The Asustor Flashstor Gen2 – Performance and PCI Lanes

Posted on 10 Jun 2024 📧 Subscribe
Contents hide
1 The Flashstor Gen 2 NVMe NAS – Update on Performance, PCIe Lanes, Release, and More
1.1 Flashstor Gen 2 10GbE Performance
1.2 The PCIe Lanes of the M.2 inside the Flashstor Gen 2
1.3 PC Gaming and the Flashstor Gen 2 System
2 Need Advice on Data Storage from an Expert?

The Flashstor Gen 2 NVMe NAS – Update on Performance, PCIe Lanes, Release, and More

In the two months or so since Asustor first announced the release of the new entry into their Flash NAS series, the Flashstor Gen 2, it has caused quite a buzz! This new 12x M.2 NVMe slot desktop NAS system effectively super-sizes everything we saw in the Gen 1 model but also adds dual 10GbE and ECC memory. Fast forward to now, and we got to spend some more time with the device at the Asustor stand at Computex 2024 (as well as the similarly profiled Lockerstor Gen 3) to learn more about what it can do, what it cannot do, and to explore more of its hardware profile.

Flashstor Gen 2 10GbE Performance

Asustor demoed the Flashstor and Lockerstor systems, connected to a Windows 11 PC over 2x 10GbE, using SMB Multichannel, and transferred 120GB of data. Both systems were able to fully saturate the dual 10GbE connection and, after accounting for the drag factors associated with this network protocol, achieved 1.8GB/s with sustained performance throughout.

Needless to say, this is still less than the total performance possible with the SSDs inside the Flashstor Gen 2, but it is a positive sign moving forward.

The PCIe Lanes of the M.2 inside the Flashstor Gen 2

This aspect was somewhat of a mixed bag when looking more closely at the architecture of the Flashstor Gen 2, as many people (myself included) were unsure how exactly Asustor would allocate lanes and speed across the 12x M.2 slots inside the system. The answer is… quite messily! We have to be fair here; the Flashstor Gen 2 is still a NAS that is mid-development and subject to change. However, the units on show at the event had the following breakdown of PCIe lanes/speeds detailed on its PCB and confirmed by the team:

How the 12x M.2 NVMe slots are broken down:

– Gen 4×4 = 1 Slot

– Gen 4×1 = 4 Slots

– Gen 4×2 = 3 Slots

– Gen 3×4 = 1 Slot

– Gen 3×2 = 1 Slot

– Gen 3×1 = 2 Slot

This is an unusually mixed arrangement inside a single device. Although there is a lot more performance bandwidth here compared to the 12x Gen 3×1 in the Flashstor Gen 1, there are questions about the system’s performance when creating RAID pools on the M.2 in the Gen 2 that span drives of different speeds. The reality is that most pool configurations, such as a RAID 5 or RAID 0 of drives, will have their performance capped per drive to the speed of the slowest drive in the array. For example, 12 drives in the Gen 4 and Gen 3 slots will be reduced from 2000MB/s per lane to 1000MB/s max; the same goes for x4 slots, x2 slots, and x1 slots.

At least they are trying their best to use up as much of the bandwidth as possible from that Ryzen CPU, but it is still an undeniably bizarre arrangement of slots inside a single NAS system.

PC Gaming and the Flashstor Gen 2 System

The last demo at the stand related to the Flashstor was the system connected to a modern PC system to show how the 2x 10G connections combined with the high performance and low latency of the M.2 SSDs in the Flashstor and Lockerstor. This was done by running the latest version of Cyberpunk 2077 from the NAS systems. The game was running from the gaming machine with its own GPU, etc., but the game’s data files from launch (Steam, Epic, etc.) were all running from the NAS.

There was no drop in frame rate, no poor texture pop-in, no unexpected load screens as you transitioned through the world, and no examples of poor texture swapping. Indeed, the game played like it was stored on the PC’s own storage—but it wasn’t; it was managing the game data from the Flashstor Gen 2’s storage. This was achieved using an iSCSI LUN created in the Asustor ADM Storage Manager and then mounted on the PC via the built-in Windows iSCSI initiator.

(Here is a clip from the video where the tests were shown):

Running games from a NAS system is not new, but as more games are being developed with M.2 NVMe SSD storage in mind, they are also getting bigger and bigger (notwithstanding ‘Game as a Service’ titles that will grow constantly over the years). If you have years and years of titles in your Steam library and are concerned they might one day be taken offline, you will need some serious storage to ensure you have it all! With the performance benefits of accessing multiple M.2 SSDs in a RAID configuration and the expanded storage potential of these systems compared with the limited number of M.2 slots in ma00ny systems, you can definitely see why there is a growing appeal for games to be played off a NAS.

