New Terramaster T9-423 9-Bay For 2022 – Something VERY Different!

TerraMaster Introduces 9-Bay T9-423 High-Performance NAS

In the last few years, it would be fair to say that I have seen ALOT of NAS drives. However, the latest release from Terramaster is quite a unique piece of kit and although it brings a bunch of ‘brand firsts’ to the desktop buyer’s market, it does so in that particularly ‘Terramaster’ way and ends up standing out in a few notable ways. The Terramaster T9-423 NAS is their first 9-Bay NAS drive (indeed, I can only think of around 3-4 other 9-Bay NAS systems ever released and they were HDD/SSD combos) and building on the architecture of what we have seen from the brand until now, this new system arrives with a current-gen server-grade Intel CPU, improved network connections and a tower-style of desktop chassis. Let’s take a look at everything we know about the T9-423 NAS Drive coming soon.

T9-423 FRONT	T9-423 BACK/PORTS

The Terramaster T9-423 NAS – Performance & Connectivity

The Terramaster T9-423 arrives with similar connectivity to a number of their older Fx-422 and Fx-421 NAS systems, however, there have been improvements in a number of key areas and if this is an idea of what the rest of the Tx-423 NAS range will be featuring in 2022, it is a solid start. The external network connectivity of the T9-423 features two 2.5GbE network ports, that allow upto 5GbE via link-aggregation/port-trunking with a supported network switch (as well as being backwards compatible with 1GbE networks of course). Until now Terramaster have only supplied Desktop 1GbE solutions (along with a couple of 10GbE servers too), so it is nice to see the brand embracing the emerging deployment and utility amount network client hardware to include 2.5GbE at the same price as 1GbE. Alongside this, there are USB 3.2 Gen 1 Ports that support external storage, but also Terramaster is one of the last brands in the market with comparatively large USB accessories support vs the likes of Synology and QNAP. These being 5Gb ports and not 10Gb USB ports is a bit of a shame (especially for those who are considering USB local backups to this NINE bay system) but the wider USB support is still very welcome. Finally there is the HDMI output on the rear. Sadly, Terramaster have still to develop any visual/GUI putout for this port and it is reserved for direct, command-level access with security credentials -in other words, maintenance at best. The 2.5GbE ports are the show stealer here though and I hope this is a trend we are going to see from the brand in their 2-Bay, 4-Bay and 5-Bay systems in 2022/2023.

The Terramaster T9-423 NAS – Internal Hardware

The internal hardware of the T9-423 NAS is an interesting mix and alongside the use of the current SMB/Prosumer grade favourite CPU (the Intel Celeron N5105 or N5095 – an Intel CPU Refresh amidst the pandemic means that there are several runs on similar CPUs right now that would have been scheduled in other circumstances), the system arrives with an impressive 8GB of memory by default. I am particularly impressed by the 1x 8GB DDR4 Memory module as standard in the T9-423, as most systems that have arrived in the last 3 months with this CPU (about 3 NAS’) have all featured 2GB or 4GB, so this is a welcome increase for day 1 users. The CPU itself is certainly worthy of note and serves as a notable upgrade over the J4355 in the 2020/2021 generation Terramster systems:

Another couple of areas of note are to do with how Terramaster have stretched the chipset and CPU lanes available in the T9-423. Firstly, the memory maximum of the T9-423 is 32GB. Most systems with this architecture arrive with a 16GB maximum, largely because Intel rate this CPU with that maximum. Therefore it is unusual that Terramaster rate this at 32GB maximum (2 slots, 16GB per slot). Additionally, the system features an additional M.2 NVMe SSD slot (PCIe Gen 3 x2 = 2,000MB/s throughput) but I am still seeking clarification if this can be used for BOTH caching and general storage, or just caching. Most systems would arrive with two M.2 slots (to allow the possibility of Read/Write caching), but I imagine the 9 bays of storage ticked over into the chipset/PCI lanes are enough to prevent this. Still, having the option of installing even a single m.2 SSD is better than ot having it at all, Below is a breakdown of the rest of the hardware specifications:

Processor
Processor Model	Intel® Celeron® N5105/N5095
Processor Architecture	X.86 64-bit
Processor Frequency	Quad Core 2.0 GHz (Max burst up to 2.9 GHz)
Hardware Encryption Engine	√
Hardware Transcoding Engine	H.265 (HEVC), MPEG-4 Part 2, MPEG-2, VC-1; maximum resolution: 4K (4096 x 2160); maximum frame rate per second (FPS): 60
Memory
System Memory	8GB
Pre-installed Memory module	1
Total Memory Slot Number	2
Maximum Supported Memory	32 GB (16 GB + 16 GB)
Note	TerraMaster reserves the right to replace memory modules with the same or higher frequency based on supplier’s product life cycle status. Rest assured that the compatibility and stability have been strictly verified with the same benchmark to ensure identical performance.
Storage
Disk Slot Number	9
Compatible Drive types	3.5″ SATA HDD
	2.5″ SATA HDD
	2.5″ SATA SSD
Maximum Internal Raw Storage Capacity	180TB (20TB x 9) (Capacity may vary by RAID types)
Max Single Volume	108TB
Drive Hot Swap	√
Note	. Hard drive vendors will release their latest models of hard drives, and Maximum internal raw storage capacity may be adjusted accordingly. . The maximum single volume size is not directly related to the maximum raw capacity.
File System
Internal Drive	EXT4,BTRFS
External Drive	EXT3, EXT4, NTFS, FAT32, HFS+
External Ports
RJ-45 2.5GbE Network Jack	2
USB 3.1 Port	2 (Type-A USB 3.1 Gen2)
HDMI	1
M.2 2280 NVMe Slot	1 (PCIe3.0 x2)
Appearance
Size	334 x 135 x 295 mm
Packaging Size	467 x 225 x 390 mm
Weight	Net Weight: 6.9 Kg  Gross Weight:  Kg
Others
System Fan	80 mm x 80 mm x25mm 3 pcs
Fan Mode	Smart, High speed, Middle speed, Low speed
Noise Level	dB(A)
Power Supply	250W
AC Input Voltage	100V – 240V AC
Current Frequency	50/60 Hz, single frequency
Power Consumption	115W (read & write)
	W  (hard drive dormancy)
Limited warranty	2 years

The Terramaster T9-423 NAS – Size, Noise & Impact

Now, let’s discuss the remarkably tall elephant in the room! The T9-423 9-Bay NAS is desktop chassis that is vertically stacked. Much closer in appearance to a desktop PC that you might find under your desk, the SATA HDD bays are a 3×3 configuration, Looking much more in initial appearance to a compact rackmount NAS chassis, this is quite a unique choice of design. The size of the chassis at 33.4cm x 13.5cm x 29.5cm, a narrow form and although this much taller deployment might out some users off, in more compact server rooms this would be quite appealing. As this is an 8-Bay chassis, with an internal 250W PSU and 3 rear active fans, the ambient noise level (even with modest Hard Drives) will be quite noticeable. However, this is to be expected once you hit this kind of storage capacity. Overall, although the initial design of the Terramaster T9-423 is unusual, I think there IS a method to the madness and I quite like it!

The Terramaster T9-423 NAS – Applications

The Terramaster T9-423 NAS (much like the rest of the Pro/SMB servers in their portfolio) arrives with the TOS software and services. We have reviewed this NAS GUI and platform back in 2019 in Version TOS 4 HERE, but the brand is currently working on TOS version 5.0, with promised improvements in the user interface, security, applications and responsiveness. We were lucky enough to get access to an early build of Terramaster TOS 5.0 and you can find out more in the video below.

The Terramaster T9-423 NAS – Price & Release Date

The release of the Terramaster T9-423 9-Bay NAS looks like it will be relatively soon, as the official product page for this NAS has been made public on the official brand pages. Terramaster says that the T9-423 will be available at $999 and further pricing worldwide will be available soon.

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