INTRODUCTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   When NAS servers made their main debut in the market well over a decade ago they were designed to be a easy to deploy centralized storage solution which could provide local systems with large amounts of available storage capacity and data. Since then however things have changed for the best and so currently NAS servers can be used for many things including file sharing, web hosting, direct and torrent downloads, local backups, media streaming and sharing and of course as email servers. With the recent arrival of the Virtualization feature high-end NAS servers can also be configured to run your OS of choice thus further widening their range of uses. Still if there's one thing i always felt missing from that market that's a compact yet high-end NAS model which i could place even in my own bedroom and not worry about it waking me up in the middle of the night. Well QNAP seems to share my thoughts and so they just released the TurboNAS TS-453Mini, a powerful yet quiet 4 bay NAS.

   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.

   Unlike the SilentNAS series again by QNAP which featured good hardware specifications but nothing exciting in order to support their passive cooling system the TS-453Mini is actually amongst the most powerful NAS servers to ever reach our lab. This is not only because of the quad-core Intel Celeron J1900 CPU running at 2GHz (64Bit, 2MB L2 cache, 22nm) with its Intel® HD Graphics Mesa DRI Bay Trail running at 688MHz (OpenGL 3.0 Mesa 10.2.2) found under the hood of the TS-453Mini but also due to the amount of DDR3L RAM which in our model is 8GB running at 1333MHz (this is also the maximum amount supported by this CPU). The TS-453Mini also has room for up to four 3.5/2.5" SATA III drives, 2 Gigabit RJ45 Ethernet ports, 3 USB 3.0 ports, 2 USB 2.0 ports, HDMI v1.4a port and a build-in IR sensor which can be used with their RM-IR002 remote control (included in the bundle). In terms of software features the TS-453Mini supports everything we've seen so far with most NAS models by QNAP but ontop of all of these it also supports their latest Virtualization station which basically allows the end user to install other operating systems (for example Windows and Linux) in separate drive partitions. So let's move forward with our review to see just how good this "silent" NAS model by QNAP really is.

 

 

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unlike their other NAS models QNAP ships the TS-453Mini inside a blue cardboard box which has a product drawing at the front right next to 3 other drawings of a screen, keyboard and a mouse (used to showcase the QvPC technology).

 

 

Some of the product features/stations are listed on the left side in 24 languages.

 

 

Two extra drawings are placed on the left side and are used to showcase the various activity LEDs and ports on the unit.

 

 

At the rear we find another drawing used to showcase the drive trays and memory module area and listed right beneath are some of the product features and specifications.

 

 

The bundle contents and a Thank You note are the first things you'll see when you open the box.

 

 

While the NAS is placed between two thick foam spacers the rest of the bundle sits inside a small cardboard box.

 

 

QNAP has placed quite a few things inside the box so along with the TS-453Mini you will also get its power adapter and cord, two Ethernet cables, IR remote control, bag with screws for 2.5" drive installation and the quick installation guide.

 

 

THE TS-453MINI-8G

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For a 4 Bay NAS model the 2kg heavy glossy enclosure of the TS-453Mini is quite compact and measures just 200mm in height, 210mm in depth and 151mm in width.

 

 

Some people will like the plastic enclosure of the TS-453Mini while others will probably like the plastic and aluminum enclosure of the rest of the QNAP NAS line.

 

 

At the top end of the fascia we find the IR sensor, power LED, drive activity LEDs, LAN activity LED, USB activity LED and the blue Skyline LED indicator.

 

 

The power on/off switch, one-touch backup button and a USB 3.0 port are placed on the lower end of the fascia.

 

 

You can start the installation of the unit just by scanning the 2D barcode found on the left side.

 

 

The rest is all gathered at the rear of the enclosure so here we find the DC in port, two USB 2.0 ports, reset button, two RJ45 LAN ports, two USB 3.0 ports and the HDMI v1.4a port.

 

 

Turning the unit over we see 4 quite tall rubber feet.

 

 

If you get the 4GB version you can add more memory through this compartment (our sample came with two 4GB modules).

 

 

Mounting the drives is very easy since the top cover is kept in place via 4 small magnets.

 

 

All four drive trays can be removed just by pulling upwards.

 

 

Quality wise these may not be made out of aluminum like we've seen in the past in other models by QNAP but they are very sturdy.

 

 

2.5" drives require to be secured on the trays with screws but for 3.5" drives you just need to remove the side brackets, mount the drive and place the brackets back in.

 

 

With all 4 drives mounted we're good to go.

 

 

Oh worth mentioning is the IR remote which can be very useful if you don't want to use a keyboard and a mouse.

 

 

SETUP

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are several ways you can detect and setup the NAS but Qfinder Pro is the best and this is what we used here as well.

 

 

Depending on the usage you want for the NAS you can configure it either for Home or Office use. The first also loads multimedia applications while the second only loads necessary services.

