Best 10Gbe NAS of the Year

Choosing the Best 10Gbe NAS Drive of 2020

The popularity and affordability of 10Gbe in 2020 cannot be understated. Over the last few years we have seen this considerably faster network architecture rise in affordability thanks to a number of key manufacturers and technological genius’ making it much lower in price for network hardware brands to develop. Thanks to companies like Aquantia and their great development of 10G network controllers, we have seen a huge jump in the number of low price 10Gbe NAS solutions available to both home and business users. The advantages of 10Gbe to both these kinds of users is pretty clear, with 10 times the typical network speed available than the default 1Gbe in most typical network environments, it allows up to 10 times the productivity, 10 times the time-saving and also allows enormous amounts of data to travel quicker than most home users thought they could enjoy on a budget. All of the current brands have produced some great 10Gbe NAS storage devices in 2020 and today I want to talk about the best 10-gigabit ethernet NAS servers to buy right now, based on your budget, your network environment and which users will benefit the most from. Each of these top 3 NAS has been selected based on their affordability, their speed or their power. So let’s see the best 3 10Gbe NAS of 2020/2021.

Best 10Gbe NAS – What Qualifies?

Even in a network subject as niche as 10G, there are still many, MANY solutions available to buy in the NAS industry, so narrowing down to just THREE is not easy. So, in order to ensure only the best solutions are considered, the first thing we need to do it decide what qualifies as a ‘good 10G NAS solution. So, in order to qualify, they need to be:

• The NAS server needs to have been released before October 31st 2020, so it has been officially available to buy and review
• Although the solution does not need to have been released this year (i.e. 2018/2019) it HAS TO have been available to buy in 2020
• Only Desktop/Tower systems are being considered, Rackmount servers are generally harder to compare and are more tailored to industry
• Each solution must be a combined Hardware+Software solution
• Must have at least 2 years manufacturers warranty
• Hardware Architecture must be able to provide 1000MB/s through a single connection if the device is populated with Hard Drives (not relying on SSD or SSD caching to hit 10Gbe)
• NAS System MUST have 10Gbe AND 1Gbe (at least) to allow end-users to allocate bandwidth appropriately
• NAS Solutions can be Copper (10GBASE-T) OR fibre-based (SFP+)

With the parameters in mind, it narrows the field of available good 10Gbe NAS drives a little. So, below are my top 3 10Gbe NAS of the year, based on Cost, Value and Power.

Best Low-Cost 10Gbe NAS Drive – Terramaster F4-422

0-72TB (HDD), 4-Bays SATA HDD, Intel J43455 1.5-2.3GHz 4-Core CPU, 4-8GB DDR3 Memory, 1x 10Gbe Ports, 2x 1Gbe Ports, 3x USB 3.1, 2yr Warranty, $499  

Hardware Review – https://nascompares.com/2020/09/03/terramaster-f4-422-review-an-affordable-10Gbe

What We Said 03/09/20:

Internally the hardware that this unit arrives with is very competitive at this price point, even without 10Gbe. Include 10Gbe into the mix and this could likely be one of the most affordable Intel/4K enabled 10 gigabit NAS drives in the market right now. The Terramaster F4-422 4-Bay NAS features an Intel CPU and 4GB of DDR3 memory which is not even the limit, opening up the device and installing an additional 8GB stick is very easy indeed. This internal hardware certainly enables a number of features that a large number of cost-effective ARM CPU could not. Most important of which is acting as a proficient and encoding enabled Plex media server. The device can support many users at the same time, each with their own login and privileges thanks to this CPU. All the while, setting up, configuring and maintaining a stable RAID across all available hard drives or SSD. However, if your budget is tight, you will be pleased to hear this device can function with a single HDD/SSD if need be and you can add further storage media as your budget allows (and expanding a RAID).

Overall the terramaster F4-422 NAS is definitely worth the price. I have seen numerous NAS brands grow in the last 8 years and the speed with which terramaster is developing, both the hardware and software, massively outpaces the likes of Synology and QNAP, that have taken twice as long to reach the point that terramaster has. If you are looking to buy your first NAS, but want to ensure that you get maximum features at a modest price-tag, you genuinely would be hard pushed to beat the Terramaster F4-422 right now in 2020. That said, there is no denying that some cost-cutting measures have taken place, with the HDMI output not functioning as you would expect at release or the lack of USB Copy Button. However, you will never find features like those, or software options with this hardware at this price limit that still have 10Gbe on the table and the Terramaster F4-422 serves as a great middle-ground for those that want their cake and eat it in their first steps into the world of NAS at a higher speed going forward.

