QNAP The TS-216G is one of the most affordable two-bay network attached storage (NAS) systems. It is designed for home users and small businesses and offers a pair of LAN ports, one of which is a 2,5GbE port, three USB ports and a decent range of applications. Our testing showed that it is also powerful enough and easy to configure. Considering all its features, its price is really very interesting and we are not afraid to write that this is definitely a good buy if you are thinking about home NAS storage.
Design and parameters
The TS-216G eschews the typical matte black casing used in most NAS devices and instead has a matte white finish with a thin black panel on the front that houses five LED indicators. You will then find a power button, a one-touch backup button and a USB 3.2 port. You can open the two lockable disc trays without tools, but the cabinet itself is secured with two small screws. With dimensions of 165 x 102 x 220,6 mm, it does not take up much space on the work table, so you can easily place it next to the monitor.
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The rear panel features a 2,5GbE LAN port, a 1GbE LAN port, two USB 2.0 ports, aonepower supply, a button to reset the device and one 70mm fan for cooling the internal componentsonent. The package includes two disk holders, a LAN cable, a power cable and a network adapter, screws for mounting the disks, and an installation manual.
The TS-216G uses a quad-core 55GHz ARM Cortex-A2,0 processor, 4GB of flash memory, and 4GB of built-in RAM, which is not expandable. M.2 SSD slots are available on higher models, giving the TS-216G a great price-performance ratio. The TS-216G supports hot swappingapping and hardware video transcoding and can accommodate 2,5-inch and 3,5-inch drives (either hard drives or SATA SSDs) with a total supported internal capacity of up to 44 TB (in this case using two 22TB drives). We have two Kingston SSD drives available for testing with maxwith a maximum transfer speed of over 500 MB/s, so when connected via 2,5GbE LAN we will not reach the speed limit of the disks and we can comfortably test maximal NAS speeds. Furthermore QNAP This model includes support for the EXT4 file system and Single, JBOD, RAID 0, and RAID 1 configuration options.
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QTS operating system
The TS-216G uses the same QTS operating system as other devices QNAPThe software has a user interface similar to the system Windows, which comes with several pre-installed app icons, including File Station, which lets you create folders, view recently uploaded and opened files and folders, and share links to files stored on the NAS. The Storage and Snapshots icon takes you to a screen where you can create storage volumes, configure storage pools, view backup snapshots, and check disk health and usage.
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The App Center offers dozens of native and third-party apps that can be downloaded that allow you to use your NAS as a camera monitoring center, media server, cloudemail server, backup solutions and more. Malware Remover tool finds and removes malicious software and weQNAPcloud helps you connect your NAS to cloudu QNAP and access data from anywhere.
The control panel then represents a central interface that allows the user easy access to all the key functions of the device. In addition to the settings mentioned above, here you will find tools for managing users, configuring networks, monitoring system performance, managing applications or customizing security measures. Thanks to the intuitive layout, working with it is fast and efficient, even for less experienced users. At the same time, this central point eliminates the need to search for individual functions in different places of the system, which saves time and simplifies the overall management of the device.
Testing showed admirable performance and ease of setup
Setting up the TS-216G for first use is fairly easy. I installed a pair of Kingston SSDs in the NAS and connected the NAS to the same router as my desktop. Mac mini. Then I downloaded the Q appFinder Pro, which immediately listed the TS-216G as a visible device. I clicked on the listing to launch the QTS Smart program, checked for firmware updates, and gave the NAS a name. Next, I created a username and password, set the time zone, and selected automatic DHCP connection. The software took a few minutes to apply the settings, after which I logged into the QTS interface and created a storage pool with a RAID 1 configuration. I then created a volume and waited a moment for the drives to synchronize, before starting my tests.
NAS QNAP The TS-216G performed well in file transfer tests, in which we use a 1GB file in the Black app.Magic Disk Speed Test for measuring read and write speeds. In the write test, it reached a speed of 147 MB/s and in the read test, 254 MB/s. According to the manufacturer's tests, it reached a write speed of up to 291 MB/s and a read speed of 288 MB/s. Such speeds can only be achieved if the NAS is connected via a multi-gigabit LAN. If you use a standard 1GbE, the speed will be maxat least 125 MB/s regardless of the speed of the disks. If your computer does not have a faster than 1Gbit LAN port, you will have to buy a faster network card or an adapter will suffice. For example, the one from QNAP with the designation QNA-T310G1T, which I also used for testing. It handles transfers at speeds of up to 10 Gbit/s and is designed for Thunderbolt 3 connections.
Summary
With device QNAP With the TS-216G, you get an affordable two-bay NAS that delivers solid performance and multi-gigabit connectivity. It features three USB ports for connecting a variety of external devices and comes with an extensive catalog of apps. Few other NAS devices can offer you the higher performance combined with a 2,5GbE port and a wide range of apps. And if budget is your main concern, you should also consider the even cheaper two-bay device QNAP TS-233. However, it only has 2GB RAM and 1GbE LAN. The price difference is not that big and considering the advantages of the TS-216G model, we can recommend it.
I was deciding between QNAP and Synology and nakoneI chose the DS723+ and I don't regret it. ProI find the DSM on the center much clearer and overall more reliable.
Hello, it can work just as carefree asCloud? So I take photos and they are backed up to the NAS and I don't have to worry about anything?
It can, but it all has to be set of course :)
QNAP I've been trying it for a few months now and after setting it up everything works great. The system options are so extensive that I don't know what else to try.