nas News - Page 8 of 15 - CNX Software

January 20, 2018January 20, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

QNAP Launches TS-128A & TS-228A Entry-Level NAS Powered by Realtek RTD1295 SoC

Realtek RTD1295 can be found in mid range to high-end 4K TV boxes that often include a SATA bay or interface, as well as an HDMI input port that supports PVR, PiP, and UDP broadcasting, with the devices normally running both Android and OpenWrt simultaneously respectively for multimedia apps, and storage/network functions. But last year, we also spotted QNAP & Synology working on entry-level NAS based on the processor, and the former has now launched the TS-x28A series with two models: TS-128A & TS-228A equipped with respectively one and two 3.5″ SATA bays. QNAP TS-128A & TS-228A specifications: SoC – Realtek RTD1295 quad-core Arm Cortex A53 processor @ up to 1.4GHz with hardware encryption acceleration engine System Memory – 1GB DDR4 (soldered) Storage 4GB eMMC flash for firmware Drive Bay TS-128A – 1x 3.5″ SATA 6Gbps TS-228A – 2x 3.5″ SATA 6Gbps Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet Port (RJ45) USB – […]

January 18, 2018January 25, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 38 Comments

ODROID-HC2 Linux NAS System for 3.5″ Hard Drives Launched for $54

We knew it was coming, and Hardkernel has now launched an updated version of the ODROID-HC1, called ODROID-HC2 based on the same Samsung Exynos 5422 board, but instead supporting 3.5″ hard drives. The device can now be purchased for $54 plus shipping, but you may also consider adding some accessories like a 12V/2A power supply, and the top cover for the enclosure. [Update: Also listed on Ameridroid now]ODROID-HC2 specifications: SoC – Samsung Exynos 5422 octa-core processor with 4x ARM Cortex-A15 @ 2.0 GHz, 4x ARM Cortex-A7 @ 1.4GHz, and Mali-T628 MP6 GPU supporting OpenGL ES 3.0 / 2.0 / 1.1 and OpenCL 1.1 Full profile System Memory – 2GB LPDDR3 RAM PoP @ 750 MHz Storage UHS-1 micro SD slot up to 128GB SATA interface via JMicron JMS578 USB 3.0 to SATA bridge chipset Case supports 2.5″ or 3.5″ drives up to 27mm thick Network Connectivity – 10/100/1000Mbps Ethernet (via […]

December 18, 2017 by TLS - 7 Comments

QNAP QBoat Sunny Review – Part 1: Unboxing, Closer Look, and Initial Setup

We spotted the QBoat Sunny at QNAP’s booth back at CES in January and much has changed since then. Not only did QNAP change from an Intel based solution to an ARM based one, but the product seems to have shifted from being a development board to a strange kind of IoT server. The QBoat Sunny sample that QNAP provided for us to look at is based on the Annapurna Labs AL-314 quad core ARM Cortex-A15 SoC which is clocked at 1.7GHz. This has been paired with 2GB of DDR3L RAM (non-expandable) and 512MB of NAND flash that isn’t user accessible, much as on their NAS products. This simply contains the core parts of the QTS Lite OS. As such, you need to install an M.2 SATA SSD to be able to get started with the QBoat Sunny. QNAP provides a list of compatible SSDs on its website, although some […]

December 14, 2017December 15, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 25 Comments

More Low Cost ARM Linux NAS Platforms Coming Soon: Popcorn Hour Transformer (XL), ODROID-HC2

Last summer, Hardkernel launched ODROID-HC1 Home Cloud 1 taking a single 2.5″ hard drive, and based on a modified version of their popular Exynos 5422 powered ODROID-XU4 board where they removed HDMI, and added a SATA interface (via USB 3.0), but based on the initial announcement, we also knew the Korean company was working on ODROID-HC2 supporting 3.5″ drives instead. The device is not available yet, but guys at Armbian got an early unit, so we should not be waiting too long. Hardkernel will also have some competition for their ODROID-HC1 NAS, as Cloud Media (and Pine64?) are working on Rockchip RK3328 based Popcorn Hour Transformer & Transformer XL with support for 2.5″ and 3.5″ drives respectively. Hardkernel ODROID-HC2 ODROID-HC2 preliminary specifications: SoC – Samsung Exynos 5422 octa-core processor with 4x ARM Cortex-A15 @ 2.0 GHz, 4x ARM Cortex-A7 @ 1.4GHz, and Mali-T628 MP6 GPU supporting OpenGL ES 3.0 / […]

