QNAP released two three new NAS devices in two series, all aimed at the SMB and SOHO users wishing for a powerful yet affordable system. The TS-x31P2 launches as a 2-bay and 4-bay model while the TS-431X2 only comes in a 4-bay version. Both series support Snapshots, allowing users to easily restore the NAS to a previous state in the event of an unexpected NAS failure or when struck by a ransomware attack (The Snapshots feature will be available from QTS 4.3.4). The TS-431X2 also features a 10GbE SFP+ port for empowering containerised applications by using 10GbE networks.
Common Aspects of the New Devices
There are several things that all these new devices have in common, starting with the CPU. Inside is a quad-core AnnapurnaLabs Alpine AL-314 processor which has a speed of 1.7 GHz processor. The processor is a lot cheaper when compared to an Intel processor, but it still delivers a great performance.
The drive bays are all hot-swappable and support both 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch HDDs and SSDs. There are three USB 3.0 ports for external devices and two RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet ports.
QNAP TS-431X2 vs TS-x31P2
The main feature setting the TS-431X2 NAS apart from the TS-x31P2 series is the addition of a 10GbE SFP+ port. Such a connection allows for much better connections when transferring large files or collaborating or huge projects with a lot of people.
The network options aren’t the only difference. There’s more memory in the TS-431X2 which comes pre-equipped with either 2GB or 8GB DDR3 RAM. The TS-x31P2 series is available with 1GB or 4GB memory.
“The quad-core processor on the TS-x31P2 and TS-431X2 allows users to experience a high level of performance and in turn enables performance-demanding functionality such as Snapshots to provide higher protection for NAS data. The ability to upgrade the RAM to 8GB RAM also provides users with the ability to futureproof their NAS for using extra containers and more productivity-boosting NAS apps,” said Dan Lin, Product Manager of QNAP.
You can check out the full details of the new units via the official product pages.
