The next Station is
A feature we've always been impressed with is Qnap's Virtualization Station which allowed us to use the appliance to host virtual machines (VMs) running other OSes. It's very easy to use as we had a new VM created from a Windows Server 2012 R2 ISO file up and running in less than 20 minutes.
Qnap's HybridDesk Station portal and its QvPC technology adds another dimension as we could connect an HDMI monitor, mouse and keyboard directly to the appliance and relax with a video, radio or TV feed (4K playback is not supported). Other local apps including Google Chrome, Spotify and YouTube add to the multimedia experience and we could also access the main QTS web console.
You'll need this to use the appliance as a PC as you load the Virtualization Station from the local QTS console, select a VM and control its OS directly. After loaded the extra Surveillance Station (Local Display) app we could also access our IP cameras and view multiple feeds on the local monitor.
Conclusion
For an 8-bay appliance with 8GB of RAM and 10GbE adapter as standard, the TVS-863+ is good value. It posted a reasonable NAS performance over 10GbE as well although AMD's embedded Radeon graphics, the dual HDMI ports and QvPC technology makes this storage system best suited to home and business users that want its extensive multimedia capabilities.
Verdict
Qnap’s first AMD-based NAS appliance is packed with features and delivers in the value stakes. Combine its dual HDMI ports with the AMD SoC and Qnap’s QvPC and you have a classy multimedia platform as well.
Chassis: Desktop
CPU: 2.4GHz AMD G-Series SoC
Memory: 8GB DDR3L (max 16GB)
Storage: 8 x 2.5/3.5in SATA hot-swap drive bays
Array support: RAID0, 1, 5, 6, 10, hot-spare, JBODs
Network: 2 x Gigabit, 10GBase-T PCI-e card
Other ports: 5 x USB3; 2 x HDMI
Management: Web browser
Warranty: 3-year limited
