QNAP Systems TS-431X-8G 4-Bay NAS

Overview

The TS-431X supports 4 hard drives and comes with a built-in 10GbE SFP+ port for rigorous data processing, providing a cost-effective storage solution for demanding everyday business tasks. Powered by the QTS operating system, the TS-431X provides versatile all-in-one server functionalities and unique features including Container Station, which facilitates Internet of Things (IoT) development, and VJBOD (Virtual JBOD), which allows for expanding NAS capacity with another NAS. The TS-431X is an ideal entry-level NAS for businesses looking for backup, restoration, private cloud, storage for virtualization, and to future-proof their IT infrastructure for 10GbE networks.

10GbE readiness, SSD caching. and hardware-accelerated encryption Enjoy containerized virtualization and IoT app development with Container Station

Build a private cloud to centrally store, backup, share and restore files Rich productivity apps including QmailAgent for central mail management, Notes Station for collaborative note-taking, Qsirch full-text search engine, and much more

Use the TS-431X to expand the storage capacity of other QNAP NAS with VJBOD Secure access with VPN Server & VPN Client

High performance dual-core CPU with hardware encryption engine The TS-431X is equipped with a dual-core AnnapurnaLabs, an Amazon company Alpine AL-212 1.7 GHz processor and 2GB/8GB DDR3 RAM (upgradable to 8GB). Coupled with SATA 6Gb/s, one 10GbE SFP+ LAN port and two Gigabit LAN ports, the TS-431X delivers up to 956 MB/s throughput. Supporting AES 256-bit volume-based data encryption, the TS-431X provides excellent encrypted speeds of up to 312 MB/s, boosting system performance & security while ensuring the safety of sensitive business data stored in the NAS.

Tested in QNAP Labs. Figures may vary by environment.

Test Environment:

NAS:

OS: QTS 4.3.2

Volume type: RAID 5; 4 x Intel SSD DC S3500 SSDSC2BB240G4 F/W:D2010370 240G: NAS and PCs are connected

Client PCs:

Intel (R) Core (TM) i7-4790 CPU @ 3.60GHz CPU; DDR3 1600Hz 16GB; Seagate Barracuda ST500DM002 500GB;

INTEL® ETHERNET SERVER ADAPTER X540-AT2 ; Microsoft Windows 10 64bit

10GbE-ready with built-in 10GbE SFP+ port

The TS-431X not only provides two inbuilt Gigabit Ethernet ports but also one 10GbE SFP+ port to fully support 10GbE high-speed networks, capable of delivering lightning-fast throughput for businesses that demand higher bandwidth for virtualization and fast backup & restoration for an ever-growing amount of data.

SSD cache acceleration

The TS-431X supports SSD caching for all four drives to greatly boost the IOPS performance of storage volumes and increase operational efficiency. It is perfect for improving the overall workflow of IOPS-demanding applications and allows the best of both cost and performance by combining SSDs with HDDs.

Fast Disaster Recovery with Snapshots

The TS-431X supports block-based Snapshots, which can record and save the state of the file system and the metadata of the files outside the file system at any time. In the event of an unexpected NAS failure or if struck by a ransomware attack, the snapshots remain intact, allowing you to quickly and easily restore the system back to a previous normal state. You can preserve and restore multiple versions of the same file, folder or even the entire volume. The TS-431X supports up to 64 snapshots per volume or LUN (up to 256 in total). Snapshot Replica facilitates double protection that replicates snapshots to a remote QNAP NAS or server.

Note: The Snapshots feature will be available from QTS 4.3.4.

Initiate your IoT app with Container Station

QNAP Container Station exclusively integrates LXC and Docker® lightweight virtualization technologies, allowing you to operate multiple isolated Linux® systems on the TS-431X as well as download apps from the built-in Docker Hub® Registry for unlimited containerized applications. What's better, Container Station supports the QIoT Containers platform that helps quickly structure your IoT environment and deployment on your private IoT cloud, boosting microservices and modernizing legacy applications to drive more business opportunities.

Simplify email management with QmailAgent

Managing massive amounts of emails can be easier as QmailAgent helps you centrally manage and switch between different email accounts. Besides composing, reading and organizing emails, you can even directly attach files from the TS-431X when composing emails. The QmailClient companion app for iOS® or Android™ works alongside QmailAgent to provide convenient access to multiple email accounts from your mobile devices. You can use QmailAgent together with Qsirch, which supports searching through the .eml files stored on the TS-431X; or quickly send emails to people and groups by using the Qcontactz app.

Take, store, share, and collaborate on notes with Notes Station

Notes Station helps organize notes for your personal and working life. You can easily edit text, insert images/files from the NAS, fine-tune images with the image-editing tool, create sharing links to share notes, backup/restore your notes with snapshots, and ensure privacy with password protection and encryption. You can also invite people to collaborate on notes for greater teamwork! Notes Station provides a safe and convenient way of taking notes that are fully under your control on your TS-431X's private cloud.

