QNAP, the global leading innovator in network-attached storage (NAS), has announced the new TS-AI642 AI NAS. This next-gen offering is specifically engineered for AI-powered video and image recognition applications, boasting an efficient ARM SoC (System on Chip) processor and NPU (Neural network Processing Unit).
The TS-AI642 integrates the 64-bit ARM Cortex-A76/-A55 SoC octa-core processor with a 6 TOPS (tera operations per second) NPU. This setup provides substantial compute performance for image processing and analysis tasks, while offloading CPU workloads when running AI applications, leading to reduced system operation power consumption.
Moreover, the TS-AI642 supports a whopping 110 TB storage capacity by installing six 3.5-inch 22 TB hard drives in RAID 5. Its scalability extends to 350TB with a TL-D1600S QNAP storage expansion unit, facilitating the deployment of a complete AI NAS solution for video surveillance, image recognition, and face recognition applications in enterprises.
The new NAS includes a 2.5GbE port, supporting higher transmission speeds for seamless file backup/restore and media conversion operations. PCIe Gen 3 expandability is also available to enhance application potential.
In terms of performance, the TS-AI642’s built-in NPU boosts QNAP AI Core performance for high-speed face and object recognition. This upgrade, paired with QNAP’s QuMagie photo management and Qsirch full-text search engine, accelerates image recognition and text capture from images.
QNAP has not overlooked the need for real-time surveillance and analytics. The TS-AI642 comes with QVR Elite software, which supports up to 64 channels (two channels included for free), facilitating professional surveillance NAS deployment.
Further enhancing the surveillance capabilities, the TS-AI642 features dual 4K HDMI outputs. This allows for the simultaneous monitoring of surveillance or 4K high-resolution video playback on two screens, removing the need for a dedicated workstation.
On top of all these features, the TS-AI642’s ARM hardware supports NEON technology that accelerates video processing for an improved media experience. The device is also equipped with a 2.5GbE port and a PCIe slot for upgrading to 10GbE connectivity, making it a reliable host for versatile NAS applications in offices.
In summary, QNAP’s TS-AI642 AI NAS is a powerful and expandable solution that offers a cutting-edge platform for AI-powered applications, improved data management, and professional surveillance operations, all powered by an efficient ARM SoC and NPU.
For more detailed information about the TS-AI642 and other QNAP products, please visit QNAP’s official website.
SPECS:
TS-AI642-8G
| CPU | 8-core ARM Cortex 64-bit Processor ( 4-core Cortex-A76 2.2 GHz + 4-core Cortex-A55 1.8 GHz ) |
| CPU Architecture | 64-bit ARM |
| Graphic Processors | ARM Mali-G610 MC4 |
| Floating Point Unit | |
| Encryption Engine | |
| Hardware-accelerated Transcoding | |
| Neural Processing Unit (NPU) | |
| System Memory | 8 GB on board (non-expandable)
Note: Reserves some RAM for use as shared graphics memory.
|
| Maximum Memory | 8 GB |
| Flash Memory | 4GB (Dual boot OS protection) |
| Drive Bay | 6 x 3.5-inch SATA 6Gb/s
The system is shipped without HDD.
