NAS by stefan @ 2015-04-10
With the latest TVS-863+ 10GbE-ready Turbo vNAS, QNAP is proposing a centralized solution featuring the latest technologies and integrating new AMD-based hardware with the quad-core embedded SoC which is clocked at 2.4GHz, which is also powered by AMD Radeon Graphics. The system is housed inside a proven mini-tower NAS metallic case, with a LCD screen and buttons in order to perform some actions right from the frontal area.
At first we would like to thank QNAP for offering a sample of their TVS-863+_AMD Turbo vNAS for testing and reviewing.
“QNAP Systems, Inc., as its brand promise "Quality Network Appliance Provider", aims to deliver comprehensive offerings of cutting edge network attached storage (NAS) and network video recorder (NVR) solutions featured with ease-of-use, robust operation, large storage capacity, and trustworthy reliability. QNAP integrates technologies and designs to bring forth quality products that effectively improve business efficiency on file sharing, virtualization applications, storage management and surveillance in the business environments, as well as enrich entertainment life for home users with the offering of a fun multimedia center experience. Headquartered in Taipei, QNAP delivers its solutions to the global market with nonstop innovation and passion.”
High performance & efficiency
The TVS-863+ is equipped with the energy-efficient 64-bit AMD® quad-core 2.4 GHz processor with 8GB DDR3L-1600 RAM (upgradable to 16GB), SATA 6Gb/s, and 2 Gigabit LAN ports (expandable to max. 4 x GbE ports or 2 x GbE + 2 x 10GbE ports) for lightning-fast multi-tasking. The TVS-863+ is a powerful NAS that delivers up to 448MB/s read & write speeds with 4 x GbE port configuration, and up to 1,432MB/s with 10GbE configuration. The TVS-863+’s hardware-accelerated encryption engine provides unmatched encryption performance in its class, up to 691MB/s with AES-256 bit full NAS volume encryption, boosting system performance & security while ensuring the safety of sensitive business data stored in the TVS-863+. The next-gen AMD Radeon™ HD graphics provides hardware-accelerated transcoding performance and dual HDMI outputs with brilliant high-definition multimedia content playback. When installed with the latest Wi-Fi 802.11ac USB network adapter, the TVS-863+ can offer remarkably high speeds for transferring large amount of files and streaming bandwidth-consuming multimedia.
Thanks to the intuitive user interface of QTS, system operations of the TVS-863+ are smooth and handy. Its intelligent desktop allows you to find desired functions quickly, create desktop shortcuts or group shortcuts, monitor important system information on a real-time basis, and open multiple application windows to run multiple tasks concurrently, bringing greater operating efficiency.
10GbE ready
The TVS-863+ offers 2 inbuilt Gigabit Ethernet ports & 1 pre-installed 10GbE PCI-E NIC (single port), supporting 10 Gigabit high speed network. The 10GbE-ready TVS-863+ delivers lightning-fast data throughput. Coupled with its large storage capacity potential, the TVS-863+ is perfect for data centers to store big data and excel in fast data transmission, and for 10GbE home lab environment for technical professionals.
QNAP’s exclusive QvPC Technology consolidates a number of high-end technologies including VM integration, multimedia transcoding, HDMI output, cloud integration and NAS connection technologies, allowing users to operate the TVS-863+ as a PC when they plug in a keyboard, mouse and monitor. With QvPC Technology, the TVS-863+ is transformed into a cost-effective device with PC functionalities for users to operate the system via "HybridDesk Station (HD Station)" on the screen to directly access stored data, run multiple applications using Windows/Linux/UNIX/Android-based VMs, surf the web on Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox, watch Full HD videos with up to 7.1 channel audio with Kodi, and much more.
Capture more details with 4K resolution! Coupled with QvPC Technology, you can connect the TVS-863+ to a 4K UHD monitor via HDMI to take advantage of 4K's impeccable image detail for increased productivity. Photographers can view sharper and clearer high-resolution images, and you can get a larger workspace with one monitor when managing virtual machines.
