INTRODUCTION

   Largely thanks to their media playback capabilities, small space requirements and very low power consumption levels NAS (network attached storage) devices may have in large part replaced HTPCs and small download and web hosting servers but their main function has always been file storage and sharing (either locally or remotely). This is also what most small and large businesses are interested in so it does make sense that most rackmount models are focused primarily on that function by offering multiple network ports (of various speeds and types) and even expansion slots for extra network cards. The latest addition in the growing XCubeNAS family by QSAN is the 4-bay rackmount XN3004R model and it's also what we'll be focusing on today.

   QSAN Technology, a leading storage technology designer and manufacturer, was founded in July 2004. Building on our vast experience in the industry, QSAN strives to build enterprise-class storage systems that pride ourselves with outstanding performance, secure data protection, and comprehensive data management. QSAN endeavors to provide the industry with high-quality data storage systems that are simple, secure, scalable and reliable. For more information, please visit www.QSAN.com.

   The latest XN3004R model is a 4-bay (2.5/3.5"), 12 inch 1U rackmount NAS which QSAN markets as their all-in-one entry level storage solution aimed at small businesses and thus is not ideal for very heavy workloads. Still even though the XN3004R lacks PSU redundancy the 64-bit Intel Atom dual-core processor running at 1.6GHz which QSAN has paired with 4GB LPDDR3 RAM at 1600MHz (expandable to 8GB) and an 8GB flash DOM (disk on module) should provide adequate performance for up to medium workloads. The XN3004R also sports two USB 2.0 ports, two RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet ports, console port, single M.2 port and an PCIe Gen2x8 expansion slot which can be used with 10GbE RJ45 and SFP+ cards (models RHBE10R2 and XN-E1002). QSAN also covers the latest XCubeNAS XN3004R with a 3-year limited warranty.