-Hello!
Dong Ngo's here and today, you will see another NAS server that runs window home server, the TS Mini from ASUS.
Now, there is nothing really mini about this server.
It actually has a standard size for a dual-bay NAS server and as a matter of fact, it is larger than many others.
However, with a slim chassis and rounded corners, the server looks good.
There are few special things about the TS Mini, some good, some bad.
First of all, it has the most
ports among single-volume NAS servers we've seen, 6 USB, and 2 eSATA a part from the standard gigabit Ethernet.
This port can be used to hold more storage devices.
Now, though it has 2 base, the server is categorized as single-volume because window home server does not allow for any RAID configuration.
Instead, you can use the feature called folder duplication in case you want to protect important data from single hard drive failure.
In order to use this feature, you'll need at least 2
hard drives installed.
As the mini come with just 1 hard drive, this brings us to the second special thing about the server.
It is super hard to the server's hard drive.
In order to do this, you'll first have to open its chassis and then open its inner layer of the case and then you have to take out the hard drive bay, install or replace a hard drive and then, of course, put everything back together.
It's really a pain and in the end, is a better idea to add more storage using one of its peripheral ports.
The third
special thing about the mini, fortunately another good thing, is the fact that it is currently the fastest single-volume NAS server.
Powered by Intel Atom N280 processor and 2GB of RAM, the server offers read and write speed up to 467 Mbps and 341 Mbps respectively.
This is really fast speed for a network storage device.
Other than home server standard features which are plenty, the ASUS come with just 2 features of its own called ASUS
Webstorage and Asus Xtor Managers.
The Webstorage allows for backing up the mini's data to ASUS cloud service and the Xtor Manager enables contents sync between folders of 2 separate hard drives.
At that price of around $270 for 500GB of storage or $400 for 2TB, the TS Mini is a great deal for those who need a quick backup and data share server for home or small offices.
Once again, my name is Dong Ngo and this has been the first look at the TS Mini NAS server from ASUS.
