Qnap TS-409 Pro
Based in Taiwan, Qnap is one of several manufacturers specialized in home network storage. It has just renewed the essentials of its line with the TS-109, TS-209 and TS-409 Pro, the first number obviously being the number of drives it can take. We tested the TS-409 Pro, of which there is another more economical version simply called the TS-409. It doesn’t support NFS protocol or Microsoft’s Active Directory ; however, performances on the other hand are identical because the material configuration does not change. A new arrival on the French market, Qnap has the very clear intention of rivaling Synology.
Based on a Marvell 5281 processor at 500 MHz (moreover, like the Synology CS407), the TS-409 Pro integrates 256 MB of RAM and 8 MB of flash memory. It’s the most recent product in our survey and one of the most complete with a particularly vast functions panel. We especially liked the possibility of starting with the installation of a single drive and, without the loss of data, progressively increasing the number of units by creating Raid 1 or Raid 5 storage on the fly. Its download management is also the only one which currently enables setting the sharing of Bittorrent files (seeds) while we additionally have advanced control of hard drives. The latter notably allows programming periodic verification of drives, displaying complete information on SMART, and even controlling temperature with an email alert being sent!
The multimedia server, the famous Twonkyvision, is moreover the only one to offer the possibility for the personalization in the display of file listings. In addition, Qnap announces compatibility with Playstation 3, PSP, and Xbox 360 consoles or even the Nokia N95.
The TS-409 Pro is very clearly trying to compete with the Synology CS-407, with which it shares the same essential characteristics: Web PHP/MySQL server, photo servers, Blog, secure FTP server (SSL/TLS), Telnet/SSH access, etc.
Installation and start up
The installation of drives is not as easy as with Thecus’ NAS, for example, and pulling out the tray necessitates unscrewing two plugs. On the other hand, the advantage is that the minimalist design of the trays enables excellent ventilation. Combined with its honeycomb face, this gives the Qnap the best thermal dissipation of all systems and despite the small size of its casing. You might find the look less attractive than the Thecus or Synology (with good reason), but either way it’s not intended to show off.
Initialization of the machine requires the installation of software provided by Qnap to transfer the firmware. This is the time to directly proceed with setting a few essentials parameters (notably the IP address, network configuration and administrator password) which will help in startup.
In use
If we disregard the main icons being a bit vague, the configuration interface is a perfect model of its type. Each option is very explicitly presented and if there is any doubt, a click on the help button displays sufficiently detailed contextual aid. While we might prefer Synology’s Ajax interface, the advantage here is its speed!
Overall, for each function, the TS-409 Pro often has the most options : limit for the number of FTP connections (maximum and by user account), re-initialization of the MySQL password, editing the PHP.ini file, definition of system temperature limits to change the fan speed, parameters in the download of USB peripherals, etc. The amount of detail is sometimes impressive.
The TS-409 Pro also integrates a service called multi-media Station which gives you access to multimedia content in storage via a web interface. The system proved to be particularly efficient for photos. After having transferred them to a specific folder and to as many sub-folders as desired, the service automatically creates vignettes and web pages dedicated to each image. These display the photo’s Exif info, a possible description by the photographer and also allow zooming, saving, printing, or slide shows, etc.
You can give users different access rights per album or allow complete access for all visitors (however, synchronization with users defined in the NAS isn’t possible). In short, it’s a particularly interesting system for sharing family photos, for example, without having to upload them on the many special on-line services. Finally, there is the lack of the possibility for visitors to comment on images.
As for video and audio files, contrary to what we might think, the system doesn’t offer anything special. Without going as far as encoding video in Flash as the Synology does (poorly), it would have been easy to integrate an MP3 player in Flash, for example (moreover, Buffalo offers this in its web file access interface).
Unlike, the similar service proposed by Synology, the multimedia station does not integrate a blog manager. On the other hand, the famous system manager of Joomla sites is preinstalled in its 1.5 version. You will have to activate it at the same time as the web PHP/MySQL service.
Performance/price ratio
The performances of the TS-409 Pro are excellent in reading because they are practically at the level of the Thecus N5200BR Pro, the uncontested reference in this domain. On the other hand, a small disappointment in writing where it doesn’t manage to surpass its competitors, Synology and Buffalo. The Raid 6 mode can be interesting, but it means a significant loss of performances compared to Raid 5. If you really want two drive breakdown security, consider the Raid 5 + spare option.
Quite new, the TS-409 Pro is still a bit expensive at 699 € (taxes included) versus 649 € for the non-Pro version. The latter suffices for non-professional use but we are still close to 150 € more than its direct competitor Synology which of course has been available longer and with more retailers.
In the end, while we had never tested a Qnap product, we were very much impressed by this model which we found of particularly high quality. Finishing touches are excellent and on almost all levels this manufacturer’s attempt at producing a serious alternative to Synology was a success. Now the only thing to do is wait and hope for a quick price reduction!
We liked:– Raid migration functions: we can start with a single drive!
– one of the most complete ;
– reading performances ;
– configuration interface and the number of options offered ;
– drive monitoring functions ;
– cooling;
– the USB download function;
– Twonkyvision personalization possibilities.
We didn’t like :
– writing performances;
– Raid 6 performances;
– MySQL performances;
– problems with the management of Fat32 drives ;
– Twonkyvision does not offer sub-title support.
