ASUSTOR AS5102T 2-Bay Enthusiast NAS Review

Final Thoughts

Pricing

This isn’t the cheapest unit on the market, especially considering that it’s only a 2-bay unit. But the price is justified on the ASUSTOR AS5102T as it comes with plenty of performance and features. You can, for example, find it at Amazon for $408.00 in the US, at Overclockers UK for £329.99, or Amazon DE for €397.75.

Overview

The AS5102T 2-bay NAS was the first one I had the pleasure to test from ASUSTOR, and what a pleasure it was. The AS5102T is a premium unit from build quality to features. The solid metal and aluminium chassis doesn’t just look great while providing a sturdy structure for the system, it also helps with the heat dissipation and thus it can do with a small and slower spinning fan than many other devices.

The ASUSTOR Portal is amazing in combination with the HDMI and support for both keyboard and mouse, but also IR remote controls and smart apps. You have every piece of the system at your control no matter where you are, from initialization to watching your favourite movie directly on your TV. DLNA and AirPlay are also supported for streaming to devices further away than the length of an HDMI cable.

The performance was great in all the benchmarks, and the AS5102T did great on all tests. The web interface and smart apps alike are equally fast and responsive, which is great to see. The upgradeable memory is another bonus and I’m loving the amount of connections. With three USB 3.0, two USB 2.0, and two eSATA ports you can attach all the extra storage and devices you want. The two LAN ports allow for fail-over and redundancy just as well as load balancing. Everything you want from an NAS.

I was thoroughly impressed by ASUSTOR’s operating system, ADM. I found it very intuitive to use and it was easy to find every single function I was looking for. The amount of apps available to install is great and there won’t be many wishes left open. You’ll find anything from media servers over CMS systems to email server and browsers.

A somewhat minor feature is the ability to control both what LEDs are turned on, but also how bright they shine. This is wonderful when the NAS is located in the field of view or bedroom where you don’t want any unnecessary light. Packed with single share 256-bit encryption abilities, SMB 2.0, Windows AD and ACL support just as well as being Citrix ready. The AS5102T has it all, whether you’re a hardcore and enthusiast home user like me or you run a business. The AS5102T won’t let you down.

Pros:

• Great performance
• Solid quality
• Steel and Aluminium structure instead of plastic
• Impressive feature set
• Dual LAN, USB 3.0, and eSATA

Cons:

• Price might be too much for some

“ASUSTOR didn’t just convince me with great performance from the AS5102T, but also with features and build quality. This is an amazing unit well worth considering. I’d buy it.”

Thanks to ASUSTOR for providing us with this review sample.