Today, we are looking at the Qnap TS-251B which is more than just a dumbed down file storage appliance. There is always a need to store data locally that you can access with every system in the home or office. It used to be that you had to build your own server (which we will explore soon in an upcoming article) but it used to require a dedicated system or file server to be on 24/7 ready to serve up your files on your network. This or even worse all fo your files were on your main system with no backup capabilities or limited network streaming capabilities. This seems like long ago but in reality, it is not that long ago and for some, a dedicated server is still a best use case if you are looking for a multi-faceted device that can not only be a file/media server but offload render work or VM loads. But let’s not get too far off topic here as that’s a pretty niche group as most PC/MAC users simply want somewhere to dump family photos and important files or music and media for easy access or streaming over the network. Along came specialized SOHO devices such as the Qnap TS-251B which we are looking at today. In essence, a small NAS like this is simply an mITX ultra small form factor computer designed specifically to be a convenient NAS (or Network Attached Storage) appliance. Most of these NAS units use ultra-low power chipsets to control them which means their capabilities beyond simply transferring and accessing files is extremely limited.



Link: Bjorn3D