November 15, 2017November 15, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

QNAP QBoat Sunny IoT Mini Server Board Officially Announced with Annapurna Labs AL-314 ARM Processor

We first had a glance at QNAP QBoat Sunny at CES 2017. At the time, QNAP IoT development board was powered by an Intel AnyWAN GRX750 dual core Atom based processor with 2GB RAM, 4GB flash, three Gigabit Ethernet ports, some mSATA slot and so on. The company has now officially announced the board, but with a twist, as the Intel processor has been replaced by Annapurna Labs (now part of Amazon) AL-314 quad core ARM Cortex-15 processor instead, and left most of the other features pretty much unchanged. QBoard Sunny board specifications: Processor – Annapurna Labs AL-314 quad core ARM Cortex-15 processor up to 1.7 GHz System Memory – 2GB DDR3L Storage – 512MB NAND flash, 2x M.2 2260/2280 SATA slots for SSDs (Key M) Network connectivity – 3x Gigabit Ethernet USB – 2x USB 3.1 Gen1 ports Audio – 3.5mm audio out jack, 3.5mm audio in jack Expansion […]

November 9, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 15 Comments

Giveaway Week Winners – November 2017

Like every year, I’ve organized a giveaway week to send some of the items I’ve reviewed in the past year or so. There was a good mix of devices this year starting with a mini Linux NAS kit, following by some ESP32 boards, and Amlogic development boards among others. The results are in, and instead of 10 winners, I actually have 11 winners due a “timing issue”, and to make for one missing ESP32 board, a LinkIt Smart 7688 Duo board was also given away. While it started strongly for Eastern Europe, We have winners from 3 continents this year: NanoPi NEO2 NAS Kit – Hap Hapablap, Serbia Muses Beta DVB Encoder and Modulator Board – Luka, Slovenia ESP32 PICO Kit v3 boards (5 Winners): Andrius Kurtinaitis, Lithuania (2x ESP32 boards) Kebab, Turkey (2x ESP32 boards) Zoobab, Belgium (2x ESP32 boards) Sollie, Germany (2x ESP32 boards) BobR, USA (1x ESP32 […]

October 30, 2017November 1, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 179 Comments

Giveaway Week – NanoPi NEO NAS Kit with NEO 2 Board

Time has come to organize another giveaway week. I used to mainly give away TV boxes, but due to recent regulations that will not be possible anymore, and instead this giveaway week will include Linux and IoT development boards, and other accessories. I’ll start with NanoPi NEO NAS Kit v1.2. NanoPi NEO NAS Kit v1.2 is a low cost kit NanoPi NEO or NEO 2 board that takes a 2.5″ hard drive. I’ve tested it with NanoPi NEO 2 board and OpenMediaVault, and found to perform optimally for this type of device (USB 2.0 to SATA), with SAMBA reads & writes achieving 40 MB/s. The hardware given away includes the NAS Kit v1.2 and a NanoPi NEO 2 board. You’ll just need to add a micro SD card with the OMV image, a hard drive, and a 12V/2A (or greater) power supply. To enter the draw simply leave a comment […]

October 11, 2017October 12, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 20 Comments

GNUBee Personal Cloud 2 is a DIY NAS Supporting up to Six 3.5″ SATA Drives (Crowdfunding)

GNUBee Personal Cloud 1 is a DIY NAS powered by Mediatek MT7621A MIPS processor that supports up to 2.5″ SATA drives, and runs free and open source software. It was first introduced in March of this year through a CrowdSupply campaign. The developers are now back with GNUBee Personal Cloud 2 (GB-PC2) with pretty much the same features, but instead of being designed for 2.5″ drives, it supports up to six 3.5″ drive that should offer either more capacity, or a lower total price for an equivalent capacity. GB-PC2 NAS specifications: Processor – MediaTek MT7621A dual core, quad thread MIPS processor @ 880 MHz, overclockable to 1.2 GHz System Memory – 512 MB DDR3 (max supported by MT7621) Storage – SD card slot tested up to 64 GB, 6x 3.5” SATA HDD or SSD (recommended RAID 0 or 1 under LVM, MD, or Linux MD RAID 10) Connectivity – 3x […]