Use NAS to expand other NAS capacity with VJBOD

Besides using physical storage expansion enclosures, there is an additional option to expand NAS storage capacity. QNAP VJBOD (Virtual JBOD) is network-based JBOD, allowing you to expand the storage of a QNAP NAS with multiple QNAP NAS units. The TS-431X supports VJBOD to economically expand the storage capacity of other QNAP NAS with its unused storage, and you can simply create virtual storage pools and volumes on the virtual disks for operating NAS services.

Please note:

1. ARM-based NAS currently does not support VJBOD "Host" function to utilize other NAS storage space.

2. The remote QNAP NAS must support iSCSI and Storage Pools and use QTS 4.2.1 (or later).

QTS 4.3 – The most intelligent and intuitive NAS operating system

QTS enhances management efficiency, personal productivity, multimedia, and much more. New intelligent agent services have also been added to simplify system operations and management. QTS features an intelligent desktop allowing you to find desired functions quickly, monitor important system information on a real-time basis, and open multiple application windows to run multiple tasks concurrently, bringing greater working efficiency. The built-in App Center provides various install-on-demand apps to extend NAS functionality. QTS breaks the barriers of devices, platforms, and geography to bring optimized cloud experiences and incorporates advanced features.

Secure access with VPN Server & VPN Client

The new QVPN app integrates settings for VPN server and VPN client, and allows the TS-431X to be used as a VPN server with L2TP/IPsec, OpenVPN, and PPTP support, allowing you to securely access data shared within private local networks. It can also be used as a VPN Client to connect to other VPN servers (connecting multiple servers at the same time is possible) or virtual private networks through PPTP and OpenVPN for secure data transmission. You can connect devices to your NAS and the VPN server at home to access data on the LAN; via VPN Client on your NAS, for example, you can connect to VPN servers in foreign countries for accessing regionally-restricted services.

Optimized collaboration with cross-platform file sharing and sync

The TS-431X centrally stores data, logs and various files, and supports SMB/CIFS, NFS, and AFP protocols for file sharing across Windows®, Mac®, Linux®/UNIX® networks. Coupled with Qsync - a utility that turns a QNAP NAS into a safe, high-capacity data center for file synchronization - any file uploaded to the TS-431X will be made available for all linked devices, such as computers, laptops or mobile devices. You can sync shared folders and team folders for group file sharing, greatly enhancing the flexibility of team projects and collaboration.

Well-rounded backup & disaster recovery solutions

The TS-431X offers flexible backup solutions for Windows® and Mac® users. It also supports Hybrid Backup Sync that consolidates backup, restoration and synchronization functions (using RTRR, rsync, FTP, CIFS/SMB) for easily transferring data to local, remote and cloud storage spaces as a comprehensive data storage and disaster recovery plan. Supported cloud services include Amazon® Glacier, Azure™ Storage, Google Cloud Storage™, Google Drive™, Microsoft® OneDrive® for Business, Dropbox®, Amazon® Drive, Yandex® Disk, Box®, hubiC® and Amazon® S3/OpenStack Swift/WebDAV compatible services.

Comprehensive security to protect your data

In open network environments, business data may be exposed in a potential hack. The TS-431X provides numerous security options, such as antivirus, encrypted access, IP blocking, 2-step verification, and more. IT administrators can also control the access rights of each user to different folders, preventing unauthorized access to important files. The TS-431X supports AES 256-bit encryption, preventing sensitive business data from unauthorized access and breach even if the hard drives or the entire system were stolen. Windows AD server, LDAP server, and built-in LDAP service are also supported.

Qsirch - a smarter, faster way to search

The TS-431X supports Qsirch, a proprietary search engine for quickly finding files. In addition to previewing files with thumbnails, content abstract and keyword hints, Qsirch allows you to search through .eml files stored on the TS-431X and to use customized search criteria such as date, size, sender and recipient. Qsirch even remembers your search history allowing you to quickly navigate to files you've previously searched for. The Qsirch Helper extension (for Google Chrome™ and Mozilla Firefox®) can also be used to search for files on your NAS when using Google Search™. Qsirch provides a huge productivity boost by greatly reducing the time spent looking for files on the NAS.

Comprehensive surveillance solution providing 24/7 security

Surveillance Station is a professional network surveillance Video Management System (VMS) that offers a user-friendly management interface, over 3,000 compatible IP camera models, and expandable IP camera channel licenses. It supports real-time monitoring, video & audio recording and playback with a wide range of customizable settings. You can use iOS® or Android™ Vmobile app to manage the monitored channels anytime and anywhere to safeguard your office environment, or install the Vcam mobile app to turn your device into a network camera to instantly record to your TS-431X. The TS-431X offers 2 free IP camera channels and you can expand up to 30 channels by purchasing additional licenses.

Specifications