With a multitude of software options and strong support for VMware and Hyper-V, the QNAP NAS appliance can play many roles in a growing small business
QNAP's iSCSI-enabled NAS solution is a perfect match for the growing small office, especially one expanding beyond the internal storage of a VMware or Windows Hyper-V virtualization server. Of course, no sub-$1,000 box is going to be as fast as an enterprise SAN, but the QNAP is a snap to set up (even the iSCSI), and it's packed with software bells and whistles. With a long list of features, QNAP add-ons, and QPKG community extensions available, the QNAP Turbo NAS is truly a jack-of-all-trades.
I've been running three models in my lab, where I tested their performance across a range of file services tasks using the Intel NAS Performance Toolkit. All three models are built on a low-power x86 CPU and a common Linux operating system. The four-bay TS-419U is a 1U rack-mount system with a Marvell 1.2GHz CPU and 512MB of RAM, while the four-bay TS-459 Pro and six-bay TS-639 Pro are desktop cabinet systems with an Atom 1.66GHz CPU and 1GB of RAM. As the specs suggest, the TS-419U ran a step or two behind its two cousins.
[ Also on InfoWorld: Virtualizing servers in a small to midsize business reaps many rewards, and the virtualization is free. See 'Test Center guide: Virtualization for the rest of us.' ]
Essentials plus extras Any self-respecting NAS appliance today fulfills basic functions such as Dynamic DNS, flexible disk configs (JBOD, RAID 0,1,5), streaming media support, WebDAV for drive mounting over HTTP/SSL, workstation backup, and FTP, and the QNAP does not disappoint. Plus, with SMB/CIFS Windows file sharing combined with Apple Time Machine, NFS, Web server, FTP server, and print server, the QNAP appliance eliminates the need for additional 'services machines.' For those needing offsite backup, the entire line seems to support Amazon S3 replication.
QNAP has a whole series of feature modules that you can turn on as the need arises, most notably a surveillance system that can harvest video from a wide range of IP webcams. This entry-level surveillance system (supporting up to eight cameras depending upon model) isn't going to replace the much costlier systems such as NetDVR or the Axis Camera Station, but it makes storage of heterogeneous camera video affordable for even the smallest organization. (QNAP also sells dedicated video surveillance appliances that can support upward of 40 cameras.)
Initial setup is handled through the supplied QNAP Finder application (Mac or Windows) or via the front panel for 'PC-less configuration.' The QNAP Finder allows you to find and configure your appliance even if it's getting its address via DHCP. In a nice touch, the discovery utility also allows you to do drive mapping.
After initial setup, a simple Web interface -- accessible from the QNAP Finder or by browsing directly to the appliance -- provides access to all of the configuration aspects of the system. You don't need the QNAP Finder, but it makes life easier when managing multiple QNAP devices. Although IPv6 support is included for some of the storage features, the QNAP Finder seems to function only in the IPv4 world at the moment.
A rare feature in the QNAP line is called Share Folder Aggregation. Similar to symbolic links in the *nix world, Share Folder Aggregation allows the QNAP NAS to mount SMB shares on other servers and make those shares available in a new 'Aggregated Folder.' Because the QNAP does seem to play nice with Active Directory, I could easily see this as a way to give access to special directories without having to provide additional credentials to your workgroup users. This type of external file system mounting is even extended to the iSCSI world since this box can be either a provider or consumer of iSCSI connections.
Strong on iSCSI In fact, I'm all warm and fuzzy over QNAP's iSCSI support, which goes a bit further than most. It isn't hard to turn an old server into an iSCSI target (to share storage with a VMware ESX server, for example) with open source software like FreeNAS or Openfiler. But QNAP makes iSCSI configuration dead easy -- perfect for a growing organization's first foray into server virtualization. It certainly worked well enough for my VMware ESX 3.5 test server, with perceived performance just a bit slower than my old Dell PowerEdge 2800 running Openfiler.
