TerraMaster F5-422 5-Bay 10Gbit NAS Review

TerraMaster F5-422 5-Bay 10Gbit NAS Review This is a great time to be a storage and network enthusiast. We're continuously seeing improved performance and capacity from our storage drives and we've also entered the time where 10GbE networking has become affordable. Among these new devices is the TerraMaster F5-422 which is a 5-bay NAS with built-in 10GbE network. TerraMaster F5-422 SMB NAS Whether you want to create backups in no time, work on the same files, web sites, or databases with a large number of people at the same time, or you're a creative professional working on large projects, the TerraMaster F5-422 will be a great choice. The NAS comes with an Intel Celeron J3455 quad-core processor and 4GB memory out of the box. The CPU supports both hardware encryption and transcoding engine which help improve the performance and thereby your workflow. Thanks to the 10GbE connection, you're also able to access your files in no time. The 5-bay design is somewhat unusual when you compare it to other brand's devices, but it's actually quite the clever setup. Now, naturally there are a lot of different ways to set up your drives, but here is what I like about it. The 5-bay design allows you to have an installed hot-spare drive if the worst-case scenario should happen. With a 4-bay you're short a bay for some type of RAID setups while a 6-bay has a bay too much which you still pay for. With a 5-bay, you get only what you need for the best possible data security. As someone who works with storage daily, I've learned to hope for the best, but plan for the worst. Connection Options The connection options are relatively simple on the F5-422. That said, you get everything you need and a little bit more. To begin with, there are two USB 3.0 ports for external storage devices and two Gigabit Ethernet ports for basic networking. Naturally, you can bind and bond the two network ports should you wish to do so. But it doesn't stop there, as I gave away earlier in the article. There's also the 10 Gigabit Ethernet port for the best networking connection possible for SMB setups. I don't expect 40Gbps or 100Gbps setups in those kinds of places. There is one more connection option on the F5-422 which is the HDMI port. At this point, it's sadly only for console output. However, I'm still one of them hoping for an update which will allow users to have direct media and usage output via the HDMI port. It is possible, but whether it'll ever arrive is as much your guess as mine. Functions and Features TerraMaster NAS' have a lot of great features and functions, starting with the Btrfs file system. Not only is the file system built to promote high data integrity, it also offers 512 snapshots for every shared folder and up to 8192 in total. Since data recovery takes place at the file or folder level, businesses can also benefit from enhanced flexibility and efficiency if the worst case should happen. The whole operating system as such is great. TerraMaster continues to evolve it and they've just released the newest version, version 4.1, with a lot of improvements. A continued commitment to their products is a plus on any day as what you pay for once continues to get better. The base system covers the basic needs while more functionality can be added through apps. Some of the features include easy remote access through their own and free DDNS service. With it, you can easily turn your NAS into your own personal cloud system. That's also further aided by the available mobile apps for Android and iOS. The system has support for up to concurrent 500 users accessing the system which is nice too. So whether you want to just run a file server or go further and use it as a web server, mail server, FTP server, database server, or other stuff - it can handle it. Feature Highlights Intel Quad-core processorUpgradable memory5-bay designBtrfs file systemAluminium shell enclosure10 Gigabit Ethernet built-in What Does TerraMaster Have To Say? "The TerraMaster F5-422features a powerful hardware configuration to bring excellent performance where it matters; for professionals and SME applications looking to maximize shared storage. Thanks to the introduction of the 10GbE LAN, the TerraMaster F5-422 can deliver data faster. Backed by TerraMaster’s latest TOS operating system, the F5-422 delivers an excellent feature set to any use." If you would like to know more, we suggest you check out the official product page which can be found by clicking here. The Packaging TerraMaster packs their devices in a beautiful but simple blue box. The only identifying feature on most sides is the large TerraMaster logo in white. On one of the sides, there's also a sticker which has the details on the included device inside. This is an early sample so it doesn't have the full label with the 10GbE note on it - but the one you'll be getting in retail will have so. The note has the serial number and all the vital information such as the model number and connection features. The NAS is packed well inside, making sure it arrives in perfect condition at your place. All the accessories are packed by themselves in a box next to the NAS. Included Accessories You get a great accessories package when you purchase a TerraMaster NAS. There are plenty of screws to install either 2.5" and 3.5" drives. In fact, there are more than you need so you aren't screwed if you should lose a few. There's also a screwdriver included which allows you to set it up without having any of your own tools at hand. Naturally, there's also an RJ45 cable, a quick start guide, and a warranty note. That isn't all yet, there are stickers which allow you to label your drive bays and replacement rubber feet for the NAS too. A NAS isn't worth much without power which is why there's a power supply and cables for your region included too. Specifications The specifications are taken directly from the manufacturer's home page. You can find it here where there also might be more information. A Closer Look at the Device It is time for us to take a closer look at the