ASUSTOR AS-604T 4-bay NAS Server for Home and Small Business Review

NAS by stefan @ 2013-02-21

Even if they are new on the market, ASUSTOR has succeeded to deliver some powerful NAS servers. The model that we are reviewing in this article comes with 4 bays, is meant for usage at home and in small business environments and is packing an Intel Atom DS2700 CPU along with 1GB of RAM (user upgradeable to 3GB).

Introduction

At first I would like to thank ASUSTOR for offering a sample of their AS-604T 4-bay NAS Server for testing and reviewing.

About ASUSTOR:

"Founded in 2011, ASUSTOR Inc. is a leading innovator and provider of private cloud storage (network attached storage) and video surveillance (network video recorder) solutions. We are devoted to providing the world with unparalleled user experiences and the most complete set of network storage solutions possible."

Product Overview, Specifications

Product Overview:

Why ASUSTOR?

In the wake of technological advancements, information and data are becoming digitized in ever-increasing amounts, creating so-called "digital assets". Following increasing demand and the above-mentioned technological advancements, digital assets are continually growing at an exceptionally rapid rate. Ensuring the security of these digital assets, simplifying their management, and lowering the TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) are becoming important issues in the IT field for both individuals and businesses alike.

ASUSTOR NAS devices are able to provide optimal data protection through RAID technology. A diverse array of automatic backup solutions are also supported, guaranteeing the security of your data. Seamless cross-platform file sharing allows you to easily connect to your NAS device no matter if you are using Windows, Mac OS, or Unix-like operating systems. When paired with mobile applications (iOS and Android), ASUSTOR's exclusive Cloud Connect™ technology lets you access the data from your NAS device from almost anywhere on the planet.

Additionally, our NAS devices can also be used with virtual environments such as VMware, Citrix and Hyper-V. They also support the use of NFS and iSCSI in the creation of shared storage for virtual environments, making them an ideal alternative to SAN. ASUSTOR NAS devices are able to offer both flexible and cost-effective storage solutions, making them a must-have for your virtualization infrastructure.

Cross-platform File Sharing

ASUSTOR NAS devices provide seamless cross-platform file sharing, allowing you to easily connect to your NAS device no matter if you are using Windows, Mac OS, or Unix-like operating systems. The transfer protocols that you may use to connect to an ASUSTOR NAS device are as follows:

Windows: CIFS/SMB, FTP and WebDAV

Mac OS X: AFP, SMB, NFS, FTP and WebDAV

Linux: NFS, SMB, FTP and WebDAV

Additionally, ASUSTOR NAS devices feature our Network Recycle Bin. Any files you delete will be moved to the Recycle Bin, allowing you to restore any accidentally deleted files. Transfer protocols supported by the Recycle Bin include: CIFS/SMB, AFP, FTP and File Explorer.

Your Data is Safe with Us

You no longer need to worry about accidentally losing your vital documents. ASUSTOR NAS devices provide you with a complete host of data protection and backup solutions to look after your most important information, creating a stress free and liberating user experience.

Optimal data security solutions – abundant data protection and backup features

Using backup utilities such as Backup Plan and Apple Time Machine you can easily backup data from a Windows PC or Mac directly onto an ASUSTOR NAS device. ASUSTOR NAS devices also offer a variety of different RAID configurations, allowing you to select the most appropriate configuration for your security needs.

Moreover, our NAS devices also support a multitude of two-way sync and backup options. Besides backing up your data onto a NAS device, you can also further back up the data from a NAS device onto other devices. ASUSTOR NAS devices support backup via the cloud, external hard drive, Rsync and FTP. In the unfortunate event of a disaster, you will be able to recover and restore your data with the utmost speed, thereby helping you to avoid the damage that can be caused by lost data.

iSCSI and Virtualization

ASUSTOR recognizes that stable and efficient shared storage is a must for your virtual environment. The supported use of iSCSI and NFS allows you to seamlessly integrate with any existing IT environments. Additionally, all ASUSTOR NAS devices are verified as VMware, Citrix and Hyper-V ready, providing you with a flexible and cost-efficient virtual storage solution.

