Introduction

We would like to thank QNAP for supplying the review sample.

The word NAS stands for Network-Attached Storage and over the last years these devices are becoming more and more popular, especially as Internet bandwidth keeps increasing and becoming more reliable. Users need large capacity file servers that are accessible from anywhere so they can use their data on all devices. Of course a contemporary NAS device doesn't play only the role of a file server but has many more functions like media streaming, downloading all kind of files, video surveillance, web hosting or print server.

QNAP is a relatively new company, founded in 2004, and currently one of the leaders in the NAS market since they have a vast variety of such devices, covering all market segments and user needs. Their NAS devices span into three main categories which are intended for Home & SOHO (Small Office Home Office), SMB (Small and Medium-sized Business) and finally high-end SMB use. The devices that belong to the smaller category use Marvell CPUs (ARM) while almost all products that belong to the other two categories utilize Intel processors (ATOM CPUs for SMB and Dual Core i3 or Quad Core Xeon E3 CPUs for the high-end SMB series).

Today we will test the top model of QNAP's Home & SOHO category, the TS-419P II which is equipped with a 2.0 GHz single core Marvell processor. Briefly this device supports all popular platforms including Linux/UNIX, Windows and Mac OS, offers complete back up solutions, can host a cloud service, is able to share multimedia content and finally according to its maker it is energy-efficient thus environmental friendly. In this review besides the functionality analysis, we are going to stress the NAS really hard to check if it offers the advertised performance and reliability that QNAP promises. Ending the prologue, we shouldn't forget to mention the highly interesting MyCloudNAS service which is offered for free by QNAP to all users that own one of their NAS products. Via this service you have instant access to your NAS from everywhere, through internet and you can also create a personal cloud easily.

Specifications

The heart of the TP-419P II is a Marvell CPU running at 2.0 GHz. This processor utilizes the ARM instruction set and has a single core, so we expect it to be the bottlenecked at heavy throughput. On the other hand the available memory of 512 MB will be fine for the embedded Linux that this device uses.

Up to four HDDs, 3.5" or 2.5", can be installed and the newer SATA III protocol is not supported. However SATA III, unlike to SSDs, practically doesn't have anything more to offer to mechanical disks, compared to SATA II.
Before you buy the HDDs for the NAS you better take a look at the QNAP HDD compatibility list, since some HDDs are not compatible with the TS-419P II. Also according to this post at QNAP's forum, all WD desktop drives (Green/Blue/Black) are not recommended since they cause the following consequences:

• Slow performance
• Disk drop out from RAID easily
• Read/write error on file system

Regarding network connectivity the device is equipped with two Gigabit ports which can be linked together (port trunking), but in order to exploit port trunking you must have a suitable switch that supports the Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP). The same applies to Jumbo frames, too. You should enable packets with more than 1500 bytes length only if your whole infrastructure supports them and also you should configure the MTU value of your clients accordingly.
In total the TS-419P II is equipped with four USB 2.0 ports (one on the front and the rest are located on the rear side) and two eSATA ones. Unfortunately there are no USB 3.0 ports so you better connect your external disks via eSATA for maximum throughput.
The unit is equipped with a two-line LCD display which shows useful messages about the NAS device (e.g. the network IP address) and through it you can also perform some basic administrative tasks.

The NAS has pretty compact dimensions and actually the HDD compartment occupies most of its internal space. Its weight is restricted to 3 kg without the HDDs installed of course. Regarding its energy consumption QNAP states that at sleep mode it needs only 13W and in operation it consumes 26W. During our tests we will verify if these numbers stand, since we will use four 500 GB HDDs; the same number and capacity HDDs QNAP used to extract the above readings.
With a specified 35.6 dB noise at standby and a little more during operation the NAS is relatively quiet, although not so quiet as many users would like it to be. During our test sessions we will conduct some noise measurements, too to verify if the given noise output numbers are close to the real ones.

