David Hanak Starting with this article, we start a new round of reviews and articles about NAS servers from QNAP. We received the QNAP TS-251B in the editorial office, which should be an ideal device for household or small business needs. In the following lines, we will look at the new NAS in detail and in the following weeks we will discuss some of its key features and functions.
The QNAP TS-251B is – as the name suggests – a network storage for two disk drives. Thus, we can equip the NAS with two 2,5″ or 3,5″ drives. The operation of the unit is handled by an integrated Intel Celeron J3355 dual-core processor with a base frequency of 2 GHz and a Turbo Boost function, which pushes the working frequency of the cores up to 2,5 GHz, and with integrated Intel HD 500 graphics. Furthermore, the NAS is equipped with either 2 or 4 GB operating memory. In our case, we have a 2GB variant available, but the operating memory is of the classic SO-DIMM type and can thus be expanded up to a capacity of 8 GB (2×4). In our case, one LPDDR3 2GB module from the manufacturer A-Data with a working frequency of 1866 MHz was pre-installed in the NAS.
As for other specifications, the disk drives operate within the SATA III standard (6 Gb/s) and both slots support the SSD Cache function. In the case of connectivity, there is a gigabit LAN port, two USB 3.0 ports, three USB 2.0 ports, one front-located USB 3.0 type A port for fast data copying from flash drives, HDMI 1.4 (with support up to 4K/30), one audio output for a speaker, two microphone inputs and one 3,5 mm Audio line-out. The NAS also has an infrared receiver for remote control. However, it is not included in the package in this case. One 70 mm fan takes care of cooling the device.
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The hardware equipment of the NAS can be expanded with the help of one PCI-E 2.0 2x slot, which fits QM-type expansion cards, which can be used to add additional functions and capabilities to compatible NAS. Additional flash storage, expanding 10 Gb network cards, wireless network cards, USB cards and much more can be connected via the PCI-E connector. In the next article, we will discuss how such an expansion module is connected.
Installing disks in a NAS is very easy. In this case, there is again the front disc loading system after removing the cover panel. Fast screwless mounting is available for 3,5″ drives. In case of installation of 2,5″ SSD/HDD disks, it is necessary to attach them to the frames using classic disk screws. After installing the disks, the rest of the process is very easy, after connecting to the network and connecting the NAS to the Internet, it is ready to use. At this moment, the accelerated NAS setup and initialization procedure comes into play.