As opposed to the big boys in the iSCSI world, QNAP doesn't twist your arm to turn on iSCSI security. (As a counterpoint, Openfiler required me to turn on either LDAP or Active Directory authentication before it would offer up an iSCSI target.) So while QNAP does support CHAP and Mutual CHAP authentication for iSCSI, you aren't forced to use it. It takes quite a while for the NAS to format the iSCSI partition, but once that's done you'll find it very easy to set up your new iSCSI target in VMware ESX and Windows Hyper-V. Considering the use of unencrypted logins, you'll want to apply CHAP with care or think hard about making sure your iSCSI NAS is on an isolated network and away from prying eyes.
Two more features I didn't expect to find were support for MPIO (Multipath I/O) and MC/S (Multiple Connections per Session), which can be used to increase performance and reliability through the two Gigabit Ethernet ports on the appliance. It's important to keep in mind that, although MPIO and MC/S are implemented at different layers of the communications stack, QNAP strongly suggests that you do not implement both: choose one or the other. But combine either MPIO or MC/S with Jumbo Frame support on your upstream Gigabit switch and server, and you should get some big performance numbers from your inexpensive NAS.
- Easy iSCSI setup
- PC-less initial config
- Third-party software add-ins through QPKG system
- Discovery utility doesn’t force use of static addresses
- Discovery utility also does drive mapping
- GbE LAN port aggregation and failover (802.3ad)
- Supports Active Directory and NT Domain authentication
- Lacks support for LDAP
- Running QNAP Finder on 64-bit Windows 7 requires a tech support call to get a download key
Real-world performance As for the performance numbers (see table below), the QNAP systems definitely hold their own against the competitors I've tested. The results come from the Intel NAS Performance Toolkit, which is a good real-world test of NAS performance. In contrast to tests like IOMeter that bypass the Windows file system and interact directly with the NAS, the Intel NAS Performance Toolkit actually uses the Windows file APIs, reproducing file system traffic for a variety of application types. As a result, it's a better representation of real user activity.
During my testing, I tossed a whole lot of questions at the QNAP support team on tweaking and tuning. Each and every time they came back not only with the answer but also with the reasoning behind it. Even when I managed to configure the NAS out from under myself, they provided me with a quick fix to get me on my way. The product is also well documented, with plenty of helpful configuration guides available at the QNAP website.
As you shop for a NAS, I would suggest you take a look at the QPKG plug-ins available from the QNAP community site, where users have contributed features outside the scope of the original product. Just keep in mind that as you turn on features, you rob the NAS of CPU cycles for its base functions. Mileage will vary, so you should definitely download a copy of the Intel tool to confirm performance in your environment. A NAS appliance with an unusually wide selection of features, the QNAP Turbo NAS is good flexible choice for the small to medium-sized organization.
This article, 'InfoWorld review: QNAP Turbo NAS serves storage with the works,' originally appeared at InfoWorld.com. Follow the latest developments in data storage and information management at InfoWorld.com.
Read more about storage in InfoWorld's Storage Channel.
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I'm running a QNAP TS-870 Pro QTS 4.3.3.0210. and I have not been able to get Sonarr working QSonarr_2.0.0.4753.qpkg running Qmono_4.8.1.0_x86_64.qpkg after installing I get the 'refuse to connect' message in the browser. Does this version work with the 4.3 firmware ? Alternatively, some have suggested running these services in a container.. I am certain I am asking google the wrong question when looking for instruction to get this working because I cant find anything clear. Aside from containers being available from linuxserver.io. It seems i don't know what I don't know in this regard and its very frustrating. is the first step making a container that runs ubuntu that I would then install sonarr into ?
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Overview of the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS)
Backup in large-capacity environments with ensured data integrity
Data centers that provide mission-critical services require their data storage to operate 24/7 without service interruption. It is also important to have a well-rounded disaster and recovery plan for these mission-critical data storages. However, large data sets can be cumbersome to back up using traditional methods - often taking several hours or days for a complete backup. Moreover, traditional backup methods lack mechanisms for maintaining data integrity. Data integrity relates to the insistent state of data files; for example, files that are open or data stored in RAM or a cache. In mission-critical data services, it is common to back up data while the applications that produce/modify data are still running. When using inconsistent backup copies for system restoration, it may result in data loss or even server/application failures if these backup files consist of application data or system state information.
