QNAP TVS-h1688X-W1250-32G High-speed media NAS with Intel Xeon W-1250 CPU and Two Ports

I had a 2012 Mac Mini Server. It's been very good but lately it's had a few errors. I ran a Win XP virtual machine in Virtualbox and guess what - it transferred over to the Qnap! It took a little bit of effort and changes in XP before transferring but super fast now. I knew the time was coming and initially I had bought an M1 MacMini to do the job, but I had too many permissions problems with Dropbox users vs local user files. This has eliminated the problems. I started researching and found the QNAP TVS-h1688X-W1250-32G. I was concerned because we are in a MacOS print/design/video editing office and the last thing i need is Mac users upset because something doesn't work right. Apple has completely stripped their Server app to nothing, and users and groups are an absolute mess. Apple claims they simplified it, but in reality they just removed access to what administrators need to keep their users working. This runs Qnap Hero OS, a Linux kernel OS, which may scare you, but don't be. It's not hard. You have a lot of options and "it just works." Which is more than I can say for Apple's current file serving apps. With having a Xeon processor and 6 NIC - 2.5gb or 10gb, I was certain this could take over for the old server. Anyhow, this is a beast. it holds 18 drives internally. I have all but 4 filled up now. The drives are hot-swappable. I have inserted and removed drives while running and no hickups. I maxed out the memory to 128. there are four slots and the most you can have is 32 in each. Don't try 2 -64's because it won't work. Ask me how i know. What can this do? File sharing, media streaming - movies, music (have not tested); Multiple VM's simultaneously and can be assigned their own NIC. Cloud file sharing (like dropbox or google drive), FTP server, email, web, etc. It is literally a full blown server that you can access anywhere. You can link multiples of these servers together and control them all from one console. You can also connect your printer/scanners to this machine (Ricoh/Lanear through FTP). I had no idea that you could access the desktop right from a browser - or the VM's for that matter - yet it all works with no issues. The QNAP TVS-h1688X-W1250-32G will show you exactly what bays are filled right from your browser, what drives are in them, health, temp, status, etc. Create, modify pools, shares, and more all while having users connected. The apps are very easy to install also and most of the time Qnap will recommend for you what you need when you search in your browser viewer. Here is what is neat about this setup - the Macs understand it just fine fine - Use Time Machine, Tags, and more. Users and groups connecting to shares is much more reliable and easy to understand compared to the mess Apple left. I highly recommend this device, especially after being hesitant about not getting something too complicated.

This is an awesome machine. Still getting it setup; but already am able to connect with my network on 2.5gbe and my 10gbe cable for video editing. There is a learning curve with all the features; however, I am already making great headway with it installing my 4K video editing files and digital music files.

Have used QNAP products for years. Always works great. Some features have a steep learning curve but its worth the time and effort to get everything set up the way you want. This Server is a BEAST. Im running several VM's and databases, as well as a plex/emby server. Has no problems with multiple users.

Dollar for dollar, the hardware is actually pretty incredible compared to enterprise equipment. That said, their operating system is a kludged/hacked together monstrosity based on shell scripts layered into a poorly managed immutable system. If you use this in a professional capacity you will waste hundreds of hours (literally, no exaggeration) working around idiotic problems created by the QNAP team themselves.

The TVS-h1688X-W1250-32G can work with up to 22TB hard drives. Due to the cost curve, I purchased 20TB hard drives and after the RAID 6 overhead 12 X 20TB hard drives yielded 146 TB of useable storage space. Tech support has always been helpful in the past regardless of warranty status. I am satisfied with this product.