QNAP TS-453B (8GB) 4-Bay NAS Review

1. Introduction2. QNAP TS-453B Packaging / Bundle3. QNAP TS-453B Design4. QTS 4.3.3 OS5. Usability6. Testing Methodology7. CrystalDiskMark8. ATTO Disk Benchmark9. Intel NASPT10. IOMETER11. Real Life File Testing12. Real Life - Encryption13. Power14. Closing Thoughts15. View All Pages

The QNAP TS-453B sits in the middle of a three device range and features a new QNAP styling design with the basic black finish relieved by a blue finish to the one side of the front bezel that holds the power button, front ports, and indicator LED's.

At the time of writing, the drive trays of the TS-453B support drives up to 10TB capacity, giving the device a total capacity of 40TB but should more space be needed, one option would be to use QNAP's Expansion enclosures. The NAS supports the UX-500P (5-bay) and UX-800P (8-bay) enclosures which connect to the TS-453B via one of the rear USB ports.

Already a feature rich NAS, the TS-453B has a trick up its sleeve to add performance and a degree of futureproofing in the shape of a PCIe slot, the first NAS of its class to do so. This PCIe slot can house a 10GbE network, WiFi or USB 3.1 card for better connectivity or for the best of both worlds one of QNAP's QM2 cards.

The QM2 combines dual M.2 slots supporting SSD caching with 10GbE connectivity and together with QNAP's Qtier auto-tiering technology gives much improved NAS performance to meet business demands.

QNAP's QTS is one of the better NAS OS around, quick and easy to install, graphically rich and updated on a regular basis. The latest 4.3.3 version adds more features and apps, particularly aimed at business users.

Qnap's Qtier's technology has been re-vamped. It now learns from NAS usage and together with system performance and usage times analysis, determines the best time for auto tiering for better data efficiency across a range of storage options that a business might employ including SSD, SAS and NL-SAS/SATA drives.

Network and Virtual Switch, a network management tool which allows virtual machines, containers and NAS to share the same LAN port has been enhanced to add support for data transfers between virtual machines and containers. Also new is support for both T2E (Thunderbolt To Ethernet) Converters and Thunderbolt Residential Gateway (NAT) services.

Also new to QTS 4.3.3 is the ability to backup files and data directly from compatible USB optical drives such as DVD and Blu-ray devices.

The Resource Monitor has been re-built to provide more in-depth information on various processes and usage modes but displays the information in a much easier to understand format for home and business users alike.

The one thing that is a bit hard to understand with the TS-453B is that while QNAP bundle a remote control with the NAS, they don't bother adding a USB Type-C cable for the Quick Connect port -a bit annoying that.

Pros.

• Compact Design.
• PCIe expansion slot.
• QTS OS
• Tool-free drive trays.

Cons.

• No drive tray locks.
• No cable bundled for the Quick Connect port.

QNAP's TS-453B can be found on Overclockers UK for £729.95 (inc VAT) HERE

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Kitguru says: A compact and powerful 4-bay NAS and although it sits under an SMB banner it would be as equally effective as the central hub in a home entertainment network.

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