PROS	CONS
VERY Affordable 10Gbe Intel Celeron 4-Core 10G at a great price Great RAID Options Fluid GUI Snapshot Replication BTRFS Supports Plex 4K Video transcoding Full Plex Transcoding DLNA Compliant RAM upgradable	No Copy button HDMI Currently Unsupported SSD Caching requires the loss of 1-2 Bays No Surveillance or VM App

 

Best Value 10Gbe NAS Drive – Synology DS1621xs+

0-108TB, 6-Bays, Xeon 4-Core CPU, 8-32GB Memory, 10Gbe and 2x 1Gbe Ports, NVMe SSD Cache Bays, PCIe Gen 3 x8 Slot, 5yr Warranty, $1650+  

Hardware Review – https://nascompares.com/2020/09/10/synology-ds1621xs-nas-review

What We Said 10/09/20:

Whatever way you look at it, you cannot what question the sheer level of hardware value present in the DS1621xs+, especially compared with other similarly priced Synology NAS. In the DS1621xs+, you find one of the best performing internal and external NAS systems in the entire Synology portfolio, as well as providing you with an enterprise rackmount grade solution in a desktop form. I know it seems like a big statement, but this could genuinely be one of the best examples of what Synology provide to business users and certainly reorganises the portfolio for small and medium business users for the better in 2020/2021. Is it perfect, of course not, few things ever can be. But if your budget can extend to it, the Synology DS1621xs+ easily represents the very best of everything that Synology has to offer, while still maintaining a fantastic high standard to third-party software users worldwide.

Synology DS1621xs+ PROS	Synology DS1621xs+ CONS
10Gbe Equipped! Desktop Xeon Solution Dual NVMe M.2 cache PCIe Gen 3 x8 PCIe Equipped Great RAID Options (inc RAIF F1) Excellent choice of Apps DDR4 ECC Memory Numerous Backup Software Options Huge Virtualization Support 5yr Warranty 2x 5-Bay Expandable	1Gbe Ports seem a bit unnecessary No SHR Support Shame it does not support 1/2 x DX1215 NVMe SSDs cannot be used for RAW storage

 

Best & Most Powerful 10Gbe NAS Drive – QNAP TVS-872XT

0- 144TB, 8-Bays, 8th Gen i3 6-Core CPU, 16-64GB DDR4 Memory, Ports, NVMe SSD Bays for Caching and/or RAW Storage, 8 Camera License included, Thunderbolt 3 Connectivity, 3 yr Warranty, $1969  

Hardware Review – https://nascompares.com/qnap-tvs-872xt-thunderbolt-3-nas-review

What We Said 21/12/18:

The QNAP TVS-872XT is a NAS drive that has taken the elite and overpowered attitudes that were previously the hallmarks of the Thunderbolt 3 NAS range and turn it into something a great deal more mature and accessible to mid-range users. Till now, if you wanted access to the full features and functionality of a fully equipped thunderbolt and 10Gbe enabled 4K NAS, you were forced to either compromise too much with the TS-453BT3 or break the bank with the TVS-1282T3. Thanks to this new QNAP TVS-872XT NAS however, you no longer need to compromise and have access to a much more balanced and well equipped NAS platform for photo and video editing post-production in 2019.

This 8 bay thunderbolt equipped NAS is about quality, not quantity and although may lack the wider coverage of users that the TVS-1283T3 has, it makes up for it with a much, much better and higher dedicated performance to those fewer connected users. What the XT series brings to the NAS industry is to fill a much-needed gap in the thunderbolt NAS portfolio and gives users an important choice between the existing product family. It is worth mentioning that you lose out on the 3rd tier of storage offered by the 82T series, as well as the long-term future-proofing it offers for PCIe upgrades to the GPU and adding high-speed users later – but unless you think this is a necessary possibility in the next 3-4 years, you should save your money and go for the QNAP TVS-872XT. Easily in my top 3 NAS of 2018 and going forward into 2019 (ed – and now 2020!)

What the QNAP TVS-872XT can do (PROS): High Virtualisation Use Two USB-C Thunderbolt 3 Ports which can allow 2 devices access at once SSD Optimized with NVMe Support Business Use SMB Storage Optimized for Post Production and Broadcasting Embedded  10Gbe Port Thunderbolt-to-10Gbe Adapter possible DLNA Support Apple Time Machine Support Surveillance including multiple camera licences – 8 Licences FREE iTunes Server email server Download server (FTP, HTTP, BT,NZB) CMS and CRM systems Office applications Media Center support

What the QNAP TVS-872XT cannot do (CONS): Only 2 TB3 Ports – so only 2 Editors at once No Remote Control no Intel i7 8th Gen option Only 1 10Gbe Port PCIe Slot that is available not compatible with 40Gbe cards

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