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QNAP TS-439 Pro Turbo NAS


Date
: 08/25/09 – 03:13:57 AM

Author
:

Category
: Storage

Page 1 : Introduction

Manufacturer
: QNAP System Inc.

Q
uality
N
etwork
A
ppliance
P
rovider defines QNAP's mission statement and they've lived up to those standards by offering what they believe to be the best Network Attached Storage (NAS) and Network Video Recorder (NVR) devices. They have well over fifty products in these two categories; some companies aren't even able to claim they have a total of fifty products let alone in two categories. What's more surprising is that QNAP has only been around since 2004, making it probably one of the fastest growing and most respected network appliance providers.

In my last review I had the opportunity to take the TS-809 Pro out for a spin; this was QNAP's biggest NAS in their lineup. With space for
eight
hard drives, small is an understatement. Not everyone has the kind of money to spend on the TS-809 but for those still looking at getting lots of additional storage space as well as a few extra bells and whistles not found in the TS-809, feast your eyes on the TS-439.

The TS-439 is powered by an Intel 1.6 GHz processor, sports 1GB of DDRII memory to delivery mind-blowing RAID 0/1/5/6/5+Spare/JBOD performance. Best of all, it has several USB and eSATA ports for future growth.

Page 2 : QNAP TS-439 Package

QNAP's packaging is pretty simple. Take a great NAS, protect it well and on the outside of the box, stick as much useful information on it as possible – seems to work great as this is a package that screams professional.

On the front of the package we get a very good look at the TS-439. It's similar to the TS-809 and almost every other small business or commercial QNAP NAS I have reviewed. The drive cages make hard drive installation very easy. On the front of the package we have a list of key selling features with the TS-439 as well as integrated server applications. On the back of the box we have more networking features explained: Advanced RAID Management, AES 256-bit Volume-based Data Encryption, Flexible iSCSI Solution, Benefits of Dual LAN Deployment, Touch-N Go PC-less Installation, Practical System Management Tools, Comprehensive Logs System and Complete Backup Solution. The side of the box prints out the specifications. It feels as if I'm reading a product manual as I look around the box. On the top of the box we have the UPC, serial number and MAC addresses for the network cards. One very handy feature that will make bringing the TS-439 into your home or office easier is the plastic carrying handle.

Opening up the lid we find more information packaged with the box. QNAP had to go into more detail about the PC-less installation and it can be summarized in three steps. It actually is this simple. Using the control panel you can configure the NAS and view crucial system information.

If you doubted the quality of the package, here's a glance into the box. The QNAP TS-439 is surrounded by soft packing foam and enclosed in a second plastic bag to prevent scratches to the finish.

Page 3 : QNAP TS-439 Features & Specifications

The QNAP TS-439 may appear to be a business oriented NAS, but it definitely does so much more that it would fit inside any home with a network.

QNAP TS-439 Pro is the new generation 4-bay model of the worldwide award-winning Turbo NAS Series, providing superior performance for massive data sharing, powerful all-in-one business server features, advanced RAID data protection, built-in iSCSI target service, AES 256-bit volume-based encryption, and rock-solid hot-swappable hard drive design for business.

Powered by Intel 1.6 GHz CPU, 1GB DDRII memory, the TS-439 Pro delivers superior performance for multiple business applications. Advanced RAID configurations, including RAID 0/ 1/ 5/ 6/ 5+Spare, JBOD, Online RAID Capacity Expansion, and Online RAID Level Migration are all supported. – Quoted from the TS-439 Pro Turbo NAS homepage.

Let's start with the hardware specifications, followed by the software specifications and features.

Hardware Specifications

Software Specifications

I'm very pleased to see that QNAP has recognized how Internet Explorer is not the only browser people use. Support of Safari, Firefox and Chrome are small changes that don't affect a products performance or value but one appreciated by many.

Features

Feature-rich Applications for Business
The TS-439 Pro supports file sharing across Linux, UNIX, Mac, and Windows platforms. Different applications are supported, e.g. file server, FTP server, printer server, web server, and encrypted remote replication. Also, windows AD (Active Directory) is supported to help create an easy-to-access environment and lower the maintenance cost. SSH login and web page SSL login enable users to transfer, store, and share data securely.

