ASUSTOR 4-Bay NAS: it's BRILLIANT! Full review inc. SSD Cache & Network Link Aggregation

[@ConstantGeekery]

Since publishing this video, Seagate have replaced the faulty drive.

[@ASUSTOR_YT]

6:19 We have released a replacement model that puts 4 M.2 SSDs inside the unit. They're all facing up.

[@kvnhack3_VIA_IG]

👆Thanks for watching ❣️💞 I really appreciate, message me by the name to receive Gift🎁.

[@jimcallahan448]

It would be helpful to see the "Gen 2" version of Austor which has 4 SSD (or optionally 2 SSD, 10gb network card) and USB 3.2 ports and expandability to 16 GB RAM.

[@ConstantGeekery]

I would like to try that out. Maybe Asustor will send me one to review 😁

[@FredericEpe]

Excellent video, been contemplating an upgrade from my Synology. Thank you!

[@ASUSTOR_YT]

Feel free to ask any questions if needed!

[@johncollins4888]

Is there a way to make an outside 4 TB SSDs card for use like what like what Aspartaine Is doing!

[@ufopsi]

Hi there. What about doing a raid 0 with 3 disks, then raid 1 with the 3-disks set + 1 disk?

[@ConstantGeekery]

I haven’t tested that, but I suspect it may not be possible with the interface. You may as well just do a RAID 5 in that case anyway.

[@giovannifrancesco3344]

What type of caching technology is Asustor using under the hood here? is it bcache, lvmcache/dm-cache , flashcache or other?

[@akmediaproductions]

What is the disk RW speed over USB only..

[@---us7qf]

Good review. Is the running, whilst loaded with the conventional 3" hard disc drives, loud or reasonably quiet?

[@ConstantGeekery]

It’s about as loud as you might expect 4 spinning disks to be. There’s not much in the case to insulate the sound, but the unit itself doesn’t add any fan noise or anything. The disks do chatter a bit whilst it caches files. We turn it off when filming in the studio, but it would be fine in a normal office setting.

[@RollerCoasterLineProductions]

I do NAS thru a PI4 in an evolving home lab that started with an WD m.2 SSD but moved to a WD 4 TB. I commented cuz I’m also a hand gesture talker😁 Excellent video, I subbed

[@cheerlin]

Have been using Synology 2 bay and OS, worked fine and reliable, good to see asustor os, though not full review but is refreshing.

[@kvnhack3_VIA_IG]

👆Thanks for watching ❣️💞 I really appreciate, message me by the name to receive Gift🎁.

[@daisyintherain]

You make everything interesting, Dayv and I enjoyed this video, though I didn’t understand much of it. I guess I don’t need a Ralph in my life.

[@ConstantGeekery]

😁 thanks!

[@felipescherer6678]

Very good and clear explanations. Thanks for sharing!

[@hoagy_ytfc]

The question I always want to know about these things is: how loud is the fan? Relevant if you populate it with ssd drives in the hope of a quiet unit.

[@ConstantGeekery]

I’ve never heard it, but then mine has four disks in it.

[@hoagy_ytfc]

@@ConstantGeekery Thanks. I think I'm looking for a "silent" SSD unit, as 8TB is plenty for me but I need it to be quiet!

[@ASUSTOR_YT]

@@hoagy_ytfc We're releasing a new all-SSD NAS very soon! Stay tuned!

[@SpinStreakYT]

I’ve been bouncing between this exact model and the QNAP TS 464-8g…. Qnap only allows 8gb of ram???!! I’m going back to this one I think. Or should I wait for asustor to release gen 3 model?

[@Digikidthevoiceofreason]

If you keep waiting for " The next best model " you will get NOWHERE. Buy the model you want now and be happy with it. 👍

[@Liberty-Grunt]

I am curious if you have experienced any problems selecting a group of pictures and videos taken on a specific date, clicking the "Add to album" icon in the Asustor Photo Gallery 3 app (via web browser), and not seeing (nor being able to choose) a previously created album.

[@ConstantGeekery]

I’ve not used that feature, so I’m unable to help, sorry.

[@cblte]

Would you recommend the 2nd Generation 6702T over the 6602T? I know this is the 4bay but I am not needing so much space here and a smaller device right next to the TV. Thanks

[@ConstantGeekery]

Depends on the price difference. I believe the 2nd gen models have easier access for NVMe drives. I don't think there's any performance difference.

