I have used a self built server for many years (at various points using Windows 2012 R2, Windows 2016, Fedora Server even ESXi 6.7). I had 4x 4TB WD Reds for storage and all was well. Over time I was less excited by the idea of tinkering and trying new things. My needs shrunk to really just needing centralized storage for backups and file sharing. I also wanted something that "just worked", but that still allowed me some control over fine tuning with room to grow should my needs change.
I figured a budget in the range of $200-400 for my needs (re-using the HDD's I already owned) and leaned towards a 2 bay model or, budget and features permitting a 4 bay model.
I started checking out and researching NAS devices and quickly found that the 2 goliaths are Synology and QNAP. I also looked at Asustor (a subsidiary of ASUS as I understand it) as I have some ASUS products and they are of high quality. As I researched I realized the hardware was not anything special brand to brand, they all have the same relative choices (CPU, RAM, Bays, SSD Caching, # and speed of NIC's, etc)...which meant the choice really would come down to software. Which has the best OS and software support?
I found out all 3 offered a demo of their NAS OS's on their respective websites. This was paramount in helping me make a decision as to which to go with. I was able to test and compare the software side by side without needing to own or find a physical device to try.
I first checked out Asustor as they are the new kid on the block. Their OS is called ADM and I was not too impressed by it. Maybe with time it could mature and really compete, but it wasn't for me at this time. I immediately noticed that it attempts to look like and in some ways behave like iOS or a Mac. Its overly simplified menus and options left a lot to be desired. Who knows, for the average user this could be a positive, but for me (having previously had 100% control over my custom built server) it was too bare. Despite being simple, it was not intuitive. For example windows have ~5 colored circles at the top right with no symbols in them until you mouse over them (things like close, minimize, etc.). On the other hand software selection was surprisingly good, but that doesn't mean its all official software from the programs developer. I am a bit untrusting of "someguy" who provides a version of software in a repo like this.
Next I checked out Synology, who seems to be the most popular of the bunch. Their OS being called DSM. Most people seem to cite the app selection as the big selling point and I would have to agree, they seem to have the best set of quality apps available. Their interface overall is also more refined vs Asustor but in some ways comes across cartoonish and kind of feels like a mobile OS vs a server/NAS/desktop OS. They take a very modular approach to their software, letting you add features by installing packages instead of building some stuff in by default. I would sya they strike a good balance of choice and simplicity, so I can see how it would appeal to the average person and "power" users alike.
Lastly, I tried out QNAP, whos OS is called QTS. I could immediately tell this was a more serious OS with fine grained control and many features packed in. I dont get the feeling at any point that they have tried to over simplify things and at the same time I felt it very natural and intuitive to navigate. The control panel offers a ton of control over all aspects of the system. The app selection is not great, but not terrible and for me personally not as important as the features of the NAS itself. I could tell after poking around that this was more my speed.
I decided on this model, the TS-253Be, after looking at some cheaper options like the TS-231p2 and TS-251+. 2 factors played into my choice. I wanted to be able to run Virtual Machines (VM's) and Containers as that offers a ton of flexibility in terms of the software I can run and programs I could use. The other is that this model, the TS-253Be, offers expansion via a PCIe slot which allows addin 10Gb NIC, SSD caching, etc. While I dont recall if this was true of the other models, the TS-253Be also has 2x RAM slots and can have the RAM upgraded (*more on this soon!). With the TS-231p2 (~$250) not handling virtualization nor having the expansion and the TS-251+ (~$300) not having expansion (and using a slightly older CPU) I figured the TS-253Be (2GB RAM) at about $350-370 was worth the extra money.
