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QNAP Launch QTS 5.2 in Beta – What’s New?

Rob Andrews

The QNAP QTS 5.2 Beta is Now Available

Most people who own a NAS drive, for business or for pleasure, will realise very early on that the software that these systems arrive with is more than just simple file/folder storage access. In particular, the QNAP QTS system software and services is one that has evolved a great deal over the years and has now found a pretty good balance between providing a user-friendly GUI experience and providing a good degree of system/storage information when needed. Add to this that QNAP has generally been the first to market when it comes to innovation in the NAS industry (sometimes a little sooner than some might like!) and this has led to them introducing a number of key applications in the past before their competitors in NAS (HybridMount, vJBOD, Container Station, Linux Station and Multimedia Console to name a few) in their previous versions of QTS. QNAP is now going to provide users access, test and provide feedback on QTS 5.2. The Beta of QTS 5.2 is now available to download from QNAP HERE and along with numerous background improvements, there are several new application service upgrades, new security improvements, dedicated SMB portal, additional storage and snapshot integration/improvements and thumbnail/file indexing enhancements. Let’s discuss the QNAP QTS 5.2 beta and see what’s new.

You can download the QNAP QTS 5.2 Beta HERE (select your NAS first)

Important – Get Your Backups in Order First!

REALLY IMPORTANT – If you want to go ahead and try out the QNAP QTS 5.2 Beta, double and TRIPLE check that your backups are in order. QTS 5.2 is a beta i.e not a finished operating system and needs to be treated as such. Do not use it for hot data or integral data! You can use the video below that covers all the different ways to backup your NAS, as well as created Sync connections with cloud/NAS devices to ensure that you have your 3-2-1 backup system in place!

Automatically restore accidentally disconnected disks

On some newer NAS models, QTS can now be used to automatically restore disks that are accidentally disconnected from the system. Enabling this feature will help speed up RAID group rebuilds and improve overall storage stability, but may slightly affect write performance. You can go to [Control Panel] > [System] > [Hardware Settings] > [General Settings] > [Enable Disk Automatic Recovery] to make this setting.

If you change this setting, connected devices that support this feature will be affected. To confirm whether the NAS or connected device supports this feature, go to “System Status” > “Hardware Information”, select the NAS or device, and then confirm whether “Automatic Disk Recovery” is on the feature list.

Snapshot size calculation can be performed to facilitate space management

It is now possible to calculate how much space is occupied by snapshots taken in a volume or LUN within a specified time range. The generated report includes an adjustable graph to determine how much space would be freed by deleting a specified snapshot. This feature is useful when you are running out of space and need to decide which snapshots to delete.

To use this function, please go to [Storage and Snapshot Manager] > [Storage Space] > [Storage/Snapshot], find the volume or LUN with the snapshot, and click the snapshot icon to open the [Snapshot Administrator] window , then click Calculate Size to open the Calculate Snapshot Size window.

Supports TCG Ruby Self-Encrypting Disk (SED)

In addition to TCG Opal and TCG Enterprise SED, users can now install and use TCG Ruby SED to meet the latest data security requirements of enterprises and data centers.

You can refer to apps installed on other devices and directly choose which ones to install.

You can now browse the list of installed applications on all devices linked to your QNAP ID and select which applications to install. To view apps installed on other devices, go to the App Center, click Install in the upper right corner, and select Apps Installed on All Devices.

If the devices have been registered as organizational devices in myQNAPcloud, you can manage the applications on these devices in [ AMIZ Cloud ] > [Device Applications]. It can be used to centrally manage applications on various devices belonging to the same organization.

Adopts OpenSSL 3.0 for enhanced security and improved performance

We’ve updated OpenSSL to version 3.0, improving cipher compilation performance, enhancing memory protection, and simplifying integration with modern APIs. The system response speed has been optimized and data protection has been strengthened to improve user experience.

