QNAP TS-231K review. We are back at QNAP Systems, this time with a model that is all based on Alpine AL214
In the taiwanse brand QNAP we have already talked about it on the occasion of the review of the “younger” brother TS-230, and we learned how the manufacturer in question is specialized in the production of NAS, both aimed at industrial use and dedicated to home entertainment. We then saw how the brand’s attention is to take care of the software, in this model we find an excellent balance.
QNAP TS-231K arrives on the market with that characteristic design typical of the brand, modern, sophisticated, which certainly does not look as bad at home as in the office. It is also light, silent and versatile, and focuses everything, especially in this version, in software optimization. Let’s find out everything about him, in the full review.
Unboxing and design | QNAP TS-231K review
The package is very nice, and it doesn’t surprise us. We find various information relating to the product in question and its technical specifications, while internally we find everything divided into comfortable compartments, with the sponge strategically inserted to safeguard the product during shipment.
Coming to the materials, as per tradition he too is made entirely of plastic, despite this it returns an excellent sensation to the touch, the design is very simple, and we have no particular elements that stand out, everything turns into a balanced and minimal design. On the side panel we find the QNAP logo engraved, while in the upper part we have a pattern that recalls the slits. On the front we have instead the interaction panel, with the LED indicator lights that we will see later, and the keys.
We then find some essential instruction manuals, and the cables necessary for installation. We have the Ethernet cable, a kit of viti, that is 8 necessary for the installation of the 3.5 discs and 6 more for those from 2.5, then we have theAC adapter, and the power cord.
In the back instead we have the ejection grill for the fan, and the inputs, accompanied by the Reset key. Also in this area we find two screws suitable for unlocking the upper part of the case, to reach the inside of the NAS. On the bottom we have instead 4 rubber pads for the stability of the Nas itself. Internally, on the other hand, we have an aluminum structure, to give greater strength to the product. Returning to the aforementioned fan, it has a size of 169 × 102 × 219 mm.
The design features a ventilation system then it is constructed in such a way as to facilitate entry into the air from the side panel, to then expel the hot air at the rear, the flow will thus favor the dissipation of the drives. Finally, unlocking the drives is convenient and simple, no special maneuvers or tools are required. Just lift the block trolley placed at each single drive input, and access the Caddy in which we will insert the Drive. The locking system is solid and reliable.
The technical specifications | QNAP TS-231K review
This Nas is too mainly intended for the home environment, but also suitable for small and medium-sized companies, as such it has a necessary and sufficient technical data sheet for its target.
As for the processor, this is where we find the special element, in fact we find one CPU Alpine AL214, a 4-core a 1,7GHz, does it tell you anything? It is a model produced by the house AnnapurnaLabs, company belonging to Amazon. This processor despite having some specifications that, data sheet in hand, may seem below average, actually hides a great software optimization, which makes the product fluid and performing.
The architecture is 32-bit ARM, obviously supports a encryption combined with a floating point unit. We also have a hardware accelerated transcoding system. We have 1 GB of DDR3 RAM regarding system memory. As for the memoria Flash, we have a dual boot OS protection, which is based on 512 MB.
In terms of compatibility we have 3.5 ”, 2.5” SATA hard drives. The single Gigabit Ethernet port is of the RJ45 type and has the functionality Wake on LAN, better known as WOL, it also owns the Jumbo Frame. In terms of compatibility, QNAP provides a dedicated site for checks before purchasing.
In terms of port equipment we have two ports USB 3.2 Gen 1. Moving instead to the front panel, we have the LED indicator relating to the system status, the one relating to the Lan, the one dedicated to USB connections, and obviously that of the individual connected HDDs. The keys we have instead are the power one, the reset one, and, later on, we have the possibility to reset. We have dimensions (H x W x D) of 169 × 102 × 219 mm, and a weight of about 2.50 Kg. The power supply instead is 65 W., with an average consumption in sleep mode of about 8.50W, rises to 15W instead in a classic scenario of typical daily use, while in terms of silence, we recorded an oscillation from 40 ai 50 db (A) on average, in both operational and idle phases, it rises to 55/60 db (A) with the fan at maximum operating speed.
