Update - Messing around with the 859 pro +
Just to give anyone else looking for this information a better idea. Here are a couple of things I discovered after I purchased this that aren't mentioned anywhere online. We bought 2 of these to mirror each other we have 8 x 3TB drives (seagate).
1) The file share structure blows - IE: you cannot have sub-directories shared to different users/groups than the parent share. The kerberos (ADS windows domain) integrations works but is crap, reboots drop the domain controller you have to put your password back in to reconnect, you can either have a group or users listed as members of a share if connected to a domain, but not both at the same time, the qnap frequently forgets the UUID of users on the domain. In conclusion: don't attempt to get this going on a windows domain controller and expect anything less than a paper weight. The overall software configuration blows. The qnap runs it own native version of linux, don't know the distro base. However since the 859 has VGA and usb you can plug a monitor in and watch it boot, since it is just an x86 computer. Doing this I was able to access linux console, so I promptly went around setting up proper samba by raw editing samba.conf in command line... this worked great (for a bit -we'll get to that) so everything is going swimmingly after the samba edit have non-shitty file sharing nested directories for shares (the native web-interface doesn't allow), so then I reboot the thing... and discover that apparently qnap stores (somewhere I couldn't find) a hash of the base config files in their last known "good" state -that being the state that qnap webconsole configured them in. If it detects on reboot the hash doesn't make it has a shadow copy -somewhere. That it overwrites the file with so that it returns it to it's expected hash. Nice from a backup idea terrible if you are editing the files manually. Every reboot you'd have to configure the thing all over again. Obviously that wasn't an option.
--- On to the ways to get around this:
- I first though, I'll wipe the internal flash memory and put linux on it, well you get 512 MB, debian with nothing barely fits (squeeze 6.0.3) you have approx 80 MB left, so then I thought well I'll just get a USB flash drive plug it in the back install "real" linux (debian squeeze) on it, run my own software raid and not have crappy shadow files overwriting my perfectly functional confs. This worked great except I happened to pick a flash drive that seems to have bad sectors, and besides it looks tachy sticking out the back.
I came across this site that had taken the qNAP apart:
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/QNAP/TS-859_Pro/ [page 4] inside pics
You'll see they are using a usb headered flash drive nice industrial version. For some reason they decided on 512 MB so that had to be changed.
Here is the site that sells these things after market:
http://www.e-itx.com/apacer-udm2-plus-type-a.html
--- They use the TYPE A USB header in the qnap 859, I was unable to tell if they use the normal temperature or extended temp. I purchased the normal temp as that is all the supplier said they could get at the time.
They [e-itx.com] basically just calls up apacer and orders one. They aren't cheap (as flash memory goes) but 1) they work, 2) they are the exact form factor, 3) same company, 4) now I can run linux on this thing with plenty of free space for linux extras (samba , tftpserver, ftp, etc) without worry that I only have 80 MB free.
(Base debian with some nice packages is approx 1.3 GB so I got the 4 GB one ... plenty of space now.)
Anyway, as a recommendation, do this, the form factor of the qnap is great, the transfer speeds over network are in the 100-120MB/s (capping Gigabit), just get rid of their terrible software install some real linux and you'll have yourself a nice machine.
--- Extra notes: I did try other OS distros geared toward NASes (FreeNAS, OPENfiler,etc) the problem with these was they all were someone limited in other general linux stuff without some compile from source, and they kind of take over the system and make it a little black box.
---- One note, with regular debian installed it detects all the hard drives however it doesn't seem to control the hdd lights correctly as only 4 (the 4 on the right of the device are on, the others are off but this is no way affects the ability for the OS to see the drives or use them in RAID or alone.)
-- Long post but no one has seemed to compile this information anywhere. So I thought I'd write it does as it has been about 2 months of work dealing with this.
this is why i dont understand premade NAS systems, your telling me its ~1200 Euros...for a metal box....with an atom board inside?