Sync to disk immediately when requested by an SMB client

There is now an option to synchronize data to disk immediately upon request from an SMB client. If this feature is enabled, cached data can be written back to a more stable storage space whenever necessary to improve the data integrity of the system. Please note that while disabling this option may improve read and write (I/O) performance, it may also increase the risk of data loss or corruption during a power outage or system failure.

To enable this option, go to Control Panel > Permissions > Shared Folders > Shared Folders, select the shared folder, and edit its properties.

Enhanced support for file thumbnails in File Station

In addition to media files and PDF files, File Station can now display thumbnails of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and EML files (text-only emails). Now you can quickly know the approximate contents of various files even without opening the file. This function is especially useful when you need to find or select specific files from a large number of files; it can greatly improve the efficiency of file management.

You can enable file thumbnail display in [File Station] > [Settings] > [File]. To use this feature, you must first install Qsirch in the App Center.

ClamAV has become independent from the virus protection service

ClamAV is now a standalone application and consumes less memory resources than when it previously operated as a consolidated service. Standalone operation allows for faster scanning and less time required to react to security threats. But please note that to use the virus protection service, you must first install the ClamAV application in the App Center.

Reduced system startup and shutdown time

Improved the speed of starting and stopping applications during system startup, shutdown, and restart. The system is now more responsive when users perform power-related operations.

AD domain users can log in directly without entering the domain name

If you primarily access your NAS through a single AD domain, you can now easily log into your desktop without prefixing your domain name with your username. For example, now you only need to enter “myusername” instead of “mydomain\myusername”.

If multiple AD domains are used, or a domain user account is used to access the NAS in addition to the local account, please still enter the domain name when logging in with a domain user account.

Enhanced security for system administrator accounts

To enhance the overall security of the device and reduce the occurrence of brute force attacks, users are now prompted to create a new device whenever they restore or reset the device to factory defaults using the hardware reset button or the Control Panel Administrator account, or keep the non-default administrator account you are currently signed in to. In addition, the system automatically deactivates or strongly recommends that users deactivate the default system administrator account “admin”.

Direct read and write (I/O) is used in the core mode SMB resident program to improve read/write performance

We use direct read/write (I/O), which improves read/write performance when the core-mode SMB resident is enabled and all disks on the system device are NVMe SSDs.

To enable the core-mode SMB resident for Microsoft Networks, go to Control Panel > Network & File Services > Win/Mac/NFS/WebDAV > Microsoft Networks and make sure it is checked [Enable File Services for Microsoft Networks (SMB)]. Next, click “Advanced Options”, check “Enable Kernel Mode SMB Resident”, and click “Apply”. (Note: If the core-mode SMB resident is enabled, SMB encryption is disabled.)

SMB service has become a standalone application

Microsoft Networking (SMB) is now a standalone application that can be updated separately in the App Center, called SMB Service, and can be accessed remotely via the Microsoft Networking (SMB) and Common Internet File System (CIFS) protocols. Access files and folders on QNAP devices.

To enable the SMB service, you must first go to [Control Panel] > [Network & File Services] > [Win/Mac/NFS/WebDAV] > [Microsoft Network (SMB)] to enable the file service of Microsoft Network ( SMB).

Editable iSCSI target IQN

When or after an iSCSI target is created, the target’sIQN (iSCSI Qualified Name) can now be edited. To edit the IQN of an existing target, you must first disconnect all connections to the target, then go to iSCSI & Fiber Channel > iSCSI Storage, select the target, and click Actions > Edit . The maximum IQN length is 128 characters.

What are the QNAP QTS 5.2 Changes in full?

Applicable QNAP models that support the QTS 5.2 Beta?

Notes

Due to compatibility issues, please update your QVR Face Insight, QVR Face Link, or QVR Face Tiger to version 1.7.1 or later before updating QTS to version 5.2.0.

– Due to compatibility issues, QNAP NetBak Replicator is currently unable to establish an SFTP connection to a NAS running QTS 5.2.0.

 

 

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