Run additional operating systems on the TVS-863+
With the support for AMD-V virtualization technology, the TVS-863+ can operate the Virtualization Station, transforming the TVS-863+ into a 2-in-a-box NAS that can function as an all-in-one NAS and a virtualization platform that supports multiple operating systems, fast virtual machine (VM) creation, VM import/export, snapshot, and enables desktop operations on web browsers. With the easy-to-use interface, you can centrally manage all of the VMs created on the TVS-863+ with minimal effort. You can also download VMs on demand from online VM markets and import them to the TVS-863+ without any complex procedures.
Enjoy the best audiovisual experience with HD Station and dual HDMI
QNAP's HD Station integrates the powerful Kodi media player and web browser. The splendid user interface and support for crystal-clear 7.1-surround sound passthrough* brings smooth playback of Full HD videos**, providing you with the perfect home theater experience. The TVS-863+ features dual HDMI outputs, allowing you to connect to two monitors to play the same content with concurrent 1080p HDMI displays. You can even watch YouTube videos, surf the web and manage the Turbo NAS using Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox with multilingual keyboard input. The HD Station supports multi-tasking and user authentication so only authorized users can access data stored on the TVS-863+ via HDMI monitors.
It is convenient & easy to control the HD Station. Turn your mobile devices into remote controls by installing the Qremote app, or use the QNAP RM-IR002 remote control and MCE remote controls via the built-in IR receiver of the TVS-863+.
Real-time & offline HD video transcoding
Powered by a hardware-accelerated transcoding engine, the TVS-863+ delivers superior real-time Full HD (1080p) video transcoding to convert videos in common formats to universal formats that can be smoothly played on PCs, mobile devices and Smart TVs. The TVS-863+ allows you to enjoy instant videos on multiple devices - even those that lack computing power or have limited file format support - without the need for complicated and time-consuming file conversion.
With the benefit of offline transcoding, if you can only connect to an Internet connection with limited/restricted bandwidth, you can still enjoy smooth videos by selecting a pre-rendered lower resolution to play the videos via File Station, Video Station, or the Qfile mobile app without affecting the TVS-863+’s system performance running other applications. The TVS-863+ also allows you to set a dedicated folder for automatic video transcoding.
Cross-platform file sharing, centralized data storage
The TVS-863+ supports SMB/CIFS, NFS, and AFP protocols for file sharing across Windows, Mac, Linux/UNIX networks. Data, logs and ISO images of CDs and DVDs can be centrally stored on the TVS-863+ and protected by an integrated antivirus solution. The Windows AD and LDAP services enable system administrators to configure user permissions by using an existing Windows AD server, LDAP server or built-in LDAP service. The TVS-863+ supports SAMBA v4 and can act as a Windows domain controller to manage privilege settings..
Well-rounded backup solutions to secure data
QNAP NetBak Replicator supports real-time and scheduled data backup on Windows including Outlook email archiving. Apple Time Machine is also supported to provide Mac OS X users with a solution to effortlessly back up data to the TVS-863+. The USB 3.0 port on the front panel of the TVS-863+ features a one-touch-copy function for you to instantly back up data from external drives to the TVS-863+ with just one click, or alternatively to back up data from the TVS-863+ to external drives. A wide range of third-party backup software such as Acronis® True Image and Symantec® Backup Exec are also supported.
Disaster recovery solutions brings peace of mind
The TVS-863+ offers various data recovery options. RTRR (Real-Time Remote Replication) supports real time or scheduled data backup to a remote Turbo NAS or FTP server and synchronizes files to a remote folder from a local folder with better backup efficiency and reduced backup time. The TVS-863+ also supports the rsync protocol to back up data to another remote server on a scheduled basis. Data can also be backed up to and restored from a range of cloud storage services, including Amazon® S3, Amazon Glacier, Microsoft® Azure, ElephantDrive®, Dropbox® and Google® Drive.