The iSCSI features supported by ASUSTOR NAS devices include:

- LUN Mapping

- LUN Masking

- ISO File Mounting

- MPIO & MCS Support

- Persistent (SCSI-3) Reservations

Unleash Unlimited Potential

The applications that come pre-installed with each ASUSTOR NAS device are just the beginning. At your convenience, you can browse through and download any applications that peak your interest from App Central. App Central allows you to explore the unlimited potential of ASUSTOR NAS devices while creating a personalized NAS device for yourself.

Whether your interests lie in business, website construction or even digital home entertainment, App Central provides you with the boundless variety of applications that you require to satisfy your digital lifestyle needs.

Product Specifications:

Packaging, A Closer Look Part I

The 4-bay NAS server for home use and small business has arrived in a medium-sized cardboard box, with a really simple design:

The package contents are also listed on the exterior, along with a summary of product specifications:

For easy transportation, the box is provided with a plastic handle:

The NAS, along with its bundle are carefully packed inside, to avoid damages during shipping:

The previously mentioned bundle is located in a separate cardboard box:

Besides the power lead, we will receive a DVD with the software utility and user manual in electronic format, the necessary screws for mounting both 2.5’’ and 3.5’’ drives, but also two LAN cables:

The NAS enclosure is also wrapped in a transparent plastic bag:

AS-604T has a considerably smaller width than the DS412+ from Synology and sports a top aluminum cover, with a plastic front:

The drive trays come with ventilation grills and on the top we have a LED display which can show menus or display statistics when the NAS is online:

A Closer Look Part II

On the lower left side we have an USB 3.0 port available for connecting other external storage devices; when the device has been detected, the activity LED will light up. Nearby we can also see the activity LEDs for the network interfaces:

On the upper left side, we have the power button and LED, along with the system status LED:

Near the LED display, we also have some buttons for navigating through the menus:

Only on the left side of the NAS we will find additional ventilation holes:

On the back side of the NAS we can locate a single 120mm fan for cooling all 4 drives and a lot of other ports:

From left to right, we have one Kensington lock port, one HDMI, 4xUSB 2.0 along 2x Gigabit Ethernet ports, 2x eSATA and an additional USB 3.0 port. Between the eSATA ports and the last USB 3.0 we also have a Reset button:

Compared with the other NASes we have tested in the past, this time the manufacturer has chosen to include the power supply inside the enclosure. Because of this, the NAS seems a little heavy even without any drive installed:

On the bottom side we have 4 rubber feet:

Here we will also find a sticker with the product serial number, the MAC addresses for both interfaces and the power rating:

A Closer Look Part III

To unlock the trays we have to press the small buttons located on their lower side; a small latch will be raised, which we can use to remove each tray from its location:

ASUSTOR went with metallic trays instead of plastic, and has used a black plastic interface between the tray and the next-to-be-installed drive, for avoiding any short-circuits; on the sides we haven’t found any rubber rings for vibration dampening purposes:

On the front side we have a ventilation grill:

On one of the tray sides, we will find two small transparent plastic bands that travel from the back to the front, for making the activity LEDs visible externally:

By turning the tray on the other side, we will see the pre-drilled holes for 2.5’’ drives, which are also marked:

By removing 3 screws in the back, we can remove the top metallic cover, which will reveal the internals; the NAS was designed in such a way so dust cleaning won’t become a problem; on the top side we have the PSU:

The power supply is manufactured by FSC and is a 250W model:

The 24-pin ATX power along with the 4-pin connectors is connected to the small motherboard, on the left side of the NAS:

A Closer Look Part IV

The bottom side of the motherboard is covered with a protective material, but a cut-out has been also made, for permitting easy memory upgrade, for an additional of 2GB of RAM:

The internal power supply also comes with a fan of its own:

If we power on the system without any drive installed, the NAS will pass through some stages and will finally show NO DISK FOUND message:

Let’s go ahead and install a drive then, by using the correct screw types; in case we want to use 2.5’’ drives, a pack of smaller screws is available inside the box:

Here are some photos of the test SSD installed in the tray:

A Closer Look Part V

3.5’’ drives will be installed by using a different set of screws:

With the drive installed, we will get a confirmation that everything is in order by locating the small green activity LED from the tray and the NAS will prompt us to initialize the drive right from the LED display, without the need to connect it to the computer:

The LAN activity LED will also light up on the side:

ADM 1.0 Quick Look Part I

After we initialize the NAS and connect it to the local network, we can download the latest version of the ASUSTOR Control Center from their website, in order to continue with the installation. After it has been detected, configure the initial setup details:

The software also gives us the possibility to change the NAS server name on the network:

A username/password can be specified for the first login:

From here we can also adjust the internal Date/Time for the NAS:

The final tab can let us adjust the LAN configuration and we can also set up Link Aggregation (where available):

The login screen is similar to what we have seen on the Synology DSM:

Right after we logged in for the first time, the software prompted us to update it to the latest version:

A download bar will appear on the screen for us to see the progress:

The system will automatically restart:

The interface starts with a small “wizard”, which will walk us through the steps to make the NAS fully functional and to be able to access its resources externally:

ADM 1.0 Quick Look Part II

The GUI looks like the one from a modern mobile phone/tablet OS, with large icons that can be moved to the location of our choice:

The Access Control application contains various settings that we can modify regarding Local Users/Groups, Domain Users/Groups, Shared Folders and App Privileges:

The Shared Folders section allows us to create new directories that will be found on the LAN; we can also specify on which volumes they should be located:

Here are the steps we need to follow when creating a shared folder:

ADM 1.0 Quick Look Part III

The Activity Monitor app will inform us of the CPU/Memory usage, but also of the Network traffic, Disk Usage or running processes:

From the App Central zone, we can see the currently installed Apps, the available Apps from ASUSTOR, 3rd party or available updates; if the applications are greyed out, it means that they are installed, but they are not running:

All Apps section lets us install right away the needed services:

In the Updates section, we will see which apps need to be downloaded to the latest version:

If we click on “Other Sources”, App Central will allow us to install App files from an external location:

We need to mention that we will be allowed to download the updates or other apps only after creating a valid ASUSTOR ID and registering the product:

Most of the NAS GUI functionality is explained with details in the Online Help section:

With the Backup & Restore app, we can set up backups on different sources; for example, we can remotely synchronize the data between our NAS and other rsync-compatible servers:

The One-Touch-Backup function can be also customized here:

ADM 1.0 Quick Look Part IV

Data from the NAS can be also backed up to the Amazon S3 service:

With the File Explorer application, we will be able to organize the data into the different shared directories we have available:

Most of the services can be customized from the respective app:

In the Settings section, we have more options that we can customize; for example, in the General tab, we will be able to choose the port for the web interface, along with the Auto-log-out timer:

More detailed LAN settings can be found on the Network tab:

Here we can also configure regional settings, adjust the time zone or the language interface:

The Hardware tab will let us customize most of the settings regarding LEDs, buzz alerts, disk behavior, power, fan speeds or LCD panel:

ADM 1.0 Quick Look Part V

A firewall can be customized by specifying additional “Deny” policies:

Within the ADM Update menu, we are able to check the latest software version:

The OS is also equipped with a “Recycle Bin” function, which allows movement of the deleted files in this area instead of complete deletion:

An Energy Saver function can be customized from the respective tab:

Some other options like Ease of Access, Factory Default or Registration are also available here:

From the Storage Manager section, we’ll be able to take a look on the available volumes, their health status or free space left. The first volume cannot be removed unless we do a NAS factory reset; ASUSTOR allows us to create one volume/drive and in order to create a new volume, we need to have at least two drives installed:

The OS also comes with a System Information tab, from where we can see a summary of the hardware and system details:

From the Network tab, we can see more detailed information on the connection:

A System Log can be also seen here:

ADM 1.0 Quick Look Part VI

In the Online User tab, we can see the currently logged in users to the NAS:

Dr. ASUSTOR is a function which gives us useful information in order to have the NAS running optimally:

Through the Apps that we can install we could remind Download Center, for downloading several files and torrents over Internet:

Itunes Server will broadcast media information to the Apple devices:

With UPnP Media server, we can make available the media content all over the network:

As we have told you before, in order to remove the first volume, we will have to reset the NAS to default settings; after the reset, here are the configuration steps that we must pass through:

ASUSTOR Boxee

The ASUSTOR AS-604T NAS can be transformed into a media center by installing the Boxee package from the interface; when this app is active, the HDMI output can be plugged in a full HD TV; the Boxee logo will confirm that everything is working well; in order to control the UI, we have to either use the mouse/keyboard or we can also use AiRemote:

At the first startup, Boxee will request the creation of a new folder on the drive:

A screen calibration can be also done when using the application for the first time:

The Boxee interface comes with an usual interface from where we can watch multimedia content from different sources, install different plugins or access the file manager separately:

Through the File Browser, we can also access the storage devices connected to the USB ports of the NAS:

Some general settings can be also customized from the application:

When playing music, 3D graphic visualizations can be also enabled:

Stored photos can be shown to the family or friends through slideshows:

The AiRemote app will help us use our tablet/mobile phone as a remote on WiFi for controlling the Boxee interface; the NAS IP address and port can be detected by using the Local Scan option:

If the NAS is found on the local network, it will be shown in the scan results list:

Here is the remote GUI after the connection to the NAS has been initialized:

Test Setup and Test Results

Test Setup

CPU : Intel I7 3750K Retail @ 4.7GHz

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14

Motherboard : ECS Z77H2-AX Black Extreme

RAM : GeIL EVO CORSA 16GB 2400MHz C11

Video : Sparkle GeForce GTX 560 Calibre

Power Supply : Cooler Master 850W

HDD : Seagate Barracuda 500GB 7200.11

Case: Cooler Master ATCS840

To test the NAS performances, the AS-604T was populated with a single OCZ Vertex 4 SSD, formatted with a single volume and the NAS was connected directly to the computer, to avoid any limitations by implying additional hardware like a router. The first simple test was performed by loading the test file onto a RAM drive and then it was copied to the NAS, at its shared folder. The speed was recorded with Total Commander:

The second test was to copy the same file back to the computer; for eliminating any HDD speed limitations, the file was copied back to the RAM drive:

For performing a more advanced test, the Intel NAS Performance Toolkit was used, for performing 5 different test runs. Here are the results:

Conclusive Thoughts

ASUSTOR, which is a young company founded in 2011 succeeded to bring to the market quite quickly NAS devices, which are surprisingly advanced and sport features which we haven’t seen at other established manufacturers like Synology: a LED display, frontal controls or HDMI port for audio/video output.

The NAS chassis is solid and comes with an integrated power supply, which makes the unit a little heavy, even without HDDs installed. The AS-604T model is equipped with an Atom D2700 processor at 2.13GHz and 1GB of RAM. The RAM quantity is user upgradeable so we can add one more module for a total quantity of 2GB or 3GB. ASUSTOR has used a single 120mm fan, which is quite silent, but not as much as we have seen on the DS413 and DS412+ units from Synology (a faint buzz can be heard, but this noise would be completely canceled by the sound of the HDDs which we’ll install inside the bays).

Thanks to the Boxee package, we can transform the NAS into a fully-featured Media Center and for remote we can either use a regular mouse/keyboard or the software meant for mobile devices, which is offered for free.

With the help of the frontal buttons, we can initialize the drives by simply using the display and without using a computer. However, the web user interface is not as advanced as DSM, but the software team is working to continuously improve it.

We can find the stock configuration with 1GB ram of the AS-604T online for about 600 Euros, while the Synology DS412+, which has comparable performance, can be found for between 530 and 550 Euros. We feel that if the AS-604T prices would drop a bit, it could become a serious competitor for the other manufacturers.