For the HDD compatibility list, please visit https://www.qnap.com/compatibility/ |
| Drive Compatibility | 3.5-inch SATA hard disk drives 2.5-inch SATA hard disk drives 2.5-inch SATA solid state drives |
| Hot-swappable | |
| SSD Cache Acceleration Support | |
| Gigabit Ethernet Port (RJ45) | 2 |
| 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet Port (2.5G/1G/100M) | 1 (2.5G/1G/100M/10M) |
| 5 Gigabit Ethernet Port (5G/2.5G/1G/100M) | Optional via an adapter |
| 10 Gigabit Ethernet Port | Optional via an adapter |
| Wake on LAN (WOL) | |
| Jumbo Frame | |
| PCIe Slot | 1 Slot 1: PCIe Gen 3 x2 |
| USB 2.0 port | 2 |
| IR Sensor | (Optional QNAP RM-IR004 remote control) |
| HDMI Output | 1, HDMI 1.4b |
| Form Factor | Tower |
| LED Indicators | Power/Status, LAN, USB, HDD1-6 |
| Buttons | Power, USB copy, Reset |
| Dimensions (HxWxD) | 171 × 235 × 226 mm |
| Weight (Net) | 2.92 kg |
| Weight (Gross) | 4.51 kg |
| Operating Temperature | 0 ~ 40˚C (32˚F ~ 104˚F) |
| Storage Temperature | -20 – 70°C (-4°F – 158°F) |
| Relative Humidity | 5-95% RH non-condensing, wet bulb: 27˚C (80.6˚F) |
| Power Supply Unit | 120W adapter, 100-240V |
| Power Consumption: HDD Sleep Mode | 14.005 W |
| Power Consumption: Operating Mode, Typical | 33.33 W
Tested with drives fully populated.
|
| Fan | 2 x 90mm, 12VDC |
| System Warning | Buzzer |
| Kensington Security Slot | |
| Max. Number of Concurrent Connections (CIFS) – with Max. Memory | 1,500 |
SOFTWARE SPECS
| Operating System | QTS 5.1.0 |
| Supported Client Operating Systems |
|
| Supported Browsers |
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| Supported Languages | Chinese (Traditional & Simplified), Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, and Turkish |
| Storage Pool | |
| SED Storage Pool | |
| Maximum Pool size | 308 TB |
| Maximum number of storage pool | 128 |
| Volume Type | Thick, Thin, Static |
| Maximum volume size | 250 TB
Note: At least 4 GB RAM is required. |
| Maximum number of volume | 128 |
| Maximum shared folder size | 250 TB |
| Maximum number of shared folder | 512 |
| JBOD Expansion | |
| VJBOD / VJBOD Cloud | |
| iSCSI Service | |
| Fibre Channel Service | |
| LUN Type | Thick, Thin |
| File-based iSCSI LUN | |
| Block-based iSCSI LUN | |
| Maximum LUN size | 250 TB
Note: At least 4 GB RAM is required. |
| Maximum number of targets LUN | 128 |
| LUN feature |
|
| Auto Tiering |
Requires minimum 2GB memory. |
| RAID Type |
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| RAID Group |
To ensure data security, system stability, and storage performance, the maximum number of drives for a single RAID group is now 16 (applicable to RAID 5, RAID 6, RAID TP, and subgroups of RAID 50 and RAID 60). Nevertheless, users can combine multiple RAID groups into a large storage pool that contains more than 16 drives, using RAID 50, RAID 60, or RAID 10 as the RAID configuration. This enhancement will only be applied to new RAID groups. All existing RAID groups and storage systems will not be affected. |
| RAID Level Migration | |
| RAID Expansion (by adding Disk) | |
| RAID Expansion (by replacing bigger Disks) | |
| Storage Pool Expansion (by adding RAID Group) | |
| RAID Hot Spare | Global, Local |
| RAID Sync/Rebuild/Scrubbing | |
| Internal drive | EXT4 |
| External drive | EXT3, EXT4, NTFS, FAT32, HFS+, and exFAT (optional for ARM model)
Note: To use exFat in certain models you must purchase an exFAT driver license from License Center. |
| Disk, Enclosure Locate | |
| Disk S.M.A.R.T. Scan | |
| Disk S.M.A.R.T. Data Migration | |
| Ironwolf Health Management | |
| Secure Erase | |
| SSD Trim | |
