Qnap
TS-219P II Turbo NAS
Ratings:
5/5
Price: $427
Website:
www.lambda-tek.com
Qnap TS-219P II Turbo NAS
QNap’s TurboNAS TS-219P II is a practical and plain 2-disk
enclosure due to its black plastic case. The hard drives are installed in 2
detachable caddies on the front, and even though the trays look cheap,
everything comfortably slips into their places. There’re 1 USB ports in the
front, plus 2 additional ones and 2 eSATA ports on
the back. Unlike today’s many enclosures at the same price, TS-219P II lacks
USB2 support.
The
installation disc contains QNap Finder which searches
your network to detect QNAP NAS device then guides you through it setup
process. The real setup screens are in this device’s web interface. First, we
were prompted to boot empty disks then install firmware from the installation
disc. Updated versions are also available online.
Throughout
the process of installing firmware, you are reminded to name NAS server, set
administration password, set time and activate the services you wish to run
such as FTP server, UPnP and Tunes media server, shared folders, web and SQL
server and more. Finally, you need to configure its drives by choosing among
EAID 1, RAID 0 and JBOD as well as select between Ext3 and Ext4 file systems. The
process is simple, clear and easy to follow.
The web
interface is pretty designed, with options and main settings categorized into a
tree structure in the left window of the browser’s one. Mother directories
include desk management, where you can format your disk and specify its RAID
specification; Access Right Management, where you can create users and give
them quota then set up access permissions; and Network Services, with options
to activate NAS device’s web plus FTP servers and file sharing options and
Telnet or SSH access.
This NAS
device is able to run a lot of applications, allowing it to work as an UPnP or
iTunes media server, web storage, BitTorrent client
and the monitoring center of IP camera. You would add more features with
downloadable QKPG packs, consisting of various applications like WordPress blog hosting and NZB download client which
downloads contents from Usenet.
The great
number of USB and eSATA ports of TS-219P II can
connect to external storage devices that you can share across your network or
use to backup saved data on NAS device. You can also USB ports to turn it into
your personal cloud storage with help from MyCloudNAS
of QNAP.
TS-219P II
Turbo NAS had excellent performances in our tests, with an averaging RAID 0
transfer speed of 15.5MB/s for small files and 58.3MB/s for big files. RIAD 1
speed is fast too, with 12.4MB/s for small files and 38.9MB/s for big files.
TS-219P owns a reasonable price, $427.41. Moreover, its variety of feature and
wonderful interface brings it a Best Buy award.
Summary
Consideration: We like this device’s fast transfer speed,
reasonable price and excellent interface.
NAS
enclosure:
10/100/1000Mbit/s Ethernet connection, 3 USB ports, UPnP/ iTunes media servers,
print server, USB, web, FTP
QNap
TS-412 Turbo NAS
Ratings:
5/5
Price:
$393.25
Website:
www..com
QNap TS-412 Turbo NAS
When you
first see an 4-disk NAS enclosure, the hardware is often found much sturdier
than things you commonly get in smaller internally equipped devices. Of course,
this is a case with a solid metal frame of NAS TS-412 from QNAP. It also owns
more connectivity options compared to other smaller NAS devices, with USB2 port
on the front, 3 ones on the back, 2 LAN ports and 2 eSATA
ports.
Once TS-412
is opened and connected to your network, you can use QNAP Finder on the
enclosed installation disc. It searches for devices on your network and guides
you through a setup process by using the device’s web interface. After the
disks are formatted, you are prompted to select and install firmware. You
can also install it from the accompanied disc or download the firmware’s latest
version from QNap’s website.
When the
firmware is installed, you are asked to configure basic settings of the device,
including name, password and optional services – such as FTP, UPup or iTunes streaming – and one web server. You can also
select among JBOD or RAID 0, 1, 5, 6 or 10 configurations. Once everything is
done, you have to use its excellent interface too set up services, even shared
folders, which are often already installed on NAS devices. Fortunately, this
work is not too complex thanks to a helpful wizard guiding you through all
steps in setting and security of shared folders.
The
administration interface’s main screen displays many optional shortcuts for
your most necessary features, from user administration to external device
management and a handy wizard helping you to configure NAS as a personal cloud
storage server to which you are able to get access anywhere. More available
options are in a tree-type menu window on the left.
From here,
you can control application servers operating on TS-412, including services
like stream server and BitTorrent client. You can
also share your USB drives as well as USB printer connected with the device,
activate advanced network options like SSH login and security certificate, and
control a number of back up options to protect the data saved on your device.
As you
expect from a business 4-bay NAS device, TS-412 is very fast. With the disk
configured in RAID 1 mode, we measured an averaging transfer speed of 12.5MB/s
for small files and 41.8MB/s for big files. In RAID 0 mode, big files were
transferred at 52.3MB/s while small files’ speed were at 14MB/s.
TS-412
Turbo is now available from Amazon for just $393.21 including VAT, which is not
as pricey as TS-212 2-bay devices. It’s a great deal but it’s unclear that how
long this low price will stay. The normally $686.96 price of TS-412 is still
well yet not such that great deal.
Summary
Consideration: While this 4-bay NAS enclosure is
wonderfully cheap, it’s no good buying a 2-bay one.
NAS
enclosure:
10/100/1000Mbit/s Ethernet connection, 4 USB ports, media servers for UPnP,
iTunes, print server, USB, web, FTP
