Exterior

The TS-453A's design is similar to that of other high-end QNAP NAS models since it uses the same metal enclosure. Its brushed finish on top and on its sides is of high quality, and the enclosure's round edges look good. Its externals look appealing, and the LCD screen is a nice modern touch. A USB 3.0 port that is literally surrounded by the "copy" button and the power switch have been put into the front's bottom-left corner.


A label at the front shows that this NAS support QTS and the Ubuntu Linux distribution through QNAP's Virtualized Personal Computer (QvPC) technology. The LCD above QNAP's HDD trays has three LED indicators (Status, USB, and LAN), and a button opposite to those even allows you to perform several basic administrative tasks. These include getting the NAS's IP address, checking on the system's temperature, etc. The LCD screen deactivates automatically once the start-up or reboot phase finishes to keep energy consumption as low as possible.


A small decal on top also provides information on which HDD has been put into which tray, and another, much larger decal provides the cloud key one would use to create one's own personal cloud.


Four plastic stands are installed at the bottom, and there is also a small label with the model number and its power-input specifications. The label mentions Taiwan as the country of manufacture. Two stickers below it label mention the Ethernet ports' MAC address.


A large fan grille takes up most of the real estate in the rear. Above it are the two 6.3 mm jacks for dynamic microphones and the audio line-out. To the right of those are the reset button, recessed into the chassis, and a service port. There are also two HDMI 1.4a ports, three USB 3.0 ports, and four Gigabit Ethernet ports on this side, and the DC input socket has been put into the bottom-right corner.


We removed the trays for a photo of the NAS's internals before completely taking the NAS apart.


The trays support 3.5" and 2.5" disks and are of good quality. There are unfortunately no locks, which are very important to business environments, or any anti-vibration materials. Thankfully, these trays are made out of metal, which should make them sturdy enough to prevent HDDs from vibrating. However, some rubber lining or other such measure would have further improved their sound-dampening capabilities.