Tech
Four 2-bay NAS systems in the test: QNAP, Synology & Co.
- Four 2-bay NAS systems in the test: QNAP, Synology & Co.
- WD MY Cloud EX2 Ultra (OS5) review
- Qnap TS-233 in review
- Asustor AS3302T in review
- Synology DS220+ review
A NAS is more than a housing with hard drives and a LAN connection. Anyone who wants to buy such a device for the home network usually has certain requirements that can vary greatly depending on the user.
We have for the following test four performance classes for 2-bay NAS devices with different application focuses. We have one for every performance class current NAS model selected by four major NAS manufacturers, which we think represents this class well.
Which performance classes have been defined?
The typical customer for theInexpensive entry-level class“ is looking for one if possible inexpensive NASwhich as a 2-bay NAS anyway the security the data mirroring offers. Comprehensive functions are not expected, but it should be possible to easily save photos from the smartphone to the NAS.
A NAS device of theDemanding entry level‘ is aimed at the advanced userthe differentiated setting options expected and a keen interest in one Variety of expansion options owns via NAS apps. He knows how to VPN server furnishes, likes to play with one AI-controlled photo management and would also like to take his data with him snapshots to back up.
Under the “speed class“ we mean NAS devices that come with a fast multigigabit LAN port are equipped. This enables significantly higher transfer rates than the 1GbE port of a “classic” NAS and is an important prerequisite for this fast moving of large amounts of data in the network. The currently cheapest devices with a 2.5GbE port, which enable transfer rates of 2.5 Gbit/s, come from the manufacturer Asustor. In order to be able to use such a speed NAS sensibly in the home network, i.e. with transfer rates beyond 200 MB/s, the devices should be equipped with fast 3.5-inch hard drives. Also, you need one 2.5GbE switch from about 100 euros and a PC with a multi-gigabit LAN port or a corresponding USB-to-LAN adapter.
In the “home office class“ is about NAS devices that special business functions / apps deploy and about sufficient or expandable RAM memory available to host virtual machines, for example. A second LAN port offers load balancing, when multiple clients access the network storage at the same time. This offers additional security against data loss File system Btrfsthat at the same time folder-based snapshots offered.
This is how we test
Our testing process begins with the installation of the both 3.5 inch HDDsthe Installing the NAS operating system and the Setup as a RAID 1 array including storage pool and volume, until the NAS is finally ready for use in the home network.
Here we already get the first important evaluation criteriaabout for Set up and documentation. We measure them maximum net data transfers at the reading and writing from a LAN client and determine the power consumptioni.e. the “power consumption” of the network storage.
Rated positive becomes a automatic change the NAS in the power saving mode and if it can be scheduled to turn off and on again. Furnishing and functionality such as services, multimedia, remote access are further test criteria for the devices, whereby we pay special attention to the data backup options and functions of the NAS.
Among other things, we also check the Reliability of the RAID 1 system, by removing one of the two internal HDDs during operation and inserting a new one shortly afterwards. A Vulnerability Scan with GVM (formerly OpenVAS) or Nessus should not reveal any serious security vulnerabilities.