The Most Affordable and Flexible iSCSI Solution
The TS-439 Pro can serve as a NAS and an iSCSI target server. The built-in iSCSI target feature provides an affordable IP-SAN (Storage Area Network) alternative for SMB. You can set up the NAS to expand the storage capacity for existing application servers, such as database server and mail server in an economic way. Moreover, the ‘Virtual Space Allocation’ (Thin Provisioning) feature is provided which allows you to flexibly allocate the capacity of iSCSI LUN (Logical Unit Number) at the beginning regardless of the physical volume capacity.

Secure Data Protection by AES 256-bit Volume-based Encryption
The TS-439 Pro's dominant ‘volume-based encryption’ feature secures the server data by AES 256-bit encryption. Even if the hard drives were stolen, there is no need to fear that the confidential data would be leaked since the data can only be accessed by an authorized password.

Easy Setup and Low-cost Maintenance
The handy LCD display on the NAS provides a speedy and easy approach to initialize the NAS and set up the RAID configuration without using any computer. The system information and settings are also displayed for easy management. The schedule power on/off feature is available on the NAS for you to flexibly manage the NAS server's up time according to the working hours. Also, the smart Wake on LAN is supported for convenient remote wakeup of the NAS in the local network.

Easy Setup for RAID Configuration

Touch-N-Go PC-less Installation
You can use the handy LCD to finish the first time installation in 3 simple steps. The NAS will automatically complete the hard disk formatting and RAID building.

Benefits of Dual Gigabit LAN Deployment

Failover Supported for Network Reliability
The dual LAN ports can be configured as failover which allows the NAS server to sustain the failure of one network port to provide continuous services.

Better Performance with Load Balancing
The two LAN ports of the NAS can be configured as load balancing mode for bandwidth aggregation to boost the file transfer speed (works with managed Ethernet switch with 802.3ad configured).

Multi-IP Setting for Serving Two Different Subnets
The NAS can be deployed with two IP settings for sharing among different workgroups in two different subnets.

High Reliability, Disaster-proof NAS for Business

DOM Architecture with Embedded Fail-safe Dual OS
All the OS and applications are embedded on the DOM. The NAS allows system booting without accessing the physical disk sectors and that avoids unsuccessful system startup caused by bad block sectors or file errors on the hard drives. Two operating systems are built on the DOM for system booting alternatively upon every system startup. When one fails, the other one will be used to boot up instead, and the failed OS is recoverable from the other healthy OS.

Advanced RAID Management with Hot-swap Design
The NAS offers advanced RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 5 + Spare, Single, and JBOD disk configurations. It also supports hot-swap design that a failed drive can be replaced by hot swapping without turning off the server. Besides, the best-in-class RAID on the NAS brings users a higher level of data security by allowing one more hard drive failure than other NAS of the same level.

Online RAID Capacity Expansion
The storage capacity of a RAID configuration can be expanded by replacing the hard drives with larger ones. All the data will be kept and seamlessly moved to the newly installed hard drives. There is no need to turn off the server during the process.

Online RAID Level Migration
You can upgrade the disk configuration to higher RAID level with the data retained. There is no need to turn off the server during the process.

Virtual Disk Drive (VDD) adds flexibility to storage expansion along with ease of management
The unique ‘Virtual Disk Drive’ adds flexibility to expand the capacity of NAS. By using the built-in iSCSI initiator, the NAS can connect to other iSCSI targets on the network and turn them into virtual disks, which become multiple single volumes on the NAS. Up to 8 virtual disks can be stacked. The NAS serves as the storage stack chaining master. The user only needs to connect to this single entry (QNAP NAS) and is able to reach and use all the iSCSI target storages on the network.

Built-in iSCSI Target Service
The TS-439 Pro can act as a NAS and iSCSI target server at the same time. It provides a cost-efficient iSCSI solution to set up an IP-SAN. You can make use of the built-in iSCSI target service to add up to 8 iSCSI devices. Different iSCSI Target LUNs (Logical Unit Number) can be defined as storage expansion or backup destination of the existing application servers, such as database servers and mail servers.

