Exterior

The HS-251 features a very nicely brushed aluminum finish and a slick design. Its restricted height also makes it look like a Blu-ray player rather than a fully featured NAS. QNAP says the HS-251 to have a modern set-top design, which we completely agree with. This unit will fit right in alongside your TV, gaming console, and satellite receiver, or any other home multimedia equipment you may have. It also makes your media player redundant since it bundles an HDMI port.


Nice black covers which snap into place magnetically hide the HDD caddies in the front - a very smart and very functional design even though most of you will rarely remove the trays. Right in the middle of the front, above the push latches for releasing these HDD caddies, is an LED indicator. It will turn green after you turn on the NAS.


The unit's side.


Four pretty large rubber feet on the bottom provide for some grip and a solid foundation. We also found two labels on this side - one with the MAC addresses of the bundled Ethernet ports and the other with the unit's power input specifications.


The rear is pretty interesting since it holds all the I/O ports and the on/off switch. We don't know why QNAP chose to install the latter there and have to disagree with its placement. They should modify the detachable front cover in order to accommodate for a switch, installing it there instead of in the rear where accessing it is pretty difficult. As you can see in the photos above, the NAS actually has two HDMI ports; however, its second port has been reserved for future use. You will unfortunately also have to use an extension cable for readily available access to both USB 3.0 ports.


The trays can easily be removed by pushing the corresponding latches in the middle of the front. As you will see, these trays are installed with the HDDs facing downward.


The trays are of high quality and fully metallic, playing an active role in dissipating the heat the HDDs produce. Since the HS-251 doesn't use active cooling components (fans), QNAP had to use every trick in the book to increase the efficiency of their passively cooled design.