The Flashstor is still a fair way from full release—even the name ‘Gen 2’ seems to be a matter still under debate. Last month, I recorded a User Q&A with a brand representative that covered all the questions users had about the Flashstor Gen 2 and Lockerstor Gen 3. You can watch the whole thing below in the video (chapters on the bar at the bottom)

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      46 thoughts on “The Asustor Flashstor Gen2 – Performance and PCI Lanes”

      1. For the Flashstor, is there a way to expand our arrays by adding new drives like there is with with Synology’s SHR? That way I can add drives as I buy them instead of dropping thousands of dollars all at once.
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      3. Looking forward to seeing the Lockerstor Gen3 being reviewed, though so far I’m really happy with the AS-5404T I bought last year to replace my old Synology DS215j.

        A big plus for Asustor was the option to install a different OS if I didn’t get on with ADM, but so far no issues with it. That, and the hardware is better, £ for £, compared to Synology.
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      11. I want to know if the lockerstor can spin down all the HDs when they are not in use – can the OS and containers all run from NVMe SSD, and just use the HDDs for backups and archival. Spinning disks can be noisy and hot, and in a home environment that’s a problem.
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      13. That 10 bay looks the right thing …especially considering Synology have practically abandoned the consumer/prosumer market…it’s time to say goodbye to the DS1821+ as a main NAS
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      16. Interesting how they divided up the nvme. For switch recommendations- you would make a killing if mixed 10Gb rj45 and spf+, as only qnap does this in consumer market. Most of us are running inexpensive 10Gb spf+ so will need something to bridge to rj45. Unless of course you could include spf+ on your nas’s. Great speed on transfer with multichannel.
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      21. While he did technically answer, it seems like the dude was real quick to steer conversation away from suggesting people could run their games from raid hdd’s.
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      22. Asustor should be commended for addressing to customers through a review channel like this. I hope more companies start doing the same. I’m eagerly awaiting the release of the Gen 2 Flashtor devices. Seems like Asustor will have a hit on their hands.
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      23. Was anything said about what will happen to the lockerstor Gen 2 range when the Gen 3 version is released. Will it be discontinued or will it replace the Gen 1 version as the base model for this range of NAS devices?
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      24. That’s very flash, running Cyberpunk directly from a NAS. Pun intended. If we could just get serious eGPU boxes, and a serious connector a 5090 can’t saturate, we’d be off to the races with flexible storage and power. Simple laptop, with CAMM2 that you can upgrade and upgradeable storage of its own, plug in an eGPU and run your library of games off the same NAS your email and work files are backed up to. I’m sure all sorts of creative combinations will get implemented.
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      29. Here’s my question: If I have a Flashstor 6 Gen 1, would it be possible to take the drives from that, and put them into the new Flashstor Gen 2 without loosing all the data?
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      30. Has anyone been aware of the Asus warranty FTC stuffs? … Trying not to say too much but Gamer’s Nexus is probably the best at issuing the warning the correct way.
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      33. I’m getting the Ugreen DXP8800 Pro from Taobao which comes with the Intel i7 1255u processor instead of the i5 in the Plus. The Pro was not available for backing in the Kickstarter campaign. Can’t wait to get my hands on it.
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      34. Thanks for the answers. It would be nice if Synology got knocked on its complacent ass so they actually had to innovate. If I was going to get a consumer NAS and keep the stock OS (or flash TrueNAS Scale) it would be a LockerStore, but I’m considering saving my Pennie’s up for a HL15 if I can make room for a rack lmao.
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      35. I think the best path for everyone is getting an Intel mini-PC Minisforum MS-01 is the best I’ve found) to host Docker / services so you can do your transcoding on there, then you can just use your NAS / file server as a file server and not have to sacrifice ECC support for transcoding,
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      37. Very informative, I love it when manufacturers engage with their customers and the people, like @NASCompares, whose reviews we trust. Top notch content!
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      39. Hi! Can you make a video about the specifics of changing the NAS manufacturer? For example, I have an old QNAP TS-410 and I want to buy another one (maybe SYNOLOGY), but can I just move the disks to a new one or do I need to do something?
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      40. ECC is used in corporate servers, not consumer PCs or consumer NAS. Never heard anybody ask for it. ECC memory is considerably more expensive than regular ram. Transcoding is something NAS users expect. Biggers processors use more power, unless they have managed to reduce power use, everybody is very focused on power consumption now. Odd direction, but I’m keeping an open mind. I have an ancient Asustor, so I’m always interested to see what they come up with.
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      42. For transcoding part, is that possible to give a pcie x1 atleast so we can connect a cheapo a310 etc on there ?

        I believe Asustor is one of the brand which dont charge pcie /nvme/m2 for premium
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      43. @ASUSTOR_YT

        Is your tech/customer/warranty support run in any way similar to your parent company Asus?

        If yes, how can you change this to not be better and assure customers you won’t charge $200 to fix a cosmetic scratch while ignoring the actual warranty issue?
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