Furthermore, the ‘Virtual Space Allocation’ (Thin Provisioning) feature is provided which allows you to flexibly allocate the capacity of iSCSI LUN (Logical Unit Number). When the physical storage capacity of the volume is going to be full, you can easily expand the storage capacity by ‘Online RAID Capacity Expansion’, or adjust/ remove the current unused volume space according to the demands.

S.M.A.R.T. & Advanced HDD Health Scanning (HHS)
The NAS supports Hard Disk Drive S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology) for monitoring the hard drive status. Moreover, the NAS is embedded with HHS Technology which supports disk checking and bad blocks scanning.

Cross-platform Data Sharing and Storage Center

Sharing Files across Windows, Mac, Linux, and UNIX
The NAS is designed for users to share the files across Windows, Mac, Linux, and UNIX environment.

Windows AD
The Windows AD feature enables you to import user accounts from AD domain to NAS to reduce the time and effort for account setup, and users can use the same set of login name and password.

Web File Manager
The NAS provides Web File Manager for you to easily download, upload, and manage the files on the server by web browser.

Ease of User and Share Folder Management
The NAS supports batch creation of users and share folders to save your time and effort in account and folder creation. For the security of Windows network environment, you can hide or show network share folders.

Power Management

Hard Disk Standby
You can configure the hard disks to enter standby mode if there is no disk access within the specified period.

Schedule Power on/off
The flexible schedule power on/off feature is now provided on the NAS for you to manage the NAS server's up time according to the working hours. You can set the time for automatic system power on, power off, or restart on any days of the week.

UPS Support
The NAS supports the majority of USB UPS devices (usbhid-ups supported) which enables the users to store the data in time and avoid critical data loss when power outage occurs during data transfer. It also supports advanced stand-by mode setting that users can set the time for the server to enter standby mode when an abnormal AC power supply is detected. When the power resumes, the server resumes to the operation status before the power outage.

Auto Power on after Power Loss
You can configure the NAS to turn on/ off when the AC power resumes after a power loss.

Complete Backup Solution

QNAP Backup Software – NetBak Replicator
The backup software, NetBak Replicator, is provided for the NAS users to perform real-time synchronization or schedule backup from multiple PCs to the NAS.

3rd Party Backup Software Ready
The NAS works well with other backup software, e.g. Acronis True Image, CA BrightStor ARCserve Backup, EMC Retrospect, Symantec Backup Exec, and LaCie Silverkeeper.

Remote Replication by Rsync
The data on the NAS can be backed up to or from another Turbo NAS or Rsync server over the network.

One Touch USB Auto Copy
The one touch button can be configured to trigger instant data backup from the external USB device to the NAS or the other way round (applies to the USB device connected to the front USB port of the NAS only).

Secure data storage, access, and sharing

• Comprehensive event logs: Detailed logs of file-level data access to the NAS via samba, FTP, AFP, HTTP, HTTPS, Telnet, and SSH, and networking services accessed by online users are all recorded.
  
  
• IP filter control: You can allow or deny specified IP connections to the NAS.
• SSL security (HTTPS): The NAS can be accessed and configured by web browser securely.
• Remote login to the NAS by SSH (secure shell) or Telnet connection is supported.
• Secure FTP: The data can be transmitted with SSL/TLS (explicit) encryption. Passive FTP port range setup is also supported.
• Write-only access right on FTP server: The third party partners are allowed to upload data to the NAS but not able to read or edit the data on FTP server.

Policy-based Unauthorized IP Blocking
To prevent the NAS from malicious attacks, you can create an IP filter policy to allow, deny, or auto-block the IP address or network domain which attempts to connect to the NAS via SSH/ Telnet/ HTTP(S)/ FTP/ samba/ AFP.

Powerful System Management Tools

Wake on LAN
Enable this option to power on the NAS remotely by Wake on LAN. Wake on LAN helps you manage your NAS conveniently.

Smart Fan
The fan rotation speed is automatically adjusted according to the server's temperature. You can also define the system temperatures to trigger high speed or low speed rotation of the fan. By manually setting the fan rotation speed, the fan will rotate at the defined speed continuously.

Instant SMS & Email Alert
You can configure the SMTP server and SMSC server settings on the NAS in order to receive instant system warning or error messages by email or SMS.