To avoid these situations, we need a more intelligent backup method that can better protect data integrity. We provide QNAP Snapshot Agent and VSS Hardware Provider to preserve data integrity. Along with QNAP’s Snapshot technology, they simplify data protection and are more robust in system repair scenarios.
Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS)
The Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) is a set of COM interfaces that implements a framework to allow volume backups to be performed while applications on a system continue to write to the volumes. It was first introduced in Windows Server 2003 and offered view, clone and restore features for consistent shadow copies (also known as a snapshot or a point-in-time copy).
A complete VSS solution comprises the following basic parts:
VSS Requester: The is the software that requests the actual creation of shadow copies (or other high- level operations like importing or deleting them). Typically, this is the backup application such as the Windows Server Backup utility and APIs that request such service other backup software that runs on Windows.
VSS Service: The part of the Windows operating system that is in charge of the whole VSS process and coordinates all of its parts to work together.
VSS Writer: The VSS Writer instructs applications to perform required actions to create the volume shadow copy when requested. VSS writers for various Windows components (such as the registry) are included with the Windows operating system. This is typically included in VSS-aware applications, such as SQL Server® or Exchange Server.
VSS Provider: This component creates and manages the shadow copies. This can be either a software or hardware based component. QNAP provides a VSS hardware provider for the ES NAS. A hardware provider offloads the task of creating and maintaining a shadow copy from the host operating system.
VSS Hardware Provider and VSS operation
The following diagram shows the components of Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS), and the actions required to create a consistent shadow copy (also known as a snapshot or a point-in-time copy) of the data that is to be backed up.
To create a shadow copy, the components in the diagram perform the following actions:
- The backup application (requester) asks VSS to enumerate the writers, gather the writer metadata, and prepare for shadow copy creation.
- The Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) notifies all the writers to prepare their data for creating a shadow copy.
- Each writer prepares the data as appropriate, such as completing all open transactions, rolling transaction logs, and flushing caches. When the data is ready to be shadow-copied, the writer notifies the VSS.
- The VSS tells the provider to create the shadow copy.
- The VSS provider creates shadow copy of the target volume.
- The shadow copy is created.
- The VSS releases file system write I/O requests. Applications are free to resume writing data to the disk that is being shadow-copied.
VSS Snapshot Agent and VSS operation
- The NAS initiates backup requests and notifies Snapshot Agent to create the snapshot.
- The Snapshot Agent asks Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) to enumerate the writers, gather the writer metadata, and prepare for shadow copy creation.
- The VSS notifies all the writers to prepare their data for making a snapshot.
- Each writer prepares the data as appropriate, such as completing all open transactions, rolling transaction logs, and flushing caches.
- The Snapshot Agent tells the NAS to create the snapshot.
- The shadow copy is created.
- The VSS releases file system write I/O requests. Applications are free to resume writing data.
Backup software supporting VSS
Manufacturer | Name | License |
---|---|---|
Microsoft | DiskShadow.exe | As the operating system |
QNAP | NetBak Replicator | Free |
Acronis | Acronis Backup | Paid license and free trial |
Altaro | Hyper-V Backup | Paid license and free license with restrictions |
ARCserve | CA ARCserve Backup | Paid license and free trial |
Commvault | Simpana 10 | Paid license and free trial |
DataCore | SANsymphony-V | Paid license and free trial |
FastNeuron | BackupChain | Paid license |
NAKIVO | Backup & Replication | Paid license |
StorageCraft | ShadowProtect Virtual | Paid license and free trial |
Symantec | Backup Exec | Paid license and free trial |
Symantec | NetBackup | Paid license |
Unitrends | Enterprise Backup | Paid license and free trial |
Veeam | Backup Free Edition | Free |
Veeam | Backup & Replication | Paid license and free trial |
Preparation for installation
System requirements
We have learned from previous sections that creating application-consistent snapshots is easy with the QNAP Snapshot Agent and VSS Hardware Provider. Additionally, the underlying network architecture for interconnecting the storage array (ES NAS) and the application server is not hard to implement. Sims 4 bunk bed mod. All of the components (i.e. VSS Service, Requestor, Provider, and QNAP Snapshot Agent) can be installed on the same server on which the VSS-aware applications reside.