| SSD Life Estimation | |
| Disk Roaming | |
| Disk Standby | |
| Volume Snapshot | |
| LUN Snapshot | |
| Maximum Snapshot (Per System) | Check maximum number of snapshots of your NAS |
| Maximum Snapshot (Per Volume / LUN) | Check maximum number of snapshots of your NAS |
| Minimum Snapshot Interval | 5 minutes |
| Snapshot Retention Policy | |
| Self-serve Snapshot Recovery | |
| Application Consisted Snapshot | |
| Snapshot Full Clone | |
| Snapshot Replica / Vault | |
| SSD read-only Cache | |
| SSD read-write cache | |
| SSD write-only cache | |
| SSD Cache Maximum Size | Check your QNAP NAS cache capacity and RAM requirements |
| SSD Cache RAID | 0, 1, 5, 6, 10 |
| SSD profiling tool | |
| External Device Management | |
| Mount Smart Phone (MTP) | |
| External RAID Device (QNAP so on) Management (External Device Mode) | |
| External RAID Device (QNAP so on) Management (NAS Mode) | |
| File Server |
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| FTP Server |
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| Maximum FTP connection | 1024 |
| File Station (Web) | |
| Object Storage | |
| Local user account | 4,096 |
| Local group account | 512 |
| Domain user/group account | 200,000 |
| Domain Security | |
| Domain Controller | |
| Shared folder permission | |
| Advanced folder permission | , (AFP, CIFS/SMB, FTP, and File Station) |
| Windows ACL | , (CIFS/SMB) |
| User quota | |
| Group quota | |
| Folder quota | , (Snapshot shared folder) |
| Home folder | |
| Resource Monitor | |
| SNMP | V2, V3 |
| Network recycle bin |
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| System Log & Notification Center | Log recording: 3,000 event per second |
| Smart Fan | |
| Schedule on/off | |
| Internet protocol | IPv4, IPv6 |
| Virtual Switch | |
| Port trunking | , (7 modes) |
| VLAN | |
| DHCP Server | |
| DDNS (Dynamic Domain Name Service) | |
| Network access protection with auto-blocking | SSH, Telnet, HTTP(S), FTP, CIFS/SMB, and AFP |
| Security Counselor | |
| Malware Remover | |
| AES 256-bit Volume Encryption validated by FIPS 140-2 CAVP | |
| 2-step verification | |
| Allow/Deny List | |
| Access Protection | |
| Service binding | |
| Firewall | |
| vSphere Web Client Plug-in | |
| VMware vSphere VAAI for iSCSI | |
| VMware vSphere VAAI for NAS | |
| Windows ODX | |
| Windows/VMware Snapshot Agent | |
| HTTP/HTTPS Connections | TLS 1.0/1.1/1.2/1.3 |
| Supports WebDAV Connection | |
| Supports Virtual Hosts | 32 |
| Qsync |
Note: At least 1 GB RAM is required. |
| [Qsync] Management Mode | User customization, Central |
| [Qsync] Qsync client supported platforms | Windows, macOS, Ubuntu, Android, and iOS |
| [Qsync] Maximum number of version control | 64 |
| HybridMount |
Note: At least 1 GB RAM is required. |
| [HybridMount] File Cloud Gateway | Concurrent Connections = 20 Upload & 20 Download |
| [HybridMount] Network Drive Mount | |
| [HybridMount] Free cloud gateway sessions | 2 |
| HBS (Hybrid Backup Sync) |
Note: At least 1 GB RAM is required. |
| [HBS (Hybrid Backup Sync)] NAS to NAS backup | |
| [HBS (Hybrid Backup Sync)] Cloud Backup | |
| [HBS (Hybrid Backup Sync)] Cloud Sync | |
| [HBS (Hybrid Backup Sync)] 2-way and Active Sync | |
| [HBS (Hybrid Backup Sync)] Apple Time Machine Backup | |
| [HBS (Hybrid Backup Sync)] External drive backup | |
| [HBS (Hybrid Backup Sync)] Maximum number of backup job | 400 |
| Boxafe |
Note: At least 4 GB RAM is required. |
| [Boxafe] Office 365 Backup | |
| [Boxafe] Google Workspace Backup | |
| [Boxafe] Full-text search | |
| Qsirch |
Note: This feature is supported by all QNAP NAS devices with at least 2 GB of memory |