SSL Secure Certificate
You can upload a secure certificate and an RSA private key in X.509PEM format issued by a trusted provider in order to allow the users to access the NAS by secure SSL login.

Syslog Settings
All the system event logs and connection logs can be saved to a remote syslog server.

Network Recycle Bin
The files deleted from the network shares of the NAS will be moved to a particular recycle bin folder. You can restore your data anytime in case of unintended file deletion.

Comprehensive Event Log System
The logs of connections to the NAS via samba, FTP, AFP, HTTP, HTTPS, Telnet, and SSH, and networking services accessed by online users are all recorded.

Detailed System Information
You can view the system status, e.g., CPU usage, total memory, free memory, packets received, packets sent, error packets, system up time, CPU temperature, system temperature, HDD temperature, and system fan speed.

Surveillance Station
The Surveillance Station enables users to configure and connect 4 IP cameras simultaneously and remotely manage the functions, including real time monitoring, recording, and playback by IE browser over the Internet. Users can flexibly define the recording settings: continuous recording, motion-detection recording, and schedule recording according to their security plan. All the files are stored in AVI format with time stamp, users can easily search and play the files by Windows Media Player.

Surveillance Station
The Surveillance Station enables users to configure and connect 4 IP cameras simultaneously and remotely manage the functions, including real time monitoring, recording, and playback by IE browser over the Internet. Users can flexibly define the recording settings: continuous recording, motion-detection recording, and schedule recording according to their security plan. All the files are stored in AVI format with time stamp, users can easily search and play the files by Windows Media Player.

The most comprehensive support for numerous brands of IP cameras
The Surveillance Station of QNAP NAS supports the leading network camera brands such as AXIS, D-Link, IPUX, LevelOne, Linksys, Panasonic and Vivotek etc. By using particular models, users can use two-way video and audio monitoring and recording, and smart PTZ control to control the monitoring direction via the web interface.

Software Expansion and Website Management

Web Server with Built-in phpMyAdmin
With the built-in phpMyAdmin, Joomla!, editable php.ini, MySQL and SQLite, you can easily set up your web server and other online applications such as online shops and forums.

MySQL Server
The NAS is the most affordable choice as a standalone database server for system integrators. It can be flexibly applied in various deployments such as a database server of another web server in remote site or as an additional backup database server.

Built-in DDNS support
The NAS supports dynamic DNS (DDNS). You can register a unique domain name from a DDNS service provider and assign it to your NAS. There is no more need to remember a lengthy IP address!

Software expansion via QPKG Center
The QPKG software package platform enables you to maximize the usage of the NAS by installing additional software packages developed by the users and community worldwide. This can be done by simple ‘download & install’ clicking without going through any complicated process.

Page 4 : QNAP TS-439 Package Contents

With the exception of the NAS device itself, there's not too much inside the box. Our accessories include an installation pamphlet, driver CD, power cord, two CAT 5e cables, keys for the hard drive cage and screws for mounting the hard drives.

Pulling the TS-439 out of the box, we can see the plastic wrap around the unit to prevent scratches during shipment and packaging.

Removing the bag we get a close look at the front of the TS-439. The power button is located towards the bottom left above the first USB port. The four drive cages occupy about 2/3's of the front. Each drive cage is perforated to allow airflow through the unit. Above the drive bays is the LCD control panel. There are a few LEDs for indication and two buttons to navigate through the administration menu.

The TS-439 is a two colored chassis, black front bezel and gun metal chassis. The chassis cover is a one piece assembly and there are perforations on one edge for cooling. A small sticker on the top indicates the hard drive sequence for installation. Each drive cage is also labeled on the inside so you know which one it belongs to.

The back of the TS-439 is a busy place with the power supply cooling fan, system cooling fan and additional I/Os: 2 eSATA ports, Dual Gigabit LAN ports, 4 USB ports and a VGA for QNAP technical support use only. There is also a k-lock towards the bottom and the power plug is located at the top left.

I tried to open up the TS-439 but didn't have much luck as everything was riveted together. There is no point in voiding your warranty for this unless your 92mm fan died or your power supply blew a fuse. Both cases are rather unlikely as QNAP has selected excellent components – we have a YS Tech FD129225LB fan and a Seasonic SS-259SU power supply. The 92mm YS Tech fan is rated for 40.2 CFM with only 25dB(A) noise level. The Seasonic power supply is a dual rail unit capable of providing 250W of power.