In our demonstration, the following configurations and servers are used:
- Storage device: QNAP ES NAS with QES 1.1.1 or newer.
- Server: Windows Server 2008 (R2), Server 2012 (R2)
- IP Settings: The QNAP Snapshot Agent and the ES NAS communicate over an IP network. For better reliability, it is recommended that both the storage device and server use static IP settings.
Servers and their Network Settings | |||
---|---|---|---|
Role | IP | Server Name | Description |
Application Server A | 172.17.23.133 | HV01 | Hyper-V Host and Snapshot Agent Server |
Data Network A1 | 8.8.1.50 | HV01 | Data port 1 of HV01 |
Data Network A2 | 8.8.2.50 | HV01 | Data port 2 of HV01 |
ES NAS Network Settings | ||
---|---|---|
Setting | Value | Description |
Storage Controller A (SCA) Management IP | 172.17.22.96 | Management port’s IP address of Storage Controller A (SCA) |
Storage Controller A (SCA ) Ethernet1 IP | 8.8.1.105 | Data port 1’s IP address of Storage Controller A (SCA) |
Storage Controller A (SCA ) Ethernet2 IP | 8.8.2.105 | Data port 2’s IP address of Storage Controller A (SCA) |
Storage Controller B (SCB) Management IP | 172.17.22.87 | Management IP address of Storage Controller B (SCB) |
Storage Controller B (SCB ) Ethernet1 IP | 8.8.1.106 | Data port 1’s IP address of Storage Controller B (SCB) |
Storage Controller B (SCB ) Ethernet2 IP | 8.8.2.106 | Data port 2’s IP address of Storage Controller B (SCB) |
Storage pool owned by Storage Controller A ( SCA) | Pool 1 | Storage pool with RAID 60 configuration owned by Storage Controller A (SCA) |
iSCSI LUN | iSCSI LUN on Pool 1 |
Before you begin installing the Snapshot Agent, verify the following prerequisites:
- The .NET Framework 3.5 is installed on the Windows Server.
- The VM and its applications to be backed up, including its settings, virtual disks and the default location for virtual machine files have to be stored on the same iSCSI LUN.
- Snapshot Agent cannot be installed if SMI-S Provider is already installed on the server.
- The Snapshot Agent does not support iSCSI connections with MPIO configuration.
- The Snapshot Agent does not support iSCSI connections with CHAP authentication.
- Please do not install too many VMs on the same iSCSI LUN. The VSS writer will be overloaded and may cause session time-out.
Install Snapshot Agent
- Launch the Snapshot Agent installer, and click “Next” to continue.
- Read the License Agreement. To accept the license agreement, click “I Agree”. Follow the on-screen instructions to install the software.
- Click “Finish” to close the installer.
Connect to the ES NAS using Snapshot Agent
- Once you have completed the Snapshot Agent installation, open “QNAP Agent Manager”. You will need to add the QNAP NAS that your Windows Server will be using as iSCSI storage by providing the IP address or by clicking “Scan NAS” to automatically find the NAS on the local network.
Note: If the error message “The Network port (8097 or 9500) are not available, please check and turn off the other application using port 8097 and 9500” appears, please exit Qfinder Pro if it is installed on the computer. You can find the program that uses these ports by entering “netstat –ano” in Windows PowerShell. - All QNAP NAS found will be listed. Double-click your ES NAS to connect to it.
- You will be asked to provide your NAS login credentials, to confirm the port for the connection, and to enable the functions you want to install.
- The Snapshot Agent will connect to the QNAP NAS and you can see the NAS been added to the list on the main page.
Note: If the error message “Register SnapAgent for Windows on NAS <NASName> fails” appears when you are trying to add the ES NAS to QNAP Agent Manager, please check the network connectivity and firewall policy settings. Make sure that incoming TCP port 11169 is not blocked. - Verify that the ES NAS has been successfully registered to your Windows Server.
To list the currently registered shadow copy writers, type” vssadmin list providers” in Windows PowerShell: - Check that “QNAP VSS HW Provider” is listed. If the QNAP VSS HW Provider is not listed, please redo the above steps to add the ES NAS.
