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QNAP are well respected for their high end business solutions and today we look at one of their newest products aimed at the mid market audience – the Qnap 259 Pro+, based around a 1.8ghz dual core Atom processor with 1GB of DDR2 memory onboard. With a retail price around £450 (inc vat) this looks on paper to be one of the more exciting mid range NAS solutions.
The Qnap 259 Pro+ can take two 2.5 or 3.5 inch drives while delivering high levels of throughput performance from multiple gigabit lan connections.
| CPU | Intel® Atom™ 1.8GHz Dual-core Processor |
| DRAM | 1GB RAM |
| Flash Memory | 512MB DOM |
| HDD | 2.5/ 3.5″ SATA x2 NOTE:
|
| HDD Tray | 2 x Hot-swappable and lockable tray |
| LAN Port | 2 x Gigabit RJ-45 Ethernet port |
| LED Indicators | Status, LAN, USB, eSATA, Power, HDD 1, HDD 2 |
| USB | 5 x USB 2.0 port (Front: 1; Back: 4) Support USB printer, pen drive, USB hub, and USB UPS etc. |
| eSATA | 2 x eSATA port (Back) |
| Buttons | System: Power button, USB One-Touch-Backup Button, Reset button |
| Alarm Buzzer | System warning |
| Form Factor | Tower |
| Dimensions | 150 (H) x 102 (W) x 216 (D) mm 5.91 (H) x 4.02 (W) x 8.5 (D) inch |
| Weight | Net weight: 1.74 kg (3.84 lbs) Gross weight: 2.92 kg (6.44 lbs) |
The Qnap TS-259 Pro+ arrives in a plain, yet sturdy brown box with information clearly displayed on a colour sticker.
Inside the TS-259 Pro+ is protected between two thick pieces of stryofoam and a wrapper to stop scuffing during shipping.
The bundle includes the power cable, two RJ45 cables, a software disc, installation manual and the screws needed to mount two hard drives. QNAP also supply smaller black screws for 2.5 inch drives.
The product is very attractively designed. QNAP have opted for a bronze chassis colour, rather than a traditional black/silver colour scheme, and it really stands out.
On the front there are various status light indicators as well as a power button and a one touch copy button. There is also a USB 2.0 port here for easy connectivity. The rear has another four USB 2.0 ports as well as two eSATA 2 ports for external drives. Two Giga Lan internet connectors are above this and a system reset button. There is also a K-Lock security slot and a power connector port here. A single fan provides the cooling.
One side of the product houses the motherboard, set vertically with a clear protective cover to isolate it from the side panel.
The other side is the drive bay unit which is connected to a daughter card to handle both SATA slots. The TS-259 Pro handles various Raid modes, but more on this later.
The TS-259 Pro+ features an Intel Atom processor with 1GB of 800mhz DDR2 installed to ensure a responsive system,. even when heavily loaded. The Atom processor makes for an ideal NAS pairing as it requires very little power and generates even less heat.
The two hard drive trays are made from metal which immediately earns it bonus points. Many of the units we review on KitGuru feature plastic trays and they never give the same feeling of quality. On the back of the tray are indicators for 2.5 and 3.5 inch drive mounting. We are using two 3.5 inch Samsung drives today.
The QNAP drive bay is as well built as you will find on the market, featuring entirely metal construction into the daughtercard which supplies both power and data transfer.
Synology recently released multitasking operating software and QNAP have recently updated their own software package to offer a more responsive user interface while splitting all functionality into easily understood sub categories.
We browsed to the IP of the NAS unit, and were immediately greeted with a welcoming configuration interface.
The software package guides the user through all the necessary main stages to configure the NAS system. All of these settings can be changed later.
The TS-259 Pro+ supports single drive configurations, Raid 0 and Raid 1 and JBOD linear disk volumes to cover all dual drive requirements and demands. Once we are happy with the final setup choices we can quickly overview the listing before formatting the installed disks.
The main panel is a very stylishly designed piece of software with an Apple Macintosh ‘dock' feel about it. There are many quick ways to access the support forums and to talk directly to customer service, but most of the functionality is handled by the main administration panel.
KitGuru has always been a fan of the QNAP interface construction and implementation and with the ATOM 1.8ghz processor onboard it is extremely responsive.
The panel on the left breaks down the various subsections which, after many years of development and feedback make perfect sense.
The first section is the ‘System Administration' panel which offers various security and hardware related options. You can also perform backups here and update the firmware manually if you wish. The QNAP TS-259 Pro+ offers a full wealth of Port Trunking and Jumbo Frames settings which can help improve performance, especially if multiple users are accessing the system simultaneously.
The second tier of panels is grouped under the ‘Disk Management' subcategory. This offers many options such as formatting drives, changing Raid configurations and general drive maintenance if you need it. You can turn on encrypted file systems, enable iSCSI devices and create virtual disks.
The third category is ‘Access Right Management' which offers settings to allow specific users and groups access to certain folders. You can also adjust quota rights for groups, allocating bandwidth as desired.
The networking section covers a plethora of bases for specific network demands. Microsoft and Apple networking protocols are fully supported for multiplatform networks and FTP, Telnet, SNMP and Webserver options are also supported.
The QNAP TS-259 Pro+, much like the Synology platforms we have recently reviewed allows for various media and surveillance options. iTunes and MySQL Server are also settings that can be configured to suit both business and home environments.