Staring deep into the TS-439, the system is a 2 board design. There is the main motherboard with the process, RAM, networking and storage controllers and then there is a secondary board which the hard drives mount to.

I think that's enough of the TS-439, it's time to install some hard drives and power the unit up!

Page 5 : Installation & Web Setup

The physical setup of the TS-439 is not very difficult. To get the NAS up and running, you could start with as few as one drive and upgrade to four when time and money permits. However, if you have four drives ready to use, go right for it! The drive bays are latched in and can be locked to keep thieves at bay. It's a four step procedure to install the drive cage starting with positioning it between the appropriate guides, sliding the cage in, snapping it against the SATA data and power cable and flipping the latch down to ensure the cafe in place.

To install the hard drives, the drive cage needs to be completely removed. A hard drive can be positioned and screwed into place from below. Use a total of four screws per drive to ensure it doesn't move while being installed.

Once the drives have been installed, you must provide power and network to the TS-439. It is then optional if you wish to connect additional USB or eSATA storage or a printer.

Upon powering, various LEDs will light up and the LCD display will indicate what stage of start up the TS-439 is currently in.

As I mentioned before, you can setup the TS-439 without using a PC. However, you will miss a lot of the features that make the TS-439 standout from the rest.

Let's take a look at the software. When you first start using the TS-439, it'll need to be ‘found’ on your network. QNAP has provided ‘QNAP Finder’ just for that – it will scan your network and begin the configuration process; this includes installing the firmware.

The original CD provides a basic firmware that has been used for quite a while. It works well, but has poor usability. The new firmware (version 3.1.0) available online is a must get. It is not only easier to navigate, it adds Virtual Disk and iSCSI to the already extensive list of features.

Some background information on Virtual Disks and iSCSI:

The unique ‘Virtual Disk Drive’ adds flexibility to expand the capacity of NAS. By using the built-in iSCSI initiator, the NAS can connect to other iSCSI targets on the network and turn them into virtual disks, which become multiple single volumes on the NAS. Up to 8 virtual disks can be stacked. The NAS serves as the storage stack chaining master. The user only needs to connect to this single entry (QNAP NAS) and is able to reach and use all the iSCSI target storages on the network.

iSCSI, (Internet Small Computer System Interface), an Internet Protocol (IP)-based storage networking standard for linking data storage facilities. By carrying SCSI commands over IP networks, iSCSI is used to facilitate data transfers over intranets and to manage storage over long distances. iSCSI can be used to transmit data over local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), or the Internet and can enable location-independent data storage and retrieval.

An all-in-one storage solution with high ability of expansion and low establishment cost is always seeked out by SMB storage infrastructure planners who have budget concerns and overall ease of deployment. With the iSCSI service on QNAP Turbo NAS it can instantly be served as your storage expansion or backup destination of the application servers, such as database server, mail server, or Time Machine (for Mac OS X 10.5 or later) in the business environment.

Here are all the menu pages available for configuration:

Administration

• Admin Page
• Login

• System Administration

  • General Settings
    
    
  • Network
  • Hardware
  • Security
  • Notification
  • Power Management
  • Network Recycle Bin
  • Backup System Settings
  • System Logs
  • Firmware Update
  • System Reset

  Disk Management

  • Volume Management
    
    
  • RAID Management
  • HDD SMART
  • Encrypted File System
  • iSCSI
  • Virtual Disk

  Access Right Management

  • Users
    
    
  • User Groups
  • Share Folders
  • Quota

  Network Services

  • Microsoft Networking
    
    
  • Apple Networking
  • NFS Service
  • FTP Service
  • Telnet/SSH
  • SNMP Settings
  • Web Server
  • Network Service Discovery

  Applications

  • Web File Manager
    
    
  • Multimedia Station
  • Download Station
  • Surveilliance Station
  • iTunes Service
  • uPnP Media Server
  • MySQL Server
  • QPKG Plugin

  Backup

  • External Drive
    
    
  • USB One Touch Copy
  • Remote Replication

  External Device

  • External Storage Device
    
    
  • USB Printer
  • UPS Settings

  System Status

  • System Information
    
    
  • System Service
  • Resource Monitor

  
  Page 6 : IOzone Testing
  

  For testing, we will be using IOzone which runs a set of read and write benchmarks within a set parameter, then outputs a file with the results. The QNAP TS-439 Pro Turbo NAS will be outfitted with four 500GB Seagate ST3500320AS drives and attached to a D-Link DGS 1008D Gigabit Ethernet Switch connected to my D-Link WRT DIR-655 Gigabit Ethernet router, jumbo frames disabled.

