QNAP TS-409 Turbo NAS Review

Hi Mark - Good to hear you're looking at QNAP! It's a really solid product that you'll have no problem configuring. In fact you'll probably have many of the features running on all cylinders in no time.

Chris,<br />

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How was the speed? I mean 500mhz and 256m of memory is pretty common place for NAS servers. I had the Lacie and a couple of others here and they were all dreadfully slow when I did backups too them.<br />

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I do like the iTunes server thing.. any problems with high rez files and continous playing (i.e. without hickups).<br />

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Thanks<br />

Gordon

Hi Gordon - The speed on this QNAP unit is pretty good. just a hair slower than my Thecus 5200B Pro which performs very fast on my network. Wired via CAT6 to a Gigabit Ethernet Airport Extreme router (which is only a hub not a GigE switch) I can transfer about 1 GB per minute with the QNAP TS-409. Sometimes it will creep up to 1 GB per 1.25 minutes. My Thecus NAS is always under a minute per GB.<br />

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The high resolution files playback flawlessly. I've been playing the 24/176.4 HRx albums from the QNAP without any dropouts.<br />

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Backup may be another story, but I haven't specifically backed up anything to the unit. I suppose you could use the 1 GB per 1 to 1.25 minutes as a guide.

sounds like a decent unit. full feature set for this type of device. I was a bit puzzled Chris by your mention of the gigabit apple airport extreme being only a hub and not a gigE switch. I'd expect any networking device that accommodates gigabit speeds and multiple ports would only be a switch - hub technology being yesterday's news. Then again I am not that familiar with the router itself.<br />

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Not to detract from the article - well done and a good job in addressing our broad audience. Times are good when we see more of these devices being developed and improved. I will probably have to look at qnap now when it comes to upgrade, as well as the Thecus which you've reviewed before.<br />

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Thanks

Hi airdronian - I would love to be proven wrong about the Apple switch/hub issue. If you do have anything that says this is a switch and not a hub please let me know. I talked to Apple and they were very evasive with their answer. They said they had absolutely no documentation that the unit is a switch, but that it would "act as a switch." That isn't very reassuring. I did however find documentation that "suggests" the unit is a hub. Check this out from the Apple Remote Desktop Administrator’s Guide, Version 3.1, page 72.<br />

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<i>AirPort Base Stations are not considered “switched networks.” </i><br />

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The reason I said "suggests" this unit is a hub is because the above statement was discussed in context with wireless connections, but not explicitly wireless or Ethernet.<br />

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I also have a feeling that Apple would include this in the specs somewhere is this was a switch and they would not include it is the unit is a hub. Hubs = bad in my book.

Hi Chris-<br />

Once configured on a network and using the iTunes server, can Apple TV see and use this without having a computer running?<br />

Thanks!

Hi afveep - Welcome to Computer Audiophile. I thought about this exact thing when I was reviewing the QNAP unit, but I ruled out the possibility that it would work after thinking about it for a few minutes. Thus, I didn't actually try it. Here's why; When the Apple TV connects to a library it requires a code be entered. The QNAP NAS and other NAS devices have no ability to work with this authentication part of Apple TV. I hope I am wrong on this but I don't know of a way to get around it.

One common configuration among many readers will involve the Apple Express combined with a Mac acting as a music server and the new Remote app for iPhone/iPod Touch. Does iTunes support in a NAS product like this allow remote control via the iPhone Remote app?

As long as there is a Mac in the mix the remote app/iPod Touch will work. <br />

Just a NAS and the remote app won't work.

Hi Chris...<br />

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I have a Buffalo "Live" NAS which (from your above description of the QNAP) has a very similar itunes "server", in that it appears in itunes as a "share".<br />

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I agree that this prevents family etc "playing" with the files, but on the whole I find accessing and playing itunes tracks this way tedious. This is because I have found that playlists are not "linkable" for want of a better word with itunes shares. ie playcount/smartplaylists/ratings etc are not usable. Also you can't "drag" tracks in and out of playlists from a "shared" library. These are real "bummer" issues with families with multiple ipods/iphones!<br />

Also I have tested the iphone "remote" app and this only controls tracks in the main library...I can't get it to access a remote "share"....another "bumber"<br />

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So I have gone back to using my older Buffalo NAS (without) the itunes server, and copied my library directly onto this. That way the library appears where it should in itunes (as the main "music") and all the above problems don't occur. Leaving the library file on the mac, and with a few tweeks like changing the music "source" ( itunes/preferences/advanced settings) you can set up a standard NAS without an itunes server that in fact works better than one with a server. One proviso to make this work well is to always remember to mount the NAS after a reboot or itunes update, before you load itunes, otherwise itunes seems to "forget" the new music location...hope this helps and please anyone correct me, or add comments to make this experience "better"...an app to "save" the new library location would be really great.<br />

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BTW this is an unreal site Chris<br />

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AB

Hey AB - I too don't make much use of the iTunes server function in my main library, but it does have some cool features that I know some of our readers use. During the review I did use it and liked it to a certain extent. For those with a specific need it's great. For others maybe not. Thanks for sharing your opinion on the usefulness of this for yourself and your family. I am sure there are plenty of others in your same situation and the caveats you mention are solid information for them.<br />

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My favorite and current NAS the Thecus 5200B Pro does not have an iTunes server. I use it strictly as an external disk just like you use your Buffalo NAS. Works very slick.<br />

