Exterior

The top and side cover (one piece) is out of metal and features a nice black iron finish. External build quality is high, and we definitely appreciated the fact that Thecus used metal parts for the chassis as much more expensive NAS products feature cases completely made out of plastic. On the face are a number of LED indicators for the System, Power, LAN, USB, and HDDs. There is also a USB copy button that copies the contents of an attached external USB drive onto the N4310. The power button is in the bottom-right corner. A little tip about the light codes these LED indicators emit: red always spells trouble. A solid red Power or System LED would be indicative of a system error, while a red HDD LED means a HDD failure has taken place.


There are no ventilation holes on the sides.


The large exhaust fan grill in the rear takes up most of the space there. On the left are two USB 3.0 ports and a single Ethernet port. A little below these is the reset switch, and the two DC inputs are in the bottom-left corner. Such connectivity might seem weird, but the reason behind these two DC inputs is simple as you can connect two external power bricks to the N4310. The other will automatically take over without interrupting the server's operation should one fail. This is a very nice feature, and it is the first time we have come across it in a NAS of this price category.


Four rubber feet are installed on the bottom, which enhances the unit's stability. There is also a small label with the product's serial number here.


We removed the tray to take a better look at these before we proceeded with the installation of our HDDs.


Although made of plastic, the trays are of decent quality, and if you need to bolster security, you can purchase locks for these, since such locks are a part of Thecus's optional accessories list.


Unfortunately, no sound- or anti-vibration materials were used on these trays, which could lead to an increase in noise output under certain conditions. The caddies support smaller 2.5" and standard-sized 3.5" drives.