Comprehensive security options
In the open network environment, business data might be exposed in potential hack. The TVS-863+ provides numerous security options, such as encrypted access, IP blocking, and so on. Besides, IT administrators can control the access rights of each user to different folders, preventing unauthorized access to important files. The TVS-863+ is validated with military level FIPS 140-2 AES 256-bit encryption, preventing the sensitive business data from unauthorized access and breach even if the hard disk drives or the entire system were stolen.
Storage for comprehensive virtualization applications
The TVS-863+ supports VMware® and Citrix®, and is compatible with Microsoft® Hyper-V™ and Windows Server 2012, benefiting flexible deployment and management in the virtualization environments. The TVS-863+ supports VMware VAAI and Microsoft ODX to increase performance by offloading server loading for ESXi server and Hyper-V respectively, and supports QNAP vSphere Client plug-in and QNAP SMI-S provider with enhanced operational efficiency and management in virtualization applications.
Powerful QNAP flexible volume
QNAP's flexible volume provides a more secure and flexible way to store NAS data. This next-generation volume offers powerful features such as storage pooling with multiple RAID group protection, thin provisioned volumes with space reclaim, block-level iSCSI LUN, and online capacity expansion. The QTS Storage Manager neatly presents tools and options for managing system storage which greatly simplifies the process of NAS capacity expansion and QNAP RAID expansion enclosure management.
Comprehensive surveillance solution providing 24/7 security
Surveillance Station is professional network surveillance Video Management System (VMS) that offers a user-friendly management interface, over 2,700 compatible IP camera models, and expandable IP camera channel licenses. It supports real-time monitoring, video & audio recording and playback with a wide range of customizable settings. You can also install the Vmobile mobile app on your iOS® or Android™ devices to manage the monitored channels anytime and anywhere to safeguard your office environment, or install the Vcam mobile app to turn your device into a network camera to instantly record to your TVS-863+. The TVS-863+ offers 4 free IP camera channels and you can expand up to 40 channels by purchasing additional licenses.
Seamless capacity expansion
The TVS-863+ offers a high performance yet affordable storage solution to fulfill the needs of business in archiving rapidly-growing data & large files. The TVS-863+ supports capacity expansion by connecting multiple QNAP expansion enclosure. With the QNAP scale-up solution, the raw storage capacity can be expanded on demand, making the TVS-863+ an ideal file center for storage-intensive business applications such as video surveillance, data archiving, TV broadcast storage, and more.
Easy system installation
You can flexibly choose different ways to set up the TVS-863+, including using the Qfinder utility for setting up without a CD, using cloud installation via setup portal start.qnap.com with a unique Cloud Key, using mobile devices to scan the QR code sticker on the TVS-863+ to quickly go over the installation, configuring the setup through the LCD display, and even setting up your TVS-863+ locally without a network connection: just connect a keyboard, mouse and HDMI monitor to the TVS-863+, and the NAS installation process can be completed effortlessly.
Install-on-demand apps to extend NAS functionality
Thanks to its x86 architecture, the TVS-863+ can support more NAS Apps than ARM-based platforms. The built-in App Center provides various install-on-demand apps developed by QNAP and third-party developers, including tools for backup/sync, business, content management, communications, download, entertainment, and much more. It is also a centralized location for managing & updating installed apps. In addition, QNAP’s development platform embraces the open-source spirit to enable developers to create their own apps, adding potentially limitless potential for the TVS-863+.
High-quality construction and informative LCD display
The TVS-863+ is adorned with a box in gold color, offering an exceptional choice with impressive sophistication. Built with metal frame and parts, the sleek and sturdy TVS-863+ also features a newly-crafted heat sink that can exhaust excessive heat with its passive cooling. The LCD display panel on the TVS-863+ provides quick system information making system management even easier.
Additional SMB-ready features
The TVS-863+ supports various business applications as an all-in-one Turbo NAS with cost-efficiency.
The Turbo NAS supports FTP server to share large files, with user-defined settings including bandwidth limitation, number of connections, and write-only permissions.