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As far as mounting the NAS drive there are some automated ways to do this so you don't have to worry about iTunes changing the location of your music folder unknowingly. I created an automator script to auto-mount my NAS drive at every login. It works great. Here is link to the article and at the end you can download the script. You'll need to adjust it for the correct server address and folder but it's a good start. http://www.computeraudiophile.com/node/289

Thanks for the unreal application and suggestion Chris...just the tonic my setup needed!<br />

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Your site rocks!<br />

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AB

Just got back from vacation. I may have missed the original context of the first post. If we are speaking of the wireless aspect of the airport extreme then I am not surprised that it is not considered switched. Wireless networks basically spray their connectivity around their range and any client that can negotiate the wep/wpa keys can communicate. (If wep or wpa is used - a drive around a residential area will often show unprotected networks) .<br />

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When I hear the mention of hub I am relating to wired ethernet networks. I just recently pulled a hub from a remote office. In these cases (wired) there is a distinct difference between switches and hubs which I am sure you're aware of. Not being the owner of an Airport Extreme I cannot test, but would bet money that the wired ports of the unit behave as a switch on the internal network provided by the device . Not so with the wireless segment - one reason why some businesses completely bar wireless connectivity to their LAN.<br />

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The wireless router I use can turn off the wireless portion, a common feature and when employed it lets the unit serve as a regular home router with one WAN port and 4 switched ports - and readers with windows laptops will notice that their network connections folder will list separate connections for their ethernet lan and their wireless connection. They are distinct devices which operate independantly.<br />

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Not surprised that if you talked to Apple (by phone ?) that the answer you received was vague - your question was probably a third tier support question and you may not have gotten that far.<br />

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I am hoping to become more familiar with Mac gear in the coming year - congrats on the new Mac Pro.<br />

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I'm about to duplicate for a friend what I've got going on for myself. See my sig. for front end of system. At the moment I use Western Digital Mybook Premium Edition IIs (2TB a piece; usually about $400. each) daisy chained through firewire 800. I don't care to much about speed of pulling my WAV/CUE file off the HDD because I use XXHighEnd as a player and it loads the entire album into RAM before it starts to play it...I don't like to have other programs running when listening to music and I don't like having wireless stuff going, so,..(ok, ya I think it can interfer with the presentation).<br />

My question about NAS<br />

Does it show up like regular HDDs in MyComputer, or do I have to have another program running to access the HDDs on the lan.... I do all my back up manually and keep backup discs offsite... so I only need to run raid 0. so, how do I pull the files off the HDD with a nas? Can I see them with Explorer going to network places probably? noob

Hi SeVeReD - Welcome to Computer Audiophile. Good questions. A NAS is accessed just like an internal hard drive. On Windows you can access it a couple different ways. The easiest way is to map a drive to the NAS unit. So, your C drive is local, your FireWire drive is probably something like E, and your NAS drive can be the F drive or whatever you want. Your audio application accesses the NAS the same as any other drive local, external or via network. The other way to access a NAS is through network neighborhood. Not as easy though. Just map the drive and it will show up in the Computer (old My Computer) section every time you log in. Nothing special needs to run to access a NAS.<br />

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It's really very simple and quite uncomplicated. I'm here to help if needed. Just let me know :-)

It really does sound like the way to go in his situation. I'm just unfamiliar with NAS storage and how well it works, (I know what I have going on works, but I'm always looking for better...)<br />

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For me personally, since my computer is in a closet opposite the wall of the music room (drilled holes through the wall carry the analog RCAs from the Pass Labs Xover; i use it like a preamp) I don't have to worry about HDD noise. My only thoughts are about music presentation/quality, so<br />

I wonder if shutting off the FW would be "easier" on the computer or if the nas on the network would be...course I'd have to enable the lan full time hehe<br />

yeppers you've got a crazy one here. <br />

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thanks again.

Hey SeVeReD - Since your computer is out of your listening room you could use a Drobo unit. It holds four drives in a RAID like configuration and attaches via FireWire or USB depending on the model. Plus it can always be converted to a NAS with the DroboShare for about $199. It's probably the easiest mas storage device available today. Some CA readers use it right now and really like it.

If I use it with firewire, would it daisy chain with the WesternDigital Mybooks? I assume it would, but do you know for sure... ya, that would be better ... I have a lot of music hehe I guess it would have it's own raid manager that would load up.

The daisychain "should" work, but I cannot confirm for sure.<br />

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You won't have to load a RAID manager every time you boot.

You guys mentioned ts-409, N5200pro and other, but I can't see if any has some spin down or standby mode for longer life of hdds. How about this point of view? Btw I see seagate blackarmor has some DRIVE STANDBY MODE, but Im interested why seagate wasn't mention as a good NAS, is something wrong with seagate, maybe it doesn't have some features I don't know (maybe about pour linux support)? Please comment

Hi SH0x - Welcome to Computer Audiophile. The N5200B Pro has spindown mode that is set by the user for a certain period of time.<br />

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<i>"Im interested why seagate wasn't mention as a good NAS, is something wrong with seagate, maybe it doesn't have some features I don't know (maybe about pour linux support)? Please comment"</i><br />

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I haven't used the Seagate NAS drives although I highly recommend its hard drives. There are tons of good NAS products available and not all of them can be discussed all the time.