device itself. TerraMaster keeps their units quite simple, so we'll get through this page quickly. Front-Facing Features The front cover itself is made of plastic, and so are the drive trays. Instead of opting to just look pretty on the front, TerraMaster used the expensive aluminium where it matters. The only metal part on the front is the area around the LEDs and the power button. Speaking of the LEDs and power button, here we have them in a closer view. I quite like the pinhole LEDs which give the device a premium look. There's an LED for each drive and a combined for the networking ports. The power state is indicated with its own LED too. Rear-Facing Features The most prominent feature on the rear side is an extension with the two 80mm fans. Next to the two are all the connection ports. At the top, we have the HDMI port which currently only works for status output, followed by the two USB 3.0 ports. Below them, we find two RJ45 Gigabit and one 10 Gigabit LAN ports. Bottom View The next couple of sides aren't the most interesting, yet we'll still have a look at them. Let us start with the bottom which is filled with intake air vents and a rubber foot in each corner. The feet will catch the vibrations caused by mechanical drives very well. In the middle, you'll also find a product sticker. Side View The side shows the surrounding aluminium shell well. the company logo is also printed on both sides. Top View The top doesn't have any features as such and just shows us the aluminium shell. The Power Supply The power supply is able to deliver a bit more power than we've seen lately, but that's only normal considering it has to supply a 5-bay unit. The 12V and 7.5A make up a possible power delivery of 90W. Drive Trays As I mentioned earlier, the drive trays are made of plastic, but that's not a bad thing. One thing I do miss in them though, is a simple spring mechanism for the release latch. It would give the trays a more premium feel. That said, they work as they should and allow you to mount both 3.5" and 2.5"-type drives. Locate and Install your New NAS There are several ways to get started with your new TerraMaster NAS, but the easiest is by far with the TNAS companion application. It will quickly find all TerraMaster NAS on your network and allow you to connect and set them up. If your NAS shouldn't be found, try and move the network cable to one of the Gigabit ports. At the time this review is published and you're reading it, a small issue might be fixed and no issue any more. But at this time, the NAS requires an update for the 10GbE port to work. But to apply this update, you'll need to set it up first. Hence, the need to start out with one of the Gigabit ports. Then once you're done with the configuration and have updated the OS, you can simply move the cable to the 10GbE port and that's it. Initialization of the F5-422 The setup and initialization of your new NAS is both quick and easy. It doesn't require many steps and you'll soon be able to enjoy all its benefits. After a short welcome message, you'll get to chose which of the installed drives you'll want to use. Naturally, this can be changed later should you change your mind. After the drive check, the NAS will need to install the OS. You can either have it download it from the internet or supply the file manually. After the selection, the OS will be installed. And that's already almost the end of the initialisation. There's only one thing more to do and that is to set the administrator password and a security email address. And that's it. Now that wasn't hard, was it? Login and Welcome With the basics configured and ready, the OS will take us to the login screen. You can now log in with the admin account you just created. And this is how it will look when you enter the user interface for the first time. Besides the normal view, you're greeted by a small help guide which can help with how to get started or with information about TOS in general. TOS stands for TerraMaster Operating System, just in case you wonder. Desktop With the help guide closed, we get a better look at the OS. The bar to the right is a floating information bar which can be closed and opened as needed. It is the quickest way to get a complete view of your NAS without going through all the settings and apps. At the top, you have the taskbar where all the open apps will be listed. The desktop works more like you're used to from such systems now as the apps will open with a single click in this the newest version. Notifications and user features are found at the far right side of the taskbar. Test Methodology Most of the test system hardware for NAS testing isn't an important factor when it comes to benchmarks, most of it comes down to the network infrastructure and drives. I am using 10 GBASE equipment which means that I should max out any Gigabit Ethernet connections with ease and I got a second port to aggregate with, in case one isn't enough. The benchmarks will be performed with Seagate IronWolf 10TB NAS drives and through a 10GBASE managed switch which should give us some great benchmark results. Test system: Supermicro C7Z97-OCE Intel Xeon E3-1230L v3Exceleram EP3001A 2GB PC3-10666OCZ VX500 512GB SSDSapphire R7 240 2GBbe quiet! Dark Power Pro 11 850WNoctua NH-D15SWindows 10 Pro Drives and Volumes Kingston DC400 480GB SSDMyDigitalSSD BPX Pro 1TB in MyDigitalSSD M2X Enclosure The NAS is filled with HDDs and all available drive modes will be tested. Which are available will depend on the tested model. However, all available modes will be tried and benchmarked. That includes RAID 0/1/5/6/10, JBOD, and single drive setups, but also SHR1 and SHR2 where available. I will also test different file systems such as EXT4, ZFS, and Btrfs as well as folder and volume encryption whenever they're available. We use the best benchmark result from each test, and each benchmark is run five times five times. In the event of large differences, multiple charts will be created to show the different performance results. Network Setup The NAS connects through a D-Link DXS-1210-12TC managed 