We Got Served

Using the TS-219P

Before checking out the capabilities of the TS-219P, I do have to demonstrate one feature.  As in, being a Networked Attached Storage device, one would expect it to show up as one.  Right?

Enough said on that subject!

Moving on to the hardware specs, I am sure most Intel/Microsoft users will look at them and feel, well…  underwhelmed.  Makes those little Atom CPU’s look like speed demons! 

For the environmentally conscious, here are some power usage data from the TS-219P datasheet:

TS-219P (Sleep mode): 5W
TS-219P (In operation): 21W
PC server: 350W

Basically, from my perspective and it seems to mirror the minds of many WHS users, power usage is just as important (if not more so) than raw horsepower.  As long as the device can perform the functions it was designed to do, than who needs an Intel i7 quad core?  “Simple” servers, for the most part do not require massive amounts of CPU capacity.  More memory is always good to have, but perhaps not necessary.  Unless you have 2 or 3 virtual OS’s running, are transcoding, etc., 512MB’s of memory should be adequate for a Linux-based OS.

The question of “Where is the performance data” may come up, but is rather irrelevant.  This is a server, not a gaming machine.

Getting back to the “Using the TS-219P”, I must preface this subtitle.  There are so many things you can do with the QNAP NAS from an application perspective.  Whereas Microsoft has a tendency to provide a base Operating System and let the user decide what to add on after that, QNAP seems to provide a complete solution.  If you don’t believe me, just go back through that software spec listing again.

This may a trait of Linux installations, in general, or perhaps the QNAP variation of Linux.  I will not pretend to be a Linux expert, but from what I see in the software spec listing, QNAP is providing a very complete feature list.  For this review, I can only touch on a small aspect of the capabilities of this machine.  In the words of Willie Wonka:

So much time, and so little to do.

Software Features

When you first open the QNAP web-based UI, you are presented with the following webpage.  The webpage associated with each option is to the right.

As you scroll through the various options, you will find the following options and associated webpage.

At the time I took the above Print Screen, the preceding folders did not contain anything, so there is nothing to see below the top-level folders.

The various support options:

It is quite refreshing to see the various support links and support options so prominent, easy to find and make use of.

You can also access each option page from the pull-down menu at the top right

and if you prefer another language other than English, click and change.

Going back to the Administration page

this is where one accesses the software features associated with the TS-219P.  You will notice several wizards to the right, as well as direct access to the support options mentioned earlier.  Expanding the folders on the left will provide you access to the following options:

To give you an idea of what each folder item does, I will go down the list, a rather extensive list.

Under System Administration:

General Settings and Network

Hardware and Security

Notification and Power Management

Network Recycle Bin and  Backup System Settings

System Logs and Firmware Update

System Rest

Under Disk Management:

Volume Management and RAID Management.  Please note that the unit as shipped came in a RAID 1 configuration.

HDD SMART and iSCSI

Virtual Disk

Under Access Right Management:

Users and User Groups

Share Folders and Quota

 Network Services:

Microsoft Networking and Apple Networking

NFS Service and FRP Service

Telenet/SSH and SNMP Settings

Web Server and Network Service Discovery

Applications:

Web File Manager and Multimedia Station

Download Station and Surveillance Station

iTunes Service and UPnP Media Server

MySQL Server and QPKG Plugins

Backup:

External Drive and USB One Touch Copy

Remote Replication

External Device:

External Storage Device and USB Printer

UPS Settings

System Status:

System Information and System Service

Resource Monitor

Most of the preceding webpages I am not going to revisit.  Some are simply information (System Status pages) or self-evident as to how to configure.  In some cases, there is nothing for me or nothing that I can do, for example most of the Network Services.  And since I do not have an “extra” website to configure for the fun of it, I will let you buy a TS-219P and do it! 

« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next »