 

 

After you make the choice you only have to enter a new name for the NAS and a new password (if you want to change the default ones), setup the network settings and choose the desired configuration for the drives.

 

 

QTS 4.2 FINAL PART 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

QNAP just released the final 4.2 version of their QTS so although we had been testing the TS-453Mini for a month we decided to perform the entire review on this version. As you can see the login screen this time over has a lot more pictures than previous versions (home configuration).

 

 

The GUI screen is revamped and looks great as always with pretty much everything you need located at the main screen. The very detailed resource monitor can once again be accessed from the lower left corner while a drop down start-like menu can be accessed from the top left corner.

 

 

As always everything goes through the control panel of the QTS.

 

 

Via the System Settings menu you can set the name for the server, adjust time, set a password, change the codepage, adjust the login screen, specify your location, adjust the network IP, play around with power options, set notifications, check the state of the installed drives, create RAID and Virtual drives, setup cache acceleration (via SSD), enable/disable security settings, configure the speed of the fan, backup and restore NAS data, configure external devices, check hardware information, setup backup options, access external device settings, check the logs and of course perform firmware updates.

 

 

The Privilege Settings tab is very basic and allows you to create new users, assign those users to groups, setup shared folders, set specific quotas for each user and configure domain security.

 

 

From within the Network Services menu you will find everything network-related including FTP settings, Telnet service settings and service discovery settings. You can also setup/configure the Qsync Central Station v2.0 which allows you to have your files synced between the NAS and your other internet capable devices at all times.

 

 

In order to use some of the installed stations you will need to enable them from within the Applications tab.

 

 

QTS 4.2 FINAL PART 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since the TS-453Mini has an HDMI video output if you wish to use it with your TV set you will need to enable the HybridDesk Station. Unlike previous QTS versions this time over this station downloads many applications like Kodi, Google Chrome, Facebook and many more.

 

 

Just like most high-end NAS models the TS-453Mini can be set to automatically transcode media for easier streaming between the various network devices.

 

 

As usual by default the QTS has but a few applications/stations installed but you can install a lot more from within the App Center.

 

 

Just the QTS essential apps however should easily cover the majority of users.

 

 

The design of the photo station has also improved and it’s now easier to see and share all your pictures with other PC and mobile devices.

 

 

With the Music Station you can stream and playback your entire music collection without switching to an external application (design-wise there are several changes as well).

 

 

Via the File Station you can transfer files to and from the NAS and although also revamped (QNAP added support for direct connection to Cloud storage and other NAS models) it still looks quite a bit like the Windows explorer.

 

 

You can use the Download Station for torrents or direct HTTP/FTP download (QNAP has improved its functionality but to date I still prefer rutorrent myself).

 

 

Qsirch is a brand new application which allows the end user to search for specific files inside the NAS at incredible speeds. It may not come in handy much for home use but for office use it could prove to be a valuable addition.

 

 

Much like with previous QTS versions you can use the backup station to backup data from your local computer and onto the NAS (or from another NAS to this NAS) or to backup data directly online using Amazon S3 Cloud Service.

 

 

Last week we had a couple of visitors in our lab who asked whether or not the TS-453Mini was powerful enough to take advantage of the virtualization station. Because of that I did spend a few hours setting up a Windows 7 Ultimate installation (you can check some of the details from the above screenshots) and although I have to admit that the TS-453Mini can’t compete with a regular desktop system in terms of speed using the station was very easy so I expect many to benefit from this feature.

 

 

The Surveillance Station is pretty much the same as the one we encountered with the TVS-871U-RP so once again it asks the end user to point to the place it should store recordings. Unfortunately however the TS-453Mini only comes with a dual camera license.

 

 

Just like with previous versions you will need to switch from UDP/UPnP to ONViF detection if your cameras support it (2 out of the 3 IP cameras placed around the lab were detected with ONVIF).

 

 

The rest of the tabs remain pretty much the same so once again you get various settings to choose from and of course the ability to add more camera licenses.

 

 

HYBRIDDESK STATION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By installing the applications required to enable the HybridDesk Station you can use most of the applications found in the NAS from the comfort of your living room and/or bed. The applications installed are Google Chrome, Clementine (multi-platform music player), DeadBeef (music player), Facebook, File Station, Firefox, KODI (XBMC), LibreOffice (office suite), Surveillance Station, Music Station, QTS (web interface), OpenTTD (game), Photo Station, Plex Home Theater (media player), Skype, Spotify (music download), Supertux (game), TuneInRadio (online radio), Video Station, Wesnoth (game), HD Player (combines the photo, music, video stations) and YouTube.

 

 

KODI is the one application that we like to focus on since its performance is the decisive factor for people who are looking to get units like the TS-453Mini. Unfortunately version 15.2 is still identical to the previous ones.