As we discussed earlier, the product has a variety of ports for USB and eSATA external drives, these can be used for backup purposes and for additional external storage, to offer futureproofing. Obviously when USB 2.0 is used as an interface medium then transfer rates will be limited to around 35-40mb/s under real world conditions.
The System Status category has options to allow for hardware analysis. You can see how the processor is coping under load conditions and also how much memory is being used. These panels are useful for monitoring bandwidth transfer speeds and there is a handy Process monitoring panel which works in a similar way to the Microsoft Windows monitoring.
We are testing the QNAP TS-259 Pro+ within our gigabit network which is pretty much as good as you will get for a home or small office environment. It is a mixed network with several 1GBit switches for ultimate performance.
Reference Test PC:
Processor: Intel Core i7 920 @ 4ghz
Storage: Kingston 128GB SSD V+ Series
Motherboard: Asus Rampage II Gene
Graphics: Geforce GTX285 2GB
Memory: Corsair Dominator 1600mhz @2000mhz
Network: 2x Belkin 16 Port Gigabit Switches
Operating System: Windows 7 64 Bit Ultimate
Technical Monitoring and Test Equipment:
Keithley Integra unit
Thermal Diodes
Raytek Laser Temp Gun 3i LSRC/MT4 Mini Temp
Extech digital sound level meter & SkyTronic DSL 2 Digital Sound Level Meter
Firstly we perform a native network test to ascertain pure data throughput. Jumbo Frames have been set to 9k. Our drives are configured in a RAID 0 pairing for maximum speed.
Data throughput is fantastic, especially for a mid range priced product. It actually surpasses the Synology DS710 on native read bandwidth, falling behind the high end DS1010+.
90 mb/s is a staggering result, only 2mb/s behind the DS710 with this particular network transfer.
108 MB/s in Raid 0 is a hell of a result for the QNAP TS-259 Pro+, falling only 4mb/s behind the Synology DS710.
Next we created a folder of files, 500mb/s in size with a variety of data , from small database documents to larger jpgs and bmps. We expect to pay a slight penalty as we are using Jumbo frames set to 9k, however performance should still be good.
Mixed file performance is very strong both when reading and writing. Again the unit falls just slightly behind the DS710.
We take the issue of noise very seriously at KitGuru and this is why we have built a special home brew system as a reference point when we test noise levels of various components.
Why do this? Well this means we can eliminate secondary noise pollution in the test room and concentrate on components we are testing. It also brings us slightly closer to industry standards, such as DIN 45635.
As this can be a little confusing for people, here are various dBa ratings in with real world situations to help describe the various levels.
KitGuru noise guide
10dBA – Normal Breathing/Rustling Leaves
20-25dBA – Whisper
30dBA – High Quality Computer fan
40dBA – A Bubbling Brook, or a Refridgerator
50dBA – Normal Conversation
60dBA – Laughter
70dBA – Vacuum Cleaner or Hairdryer
80dBA – City Traffic or a Garbage Disposal
90dBA – Motorcycle or Lawnmower
100dBA – MP3 player at maximum output
110dBA – Orchestra
120dBA – Front row rock concert/Jet Engine
130dBA – Threshold of Pain
140dBA – Military Jet takeoff/Gunshot (close range)
160dBA – Instant Perforation of eardrum
Noise was measured from half a meter away.
The Qnap TS-259 Pro+ is clearly audible, though never loud enough to be intrusive. The only situation we would warn against would be having this unit close to your bed at night as the fan noise might prove irritating.
We measured power from the socket with 2 x 1TB Samsung HD103SI hard drives installed.
The TS-259 Pro+ requires 16 watts when idle and 24 watts when active, reasonably efficient figures for a two 1TB configuration.
Time to test the cooling system. Our room ambient temperatures are 23c which is a reasonable temperature for most people to work and relax within.
The drives remained between 2 and 5c above ambient at all times with average results recorded above. The cooling system, although louder than many, ensures the best drive temperatures.
The Qnap TS-259 Pro+ 2 bay NAS system is a very capable product built to the highest standards. Without any drives installed it costs £460.58 inc vat at Scan, which is a reasonable asking price.
We always admire the QNAP design, they never compromise with substandard drive trays or plastic chassis components and even this mid range product has a fully key based locking system which means it is an affordable security sensible purchase for small businesses who also demand responsive network storage.
Performance is pretty much on a par with the Synology DS710+ which features a slower 1.6ghz processor but reacts just as responsively thanks in part to the excellent, low overhead multitasking DSM software. The Synology DS710+, while ever so slightly faster in our real world tests is not built to the same exacting standards, meaning it may find adoption to be slightly slower within the demanding business IT sector. It is however cheaper at £360 inc vat.
The Qnap TS-259 Pro+ can emit a little more noise than we would like, especially within the confines of a simple dual drive chassis. To be fair it isn't a glaring problem, but if you purchase this for a bedroom environment, then at night it might prove a little irritating.
KitGuru says: The Qnap TS-259 Pro+ is a recommended purchase, the build quality is top drawer and performance is right up there with the fastest NAS in this sector.
Built like a tank, as always. love their products.
compares well against the synology 710 unit, a little slower, but not really noticeable, but more suited to business market with design rather than home market. room for both I think.
QNAP, our business uses a mixture of their older products, nice to see them sprucing up their performance with this generation.
excellent product, bit much for what I need at home, but pricing seems good.
QNAP and Synology certainly are going toe to toe. both are really delivering this year so far. its nice to see a company drive another harder