Super NAS for home. Asustor Nimbustor 2 AS5202T – 5 Gb / s for data storage – review

Many of our friends consider network attached storage to be either a purely office solution or the lot of iron geeks. In fact, NAS solves such a bunch of problems that we would put them in every apartment. Let’s give a couple of examples.

NAS replaces the computer in the matter of data storage. And this is especially true when at home everyone moved to consoles, tablets, laptops and phones. The NAS stores music and movies for all home TVs, tablets, projectors and Android consoles. Also, the NAS replaces any “cloud”, does not require monthly payments and is not subordinate to either Google or Microsoft. And, of course, the NAS is always in touch and gives you your files anywhere in the world.

Appearance

Externally, NAS is a mini-computer. A small plastic case, on the front panel there is USB 3.1, six LEDs and power and synchronization buttons. At the back are two more USB, a pair of network RJ-45 and HDMI 2.0.

Hard drives sit on a slide and are covered with a front panel. They change in a couple of minutes – you drop the panel, pull out the compartment, snap the drive into it and repeat in the reverse order. Just say, only two drives with a total volume of 28 TB get into our version. But there is the same NAS on four disks – AS5304T. Plus, you can buy three AS6004U expansion units on four disks each. That is, the total volume is brought up to 196 TB. It should be noted that ASUS unsoldered the active strapping, and the disks can be pulled out directly from the working device.

Inside, the NAS also resembles a regular computer. An Intel Celeron J4005 with an integrated Intel UHD 600 is soldered on the motherboard. It operates at a frequency of 2.6 GHz and consumes only 10 watts. RAM from the factory is 2 GB DDR4-2400 MHz, but it can be expanded up to 8 GB. Well, instead of an SSD, a 4 GB eMMC is soldered to the system.

And finally – these are the Realtek RTL8125 network controllers. Everyone can reach 2.5 Gbit / s, and, in fact, this is the main difference between the AS5202T from budget counterparts. Typically, home NAS operate at 1 Gb / s. Naturally, for 5 Gbps, an appropriate binding is needed. These are either routers and switches, or modern laptops and computers on the latest generation of motherboards.

Note that the NAS is powered by a small 65W PSU. Of these, however, the device itself takes only 17 watts in active mode and 1.3 watts in sleep mode. On the background of a regular computer – a penny. Similarly, by the way, with noise. If the hard drives are not killed and do not creak like dilapidated carts, then the NAS is not heard at all.

Software

Now let’s talk about the setup. Everything starts simply. You insert at least one disk, stick it in a socket, hook it onto a LAN and configure it. Although the latter – it is said loudly. Basic storage is easier than installing Windows.

NAS runs on Linux – it is an ADM (Asustor Data Master) system. You can connect to it both from a computer and from any mobile device. And if all of a sudden this is not the case, then you hook the NAS to the TV via HDMI, connect the keyboard via USB and work like with a regular computer. You can even climb sites.

At the first start, of course, the installation wizard starts. He goes through all the basic settings, explains what to do, and opens the NAS to both the local network and the outside world. Everything else is already subtleties and additional software.

The ADM OS is built around applications. Basic utilities work with drives, virtual partitions and synchronization, delimit user rights and monitor activity. For more, a “store” is installed, in which there is a bunch of software. Here, and managing cloud services, and downloading torrents, and distributing music, and sorting files, and a bunch of other things.

Naturally, all this is tightly integrated with computers and mobile devices. The most important thing for a PC is iSCSI support. That is, any hard drive in the NAS can be hooked to Windows as a regular local volume. There are also excellent Backup Plan and Download Assistant utilities for the computer. The first backs up your files. The second one downloads from the Internet what you tell her.

Similar utilities are available on Android and iOS, but they also add music and movie players, photo and video synchronization, IP-camera control and even mouse emulation with a keyboard.

Moreover, the NAS can work as a video player. That is, through HDMI you hook it to the TV – and start any video. True, the 4K processor is not enough – only for high-quality Full HD. The same applies to working with encrypted data. If you suddenly encrypt the video from the graduation, then the transfer rate will drop by 2-5 times depending on the task.

results

However, if we are talking about insecure data, then the NAS shows very good values. When connecting to 2.5 Gbit / s, the data copy speed we obtained was at the level of 134 MB / s, and in both directions. Purely for reference, 85 MB / s came out with 1 Gb / s with the same hard drive.

In other words, the speeds are as if the hard drives are not in the next room next to the router, but installed directly in the computer. And this is the same level when it is already possible to talk about direct work with video, and with the preservation of broadcasts, and the distribution of content to several sources in the house. Moreover, theoretically, if you hook the NAS as a local volume via iSCSI, you can put games on it. The main thing, however, is to disconnect all other consumers so that they do not suddenly start pulling the video in 4K.