ARN

Rack-mount QNAP storage server packs a wallop

The low-cost, multilingual QNAP TS-859U-RP offers flexible network storage to smaller shops

There's an area of the NAS landscape where the lines between consumer and corporate use are blurred. While high-end NAS arrays cost plenty of money, they also provide essential features like redundant power supplies and superior performance. At the lower end are the truly consumer-grade devices that might seem like they'll work in a corporate environment but fall short of meeting the essentials critical to infrastructures. They are, however, very cheap.

The blurry area is where you find low-cost NAS devices that offer performance and reliability features closer to those found on expensive arrays. The QNAP TS-859U-RP Turbo NAS is one of those examples, providing plenty of storage space with redundant power supplies in a rack-mount form factor at a low price: less than $3,000 with four 2TB hard drives.

[ Keep up with the latest approaches to managing information overload and staying compliant in InfoWorld's Enterprise Data Explosion newsletter. ]

There's nothing flashy about the physical characteristics of the box: It's a 2U rack-mount system with eight 3.5-inch hot-swap, lockable drive bays, a two-line LCD screen, and some activity lights. It can handle just about any SATA-based drive you want to throw at it, up to 2TB per drive. My test system was outfitted with eight 750GB Western Digital drives, which provided a usable capacity of 4.8GB formatted as a RAID5 array with no hot-spare configured.

To continue reading, register here and become an Insider. You'll get free access to premium content from CIO, Computerworld, CSO, InfoWorld, and Network World. See more Insider content or sign in.

Nominations for the 2012 ARN IT Industry Awards open on Tuesday, June 12.

More about: etwork, NAS, QNAP, Western Digital
References show all

Comments

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
Users posting comments agree to the ARN comments policy.
Login or register to link comments to your user profile, or you may also post a comment without being logged in.
Related Coverage
Related Whitepapers
Latest Stories
Community Comments
Tags: Data Explosion, freemium, network-attached storage, network storage, storage, Storage Server, western digital
ARN Directory | Distributors relevant to this article
Alloys , Bluechip Infotech , Compucon Computers , Express Online , Leader Computers , Synnex Australia , Topstar Computer International , Xpress I.T.
rhs_login_lockGet exclusive access to ARN's news, research and invitation only events.
ARN Distributor Directory
Find distributors by name | vendor | location
Channel Deals
/deals/aca-pacific/415_bonus-500-gift-card-with-every-sgi-is5000-sp-s
ACA Pacific

Bonus $500 Gift Card with Every SGI IS5000-SP Storage Subsystem. Ends June 30th, 2012.

More details »
ARN Vendor Directory
Find vendors by name | category

iAsset is a channel management ecosystem that automates all major aspects of the entire sales,marketing and service process, including data tracking, integrated learning, knowledge management and product lifecycle management.