QNAP TS-632X-4G NAS, 6 bays, 2 × 10GbE SFP+, 2 × 2.5GbE, 4 GB

Two 10GbE SFP+ ports link the NAS to a fast switch or workstation, so large video files and backups move several times faster than on ordinary gigabit Ethernet. Two 2.5GbE RJ-45 ports fit into a regular office network. Aggregating ports of the same speed adds bandwidth: SMB Multichannel suits direct connections at home or in a small office, while Port Trunking is meant for business networks with a switch.

The Alpine AL-524 is a quad-core 2.0 GHz processor from Annapurna Labs, an Amazon company. QNAP highlights its strong read and write performance at low power consumption, which matters for a device that runs around the clock. It ships with a single 4 GB DDR4 SO-DIMM. There is one memory slot, so upgrading means swapping in a larger module, up to 16 GB, and ECC memory is supported.

Six hot-swap bays take 2.5″ and 3.5″ HDDs and SSDs. Supported levels are RAID 0, 1, 10, 5, 50, 6 and JBOD, plus a hot spare that automatically replaces a failed drive, and arrays can be rebuilt and expanded while the system stays online. DA Drive Analyzer uses cloud-based AI to estimate drive lifespan, so replacements can be planned before a drive fails.

The PCIe Gen 3 x4 slot takes an expansion card that adds 2.5, 5 or 10 Gbit/s networking or M.2 SSD slots. The two 5 Gbit/s USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports support One Touch Copy, which moves data from an external drive to the NAS, or the other way, at the press of a button. Wake-on-LAN lets you power the unit on over the network.

Scheduled snapshots help protect data against ransomware and bring back deleted files. Container Station brings Docker to the NAS: apps are pulled from Docker Hub and deployed with one click. App Center adds backup, sync and media apps on demand. As a surveillance NAS, the TS-632X is compatible with more than 8,000 IP cameras and with ONVIF cameras, according to QNAP.

Home offices and small businesses that want six drives of capacity and 10GbE speed without fitting a separate network card. Video creators and photographers who move large files between a fast workstation and the NAS. Developers and hobbyists who want to run Docker containers on their storage. And anyone who wants backups, snapshots and camera recordings gathered in one device.