[@ASUSTOR_YT]

@@ConstantGeekery The newer one comes with CPU upgrades for better performance in some situations and more M.2 slots.

[@ConstantGeekery]

@@ASUSTOR_YT thanks for clarifying 👍🏻

[@ASUSTOR_YT]

@@ConstantGeekery No problems! Hope you have a FANTASTIC weekend!

[@jrecio]

Hello, thank you very much for your content, inspired by your video I have bought the same nas and switch, I still do not buy NIC, so I have access only in 2.5gb. I have a few questions: 1. Which NIC do you recommend to use the NAS at 5gbps, I work animations and 3d with very big files? -- 2. Is there a way to make the two 2.5gbps connections go out on only one 5gbps or 10gbps connection? I can still return the switch if I need another one.

[@ConstantGeekery]

The switch I specified in the video has 5gbit and 10gbit ports. So if you have a 10Gbit port on your computer you can get the full bandwidth.

[@CoolGamezVJ]

Can you transfer files to the nas with the Ethernet coming from the nas to a PC?

[@ConstantGeekery]

If you mean connecting directly to the PC with a single cable… yes, but you need a crossover cable or a crossover cable adapter. They are pretty cheap to find. Obviously, you won’t get the bandwidth aggregation that way.

[@markjones8121]

Nice ‘ting’, great timing! Great info!

[@kvnhack3_VIA_IG]

👆Thanks for watching ❣️💞 I really appreciate, message me by the name to receive Gift🎁.

[@mdd1963]

14:00 Did I see RAID5 ....with Btrfs? Still not recommended (nor is RAID6!), considered unstable...; use at your own risk!

[@ConstantGeekery]

Working fine. Restored fine when I had to replace a drive.

[@Killertamagotchi]

But from this point of view, 5 Gbit/s is completely sufficient if you only install HDDs in the expansion bay. 5 GBit/s = 625 MByte/s which is more than you can get out of HDDs in RAID at best

[@ConstantGeekery]

Very true, but also worth remembering that if you have more than one concurrent user and you are making use of SSD cache, you can saturate the bandwidth.

[@themardybum08]

Would like to see you pick up a unit from Terramaster. Their OS has some quirks but IMO offers unbeatable VFM. Proper desktop processors and generous RAM let them encode 4K on the fly, unlike the hobbled equivalents from Synology.

[@ConstantGeekery]

I am in the market for a unit at home, where I'm currently using a Terramaster 5 bay USB-C model - but it's a bit flakey swapping between Windows and MacOS, so I need to get a network version... might give it a try.

[@mikeptech7655]

but what about us non professionals who are just home users and have many non-nas type of drives laying around.. can we use them in this or not? and would like to raid parity..

[@ConstantGeekery]

No reason why you can't use them. Any 3.5" (or 2.5") SATA drive will work.

[@mikeptech7655]

@@ConstantGeekery wasnt sure as i was looking at synology as well, but it seems like you can only use what they have listed. (nas type drives)

[@ConstantGeekery]

@@mikeptech7655 they are covering themselves. NAS drives are optimised for 24/7 operation. Standard drives aren’t designed for the sort of intensive use that is typical for NAS units running RAID, so they will reach failure point more quickly. If it’s just you using the setup, and it’s not heavily utilised, then you can decide for yourself if you’re happy to use other drives. As always, make sure you have a separate backup.

[@MichaelSidneyTimpson]

Hey friend, if you were going to assign something like this for Time Machine backup, would it be better to do them as Raid 0, JBOD, or just add them each individually as additional disks in Time machine settings?

[@ConstantGeekery]

If you’re creating a volume exclusively for backups, and you don’t need redundancy, JBOD would be a good choice as it makes it easy to expand in future (drive sizes don’t need to match) and if one drive fails it doesn’t necessarily kill the volume - you might only lose the data on the disk that fails.

[@MichaelSidneyTimpson]

@@ConstantGeekery But time machine also has a function where you can just add multiple drives to it individually to use as time machine drives(not JBOD as they still remain separate)--what is that and why would someone do it that way, is there some advantage?

[@ConstantGeekery]

@@MichaelSidneyTimpson the multiple drive feature of Time Machine creates a backup on each drive you connect. It’s a way of incorporating disk rotation into your backup routine so that you have multiple copies in the event of a drive failure.

[@hoagy_ytfc]

@@ConstantGeekery I do this with external usb drives. I have two drives configured for TimeMachine, one attached to my Mac, and one in another location. I swap them round weekly.

