How many virtual machines can I run on my Qnap NAS?

How many VMs do you think that 873 can handle?

My goal is to build a Windows 2016 or 2019 server and then in the server user Hyper V and build a WSUS server and a Deployment server for imaging and also have a few Win 10 VMs for testing the various server features.

TVS-873e feature Quad core CPU (4 threads).  This will give you total of 8 virtual machines or 4 fairly fast ones.

 

Some more info, I have found.

 

With Virtual Machine Manager, you can run virtual machines on selected models of Qnap NAS. This FAQ will guide you on how to calculate the number of virtual machines that you can run on your Qnap NAS, with recommended numbers at the end of the article.

Understanding Memory Requirements

The number of virtual machines that you can run on your Qnap NAS is determined by the following:

• Memory available for all virtual machines: This can be calculated after you know the system reserved memory.
• Memory required by each virtual machine: This is determined by the specifications of virtual machines.

System reserved memory

After you know the size of system reserved memory, you can calculate how much memory will be available for VMs.

If your Qnap NAS has 8 GB memory, QTS will reserve 1.5 GB for system use and provide 6.5 GB for VMs. If your Qnap NAS has 16 GB memory or above, QTS will reserve 10% of the total memory for system use and provide the rest of the memory for VMs.

Specifications of virtual machines

• Each physical CPU thread can offer 2 vCPUs. You can refer to this article to know how many CPU threads are supported by your Qnap NAS.
• Resources for the hypervisor: Each VM requires 128 MB; each vCPU requires 80 MB; each vDisk requires 32 MB.

Examples

• Total memory: 8 GB
• System reserved memory: 1.5 GB
• Memory available for VMs: 6.5 GB (6656 MB)
• Number of physical CPU threads: 4
• Maximum number of vCPUs: 8 (4 x 2)

Virtual Machine A

2 vCPUs + 2 GB memory + 2 vDISKs
This VM’s memory consumption will be: 128 MB + 80 MB x 2 + 2 GB + 32 MB x 2 = 2400 MB
Qnap (8 GB) can run 2 virtual machines with the same specifications as Virtual Machine A. For the third one, the NAS is short of 544 MB (6656 MB – 2400 MB x 3 = -544 MB).

Virtual Machine B

1 vCPU + 1 GB memory + 4 vDISKs
This VM’s memory consumption will be: 128 MB + 80 MB + 1 GB + 32 MB x 4 = 1360 MB
Qnap (8 GB) can run 4 virtual machines with the same specifications as Virtual Machine B. For the fifth one, the NAS is short of 144 MB (6656 MB – 1360 MB x 5 = -144 MB).

Virtual Machine C

4 vCPUs + 4 GB memory + 8 vDISKs
This VM’s memory consumption will be: 128 MB + 80 MB x 4 + 4 GB + 32 MB x 8 = 4800 MB
Qnap (8GB) can run 1 virtual machine with the same specifications as Virtual Machine C. For the second one, the NAS is short of 2944 MB (6656 MB – 4800 MB x 2 = – 2944 MB).
However, this NAS still has 1856 MB (6656 MB – 4800 MB) left to run 1 Virtual Machine B when 1 Virtual Machine C is already running.

Recommended Number of Virtual Machines

Model	Max System Memory Installed	Recommended Virtual Machine Instances
		(with 1 vCPU and 1 GB RAM)
TS-1685 (Xeon D-1531) 12 threads	128 GB (32 GB x 4)	12
RS3617xs+ (Xeon D-1531) 12 threads	128 GB (32 GB x 4)	12
TS-1685-D1521	64 GB (16 GB x 4)	8
TS-1253BU – Celeron J3455  – 4 threads	8 GB (4 GB x 2)	4
TS-453BU – Celeron J3455	8 GB (4 GB x 2)	4
TS-853BU – Celeron J3455	8 GB (4 GB x 2)	4
TS-253Be, 453be, 653be, 653B	8 GB (4 GB x 2)	4
TS-251B  – Celeron J3355 2 threads	6 GB (2 GB + 4 GB)	2

 

Figures based on Synology NAS alternatives

 

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