QNAP TS-251 High-Performance 2-Bay Prosumer NAS Review

QvPC – A NAS with PC features and VM

The QvPC technology is probably the best solution for NAS servers since their original creation. Modern NAS devices have more than enough power to do so much more than just serving files and with the addition of an HDMI port, you can use this QNAP TS-251 in more ways. You ran use it directly for HTPC functions and even install full operating systems in virtual environments.

To get started with this, you’ll need to install the HybridDesk Station. We did this during the initial setup, but I’ve removed it again to show the installation here. The HybridDesk Station is the base for your HDMI out and is required. There are a few default functions that you can’t unselect, but most are optional. As with all QNAP apps, you  can remove, add, and modify these choices at any time.

The installation will take some time depending on how much you have selected. If you selected all then you can easily go and make a cup of coffee as it will take a while.

Once the setup is done, it will look like the screenshot below. All the selected apps are installed and ready. You can disable and remove individual apps at wish.

Once you have the HybridDesk Station installed, you open the door to all sorts of fun directly on your NAS. But first you’ll need to login. If you haven’t already, connect a keyboard, mouse, and monitor to your NAS.

You can browse the web with Firefox or Chrome, configure your NAS directly from the NAS itself with the same interface that you’re used to from your browser, use XMBC and KODI for your playback needs. KODI in itself also features DLNA support and easily lets you stream from other devices directly on the NAS. You can even game directly on the NAS with a few included games.

Virtualization Station

The second thing that QvPC brings along next to the HTPC usage is the virtualization station that allows you to install and run pretty much any operating system in a virtual environment. But we need to install and set the whole thing up before we can get started with the actual operating system.

When the Virtualization Station is launched, it will check for the minimum requirements that are QTS 4.1.0 or higher, Intel VT-x technology, and at least 2GB RAM. The setup in itself is only two-step and a confirmation. Select the shared folder the VM has to run from and what network interface it shall use.

The network usage is the only downside to this function as it requires a dedicated LAN port. This prevents us from running our normal NAS operation with link aggregation. A lot of people won’t be able to fully utilize that speed anyway, so it isn’t a big deal. We also find a new feature over last time that we saw the Virtualization Station and that is the virtual switch for virtual networking. An awesome feature when you run multiple VMs.

The Virtualization Dashboard is as easy to use as any previous feature. You get a quick view of what’s going on and there is no doubt which menu point to click next.

To test the feature, I will create a VM for Windows and install my Windows 7 Ultimate operating system. I got an ISO file of this already, so it’s the obvious choice. It is also one of the most likely choices among users. Got an old spare license? Why not use it!

I picked the preconfigured large setup as it suits what I want very well. 2GB memory, 2 CPU cores, and 80GB HDD should be enough to run Windows 7.

Now that the VM is created, I just need to start it. It will power on and automatically start the installation.

Installing Windows 7

Using the web interface to connect is a very convenient method, but not the smoothest ride. Anyone that ever worked with remote connections will know how it feels. It’s still a good experience and easy enough if you don’t need pixel accuracy in controls.

The installation runs just like you’re used to on any normal installation and once it is done, it will launch your fresh Windows VM installation for the first time configuration.

Now that it’s all done, you can install and launch apps, run updates, browse the web, play media files – the choice is yours.