Backup Software, Performance, and Final Thoughts
Thecus Backup Utility
The included backup software installs quickly and we are presented with a few options. In addition to one-time backups, there are backup tasks that can scheduled.
After selecting “Add” you’re given the option to name the task, and then choose origin and destination folders for the backup.
Next you’ll select the schedule for the backup task, and once you’ve done this there a couple of additional screens for refining the backup. Then you will view a final summary before finalizing, which allows the task to be performed immediately as well.
That’s it! Schedule as many of these tasks as you like and you can keep everything safely backed up to a RAID-1 configuration like this one.
One note here on the subject of backup, the USB ports on the back of the N2310 are intended only to allow backups from the NAS to be made to connected USB drives and CD/DVD burners. They do not support additional storage or file transfers over the network.
Performance
I won’t present any formal benchmarks here, but for an idea of how the N2310 performed I did some file transfers to and from a PC using an onboard Intel NIC, and through a fast router (the Linksys WRT1900AC):
Reads speeds on a large file transfer
Write speeds back to the NAS
Here we see performance consistent with the advertised performance of the device. Sequential reads were over 100MB/s, and sequential writes were very close to 80MB/s.
So how much noise does it generate? During my use of the NAS the rear fan never became noticably loud, and with my digital sound level meter a foot away from the N2310 I measured noise only 3db over ambient (though it does little to reduce the sounds of hard drive activity).
Final Thoughts
At the most essential level of a networked storage drive, the N2310 performed flawlessly. It was easy to create a storage array and the NAS ran reliably during the three weeks I ran it at home. Between multiple PC's and a couple of MacBooks it was always available on the network. I never had to restart it, and it was inaudible over the computer in the room with only the drive access sounds noticeable during use.
With the N2310 Thecus has produced an affordable NAS that does what it's designed to do very well. The extras like the Transmission bit torrent client and iTunes server work well, and the ability to easily connect and view content from mobile is very interesting (if it works for you).
Strengths
- Easy setup
- Reliable operation
- Additional apps enhance value
- iTunes server option works perfectly
- It’s a self-contained bit torrent machine!
Minor Weaknesses
- Interface might require more advanced users
- Mobile app only stable on iOS during testing
Overall the Thecus N2310 NAS Server is an excellent performer, a great value, and offers a lot of functionality. This review barely touched on the many options and applications available, and the possibilites are seemingly endless. The best part? All of this comes at just $149 for the unit without hard drives, and this makes the prospect of experimenting with all of this potential that much more tempting.
Without meaning to be picky,
Without meaning to be picky, are you sure that the contents of the NAS show up on the Apple TV? I researched this quite extensively a few months ago before I purchased an ATV and my conclusion was that NAS type devices could only communicate using DAAP or in other words: iDevices should be fine but ATV still requires a computer or an iDevice to act as a bridge between a NAS and the ATV. The computer approach is annoying from a power consumption point of view & the iDevice bridge approach is terrible if you don’t have much throughput to play with, so if things have changed I might just have to pick one of these units up.
Yep, it Truly works. I have
Yep, it Truly works. I have tested it several times. Works fine with both AppleTV and Chromecast
Oh boy does this make me
Oh boy does this make me cringe. RAID0,1 or JBOD and no ECCRAM is just asking for data-loss or disk corruption. Of course that’s less a criticism of this product and more this class of products, and I’ll grant that $150 isn’t going to buy you those enterprise-class features.
I hope that whoever gets one of these has some other backup solution. I for one have been burned too many times before.
I haven’t seen any mention of
I haven’t seen any mention of this running a ZFS file system. Why would you waste money on ECCRAM for it?
Processor: AMCC APM 86491
Processor: AMCC APM 86491 800Mhz Is that a PowerPC derived part?
On the subject of the Android
On the subject of the Android app not working, at my house for my Zyxel NAS (and a Buffalo before that…) I use ES File Explorer ( https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.estrongs.android.pop )
Which is free and fantastic!
Is this thing running Linux
Is this thing running Linux or bsd under the hood and if so can you ssh access?
This looks extremely appealing but if I don’t have the power of terminal access it’s almost a non-starter.
Also are they running a hardware raid controller or is it a software implementation like mdadm?