10GBase switch which connects to the rest of our network. All client systems use 10GbE adapters of varying origin, but the main NAS and network test system has a D-Link DXE-820T dual 10GbE network interface card. D-Link DXS-1210-12TC SwitchD-Link DXE-820T NIC Software With a device of this sort having so many different applications, Intel's NASPT software covers all the bases and also gives us a set of results that we will be able to utilise and compare those against other similar systems. Intel NASPT (Network Attached Storage Performance Toolkit) performs its test by transferring varying sizes and quantities of data to and from the device based on twelve different scenarios. Intel's NASPT software does require us to drop the memory down to 2GB, as using any more would lead to data caching and skew the results. But it's a great and free app, allowing you to run your own comparisons. Single Video Playback This test reads a single 2GB file from the device. The file is read sequentially in 256 kb blocks. That simulates a 720p HD video streamed over the network. Dual Video Playback This is the same test as before, only this time there are two HD Video Playbacks at the same time. This simulates streaming to two different media players at once. Quadruple Video Playback In the same way that the 2x Video Playback streams to the equivalent of two external media players at the same time, the test here doubles up on that to a four-player simulation. Video Recording The HD Video Record test is, as the name suggests, a test where we write to the NAS box. It writes a single 2 GB file in 256 kB blocks sequentially to the device. Combined Video Playback and Recording The HD playback and record test performs the same single record and playback tests as before, but simultaneously. This test is a good way t show how the system performs with quick changes between reading and writing two large blocks of data across the network to the device. Content Creation The content creation test simulates access to the NAS from a video creation app. The test reads and writes 98 files in varying block sizes. It performs 12 MB reads and 14 MB writes. The activity is largely non-sequential and the majority of access time is made up of writing to the drives. There are quiet periods of activity interrupted by busy periods to present the drives with a bigger workload. Office Productivity The office productivity simulation is very similar to the content creation tests. The test writes and reads 607 files to and from the drive, making up a total of 1.4GB data. The majority of write access is made up of 1 kb writes. Photo Album You NAS will only load the images currently shown on the screen and then continue to load more as you scroll and they become visible. This test is meant to show how fast the NAS can fetch the new images. The photo album used contains 169 photos with varying file size to simulate dimension, quality, and detail differences. It sounds like a simple task, but it puts an unusual read load on your drives. It reads Metadata, constructs a thumbnail, and shows the image. File Copy to the NAS This test quite simply puts a copy of a single large file from the test system onto the NAS. The single write has a 1.4 GB file size in 64 kb blocks. File Copy from the NAS File Copy from NAS works in the same way as the previous test, just in the opposite direction. The single read has a 1.4 GB file size in 64 kb blocks. Directory Copy to the NAS The Directory Copy test copies an entire directory of complex files to the NAS. The file sizes vary a lot with an average size of 41.4kb. The test is made up of 2833 files that take up 247MB. This represents the content of a typical commercially available office suite. Due to the varying sizes of the files, only around 50% of the writes are sequential. Directory Copy from the NAS In the same way that the File Copy from NAS traces the same file back across to the test system, the directory copy from NAS does the same but to the entire directory that it copied across previously. Average Test Throughput This page shows the average throughput from each of the previous 12 tests in one, and it can serve as an easy comparison between products. Pricing At the time of this review, the TerraMaster F5-422 can be yours for as little as £519.99 or $599.99 via Amazon. Final Thoughts This is quite the awesome device, the TerraMaster F5-422. The NAS delivers solid performance thanks to great hardware. The system is built around an Intel CPU and the memory is upgradeable. That's a good start on any day. The whole thing is wrapped in a well recognisable enclosure when you are familiar with TerraMaster NAS'. The aluminium shell and pinhole LEDs give the device a premium look which matches the performance. The single 10GbE connection allows for extra performance, especially when many people access files at the same time. On top of that, there are two 1GbE ports which can be used as backup or for another subnet if that's needed. The CPU supports hardware encryption for stored files as well as 4K video transcoding for media files which is a bonus for both professional and home users. RAID is great, especially with the extra spare drive you can set up with a 5-bay NAS. However, it doesn't prevent human errors and indecisions. That's where the Btrfs file system comes in handy with its snapshots technology. Together with hardware encryption and automated backups, you get a very solid data safety which covers almost any situation which can arise. Another great bonus is that TerraMaster keeps evolving the OS and there's just been another large update. It's a big bonus to have a device from a brand which is committed to their products. Pros Intel Quad-Core ProcessorUpgradable memory10Gigabit Ethernet built-inBtrfs file system Cons HDMI port is status only TerraMaster F5-422 5-Bay 10Gbit NAS Review "The F5-422 from TerraMaster will be a great companion in any office or home. It offers great hardware and connection abilities, coupled with a nice operating system" Thank You, TerraMaster, for providing us with this sample.