- It is possible to check if the agent is connected to the ES NAS from the QES. Log into the ES NAS as an administrator, go to “Storage Manager” > “iSCSI Storage” > “Snapshot”, and then click
“SnapAgent”. A list of Snapshot Agents that are currently connected to the ES NAS will be displayed.
Create iSCSI LUN snapshots
In this section and following sections, we will demonstrate how to create application-consistent snapshots without taking the volumes offline or suspending the applications that write on the volumes.
Before taking an iSCSN LUN snapshot, please make sure that an iSCSI LUN has been created on the NAS. And the iSCSI LUN has been connected and used by the Windows Server. In our demonstration, we also created 6 VMs on the Windows server using Hyper-V Manager.
Poison greatest hits donload. Use the following procedure to create iSCSI LUN snapshots
- Log into the ES NAS as an administrator, go to “Storage Manager” > “iSCSI Storage”, select an iSCSI LUN, and then from the “Snapshot” drop-down menu select “Take a Snapshot”.
- The “Take a Snapshot” screen appears. Give a name for the snapshot and select the duration to keep the snapshot. Then select the appropriate snapshot type. Click “OK’ to start taking the snapshot. The crash-consistent snapshot backups up only data on the disk whereas the application-consistent snapshot backs up data from the disk, cache and memory. Moreover, to create a consistent view of application data during the course of the backup, the application- consistent backup needs Snapshot Agent whereas the crash consistent does not.
- Log into the Hyper-V Manager, you can see the status of all virtual machines shows “Backing up” and the Checkpoints also indicate the time of the snapshot. The Snapshot Agent helps quiet a VM file system just prior to a backup.
- The backup will take a few minutes if there are not many VMs. When the job is completed, the QES will display a message saying that the snapshot has been created.
Restore from iSCSI LUN snapshot
The snapshots can be used to quickly restore a VM to a previous point in time. Before starting a restore operation, please disconnect the host’s iSCSI connection to the NAS. Therefore, it is recommended that users should shut down the VMs for system recovery.
- Log into the NAS as an administrator, go to “Storage Manager” > “iSCSI Storage”, and then select the LUN to be restored. Select “Action”, and then select “Disabled” to disable the iSCSI LUN.
- Select “OK” when you are prompted for confirmation.
- Select “Action” and then select “Un-map” to un-map an iSCSI LUN to an iSCSI target.
- The LUN should be listed in the “Un-Mapped iSCSI LUN List”. Select the LUN and click “Snapshot” > “Snapshot Manager” to list all of its snapshots. Then select a snapshot to be restored and click “Revert”.
- A message appears to notify you that newer snapshots will be deleted after the restoration. Select “OK” to continue.
- Select “OK” to complete the restoration.
- To map the iSCSI LUN back to its target, select “Action” and select “Map”.
- Select which iSCSI target to be mapped back to, and then select “Apply”.
Back up using QNAP NetBak Replicator and VSS H/W Provider
NetBak replicator is a free and easy-to-use backup program that supports VSS. With QNAP NetBak replicator, you can back up transactional-based applications such as databases and virtual machines. VSS can facilitate creating backup files with a consistent view and without data corruption. When you conduct a backup job for an iSCSI LUN from the Windows Server with backup software that supports VSS, the VSS Hardware Provider will use NAS ROW (Redirect on Write) instead of Windows COW (Copy on Write) to take snapshots on the Windows Server and therefore increase the backup efficiency. The first step to use VSS hardware provider function is to configure your backup software to enable VSS as described in the following sections.
Configure NetBak Replicator to enable VSS
- Select “Advanced Mode” in the lower-left corner, and then select “Options” > “Advanced Settings”.
- Click the “Backup Settings for Opened Files” button.
- Select both “Enable VSS” and “Enable VSS Writer” options.
- Select the “Instant Backup” tab. Select the backup source where the Hyper-V VMs are stored, select the destination, and then select “Start Backup” to start the backup job.
- Log into the NAS, and go to “Storage Manager” > “Snapshot” > “Snapshot Manager”. You should see that a snapshot named VSS_snap_# has been created successfully.
