| QNAP TS-459 Pro NAS Network Storage Server |  |
| Reviews - Featured Reviews: Network | |
| Written by Olin Coles | |
| Monday, 22 March 2010 | |
|
Page 1 of 12
QNAP TS-459 Pro NAS Server ReviewNetwork storage has become the convenient answer to centralized data for corporate enterprise environments. The QNAP TS-459 Pro NAS server uses the energy-efficient 1.66GHz Intel Atom D512 processor with 1GB of DDR2 system memory to enable VMware Ready iSCSI for virtualization deployments. Dual Gigabit Ethernet network interfaces allow failover safety, while four SATA drives deliver basic-disk or RAID configurations. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests performance of the QNAP TS-459 Pro against several other network attached storage servers. Benchmark Reviews has monitored the network storage industry for several years now, and the same three features have always held the highest demand: speed, data redundancy, and simple yet feature-rich operation. QNAP has earned the title of NAS pioneer, not by being the first to have a network attached storage (NAS) device on the market, but by being the first to consistently offer fast Gigabit Ethernet speeds with failover, RAID hard drive functionality, and a diverse feature-rich user interface. If NAS technology were separated into two categories, there would be network storage for the small office/home office (SOHO) user, and NAS server appliances for the corporate Enterprise sector. Benchmark Reviews has recently tested the QNAP TS-119 NAS which is a single-disk network storage product made for home users, and we've also tested the goliath QNAP TS-809 Pro 8-Bay NAS that was designed with the storage needs of large businesses. Each of the network storage devices offers different things to different audiences, but neither of them make the ideal compromise to fit the needs of most users. The QNAP TS-459 Pro Turbo-NAS does.
The Most Affordable and Flexible Virtualization SolutionThe TS-459 Pro is certified as compatible with VMware vSphere4 (ESX 4.0 and above) virtualization platform. The NAS can be utilized as the networked shared storage of VMware virtualization environments and Windows cluster servers. Comparing with traditional SAN (Storage Area Network), the Turbo NAS is a competitive alternative with much lower setup and maintenance costs in an IP SAN. The Feature-rich and Integrated Applications for BusinessThe NAS supports file sharing across Windows, Mac, Linux, and UNIX platforms. Versatile business applications such as file server, FTP server, printer server, web server, and Windows AD support are provided. The dominant features, such as WebDAV, Share Folder Aggregation (also known as DFS), IPv6 and IPv4 dual-stack, Wake on LAN, schedule power on/ off, HDD S.M.A.R.T, comprehensive log systems, and policy-based unauthorized IP blocking are all included features of a QNAP NAS server. About QNAP Systems, Inc.
|
|
Comments
gbit + gbit = 2 gbit lan connection
Antonio
For purposes of evaluation and comparison only the packaged WHS systems like HP or Asus could be compared to the NAS systems. It would be impossiable to quantify the wide variation of surplus "Old PC" configurations and evaluate performance. It would also be interesting to look at a New Build cost for a WHS box using low-cost components.
The HP includes an iTunes server and Twonky media...it can host a website, FTP, print server, and remote access any capable machines on the network (requires XP pro, Vista Pro or Ultimate or Win 7 equilivant).
I am not really debating the merits of either typs but I wonder how it stands up to the speed of these NAS boxes.
* No NIC Teaming
* No 4 Disk RAID5 (to benchmark maximum transfer)
* No NIC teaming on the side connecting to it - like a server connecting to shared storage, at an entry level.
* No testing with multiple clients connected.
Needs more testing guys....
As to bonding making the benchmarks faster... no. 1gbit is good for ~125MB/sec minus overhead of the protocols.
My Win7 machine can copy to/from my wife's Vista machine 110MB/sec. 60-70MB/sec doesn't seem all that fast. I can copy my 3GB Win7 ISO in under 30 seconds.
Both of our machines have only a single HD, not raided, and both are low end Dells. Nothing says low end like an i7 with ATI 4850 and a 360watt PSU
We do teaming all the time on Dell PowerEdge servers and switches, and it certainly makes a difference. While Gigabit maxes out at about 90MB/sec (that's the overhead from 125MB/sec), it would be nice to get more. Especially if you had a couple of systems transferring data to/from the device. I'm not saying I expect these QNAP's to be comparable to an Equallogix PS5000 SAN, but it would be nice if we could get them half-way.
While your single PC to single PC transfer is very good, *I* am more interested in full out sustained MB/sec and/or IOPS to determine if these would be good for say shared storage between two ESX servers in a lab, to test out vMotion, HA, DRS, etc.
This is the other reason why I would have liked to see the tests with all 4 ddrives in use, to get a feel for it's max throughput.
I'd like to point out my 110MB/sec is ACTUAL transfer speeds via windows file sharing and only 4% kernel time to boot.
My plan is to get a server, use my MSDN to drop Windows server on it, plop a few SSDs with a fast RAID controller. I'm thinking I'll have to get a 10gbit card and a nice switch
I also use the Dell Power Edge and if I could access a QNAP, which is 4 or 8 slot tower to rack, 2 rather than 1 Gbit Gbit would be great because it saves lots of money.
I purchased the unit as a cheap file server to host my website at home myself. with some of these cheap cable internet deals from optusnet I think I will have a verrry cost effective hoisting system that should outperform any shared hosting package anywhere out in cyberspace. WIll update things as it progresses.
Regards Nick Pidoulas
Webmaster, owner and founder of
#showoffyourwheels.com
Yet, as you'd probably have to buy a retail Windows OS box (instead of OEM), it is still an over expensive rip-off.