The TS-419P II uses an external power brick, although it has space inside its casing to accommodate a SFF PSU. This power brick can deliver up to 8A at +12V so the NAS along with the installed HDDs has 96W at their disposal. We think that this is a sufficient power level for any case.

Finally the warranty of the device is set to only two years and to speak frankly we expected a much longer warranty for such a high cost device. However a NAS is supposed to work 24/7 so two years of its lifetime is equal to 2-3 times more for other devices that work only 8-10 hours per day. With this in mind the two year warranty doesn't look so bad.

Packaging

The packaging of the NAS is huge and sturdy. On the front side we find a face shot of the NAS with the LCD screen activated. Right above that we find a brief features list and three badges that describe the 2.0GHz Marvell CPU used and the 512MB of RAM along with the eco-friendly energy consumption and the 2.5"/3.5" disk support.


On the rear side of the box QNAP has placed nice icons shows the most noteworthy functions of the NAS, that will make it highly desired to most users/administrators out there.


On the two remaining sides of the box we find the list of hardware and software features along with a description of the buttons, LED indicators and I/O ports of the front and rear side of TS-419P II. There is also a graph showing the power consumption of the NAS compared to a PC server playing similar role. According to QNAP the difference in power consumption is huge in favor of their product of course.

Contents & Bundle

Once we opened the box a welcome message greeted us, providing also several useful links. In a small carton box the power adapter is stored and under it the NAS is surrounded by two really thick pieces of packing foam. The protection inside the packaging is top notch and the device will reach your hands in perfect condition. Also for further protection against scratches the TS-419P II is wrapped in a heavy duty plastic bag. The rest of the bundle includes two bags of screws, two CAT 5e cables, a user's manual and a software CD including QNAP's applications.


The bundle also included a notice of free firmware updates. Apparently QNAP wanted to be sure that the future buyers would be aware of the free firmware upgrades.

Exterior

Let's take a look at the NAS device itself. As you can see its footprint is medium and actually most of its internal space is occupied by the four hard disk drive trays (also called drive caddies).


All the front face is made from plastic while the top and side panels are actually formed by a single piece of steel with a nice brushed finish.


Contrary to the Pro QNAP models the drive trays in this one are not equipped with locks so they can easily be removed by anyone. Above them there is the two line LCD screen which is de-activated automatically once the start up or reboot phase finishes, for energy saving purposes most likely. However it is enabled every time you press one of the two small buttons on its right side. Through these buttons you can perform some basic administrative tasks or get informed about the IP address of the NAS in the network, the system temperature etc. Below the LCD screen there are four LED indicators and also there are four more right above each drive tray.


In the front bottom left corner we find a USB 2.0 port and a copy button. Via the NAS web interface you can set the function of the copy button (e.g. copy the contents of the USB external disk to the NAS storage or the opposite). Above the copy button resides the Power switch which turns the unit on or off.


After removing all drive trays we had a clear view of the PCIe expansion card to which all drives attach and at the four metal rails which guide the trays to their respective positions. The trays are numbered from one to four and the first should be installed in the far left position, according to QNAP's HDD sequence sticker located on the top panel.


The trays support both 3.5" and 2.5" HDDs/SSDs and are numbered. The bundle includes all necessary screws to install the HDDs on the trays.


A close, angled, shot at the QNAP logo.


Only one of the two side panels features an exhaust grill.


On the rear side we find most of the I/O ports along with the reset switch, which restores the NAS to its default settings so it is essential if you forget the admin password. The two top red ports are the eSATA ones and below them reside two Gigabit Ethernet ports. Three USB 2.0 ports follow and last we find the 12V input socket. Although the TS-419P II shares the same case with the TS-469 Pro which features an internal 250W PSU, QNAP chose to equip the first with an external power adapter. The main cooling fan, that removes the hot air from the internals, has 90mm diameter and is temperature controlled (automatic or manual via the web interface).