Thecus N5810 Pro NAS Review
Thecus' N5810 Pro is the only NAS in its price class with a built-in battery backup that allows the system to save your data even after the power goes out.
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Software Features
If NAS products were all about hardware, then we would use old computers to hold our data. The fact is, the software side is just as important. Modern NAS appliances are Swiss Army storage devices that can play many roles in an office. Some of the features can be offloaded from your desktop and others are unique to the Linux-based environment, or cost money in Windows but run free under Linux.
Below is a list of features, though it's far from exhaustive. Thecus has a software package called QIG, and it adds a large number of roles that users can install with just a few clicks. Your NAS can become a database server, a powerful central point for a video surveillance system, a Dropbox repository or even a DHCP server. The list is impressive; no stone is left unturned.
Snapshot Backup - With Btrfs support, Thecus NAS users can enjoy the simplicity of snapshot backups. Through Btrfs subvolumes, snapshots of data at various time points can be manually or automatically made and just as easily restored to rollback files or folders to previous states.
Mini-UPS - With a built-in mini-UPS, not even a power outage can slow you down. The mini-UPS provides power to allow the N5810 Pro to write unwritten data to the hard disks and safely shut down, ensuring the integrity of your information and preserving your memories.
Disk Clone and Wipe - Disk Clone allows users to copy the entire contents of a disk to one or many other disks, while Disk Wipe allows for permanent volume data destruction.
VPN Server - A VPN server allows users to remotely access a secure network. With VPNs, businesses will be able to utilize a cost-effective, scalable and secure network infrastructure.
Data Guard - Data Guard backup solution is the ultimate software, as it provides both local and remote parts. Currently, data is backed up across RAID volumes and external USB drives. In addition, Data Guard uses innovative technology to sync data across the network to other NAS appliances.
Data Burn - NAS data can now be burned directly to CD, DVD and Blu-ray discs with Data Burn. In addition, burning ISO image files is also supported. Whether you’re managing audio, media or essential files, Data Burn copies information fast while significantly reducing waiting time.
Link Aggregation - Link aggregation can sustain multiple network connections and provide redundancy in case one of the links fails. Thecus NAS supports seven modes, which provide load balance, failover, 802.3ad, balance-XOR, balance-TLB, balance-ALB and broadcast.
Anti-virus - Adding an anti-virus to the software bundle provides necessary protection by scanning the files on your NAS and defending it against possible threats. McAfee is the world’s largest dedicated security technology company and shares Thecus’ spirit of dedication and quality. By establishing a strong partnership with them, Thecus allows users the benefit of McAfee’s powerful software on their NAS entirely for free.
Cloud Backup - The private and public clouds meet with Thecus’ new DropBox, Amazon S3 and ElephantDrive cloud backup functionality. Guard your data with RAID at home and an additional level of protection in the cloud. Just drag and drop files into the folder on your NAS and access them on any computer or mobile device.
HDMI Output - Make your NAS into the ultimate multimedia hub. The N5810 Pro's HDMI output allows you to connect your NAS directly to your TV for device management, web browsing with Flash support and HD video playback.
USB 3.0 Connectivity - The next generation of connectivity is here with speeds 10x faster than USB 2.0. Whether connecting digital cameras and smart phones, backing up large external hard drives or extending the capacity of your NAS, USB 3.0 will make sure it's done in no time. Backwards compatibility adds the connectivity of a world full of USB 2.0 and USB 1.1 devices to get the best combination of speed and universal access.
Acronis True Image - Thecus brings the best to the table with Acronis’ advanced backup software. Back up all your data with one-click protection, or pick and choose only your most important files. Acronis sports a slick interface, user-friendly design and comprehensive features to keep your data safe.
Multiple RAID - When it comes to data management, Thecus NAS truly let you have it your way. Create multiple RAID volumes, each supporting different modes, including RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10 and JBOD for your own balance of performance and data protection. Should a hard drive malfunction occur, changing one disk is simple thanks to online RAID migration and expansion, hot spare and auto rebuild.
Multiple File Systems - Support for multiple file systems including EXT3, EXT4, Btrfs and XFS gives Thecus' NAS the flexibility to handle many different types of environments. Users can simultaneously use different file systems across multiple RAID volumes to get the best of each one.
iSCSI Thin-Provisioning - Get the most out of your storage space with the extreme speed of iSCSI and the efficiency of iSCSI thin provisioning. Connect through iSCSI for the fastest data transfer speeds available and make wasted disk space a thing of the past with thin provisioning's flexible storage functionality.
iOS/Android Connectivity - In the modern world, nothing is as important as reaching your data from anywhere. With T-OnTheGo and the T-Dashboard, you can manage your NAS, and upload to and download/stream from your NAS using an iOS or Android device.
Rsync - Thecus’ Rsync functionality gives users great flexibility with remote backup capability, a flexible scheduler, and the stability of Linux-based transfer.
User Quotas - Divide the massive storage of a Thecus NAS among multiple users. Whether there are two users or 100, user quotas make it easy to divvy up and manage disk space.
Thecus also supplies a nice list of utilities. The first is a wizard that simplifies the setup process. Twonky Media is also included with your system as well as Acronis backup software.
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Lulzon Typically battery backups are SLA (sealed lead acid) which is most likely why they don't get packaged with NAS systems - they're heavy, they're a dangerous good by transportation and shipping rules, they expand and can release gasses when under load and charged. The upside? They have way more capacity than that of a lithium-ion as shown in this little unit, they (probably) cost much less, and they last longer (5+ years vs 2-3). In terms of a NAS though, the capacity isn't really an issue if the only thing the NAS is doing is shutting down to avoid data loss/corruption.Reply -
Aris_Mp 55.3W under heavy throughput and 35.1W at idle with 5x Seagate ST500DM005 HDDs and RAID 6 configuration.Reply -
TontNZ I'm not sure if I've just missed it - but: How many drives of what brand and capacity, in what raid mode were used for the testing?Reply
It would be good to single this information out into one of the section headings. It may be redundant as you presumably standardise this across NAS of a given bay capacity - but it would still be useful. -
This is an impressive device. I'd definitively give it a try for home office solutions. The only downside I can see to it is that if the internal memory were to die (flash, ram), the backups are probably gone unless they keep using the same system/setting organization and it is forward compatible with other similar systems.Reply
5 years is a long time and unless they intend to have the same product line around for a long time, it will either be EOL or replaced with an updated version.