[geeks] QNAP TIS-453A mini review

[Shannon]

This is a review of the QNAP TS-453A NAS unit.

This is a 4-bay NAS running QNAPbs QTS which is a customized version of
Linux. The unit offers RAID, NAS storage, iSCSI, Docker containers, full Intel
virtual machines, QNAP Applications, an optional desktop mode, and several
other useful features.

I ordered my NAS from Amazon, and also bought 4 3TB WD Red NAS drives. They
had the lowest cost per terabyte and its more storage than I need for the
foreseeable future. I know Ibll regret that thought, as usage tends to
expand in step with capacity!

Setup was easy, and Ibm fairly sure anyone could do it. Almost everything is
automated except for questions that only the owner could answer.
Administration is easy, but it still does not hurt to have UNIX skills. I have
no doubt that any smart person could figure it out, but a UNIX person will be
able to work much faster. One nice thing about all of the GUI management, is
that it doesnbt violate the basic principles of the UNIX system beneath it
all. You can work from the command line and the GUI as you see fit, or even
install a third party package management like Entware and roll your own.

This NAS came with 4 gigabit ethernet ports, and they can be combined into a
single port using several trunking standards on switches that support it. This
is really nice for serving multiple client hosts at high speed. I have two
ports connected to an HP Procure 1800G, using LACP. Very nice.
My NAS came with 4GB of RAM, and I ordered a pair of 4GB SODIMMs from Kingston
for about $35. That gives the system its maximum RAM capacity, 8GB. Note: Do
not buy RAM from QNAP. They actually have the gall to charge $250 per DIMM. No
kidding.

The CPU is a quad-core Intel Celeron running at 1.6GHz, though supposedly it
can be run at 2GHz. I have not figured out how to do that nor have I felt the
need so far.
The unit has some coprocessors that allow things like compression, encryption,
encode, and decode at 400MB/sec or more. It can transcode multiple videos to
clients, especially nice when combined with ethernet bonding.
The 453A supports all the normal protocols for Windows, UNIX, and Apple file
sharing, and also can serve iSCSI clients.

There are 3 USB 3.0 ports available, with the one in front having a special
button that is programmed to dump the units backup to a drive connected there.
I have not tested USB 3 extensively as yet, but will at some point and post a
followup.

There are multiple ways to run applications on the QNAP NAS:

Applications - these install from the main web GUI, basically UNIX
applications with a nice UI.
Virtual Machines - You can install virtual machines and of course the sky is
the limit there. The VM system can load saved machines and can be managed with
VMWare and I believe Xen tools.
Entware - If you prefer to do your own Linux thing, you can install this
package system and use a huge library of software built for Linux.
Docker - This is new to me, but appears to be some sort of lightweight
virtualization model, and there seems to be a rather huge number of operating
systems, software, and services available.

Sob& this NAS is basically a small server with a really nice user interface,
and so far it appears to do everything well. So far I have run into very few
cons, and most are minor. For example:
Slow to boot up. It seems to take longer than I would expect to start, since
the machine seems plenty fast once it has everything running.

Shutdown appears to hang up, have a trouble ticket in for that. Not sure where
it is hangingb& basically it does do an actual shutdown, but instead of
powering off or restarting, it just sits there.
That is all I have for nowb& feel free to ask questions and Ibll try to
answer them. Ibve very happy with the unit so far.

Also recommended: Cyberpower 1500PFCLCD UPS units. Pure sine wave power and
1500 watts in a fairly small (but very heavy) package.