- After the snapshot has been created, another iSCSI LUN called “vss_clone#” (in “iSCSI Storage” > “iSCSI Target List”) will be temporary created for the backup job.
- In the Hyper-V Manager, you can find that the status of the VMs shows “Backing up”.
- You can check backup progress from the NetBak Replicator.
- A screen appears, showing the number of files being backed up and the duration of time for the backup.
- To restore with the backup file, please click the “Instant Restore” tab, choose the backup source in the left pane and the backup destination in the right pane. Also select what you would like to do when a file with the same name but different content exists during the restore process. Click “Start Restore” to start the restore job.
Using other backup software and VSS Hardware Provider
Acronis Backup
Use the following procedure to enable VSS in Acronis Backup.
- Launch the Acronis Backup software and select “Manage this machine”.
- Select “Options” > “Default backup and recovery options”.
- Select “Default backup options” in the left pane to expand the options.
- Select “Volume Shadow Copy Service” and its detailed configurations will appear in the right pane. Select “Use Volume Shadow Copy Service” and choose “Hardware” for Snapshot provider. Then click “OK” to finish the configuration.
Symantec Backup Exec
Use the following procedure to enable VSS in Symantec Backup Exec.
- Launch Symantec Backup Exec and select “Backup and Restore” > “Backup” > “Back Up to Disk”.
- Select “Edit” in the lower right corner of the screen.
- Select “Advanced Open File” from the left menu. Enable “Use snapshot technology” and then select “Hardware” from the “Snapshot provider” drop-down menu.
Veeam Backup and Replication
Use the following procedure to enable VSS in Veeam® Backup and Replication™.
- Launch Veeam Backup and Replication program, select the target server in the list, and then select “Manage Volumes”.
- Since the target server already has QNAP Snapshot Agent installed, the two iSCSI LUNs with QNAP VSS HW Provider are displayed in the list.
- Select “Backup & Replication” in the lower-left corner, and then click “Backup Job”.
- Follow the on-screen instructions to create a backup job.
- In the Guest Processing configuration window, select “Enable application-aware processing” to enable Microsoft VSS. Then click “Credentials” and enter the login credentials for the VMs that you want to back up. Click “Next” to proceed.
- You can configure scheduled backup or click “Create” to create one time backup now. Then click “Finish” to complete the setup of a backup job.
It's pretty common these days to see server systems used as dual-purpose platforms for both compute and storage. That trend has also made its way over to the world of storage systems, as more vendors are adding server-like capabilities to their storage products.
QNAP is one of those storage vendors that has been adding services like containers and virtualization plus the ability to run any number of different services right on the storage box.
The company's new QNAP TS-1685 could replace a small departmental server in small to medium-sized business environments with everything you get inside the box. This unit ships with QTS 4.3, the latest version of QNAP's network-attached storage (NAS) operating system.
The QNAP TS-1685 also has the horsepower needed to adequately run those applications and services. We put the unit through its paces, including connecting over iSCSI to servers running VMware vSphere and Microsoft's Hyper-V.
QNAP TS-1685 Hardware
Take one look at the QNAP TS-1685 and you can tell this unit has a ton of capacity. Twelve full-size 3.5-inch drive bays plus four 2.5-inch slots will handle the latest high-capacity hard drives or solid state disks for speed. Add to that a total of six M.2 slots and you have a whopping support for twenty-two disk devices in a desktop space.
Run Qnap Qts In Hyper-v Server
Our review unit came with an Intel Xeon D-1531 CPU running at 2.20 GHz and 32 GB of memory (see Figure 1). The Xeon D-1531 has six cores and scores a respectable 9730 on the Passmark CPU benchmark test.
On the networking side, the QNAP TS-1685 shines with four 1 GB ports plus two 10 GB ports. Management of the network settings happens using the Network & Virtual Switch applet. Figure 2 shows the Overview page with the physical adapters and associated Virtual Switches.
Since this box provides a range of services that require network access, it makes sense to have a virtual networking management feature. This is depicted in Figure 2 with the nginx-1 container connected to Virtual Switch 2 using the 10.0.3.1 network.