The Turbo NAS supports VPN server which provides an easy way for IT administrators to build up a secure private network and allows the staff to log on from outside the office and access business resources securely such as files and Internet connections.
One of the latest Turbo NASes models from QNAP is the high-end TVS-863+ model, coming with interesting features like high-speed 10GbE interface, AES 256-bit encryption technology and hardware encryption engine, QvPC and 4K2K display technology, centralized data storage and many more. This model features no less than 8 drive bays and comes with an AMD Embedded solution; the box in which this model is shipped is quite large, but on the top we cannot spot a plastic handle which could aid during transport:
In the frontal area of the box, we will get to see a photo of the NAS in operation, along with a list of the main features and supported technologies:
QNAP also advertises here that we are dealing with and AMD SoC solution, not Intel as we have seen before or a SoC by another manufacturer. To be more precise, we are dealing with the GX-424CC code name, a TDP of 25W, while the cores are set to run at 2.4GHz; as a side note, the integrated Radeon GPU is set to run at 497MHz:
If we switch the box on one of the sides, we will see some of the server added functions:
The multitude of server features is also present on the packaging, in multiple languages, along with a description of the main interfaces:
After removing the top cover, we will end up seeing the list of package contents:
The server is carefully stored inside the enclosure, with lots of foam material, while the accessories are stored separately:
Speaking of the bundle, we will get one Quick Installation Guide, three LAN cables but also a set of keys for securing the bays and screws in order to mount both 2.5’’ and 3.5’’ drives:
The Quick Installation Guide is pretty self-explanatory; it basically tells us how to perform the hardware installation in a snap in order to get everything going right away:
Let’s go back to the server now, which is additionally wrapped inside a transparent plastic bag:
As you may have suspected, QNAP has followed the line of their previous mini-tower NAS servers when building this one, by including a solid metallic enclosure with a plastic front, along with a nice LCD display:
The color of the new AMD-based server is more in-line with the rest of the chassis and not black as the previous generation; we really applaud this change since it fits quite well. People which already own QNAP NASes with a similar structure will feel right at home:
On the top left side we will get to see the QNAP chromed logo along with the Status LED place holder:
Further down, we will get to see the Power button along with the Copy button which is paired with one USB 3.0 port:
Above the first two bays, on the display area, we have one Status LED, USB activity LED but also one LAN LED:
To the right side of the display, QNAP has fitted one button with two positions in order to operate the menu without the need of using a computer in order to set up the volumes right away:
The TVS-863+ NAS can accommodate no less than 8x 3.5’’ or 2.5’’ SATA 6Gb/s, 3Gb/s HDDs or straight SSDs:
On the left side of the product we will find a ventilation grill, which will help with the motherboard cooling:
The right side of the product does not have additional ventilation purposes:
Thanks to the size of the product, QNAP was able to fit two large 120mm silent fans in the back side of the unit, along with multiple interfaces:
On the top left side we have the area with the integrated power supply, which has its own 40mm cooling fan, along with a small sticker which tells us more about the power rating of the product:
Moving on to the right, we will find the pre-installed 10GbE card with the code name LAN-10G1T-D, one console port, the stickers with the MAC addresses but also the product serial number:
Further down we will find two HDMI ports, one of which is marked as “Reserved”:
Finally, on the bottom right corner we will get no less than four USB 3.0 ports with two additional 1GbE ports:
Since this unit is pretty heavy even without the drives installed, QNAP saw fit to include four solid rubber feet, one in each corner:
The HDD/SSD bays are a mix of plastic and aluminum; a solid layer of transparent plastic is fitted on them in order to avoid short circuits with the drive electronics:
In the front we have the locking mechanism:
The back side if the tray has the holes for mounting 2.5’’ drives marked carefully:
Each tray also has a ventilation grill in front which serves as intake:
After removing all trays, we can see the inside daughterboard, which houses the SATA Data+Power connectors for each bay:
The top metallic cover is easy removable in order to upgrade the unit with additional memory or for simple dust cleaning:
The internals are powered by a high quality Delta Electronics power supply which has a maximum combined power of 240W:
On the 10GbE card we will be able to spot the Marvell 88X3110-BPB2 silicon:
The card features a main TN4010 controller from Tehuti Networks:
The power supply is connected to the daughterboard via a separate power plug:
We can also observe the 4-pin cable which connects the frontal display and buttons:
The OS runs of a 512MB DOM from Apacer:
A quick shot from the lateral is revealing the space left between the cooling fans and the HDD cage:
The SoC is cooled by a custom cooler, which features a single heatpipe; the fan from the back side of the chassis helps evacuate the heat from the aluminum fins:
The back side of the mainboard is covered by a thin plastic film and on its back we will get to see two SODIMM slots, one of which is occupied:
QNAP has populated it with one ADATA DDR3L 1600MHz 8GB memory module:
In order to start testing, we will equip the NAS with our trusty SSDs:
QNAP offers us an easy choice to begin the setup right from the LCD display menu:
If we are aiming for the more advanced Web GUI configuration route, we should first install and start QFinder, for easily identifying the server on the network:
This application can also offer us more details about the product:
And can also perform different actions like opening a connection via FTP, map network drives, restart/shutdown server and so on:
If we decide to navigate to the browser interface, we will be welcomed by the introductory welcome screen:
Right after we have logged in, QTS prompted for an update, which we have decided to perform right away:
By performing the initial setup procedure, we have seen that the created storage pool was allocated only 52% instead of the full capacity, so we have decided to start from scratch for testing purposes:
In order to do that we have used the Create Storage Pool wizard:
Afterwards, a volume creation was in order:
The volume creation wizard also permits defining a custom shared folder:
Finally, we will be shown the summary screen:
After the volume creation process has been completed, we will be presented with the list of shared folders and its current status:
Besides our custom “Test” folder, we will also see multiple default folders:
The QTS GUI is quite easy to use and does not miss any useful features like screen widgets, information icons on the top side, multiple application pages and so on:
The widget section will show us different information regarding the current status of the server and if we click on an item, we will be redirected to the respective menus in order get more details:
On the upper side of the screen we have the Notifications icon:
The currently defined profile can be also customized on our liking:
In the same area we can perform shutdown/restart/sleep/log-out operations on the NAS:
A search option is also available for easily locating different resources:
Control Panel is the place most admins will go in order to modify most of the available settings; these are categorized in different sections like System Settings, Privilege Settings, Network Services and Applications:
From the General Settings menu, we will be able to adjust various settings like the server name, web administration port, setting a secure connection, defining the system time, DST, Codepage and so on:
Next we have Storage Manager, where we can define new Storage Pools, Volumes, enable Cache Acceleration and more:
The Network section of the System Settings menu will allow us to work with all three interfaces, configure the Wi-Fi connection if we have a dongle ready, work with the IPv6 settings, Service Binding and so on:
From the Security area, we can define the firewall settings, enable Network Access Protection or define security certificates:
The Hardware menu allows us to enable/disable the Reset switch, configure the HDD standby mode, light signal alerts, enable write cache, turn on the LED light and adjust the brightness, work with the buzzer settings or adjust the Smart Fan settings:
The Power menu allows us to select the EuP mode, in order to achieve less than 1W consumption while the server is powered off, enable WOL, define Power Recovery behavior or the Power Schedule:
From the Notification menu, we can define a SMTP Server, a SMSC Server or work with Notification Alerts:
The Firmware update menu will allow us to automatically search the software or perform manual updates by downloading the specific file to our computer and uploading it afterwards:
Next we could mention the Backup/Restore menu which allows us to save the current configuration to a file just to be safe or we can restore the server to default settings, with or without erasing the data:
If we connect external storage on USB, printers or UPS system, then the next menu is what we should check out:
The System Status menu opens inside a separate window, with tabs like System Information, Network Status, System Service, Network Information or Resource Monitor:
The System Logs menu is the same story, with several tabs which open up inside a separate window: System Event Logs, System Connection Logs, Online Users or Syslog Client Management:
The Privilege Settings section will mostly take care of the users and their permissions, along with shared folders and Active Directory configurations:
Users and User Groups can be easily defined from the next two sub-sections:
Besides the default folders, we can create new ones and allocate permissions:
The Folder Aggregation feature will help to aggregate all shared folders in local network into a “portal folder” in our NAS:
Next, we can define disk Quota:
Domain Security can be defined from the next menu; what is interesting is the fact that the TVS-863+ can be set as a domain controller:
The NAS can be easily configured for this specific function and can work as a regular main domain controller, as an additional domain controller or as a read-only domain controller:
The databases can be backup or restored as desired:
Next, we have the Network Services menu, which also comes with Network Recycle Bin and Qsync features:
The Applications menu will allow us to specify additional options for the available QTS applications:
HybridDesk Station takes care of the HDMI interface GUI and from here we can choose which applications should be installed:
The Backup Station menu also opens up in a new window in order to unify many types of backup types like Backup Server, Remote Replication, Cloud Backup or External Backup:
From the Multimedia Management section, we will be able to specify more options regarding media indexing:
Unlike some other manufacturers, we can specify any folder for the photo, music or video file types:
The next menu takes care of the transcoding capabilities:
Coming back to the main applications, we can remind of Photo Station which shows the content sorted in different categories, and we can always create custom albums of our own; of course, this application can display the mentioned photos in full, create slideshows and so on:
The Music Station application functions in a similar manner; here we can also use the Internet Radio services:
After specifying the video folders, these will be indexed and shown inside the Video Station application:
After selecting a video file for playback, we will be asked to perform On-the-Fly Transcoding or open the original file:
The video file will open up in a new window:
Download Station app will facilitate us various downloading tasks and supports drag-and-drop functionality:
File Station is a complex file manager, which allows us to perform various operations onto the available files, but also work with the Qsync capability and more:
Here are some of the file operations we can perform with this specific app:
Next, we could remind of myQNAPcloud, which permits connection to our NAS from anywhere, by using the respective services:
An antivirus module powered by ClamAV is also available:
The App Center is the application store of QTS and from here we can download besides the QNAP official applications, many other modules from 3rd party or even access the Beta Lab:
Each application from the store has a screenshot, a small description, additional links and the buttons to Install/Remove:
DJ Station application will help us with mixing, if we have a playlist pre-defined:
Notes Station is a multi-functional application with lots of pre-defined templates:
One of the more interesting features of this server is achieved via the Virtualization Station application:
The application then will inform us which next steps will be needed to be performed in order to finalize the initial setup procedure:
The VM default folder must be defined:
Next, we must select the default network interface, which will be different than the default one:
A final screen will appear in order to confirm the selections:
The Overview screen of the application will show us which resources are available and will also list the currently defined virtual machines:
When creating a virtual machine, we will be asked to work with some pre-defined profiles or define a new custom one:
Moving forward, we can choose the characteristics of the newly created virtual machine:
Here is the available selection of Windows systems which we can install:
The newly defined virtual machine will have a section of its own; from here we can mount new devices, access the snapshot window, delete the current VM, clone the VM or install VM drivers for more compatibility:
From the custom options section, we can allocate more RAM to the machine (depending on the total installed quantity on the NAS), define new adapters or mount ISOs for OS installation:
Links to the console can be obtained for VNC, HTML5 or Java interface:
We have tested one of the more recent builds of Windows 10 (10041) and while it installs fine, the visual effects worsen the overall experience because a video driver which supports acceleration is not available:
As we have probably mentioned before, the NAS can be fully operated without the need of a PC, by only connecting a regular keyboard/mouse to the available USB ports. During system startup, we can press the usual keys for entering inside its BIOS if we need to modify something, but our recommendation would be to leave the settings as we have found them:
The GUI has been revised quite a bit since our last look on a QNAP NAS; first we will be prompted to login to an account:
The dashboard comes with various information about the system, but we can always select the language of the GUI, press the Settings button in order to further configure stuff or log out the current user; the installed applications are shown right in the middle:
If we navigate to the Settings area, we will be able to work with multiple tabs like General, App, Display, Preferences or About:
The first application we could remind you people of is Google Chrome, which works pretty well, but is included with other manufacturer OSes too, so nothing new here:
Next we have the Clementine music player, which works great for organizing our libraries:
Another installable music player QNAP proposes is DeadBeeF:
Not fancy Google Chrome? Well, QNAP has placed in Mozilla Firefox for you to enjoy:
What we would like to discuss a little bit here is video playback performance of these two browsers; while on Mozilla the video is a bit choppy in full screen and we cannot select a higher resolution than 360P, Chrome works perfectly, with all resolutions of the video available for selection:
As we have also seen with other NAS types, QTS is accessible directly from the interface, via the Chrome browser:
We can say the same thing about Virtualization Station:
QNAP has decided to also include some old games into the mix, like OpenTTD:
Another included game is SuperTux:
Lastly, we would like to remind of “The Battle for Wesnoth”:
Online Radio is available right to our fingers thanks to the TuneIn application:
XBMC is another application which has suffered modifications since last release:
The skin QNAP is proposing simplifies the interface in a way and we have previews available on the top side of the main buttons:
With this well-known media center application, we will be able to browse our photo, video and music collection, with cool previews:
The Settings area will allow us to perform different modifications to the application, but also revert to the original XBMC UI:
Separately, QNAP also places to our disposal the YouTube applications:
CPU : Intel I7 3750K Retail @ 4.7GHz
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14
Motherboard : ASRock Z77 OC
RAM : GeIL EVO CORSA 16GB 2400MHz C11
(2GB Exceleram DDR1333 for NASPT compatibility)
Video : Sparkle GeForce GTX 560 Calibre
Power Supply : Cooler Master 850W
HDD : OCZ Vertex 4 256GB SSD
Case: Cooler Master ATCS840
To test the NAS performances, the TVS-863+ NAS was populated with one OCZ Vertex 4 SSD along with one KingFast SLC E-Drive in RAID 0, 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, on 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:
As extras, we have also included ATTO Disk Benchmark and Anvil:
We have performed the same benchmarks but this time with an encrypted volume:
With the latest TVS-863+ 10GbE-ready Turbo vNAS, QNAP is proposing a centralized solution featuring the latest technologies and integrating new AMD-based hardware with the quad-core embedded SoC which is clocked at 2.4GHz, which is also powered by AMD Radeon Graphics. The system is housed inside a proven mini-tower NAS metallic case, with a LCD screen and buttons in order to perform some actions right from the frontal area. No less than 8 drives can be installed and all USB ports are now USB 3.0 for maximum transfer speeds. The memory is also upgradable up to 16GB in order to be able to run more processes in the same time, including multiple virtual machines.
The QTS GUI is well optimized, with plenty of options available, and with the enterprise series we can see some extra settings like the ability to transform our NAS in a Domain Controller. All other multimedia-driven applications are here, including HybridDesk Station, with many more applications than before when using the HDMI interface.
Speaking of the HDMI interface, now we have an extra browser available, Mozilla Firefox and some old games available for installation; in our opinion, instead of those games we would have preferred to see modules for running PopcornTime but also an emulator for loading lots of ROMs.
The unit is also ready for 10GbE thanks to the pre-installed card, making it future proof inside an organization. The encrypted volume test results are surprisingly good, and the NAS does not seem to take a hit, at least when running via a single gigabit port.
TVS-863+ is equipped not with one, but two HDMI ports, and we can run both in mirror mode when needed; an IR receiver is also available and works with the QNAP RM-IR002 remote or other MCE-compatible remotes.
During our tests, the unit has remained quiet at all times, thanks to the included dual 120mm fan solution, which is possible thanks to the size of the product.
Regarding the sale price, we can find the unit online for about 1169 Euros, without any included drives.
We would like to thank again to QNAP for making this review possible!