QNAP TS-259 Pro Review
Welcome to the first ever ExpertsInStorage.com & StorageReviews.co.uk combined review. We picked a QNAP TS-259 Pro as our first product to review, as its the first ever VMware certified 2 bay NAS iSCSI solution, aimed at the enterprise business class customer. It’s a premium iSCSI NAS Solution with a premium price tag.. the question is, can the high cost be justified and does it meet with the high expectations?
Date Of Review : 25th January 2010
Manufactured By : QNAP [http://www.QNAP.com]
Price As Supplied : £374.95 + VAT Diskless
Supplied By : ExpertsInStorage.com [http://www.ExpertsInStorage.com]
Firmware Version As Tested : 3.2.0 Build 1221T
QNAP really have raised the bar when it comes to the release of their new range of business and enterprise class iSCSI NAS solutions. They advertise the new TS X59 Pro range as the VMware ready, supporting both 2.5″ and 3.5″ SATA HD drive formats, and also includes an Intel® Atom™ Processor D510 1.66GHz (Dual-Core) fitted with 1GB DDRII RAM. Certainly the hardware specification is very impressive for a 2 bay device. Combine that with the fact that QNAP have made a name for themselves with some very slick built in software and firmware features and we should be looking at a winning combination.
QNAP have now also produced a MAC Friendly presentation, available for download on YouTube..
We think video presentations like this that QNAP make the effort to make all further enhance QNAP products and support. For all you MAC users take a look at the video, it shows exactly what you can do on a MAC.
Now back to the QNAP TS-259 Pro hardware. It’s a two bay device that accommodates two 2.5″ or two 3.5″ SATA hard drives, currently with a maximum storage capacity of 4TB. It supports RAID the default setting is RAID 1, thus all data on drive 1 is automatically mirrored onto drive 2, protecting your data. The device uses the same disk caddy mechanism for both 2.5″ and 3.5″ drive types, the difference being the placement of the drive screw locations on the caddy. For the purpose of the review we used 2 x Seagate 500GB ES hard drives in a mirrored RAID 1 configuration. Installation of the hard drives is quick and easy, as they have a hot swap design, so easily accessible. The rear of the unit does not disappoint when it comes to expansion possibilities, with 4 x USB ports plus 2 x eSATA connections, not forgetting the dual gigabit ethernet connections.
QNAP have revamped their user interface as well, with the introduction of version 3 firmware. To give you an idea of exactly how many options there are on the QNAP TS-259 Pro solution take a look at the following YouTube video presentation we have created.
You can download a high quality MP4 format video directly from here.
If you watch the video presentation of the administration interface you will instantly see that the QNAP TS-259 Pro is not a unit that is lacking in features, if anything given the vast number of settings now located within the unit, it could be suggested that the unit could do with a two menu system, a simple setup menu together with an expanded expert for those that really need to be able to control everything. We are used to the QNAP menu system having worked through every single evolution of it, however even we would have to admit that the vast number of options now selectable can confuse the novice user, with even the experienced NAS user looking for the manual.
Even given the vast user selectable options that the firmware provides, QNAP did not stop there. They have allowed an ever growing community of “QNAP Modders” to flourish and these users have helped expand even further the number of applications that can be added via the QPKG interface. The most popular QPKG is SSOTS, a package that allows the unit to be utilised with the Logitech Squeezebox. Installation of these additional packages is quick and easy. How easy, well we created a YouTube video to show you.
You can download a high quality MP4 format video directly from here.
QNAP have not been slow to ensure that their products are also compatible with VMware. QNAP have produced the following guides on VMware integration which you may find helpful.
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How to use QNAP NAS as a VMWare datastore using NFS  |
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How to use QNAP NAS as a VMWare datastore using iSCSI |
Quite simply the QNAP TS-259 Pro NAS has just so many features we could go on & on. Lets just say its so feature packed you will probably never utilize everything this unit can do. We haven’t mentioned the fact that it can also act as a surveillance centre, supporting two IP cameras. Is there anything this box can’t do?
Now on to its performance figures.
First we tested it with Atto Disk Benchmark as a pure NAS device under Windows Vista, with a simple shared drive configured.
Our NAS test results showed ;
Minimum Write Throughput : 3.7 MB/s
Maximimum Write Throughput : 98.2 MB/s
Average Write Throughput : 63.2 MB/s
Minimum Read Throughput : 3.7 MB/s
Maximum Read Throughput : 115.4 MB/s
Average Read Throughput : 79.4 MB/s
So with an average Write transfer of 63.2 MB/s and average Read transfer of 79.4 MB/s it certainly is not a slow coach. The performance figures were as we had hoped, given after all QNAP were aiming this product directly at the Business / Enterprise class marketplace. It confirmed that it had the horse power to make best use of the numerous features that it possessed.
Next we tested the iSCSI performance.
Our iSCSI test results showed ;
Minimum Write Throughput : 1.9 MB/s
Maximimum Write Throughput : 80.2 MB/s
Average Write Throughput : 53.0 MB/s
Minimum Read Throughput : 3.6 MB/s
Maximum Read Throughput : 118.8 MB/s
Average Read Throughput : 76.0 MB/s
The iSCSI performance figures were also very good, with an average Write transfer of 53.0 MB/s and average Read transfer of 76.0 MB/s if you need a 2 bay unit that can handle iSCSI data transfers quickly then the QNAP TS-259 Pro certainly passes that test.
StorageReviews.co.uk / ExpertsInStorage.com Conclusion
The old adage that you get what you pay for is certainly true when it comes to the QNAP TS-259 Pro. Sure its not the cheapest NAS, however anything this good never is. If you are looking for a unit that literally can do everything, then a QNAP solution is well worth looking at.
From the very slick QNAP interface to the numerous applications and features. QNAP really are the market leaders when it comes to NAS / iSCSI solutions. Other manufacturers always seem to be playing catch up with QNAP. QNAP develop new features, others follow, we think that will be the case with the TS-259 Pro.
QNAP have developed a unique product in the marketplace, a high performance enterprise class 2 bay NAS / iSCSI solution that lives up to all expectations. If you need this sort of capacity matched by both features and performance the QNAP TS-259 Pro is your solution.
The StorageReviews.co.uk & ExpertsInStorage.com Team Award The QNAP TS-259 Pro A Score Of 9.
