adapt it to their 3rd party environment, can achieve much better results overall. Below is two videos that focus on each brand and key consideration on QNAP and Synology before you buy. Take a look:
So, those were the key considerations for those looking to buy a new NAS or looking to upgrade/migrate from an older NAS Drive. However, there is still so much that you may need to know to range from operating system compatibility, how to connect the NAS in the best way, ideal software and the best backup methods. If you still need help choosing the NAS solution for your needs, use the NASCompares free advice section below. It is completely free, is not a subscription service and is manned by real humans (two humans actually, me and Eddie). We promise impartial advice, recommendations based on your hardware and budget, and although it might take an extra day or two to answer your question, we will get back to you.
Visit the NASCompares Deal Finder to find the best place to buy this device in your region, based on Service, Support and Reputation - Just Search for your NAS Drive in the Box Below
SEARCH IN THE BOX BELOW FOR NAS DEALS
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QNAP lance un nouveau NAS : le TS-130. Il s’agit d’un produit d’entrée de gamme orienté grand public. Il dispose d’un emplacement pour y loger un disque dur ou un SSD. Il est animé par un processeur Quad Core Realtek accompagné de 1 Go de RAM en DDR4. Son prix à vide : 145€… QNAP TS-130 Il y avait bien longtemps que QNAP n’avait pas lancé un produit grand public. Si vous avez l’habitude de nous suivre, ce nouveau NAS […]
Cet article NAS – QNAP TS-130 disponible à 145€ est apparu en premier sur Cachem
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