[@MichaelSidneyTimpson]

@@ConstantGeekery of so if multiple drives are added to time machine, it is a duplication of the time machine on each drive? I see. JBOD still is recoverable if a drive fails? I was hoping I could just rotate drives out of service once they fill up, but not have to worry about monitoring it exactly.

[@joaquimpato522]

Hello, i need some clarification about network switch 2.5GB. How it works. My laptop have a 1GB network card, my desktop have a 2.5GB network card, the internet carrier router is 10/100/1000 gigabit, i have a 500mb internet plan from my internet carrier, my network switch is 2.5GB, my internet cables are cat6A. With these picture in mind , is possible a 500mb plan from my internet carrier multiply to 2,5GB from my network switch of 2.5GB to 1GB, 2.5GB, 5GB and 10GB of internet speed to my laptop , desktop, through my gigabit router ? Please explain me how.

[@NateNakao]

I'm kind of in the market for a home NAS. I'd prefer to build my own, but the 2-bay model is so close to the right price I just might spring for it and skip the build process. The features and simplicity are serious selling points for me

[@kvnhack3_VIA_IG]

👆Thanks for watching ❣️💞 I really appreciate, message me by the name to receive Gift🎁.

[@ASUSTOR_YT]

Feel free to ask questions if needed!

[@o0Hotiron0o]

thank you

[@elysiumcore]

I tried link agregation same Nas + asus 2.5ge switch and could never get over 280mbps

[@ConstantGeekery]

Something wrong there. Even over 1Gbit LAN on a cheap switch I got 800Mbps (100 MB/sec).

[@elysiumcore]

@@ConstantGeekery sorry i meant to say i get around 280 MB/s ..while playing with the settings i once saw 350+ MB/sec - I am also using a 6704T / 16 gig ram / 3x 16TB

[@ConstantGeekery]

​@@elysiumcore Does seem a little slow, but it depends on the type of file operation, and I'm not familiar with the switch you're using. I haven't done full performance testing on mine yet, because it's difficult to do a test that will represent every workflow (I don't want to give out misleading info). It does work flawlessly for our application, but I will try and do a follow up with some more specific performance metrics. For me, link aggregation is more about increasing the number of simultaneous users rather than increasing speeds.

[@JOBT0]

It's your screwdriver how had wrong head type, and how often do you need to open them, daily?🤣 Thanks for a god tutorial thou.

[@AlanW]

So, what Seagate is saying is that 1 in 4 drives failing is perfectly normal and not covered under warranty. Got it.

[@ConstantGeekery]

If I had paid for the drive it would have been replaced. These were supplied without charge. They also were shipped from overseas and may not have been treated well by the courier - normally an importer would bring in a larger quantity on a pallet. Failure rates of spinning disks is slightly better than 1 in 100,

[@AlanW]

@@ConstantGeekery That's not quite the way I see it. "Review these 4 drives" - "One broke" - "Oh, yeah, well, whatever." isn't exactly the kind of response I'd expect from them. Your review is coloured by the fact you got them free, and the specific circumstances around that, and therefore somewhat biased. I very much appreciate your reviews, and referred someone that was looking for a NAS to this. I just think while it's fine do state a disclaimer that you got the thing for free, but actively making excuses for deficiencies based on this feels like a disservice.

[@ConstantGeekery]

@@AlanW Thanks for your continued support. I understand your point of view. To add context though: Asustor has the relationship with Seagate and organised the drives. I have had no contact with Seagate other than trying to call them for a replacement. They wouldn’t know who I am and the serial number showed the drive to be from a promotional batch, so they couldn’t just send a replacement. I followed it up with Asustor who requested Seagate send a replacement, which they evidently elected not to do. This isn’t representative of a normal consumer interaction and I don’t feel in any position to complain. To clarify: I’m not reviewing the drives for Seagate, I’m reviewing the NAS for Asustor. There’s no bias since I did not offer an opinion on Ironwolf drives. I just reported on what happened with honesty, as I always do.

[@AlanW]

@@ConstantGeekery Thanks for the clarification. I think the commentary on the drives just threw me, but I understand now your intent to be comprehensive in the presentation, which I very much appreciate.

[@Digikidthevoiceofreason]

Seagate HDDs are garbage. If you want QUALITY hard drives go to Western Digital. For Solid States go to either Western Digital or Samsung.