  Here's a blurb about IOzone:
  IOzone is a file system benchmark tool. The benchmark generates and measures a variety of file operations. IOzone has been ported to many machines and runs under many operating systems. IOzone is useful for performing a broad file system analysis of a vendor's computer platform. While computers are typically purchased with an application in mind it is also likely that over time the application mix will change. Many vendors have enhanced their operating systems to perform well for some frequently used applications. Although this accelerates the I/O for those few applications it is also likely that the system may not perform well for other applications that were not targeted by the operating system. An example of this type of enhancement is: Database. Many operating systems vendors have tested and tuned the file system so it works well with databases. While the database users are happy, the other users may not be as happy as the entire system may be giving all of the system resources to the database users at the expense of all other users. As time rolls on the system administrator may decide that a few more office automation tasks could be shifted to this machine. The load may now shift from a random reader application (database) to a sequential reader. The users may discover that the machine is very slow when running this new application and become dissatisfied with the decision to purchase this platform. By using IOzone to get a broad file system performance coverage the buyer is much more likely to see any hot or cold spots and pick a platform and operating system that is more well balanced.

  IOzone is a command line operated testing utility; we will be using the following command.

  iozone -Rab [filename].xls -i 0 -i 1 -q 64k -n 32M -g 5G -f [test location]

  '-i 0 -i 1'
  Write/ Re-Write, Read/ Re-Read tests
  Read: Performance measured by reading an existing file
  Re-Read: Reading a file which has already been read, tests the utilization of cache

  Write: Performance of writing a file to the disk
  Re-Write: Re-Writes a file that already exists on the disk

  '-q 64k'
  Maximum record size of 64Kb, 4Kb, 8Kb, 16Kb, 32Kb, 64Kb

  '-n 32M -g 5G'
  Minimum file size of 32MB and maximum file size of 1GB

  '[file name].xls'
  Location where to write test results

  '[test location]'
  Target of tests

  
  Page 7 : IOZone JBOD Testing
  

  JBOD, at the logical level combines physical disk drives into one larger drive. This comes in handy when dealing with an assortment of drives. Where RAID configuration combines drives at the limit of the smallest disk, JBOD does not.

  Starting with the Reader tests, IOZone places a file on the system and measures the performance of reading that file. With larger record sizes and smaller file, we peak at 50MB/s, although a more consistent result would be in the low 30s.

  

  Next, the Re-Reader test measures the system's caching ability. While it is typical that Re-Reader results are significantly higher than those reported in the Reader test as the test measures reading performance of a file that was previously read, the effects are insignificant with larger file sizes. If we attempted this with files in the few hundred KB mark, we would see a larger jump.

  

  The Writer test measures performance of writing a new file to the system. Our first write performance scales from 5MB/s up to the low 50's. We average out at 27.8MB/s read and 28.4MB/s re-read.

  
  

  When writing a previously written file, the overhead required to process where data will be stored on a specific storage media is already determined; the system in a sense is required to do less, thus accounting for the vast improvement in performance. The average write speed across the test is 20.2MB/s write and 62MB/s re-write.

  
  Page 8 : IOZone RAID 0 Testing
  

  Anyone itching for a sense of speed has probably created a RAID 0 system. RAID 0 splits data across multiple disks (2 is the minimum). With each disk attached in RAID 0 the likelihood of data failure increases but so does speed.

  
  

  The read results have a maximum similar to JBOD, the average is 30.8MB/s read and 31.3MB/s re-read. This is just a touch higher than the JBOD results.

  
  

  The average write speed through the block sizes and file sizes is 20MB/s with a re-write average of 64.9MB/s.