| [Qsirch] Previews | Photos, music, videos, PDFs, Gmail, and others |
| [Qsirch] Integrate Mac Finder | |
| [Qsirch] Advanced picture search | |
| [Qsirch] Search filters | |
| QuMagie |
Note: At least 1 GB RAM is required. |
| [QuMagie] Browse photos | |
| [QuMagie] Virtual and smart albums | |
| [QuMagie] AI-assisted photo management | People, things, places, and others |
| Antivirus (free) | |
| QVPN Service |
Note: At least 1 GB RAM is required. |
| [QVPN Service] Remote Access | PPTP, L2TP/IPSec, OpenVPN, WireGuard, QBelt (QNAP proprietary) |
| [QVPN Service] Supportedd utility and mobile app | Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android |
| [QVPN Service] Supported maximum clients | 100 |
| HD Station | |
| LDAP Server | |
| RADIUS | |
| SQL server | |
| License Center | |
| Multimedia Console | |
| Photo Station | |
| Music Station | |
| Video Station | |
| Download Station | |
| Notes Station | |
| Qfiling | |
| Media Streaming add-on | |
| QmailAgent | |
| QuWAN | |
| DA Driver Analyzer | |
| Q’center |
Note: The application is available in the App Center and in virtual appliance marketplaces (VMware vSphere ESXi and Microsoft Hyper-V). |
| Q’center Server | |
| Q’center Agent | |
| Connect to Q’center | |
| Container Station |
Note: At least 1 GB RAM is required. |
| [Container Station] Supported type | LXC/LXD and Docker
Note: LXD has been supported after Container Station 2.4 |
| [Container Station] Docker Hub Registry | |
| [Container Station] Container importing and exporting | |
| [Container Station] Console mode | |
| QVR Pro |
Note: At least 4 GB RAM is required. The maximum number of channels supported varies by NAS model, network configuration, and camera settings. For more information, visit https://www.qnap.com/go/qvr-nas-selector. |
| [QVR Pro] Recording Technique | Index database based |
| [QVR Pro] License Type | Perpetual |
| [QVR Pro] User-defined trigger events | |
| [QVR Pro] Metadata | |
| [QVR Pro] QVR Pro Client (Desktop) | Windows, macOS, and QNAP HybridDesk Station |
| [QVR Pro] QVR Pro Client (Mobile) | Android and iOS |
| [QVR Pro] Recording camera streams | H.264 |
| [QVR Pro] Free built-in camera channels | 8 |
| QVR Elite |
Note: At least 1 GB RAM is required. The maximum number of channels supported varies by NAS model, network configuration, and camera settings. For more information, visit https://www.qnap.com/go/qvr-nas-selector. |
| [QVR Elite] Recording Technique | Standard MP4 file based |
| [QVR Elite] License Type | Subscription-based |
| [QVR Elite] User-defined trigger events | |
| [QVR Elite] QVR Pro Client (Desktop) | Windows, macOS, and QNAP HybridDesk Station |
| [QVR Elite] QVR Pro Client (Mobile) | Android and iOS |
| [QVR Elite] Recording camera streams | H.264 |
| [QVR Elite] Free built-in camera channels | 2 |
| QVR Pro Client | |
| [QVR Pro Client] Dynamic View Layout | |
| [QVR Pro Client] Windows | |
| [QVR Pro Client] Mac | |
| [QVR Pro Client] HybridDesktop | |
| [QVR Pro Client] iOS | |
| [QVR Pro Client] Android | |
| QVR Human | |
| QVR Face |
The maximum number of channels supported varies by NAS model, network configuration, and camera settings. For more information, visit https://www.qnap.com/solution/qvr-face/en-us/ |
| QVR DoorAccess |
QTS does not support DRM content and some IPv6 services.
Some data encryption features may be unavailable because of country-specific legislative restrictions.
Some features may vary by model.
Designs and specifications are subject to change without notice.
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Done any testing with Plex on this thing yet?