Our test unit came with three Seagate IronWolf 2TB drives that operate at 7200 RPM. Western Digital also provided us with four of their Red 10TB NAS hard disk drives to use for backup and archival storage.
We also used two Intel DC S3500 120GB SSDs to function as a caching tier. Individual SSDs or a RAID group of multiple drives can be attached to an existing volume to speed up access.
The Storage Manager application provides a complete graphical interface for all storage-related tasks. The overview page shows the status of all physical devices and volumes.
Software Included in the QNAP TS-1685
QNAP has been continually improving their QTS operating system for a long time. The latest 4.3 version provides a wide range of capabilities you wouldn't normally expect to find on a storage box. With the ability to run containers the QNAP TS-1685 can now take full advantage of even more applications available through the Docker ecosystem.
Installing applications happens from the app center interface. This is where you install capabilities like Container Station. Container Station offers full support for both LXC and Docker containers.
To test this feature we installed the app and then used the Create Container option to install the latest version of Nginx. Figure 3 shows the status page for a running instance of Nginx that includes a URL for web access. We also installed the Linux Station app (see Figure 4), which uses Container Station to launch a Linux desktop platform accessible over the web.
Run Qnap Qts In Hyper-v Usb
For VMware users, QTS supports vStorage APIs for Array Integration (VAAI), which brings a number of improvements like the ability to minimize network traffic for operations like cloning and copying. VAAI support includes both NAS (NFS) and iSCSI-based volumes. On the iSCSI side you get full support for things like hardware-assisted copying and zeroing.
QTS provides the same type of support for Microsoft Hyper-V hosts using Offloaded Data Transfer (ODX). For virtualization management, QNAP offers a snap-in for both VMware vCenter and Microsoft's System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM).
QTS 4.3 provides an easy-to-use web-based graphical interface for all management functions. The Control Panel app is where the basic configuration of the NAS functionality happens such as updating firmware, creating and coordinating users, managing the variety of storage services offered to include iSCSI, NFS, SMB and more.
You can even enable a built-in SQL server running MariaDB 5.5.57 right from the Control Panel app. Management of the database does require a second installation of phpMyAdmin offered on the SQL server page.
If you haven't picked up on the versatility of this device you haven't been paying attention. The QNAP TS-1685 is really a powerhouse of a box that does so much more than simply serve files.
It presents a practical replacement opportunity for many small business servers and even up into the SMB space. If you're looking to upgrade an older office server, you should take a hard look at the QNAP TS-1685 as it's definitely worth considering.
Paul Ferrill, based in Chelsea, Alabama, has been writing about computers and software for almost 20 years. He has programmed in more languages than he cares to count, but now leans toward Visual Basic and C#.
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Storage for Virtualization
Providing storage to meet the requirements of virtualized environments
With the explosion of virtualized environments within recent years, a growing challenge for administrators has been to accommodate the storage requirements for a sprawling number of virtual machines. As enterprise QNAP NAS are designed for virtualized and clustered environments, they provide cost-effective and high-performance storage solutions for meeting the needs of virtualization.
Virtualization applications supported by QNAP NAS
QNAP NAS supports a wide range of mainstream virtualization applications in order to help IT administrators increase the efficiency of virtualized environments in their organization.
VMware vSphere
VMware® vSphere™ is the industry's first cloud operating system that offers one way to reduce IT costs and increase responsiveness. QNAP VMware® Ready™ products have been certified as compatible with the VMware® vSphere™ virtualization platform. IT administrators of small businesses and workgroups can now use a QNAP VMware® Ready™ NAS as an affordable and powerful storage solution in VMware® virtualized environments.
VAAI
VMware vSphere® Storage APIs – Array Integration (VAAI) offloads specific storage operations for improved performance and efficiency. With a QNAP NAS and VAAI, standard virtual machine management operations and deployment can be performed faster, using less ESXi CPU, memory and bandwidth.
QNAP NAS supports VAAI for iSCSI and VAAI for NAS. VAAI for iSCSI supports Full Copy (hardware-assisted copy), Block Zeroing (hardware-assisted zeroing), Hardware-assisted Locking, and Thin Provisioning with Space Reclamation. VAAI for NAS supports Full File Clone, Extended Statistics, and Reserve Space.