  
  Page 9 : IOZone RAID 5 Testing
  

  Those that are concerned with data integrity have likely heard of RAID 1, mirroring. It's generally slower as the data needs to be written onto both disks. With RAID 5 you get the advantage of speed and redundancy. Total storage is the combined total number of all disks minus one as redundancy where parity is distributed over all disks in the array. RAID 5 is perhaps the cheapest way to boost hard disk performance while keeping data safe.

  
  

  Once again, the profile doesn't change very much. There's a steady linear increase in performance proportional to both record size and file size. The 50MB/s threshold is broken a few times and the average read speed is just over 19MB/s. With the re-reader, the average is 45MB/s.

  
  

  The average write speed is 19.3MB/s and re-write of 40.72MB/s.

  
  Page 10 : IOZone RAID 6 Testing
  

  RAID 6 is an extension of RAID 5 but far less common. It can recover from the loss of two disks and as a result there is an even larger drop in performance. However, seeing as we saw little difference in performance between RAID 0 and RAID 5, I'm already thinking that the performance drop will be minimal and RAID 6 should become an excellent option for those keen on speed but also data integrity.

  
  

  The Read and Re-Reader results don't even move compared to the RAID 5 results, we're still at the 30MB/s range.

  
  

  The Writer and Re-Writer results don't take much of a hit. We're seeing 18.3MB/s on the Writer and 43.8MB/s on the Re-Writer. This is a decrease of 1MB/s over the RAID 5 with Writer and an increase of 3MB/s on the Re-Writer.

  
  Page 11 : IOZone 64Kb Record Size Comparison
  

  Typically, with modern day software, a record size of 64kb is used with larger files. With the sheer amount of data conveyed throughout the last few tests, it was hard to accurately gauge the QNAP TS-439 Pro Turbo NAS performance, and even harder to do so across different RAID configurations. In the next section, we will be comparing the data compiled through the tests we ran earlier to gauge performance over the various RAID configurations.

  

  It's really no surprise that RAID 0 claims first place followed by RAID 5, 6 and then JBOD. The more disks being stripped, the first the overall performance will be. The spread between first and last space is about 10MB/s which is a small compromise for anyone looking for data redundancy.

  

  Almost an identical story, RAID 0 and RAID 5 are mere MB/s apart with RAID 6 taking third and JBOD rounding out the last.

  

  I was actually a bit surprised that JBOD and RAID 0 had identical results. You don't exactly buy a 4 drive NAS just to run a bunch of disks; however, if you do then you will be pleased to hear you're not sacrificing too much write performance.

  

  The throughput is very impressive with the small record size but as we come back to earth, we find that the Re-Writer results don't differ too much than the actual Writer results. They are still faster but the margin actually gets smaller and the results converge together. At first, the gap between JBOD/RAID 0 and RAID 5/6 was 40MB/s but that slowly closes to 10MB/s or less.

  

  
  Page 12 : Intel NAS Performance Test
  

  Intel's Intel's Network Attached Storage Performance Toolkit, or NASPT if you would prefer will conclude our look at performance.

  The Intel NAS Performance Toolkit (NASPT) is a file system exerciser and analysis tool designed to enable direct comparison of network attached storage (NAS) performance. NASPT seeks to discern differences in user level performance when a given client PC uses different remote storage solutions. To that end, NASPT uses a set of real world workload traces gathered from typical digital home applications: HD video playback and record, office productivity applications, video rendering/content creation and more. NASPT reproduces the file system traffic observed in these traces onto whatever storage solution the user provides, records the system response, and reports a rich variety of performance information. While NASPT runs on a Windows XP* client, the target NAS device may run any operating system.

  Intel's NASPT offers a number of strengths. First and foremost: consistency. With INASPT's built in traces, performance numbers resulting in various tests are easily emulated across various systems and gives insight into how a NAS system would perform under real world conditions. Unlike with localized storage, we are not interested in separating software environmental factors as by definition and function, NAS storage units are heavily dependent on system software, operating systems, network settings and so on. Of course, if we were to simply test the bare hard drive performance at the system level our resulting numbers would be significantly higher.

  With the trace files, we can simulate specified hard drive activity down to the distribution of random and sequential reads/ writes, the spread of data over individual platters, or locality, and a number of access characteristics.