 

 

Still the developers allow the end user to personalize the KODI application quite a bit (for example change the skin of the menus and set the region/language/audio language options).

 

 

Important information like the hardware components of the unit is once again accessible through KODI much like the several video and audio settings.

 

 

Our Blu-Ray MKV rip of Avatar S.E (42GB) was once again used to test the playback capabilities of the NAS at hand and once again we experienced one of the smoothest playbacks of this particular file (we literally didn't encounter even a single glitch/freeze/lag).

 

 

TESTING METHODOLOGY – PERFORMANCE RESULTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Originally we had decided that since some of the NAS servers/devices we've tested in the past are no longer in our possession (naturally) we would keep performing the exact same testing methodology we did in the past for as long as possible in order to provide accurate comparison results. However since our real-life tests are not enough for some people we also decided to throw in ATTO and Crystal Disk Mark to cover the more demanding users. However as always we will be using up to six Seagate Constellation ES.3 4TB SATA III hard disk drive(s) with 3.5” compatible units and up to two (for now) Enterprise Capacity 2.5 HDD V3 2TB SATA III HDDs with 2.5” compatible units to perform several upload/download tests with 10.9GB (Single) and 40,8GB (RAID) files. Tests are repeated a total of 4 times after which we record the average numbers (from the 4 peak ones) into our charts. The network device used for 1GbE tests is the same Netgear D6300 AC1600 Gigabit ADSL2+ Modem/Router we’ve been using lately when performing tests on NAS servers. Since the 25^th of June 2015 for 10GbE tests we’ll be using a Netgear ProSafe XS712T 10G Smart Switch and an Intel XT540-AT2 10GbE PCIe card (10GbE compatible NAS cards will be provided from each company and stated in each review).

 

SINGLE DISK TESTS

RAID TESTS

 

TEST RESULTS – TEMPERATURES / CONSUMPTION / NOISE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEMPERATURES

 

POWER CONSUMPTION

 

NOISE LEVELS

 

CONCLUSION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   The SilentNAS HS-251 NAS model by QNAP which passed through our lab a while back managed to be completely silent without compromising much both in terms of performance and features. Well the TurboNAS TS-453Mini takes things several steps forward and although it may not be as quiet since there's a small exhaust fan inside the enclosure (during 99% of our tests dBA were far below 40) it manages to compete with models that cost twice as much or more and does so without using much space and electricity. Personally i think that QNAP would be better off using a silent 120/140mm intake fan at the base of the enclosure since this one although silent 90% of the time it just doesn't seem to provide very good cooling to the drives (still even with 4 drives mounted they never exceeded 56 degrees Celsius at load). A couple of people visiting our lab pointed out that not many would like to use a NAS server that features an enclosure covered with hard plastic but i happen to disagree since the TS-453Mini looks great and can blend pretty much everywhere in the house (unlike regular NAS models). Also as many of you have noticed this time over we decided to showcase part of QNAPs virtualization station and although i have to admit that it's not as fast as a desktop PC system when running Windows 7 Ultimate (that's what we loaded it with) still it provides extra possibilities for people who may need to run Windows or any other OS. Unfortunately however things didn't go perfect since we found ourselves unable to use the latest versions of QNAPs android apps neither with the TS-453Mini nor with the TS-871U-RP which we use in the lab (since it happened with both NAS my bet is that it's a glitch in the latest versions).

   The TS-453Mini by QNAP is currently available in two versions, one with 2GB of RAM and the one we tested today which comes with 8GB of RAM. The 2GB version retails for USD529 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 490Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk) while the 8GB version retails for USD669 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 650Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk). Normally I’d say go for the 2GB version and if that’s not enough get 8GB extra and put the 2GB aside (it’d still be cheaper that way). However QNAP tests every single unit they ship to ensure 100% compatibility between modules and since I’ve used many after-market memory modules with many NAS servers only to come across several problems later on I think that the extra money are well spend (if QNAP however could reduce the price gap between the 2GB and 8GB models in the near future we wouldn’t complain). Overall the TurboNAS TS-453Mini has it all. It’s completely silent most of the time, can blend in pretty much everywhere due to its design and size, has a very long list of features and ontop of that it performs remarkably well (it’s a shame that it’s not 10GbE compatible) so we really have no reason to deny it our Platinum Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Intel Celeron J1900 Quad Core CPU
- Excellent Performance
- Features
- 8GB DDR3L RAM (Our Sample)
- Design/Size
- Tool-Less Drive Trays (3.5" Drives)
- Bundled IR Remote
- Power Consumption / Noise Levels
- 2 Gigabit Ethernet Ports
- 3 USB 3.0 Ports & 2 USB 2.0 Ports
- HDMI v1.4a Output
- RAID 0/1/5/6/10/5 + Hot Spare
- SATA III (6Gb/s)
- QTS 4.2 OS

 

CONS

- Temperatures Could Be Better
- Magnetic Top (Makes Noise)