QNAP Announced Affordable AMD Powered 10GbE-Ready 5-Bay SMB NAS

I have long been a supporter of AMD processors in the NAS segment and built numerous systems on such a base myself. I am not the only one that thinks there is potential here as QNAP continues to strengthen their AMD portfolio with a new 5-bay Turbo-NAS based on AMD’s G-Series processors.

The new QNAP TS-563 comes equipped with a 2GHz SoC processor, 2GB or 8GB RAM depending on model and support for up to 16GB, AES-NI hardware-encryption, SSD cache, AMD-V virtualization, and it is also 10Gb Ethernet ready thanks to a low profile PCIe slot.

“The TS-563 is our most affordable 10GbE-ready quad-core NAS with hardware-accelerated encryption and virtual machine support. It is a fast and scalable NAS solution designed for optimizing business applications and satisfying quickly-growing data storage needs while providing 10GbE readiness for budget-conscious organizations and professionals,” said Jason Hsu, product manager of QNAP.

Besides the five drive bays, the TS-563 has five USB 3.0 and two gigabit ethernet port. The USB ports can be used for printers, pen drives, external enclosures, UPS, and much more. The two gigabit ethernet ports can be expanded thanks to the PCIe Gen2 x4 slot with two more GbE or two 10GbE ports. The system itself resides on a 512MB Flash module.

With the support for AMD-V technology, the TS-563 can operate multiple Windows, Linux, UNIX and Android-based virtual machines. The Virtualization Station offers numerous functions including snapshots, VM import/export, user permissions, and more.

Businesses can rest assured that the usual SMB features are present. The units support VMware, Citrix, and Microsoft virtualization solutions just as well as cross-platform sharing, Windows AD, LDAP, ACL, domain controller, RTRR, Rsync, and cloud storage.

An extra and nice touch is the Surveillance Station that comes with 4 IP camera channels included and support for up to 40. Use your NAS to keep an eye on your property too. The TS-563 also supports the5-bay and 8-bay QNAP expansion enclosures to expand your storage needs beyond the built-in drive bays.

The new TS-563 Turbo NAS will be available in a couple of weeks. There is no word on pricing yet, but since QNAP started out by labeling it as a unit that brings premium business features at a competitive price, we can assume that it will come with a wallet-friendly price.