  For our tests, we will be looking at four tests: HD Video Playback, Content Creation, Office Productivity, Copy To NAS and Copy From NAS.

  

  Let's examine the results, starting with the HD Video trace. This test consists of reading a single file approximately 4800 MB in size and for the most part consists of sequential reading, meaning that all the pieces of the file are located physically near one another on the platters of the hard drive resulting in little arm movement to retrieve data.

  Content creation is exactly what the name suggestions. This test simulates the creation of a video. A total of 99 files are used and the test is primarily write driven (95% write operations) with up to 64kb block sizes and 39.1% sequential operations.

  With Office Productivity, we have a wide array of file sizes and generally random access. While in comparison with sequential throughout, random access as shown by the Office Productivity test does look rather grim, however is quite typical of NAS units.

  
  Page 13 : IOMeter Testing
  

  IOMeter is a new addition to the NAS results. It is an I/O subsystem measurement and characteristic tool for single and clustered systems initially designed by Intel.

  IOMeter is both a workload generator (that is, it performs I/O operations in order to stress the system) and a measurement tool (that is, it examines and records the performance of its I/O operations and their impact on the system). It can be configured to emulate the disk or network I/O load of any program or benchmark, or can be used to generate entirely synthetic I/O loads. It can generate and measure loads on single or multiple (networked) systems.

  I configured IOMeter to create a 1GB file on the target device, TS-439 Pro, and it will pull the performance of 5 minutes and report back the average transfer rate for various block size recordings. The results are 100% sequential; in the future this will be expanded to include random results.

  

  Much like the results from IOzone, we have a very similar trend. At low record sizes, the results are similar but as we increase the block size, the rates diverge. JBOD has a great run at the 16KB block size and has the small difference between read and write results. The remaining RAID results are very close together and almost impossible to differentiate.

  
  Page 14 : Crystal Disk Mark, ATTO Disk Benchmark & Power Consumption
  

  Crystal Disk Mark and ATTO Disk Benchmark are more conventional benchmarking applications. They do the exact same as IOZone and IOMeter but in a far more simplified manner. The only take a minute or two to complete versus the several hours it takes to finish one run with IOZone.

  
  
  
  

  Since Crystal Disk Mark and ATTO Disk Benchmark are so similar, it is no surprise that the results are similar. JBOD and RAID 0 are at the top, often with RAID 0 in front. RAID 5 and 6 are a few steps back and the results between those two configurations are almost non-existent.

  

  The TS-439 consumes 29 watts while in the sleep mode; this is significantly more than I would have guessed to be the cause. As soon as the unit wakes up we hit 47 watts for idling and 49 watts when the device is reading or writing in RAID 0. Configuring the hard drives is a CPU taxing performance and we need 52 watts for this task.

  
  Page 15 : Conclusion
  

  The QNAP TS-439 has a lot of great features going for it. For a 4 drive NAS device which really is a computer optimized for storage purposes, it doesn't have a huge footprint. The black front with gun metal aluminum chassis gives it a very sleek and professional look, definitely meant for the office or a network, tucked away in a network cabinet. Unlike the TS-809 Pro that I reviewed earlier, the TS-439 comes complete with eSATA ports to increase your capacity by an additional 2 drives.

  

  The overall performance is good and for the most part, the difference between RAID 0 and 5 allows you to choose extra space or redundancy without compromising on speed. QNAP's didn't leave any rock unturned; they knew an awesome device with poor usability or features are as good as a rock itself. With the latest firmware available to the public, we finally have a very usable operating system complete with print server, web server, dataserver, multimedia server, download manager, virtual disk support and iSCSI to name a few. While priced more expensive than some competition, the biggest shortfall is the 1 year warranty. Regardless, these things are built to last and if you need a 4 drive NAS, don't overlook the QNAP TS-439 Turbo NAS Pro.

  

  Advantages

  • Extensive data storage capacity
    
    
  • Flexible RAID configuration, quick setup
  • New firmware is a huge improvement in design
  • Many sever applications and software features available

  Disadvantages

  • 1 year warranty
    
    
  • High power consumption during sleep mode

  Thank you QNAP for making this review possible.