This NAS has far exceeded my expectations. It was super easy to setup. I easily assigned it an SSL cert from LetsEncrypt, enabled 2FA for more secure logins, teamed the 2x 1Gbe NICs for 2Gbe (my router supports its), setup storage, disabled services I wouldn't use and got up and running quickly. I have since setup a CentOS VM for testing purposes which has worked out wonderfully. I have rarely had to search for or read documentation to accomplish my goals, however they have a built in "help desk" app that allowed me to submit tickets to QNAP support and much to my surprise they responded not only in a timely manner but with actually useful, on topic information to my question. In one case even offering to submit my query as a feature request and admitting that its a common request (either removing TLS 1.0 and 1.1 from their supported protocols for HTTPS or allowing the user to set the protocols allowed)
The tech specs say this model supports a max of 8GB RAM. As I found online and can now attest to, this is not correct. It can handle 16GB of RAM. I have installed a 16GB (2x 8GB sticks) G.Skill Ripjaw DDR3L 1866 kit (model F3-1866C11D-16GRSL) which was roughly $77 and it was instantly recognized and works perfectly. Many sources online claim its picky about brand of RAM, I either got lucky or as long as you have the right type it worked. With the out of the box 2GB RAM, its enough for the system to run and most apps to work (excluding Virtualization Station and Container Station). Had I been simply using this for backups and file sharing 2GB RAM would probably be passable. However, for what it would have cost me to buy the TS-253Be with 4GB RAM I was able to upgrade the 2GB model to 16GB! Now I can easily run multiple VM's/Containers, work on the NAS itself and have it serving files and/or running backups without any memory limitations.
I may at some point regret not spending the extra $100 for the 4 bay model (TS-453Be) but for now my storage needs are far surpassed with this. Its also possible to upgrade HDD's to larger ones without losing data or needing to export data to another drive/device. Basically they have a pretty simple process to prepare for doing this after which you replace 1 drive with a larger one, let it pull the data, then replace the other and you are all set with larger drives.
I cant see myself ever wanting or needing to build myself a server again. This NAS has made setup and maintenance negligible while stream lining accomplishing my goals without giving up much of anything if not gaining features. I would highly recommend it to others looking for a robust NAS OS with expansion options.
EDIT (11/26/2019):
I am updating the review and docking a star from my original 5 star rating. I could even make an argument to go to 3/5 stars.
One of the big selling points of this NAS is its ability to run VM's and Containers (both LXC and Docker). Its certainly not the main use of it and I didn't intend to run more then a handful of VM's/CT's for testing sporadically. Basically spin up a VM/CT, do some tests, destroy it when done.
VM's worked just fine and all was good. However, CT's are not usable. I couldn't get Docker CT's to run properly which could be due to my own ignorance.
However, the black eye here was running LXC containers. The Debian template for example would install and boot, however if you rebooted it at any point you cant log back in...you never set or are provided login credentials. Trying to set a password on that first bootup does not work either, it says password set without ever prompting for a new one.
It took multiple emails back and forth with QNAP tech support over the course of ~3 months (as they would sometimes take a month to reply) to finally get them to tell me it was a known issue with NO ETA for a fix...unacceptable. If you cannot login to a Container, then you cant advertise that your product supports Containers...
So between the Containers mess and the extremely poor customer service I wanted to update my review.
The only reason I am not doing 3/5 stars is that as a NAS, performing its basic functions, its excellent. I stand by the prior points I made in my original review with the exception of anything related to containers.
As my needs changed and I needed to use VM's and Containers regularly I have "retired" this QNAP and am no longer using it, instead using a custom built Proxmox server. I am considering possibly using this QNAP NAS as a backup device for my Proxmox server or the eventual File Server/NAS I will run as a VM/CT in Proxmox.
I would say if you need a "basic" NAS for the core NAS functionality this is a great device. However, if you want to leverage containers and/or if you may face the need for tech support some day, dont rely on this NAS or QNAP for that matter.
| Brand | QNAP |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Qnap |
| Series | QNAP |
| Item Height | 6.61 inches |
| Item Width | 4.13 inches |
| Standing screen display size | 2 |
| Processor Count | 4 |
| RAM | 4 GB |
| Memory Technology | DDR4 |
| Maximum Memory Supported | 4 GB |
| Hard Drive Size | 3.5 |
| Hard Disk Description | Flash Memory Solid State |
| Hard Drive Interface | ESATA |
| Hard Disk Rotational Speed | 3 |
| Graphics Card Description | Dedicated |
| Graphics RAM Type | DDR4 SDRAM |
| Graphics Card Interface | AGP |
| Wattage | 20.42 |
| OS | QTS |
| Are Batteries Included | No |
| Manufacturer | Qnap |
| Item model number | TS-253Be-2G-US |
| Product Dimensions | 22.61 x 10.49 x 16.79 cm; 1.66 Kilograms |
| ASIN | B07BBBWF8T |