A highly optimized system | QNAP TS-231K review
File Station is the beating heart of the system. File management, integration of rich file storage, synchronization, search and archive apps, all guaranteed by the reliable platform.
As always, accessing files is easy, and above all it can be done with various devices including USB and obviously smartphones. File synchronization is almost instant. Among the things that File Station allows to do we have the centralization of files, allows you to easily browse and manage files from different sources, remotely connect to another NAS, using CIFS / SMB, FTP or WebDAV, transfer files between NAS and cloud services, with support for Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, Microsoft OneDrive for Business, Google Drive, Amazon Drive, Yandex Disk, Box, HiDrive e Citrix Share File.
The TS-231K model as mentioned is based all on Alpine AL214, a CPU quad-core da 1,7 GHz, which integrated together with an optimized software, the two Gigabit LAN ports, and the union with the disks, offer truly excellent performance. On the one hand offered by the user friendly platform on the other given by pure performance.
We remind you that the Nas was kindly provided to us with a Drive dedicated to use with Nas, or the IronWolf NAS model by Seagate, from well 4TB. Two supplied discs were sent to better test the TS-231K. Which, as mentioned, perfectly match the nature of this NAS, on the contrary, represent a more than safe choice to have the certainty of achieving these performances, together with the power of the TS-231K in question.. In fact, the average performances achieved with this configuration are attested in Upload between 255 MB / s, and go up to 260 MB / s in Download. Even in particular Benchmarks such as sequential throughput operations offer excellent performance, we are in fact about 219 MB / s in reading, and 222 MB / s in writing. In daily use of the product, we have never encountered any slowdowns, the ability to read and write has always been a constant in terms of efficiency. In addition, choosing an IronWolf NAS drive allows you to have full support with deleted data recovery software, such as the Snapshot service.
In addition, the USB port on the front panel supports one-click copying, which is extremely convenient at times when we need to quickly back up some data from an external device to the NAS and vice versa.
Its applications
In the end, via Qsync, we will always have excellent synchronization. Thanks to the system Qfiling that automate file organization, easily classifying files and setting up a schedule. As mentioned, there is WebDAV support, which will allow us to be exploited as a method of file exchange / collaboration between supported devices and platforms.
We will be able to use the tool QNAP NetBak Replicator, which supports Apple and Windows machines, or to cloud backup. But this is still a product dedicated to Home entertainment, for this reason you will also have the Plex Media Server app to transmit multimedia files from the NAS to mobile devices, and which will allow you to easily transmit music, videos and photos on Android. TV, Apple TV (via Qmedia), Amazon Fire TV and set-top box. As for reproduction, you can also have the 4K video transcoding in real time, in the supported H.264 format.
In its use you will discover the service myQNAPcloud, to easily access, manage and share NAS files over the Internet, HBS, it will be possible to backup or synchronize NAS files, all accompanied by the system that works as a secure private cloud, thanks to the IP blocking and two-step verification with encryption. H.264 hardware decoding and transcoding in real time, and, the photo management system. QuMagie will allow us to take advantage of face recognition, object identification and geographic tagging of photos in the NAS. In fact, similar photos will be classified in the AI Albums.
Without forgetting to Monitoring Station. One professional application, which has an interface – just like the rest of the system on the other hand – that is easy to use, and that supports over 3,000 compatible IP cameras. Thus allowing to create a complete 360-degree surveillance system, with the possibility of archiving audio and video material for real-time monitoring, with recording and playback of video and audio.
Conclusions and price
With 2 year free warranty like the vast majority of products on the market, However, it can be extended with a 5-year coverage, the QNAP TS-231K we find it available for purchase at a price that varies between 190 and 210 Euros (NAS only), at the time of writing this article. A balanced price for what it offers, but above all for a reliable product that is suitable for both private individuals and small and medium-sized businesses. Strong point, its highly complete system, directly included, and above all full of professional applications.
That’s all for the QNAP TS-231K review, if you want to continue to know the latest news from the hardware world, keep following us. Greetings from TechGameWorld.com.
Absolutely recommended
Points in favor
- Value for money
- Design
- Materials
- File management system