Microsoft Hyper-V
Windows Server® 2012 R2 Hyper-V® (the next-generation hypervisor-based server virtualization technology) is available as integral features of Windows Server® and allows administrators to easily implement server virtualization. All of the QNAP Windows Server® 2012 R2 certified products and Hyper-V® compatible products have built-in iSCSI service and are compliant with SPC-3 persistent reservation for Windows Failover Cluster and Cluster Shared Volume. You can enjoy the interoperability between the Hyper-V® and QNAP NAS.
Microsoft Offloaded Data Transfer
Offloaded data transfer (ODX) in Windows Server® 2012 R2 allows users to accomplish more with a NAS by letting them quickly move large files and virtual machines directly between iSCSI disks, reducing host CPU and network resource usage. When used with QNAP NAS, ODX lets a storage device perform a file copy operation without the main processor of the host actually reading the content from one storage place and writing it to another.
With the support of Windows 2012® R2 Hyper-V® thin provisioning automatic space reclamation, when files in a VM are deleted, the space reclamation process is done automatically. It maximizes the storage usage efficiency and eliminates the time of administrative tasks.
Citrix XenServer
Citrix® XenServer™ is the only enterprise-class, cloud-proven server virtualization platform that delivers critical features such as live migration and centralized multi-server management at no cost. QNAP Citrix® Ready™ products have passed the Citrix® verification.
QNAP’s Enterprise ZFS NAS Certified for Windows Server 2016
The dual-controller Enterprise ZFS NAS ES1640dc v2 has earned certification for Windows Server® 2016, and is also supported in Hyper-V® environments. This certification ensures that the Enterprise ZFS NAS is compatible with Windows Server 2016, making it a dependable storage for Hyper-V VMs and a parallel enterprise-grade file server.
QNAP Turbo NAS is a virtualization-ready storage solution | |||
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Virtualization solutions | VMware vSphere | Microsoft Hyper-V | Citrix XenServer |
Certifications | VMware Ready | Certified for Windows 2012 R2 | Citrix Ready |
Virtualization application |
VAAI for iSCSI
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Microsoft ODX (Offload Data Transfer) | iSCSI and NFS Storage Repository |
VAAI for NAS
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Management tool | QNAP vSphere Client plug-in |
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Check QNAP NAS with Support for Virtualization application
:Certificated Product
:Compatible product
:Not Support
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NAS Series | VMware Ready 6.5 | Windows Logo 2012 R2 | Windows Logo 2016 | Citrix Ready 6.5 | Citrix Ready 7.x | ||||
iSCSI | NFS | VAAI iSCSI | VAAI NFS | SRA | |||||
ES1640dc Series | |||||||||
TES-x85 Series QES | |||||||||
TES-x85 Series QTS | |||||||||
TS-x77XU Series | |||||||||
TS-x83XU Series | |||||||||
TVS-x72XU Series | |||||||||
TVS-x80 SAS Series | |||||||||
TS-x80 Series | |||||||||
TVS-x71 Series | |||||||||
TS-x79 Series | |||||||||
TS-x79U-SAS Series | |||||||||
SS-x79U-SAS Series | |||||||||
TDS-16489U | |||||||||
TVS-x63 Series | |||||||||
TS-x70 Series | |||||||||
TS-x53 Series | |||||||||
TS-x53A Series | |||||||||
TS-x53B Series | |||||||||
TVS-x73 Series | |||||||||
TVS-x73e Series | |||||||||
TVS-x82 Series | |||||||||
TS-1635 | |||||||||
TVS-x80 Series | |||||||||
TS-x31X Series | |||||||||
TS-x32XU Series | |||||||||
TS-x63U Series | |||||||||
TS-x73 Series | |||||||||
TS-x73U Series | |||||||||
TS-x77 | |||||||||
TVS x70 Series | |||||||||
TS-x51 Series | |||||||||
TS-x69 Series | |||||||||
HS-x Series | |||||||||
IS-x Series |