INTRODUCTION

   Judging by sales numbers around the globe it seems that NAS servers have finally managed to replace full computer systems in some areas due to their size, low power consumption and easy to use menus and functions. This of course applies mostly to large enterprise environments where several such devices get used and thus the benefits from the mentioned features are even greater. Small business and home users also turn towards NAS servers to cover their needs (mostly for office use) but to my knowledge at least not many people actually choose to use NAS servers purely for their media sharing capabilities and the ones that do never really place them inside their bedrooms to avoid getting disturbed by their noise levels (even just 20dBA is quite audible at night). QNAP is the first NAS manufacturer to address that issue by releasing the first dual bay model of the SilentNAS series called the HS-210.

   QNAP Systems, Inc., as its brand promise "Quality Network Appliance Provider", aims to deliver comprehensive offerings of cutting edge network attached storage (NAS) and network video recorder (NVR) solutions featured with ease-of-use, robust operation, large storage capacity, and trustworthy reliability. QNAP integrates technologies and designs to bring forth quality products that effectively improve business efficiency on file sharing, virtualization applications, storage management and surveillance in the business environments, as well as enrich entertainment life for home users with the offering of a fun multimedia center experience. Headquartered in Taipei, QNAP delivers its solutions to the global market with nonstop innovation and passion.

   What really separates the SilentNAS HS-210 from most NAS servers in the market is its design since it's shaped like a DVD player something that was obviously done in order for it to blend in beneath TV sets (set top design). That however is also a downside since QNAP may not have been able to implement a serious passive cooling system something that will obviously disappoint demanding users. Specs-wise the SilentNAS HS-210 packs a Marvell 1.6GHz Processor with 512MB DRAM and 16MB of flash memory so although it uses a passive cooling system the specifications are not half as bad as one would had thought, not for a home oriented NAS unit. The HS-210 also features two USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, SD Card Slot and a Gigabit Ethernet port and yes as you will have noticed already it doesn't feature an HDMI port something that really left us baffled since we are talking about a set top design NAS aimed for people who want to use such a device for media sharing and playback in their homes (more importantly beneath TV sets). That alone steals many points from the SilentNAS HS-210 but there are many things we need to check so without further delay let’s do it.