Virtualization Station and QvPC
The Core i7 CPU and 32GB of memory are a good choice if you're planning on using Qnap's unique Virtualization Station app. Managed from the QTS console, this allows the appliance to host multiple VMs and OSes.
It's very easy to use and we could create manual VM snapshots and use them for rollback purposes. It comes into play with Qnap's QvPC technology and HybridDesk Station app as you can access the QTS interface and Virtualization Station app with a local HDMI monitor, keyboard and mouse and use the appliance as a PC.
The latest QTS software adds many new features including a VPN Server app and even more backup features. There's Qnap's RRTR synchronization and replication to Rsync compatible appliances while the new OpenStack Swift app adds support for big cloud providers such as HP Cloud and RackSpace.
Amazon S3 and Glacier plus Microsoft Azure get their own apps and workstation backup can be run using Qnap's Qsync app or its NetBack Replicator software. There are more clouds on your horizon with file syncing apps for Dropbox and Google Drive while the beta Gmail app allowed us to secure our Google Mail account mailboxes to a folder on the appliance.
Conclusion
Stacking up the TVS-1271U-RP against Synology's 12-bay RS3614xs+ shows it to be better value although the Core i7/32GB model is a tad excessive if you're only planning on using it for general network storage duties. Even so, whichever model you choose, you'll find it scores highly for its excellent range of features while the huge expansion potential makes it ideal as a big backup repository.
Verdict
The TVS-1271U-RP offers a big hardware spec at a competitive price and an unbeatable expansion potential. However, real world performance is average and the top model on review is best suited to hardware intensive apps such as Qnap’s Virtualization Station.
Chassis: 2U rack CPU: 3.2GHz Core i7-4790S Memory: 32GB DDR3 Storage: 12 x 2.5/3.5in SATA hot-swap drive bays Array support: RAID0, 1, 5, 6, 10, hot-spare, JBODs Network: 4 x Gigabit Expansion: 2 x PCI-Express 3.0 slots, 2 x mSATA sockets Other ports: 4 x USB 3, 4 x USB 2, HDMI Power: 2 x 500W hot-plug PSUs Management: Web browser, QvPC Warranty: 3-year limited
