QNAP TS-453A QTS-Ubuntu Combo NAS Review

Security, Backup & More Apps

Security

As a file host, which a NAS is, we need to keep an eye on our security as well. This covers both backups of our files as well as intrusion protection and file protection. QTS features a basic access and deny system that can come in very handy, especially if you want to block anyone but yourself for a short time. You could also limit it to only known devices this way and keep strangers away.

The network access protection is a simple IP block after X amount of false tries. You can set individual settings for the various protocols here – for example, you’ll probably want a stronger SSH than web protection.

The NAS features a self-signed certificate by default, but you can add your own ones too for those encrypted connections.

QTS also comes with anti-virus built-in. Should the initial update of the file fail for you, simply manual download one from the provided URL once and it will work online after that too.

You can create scheduled scans or scan the files now. Whether you want to run deep scans or exclude file types, it’s all possible with this easy 5-step scan job creator.

The Antivirus offers all you’d want from such a tool from detection to quarantine areas.

Backup

A good backup solution is vital for a NAS and QNAP’s TS-453A combines all the possibilities into the Backup Station. Having everything in one location makes it easy to use and setup.

Rsync, real-time remote replication, and time machine all work great.

You can also create remote replication jobs such as NAS to NAS, Rsync, and RTRR as well as Snapshots and LUN backups.

Even cloud backup is found here and one of the default services here is for Amazon’s web services.

You can also control backup jobs for external devices such as connected drives.

The function of the one-touch copy button can also be defined here, whether you want to use smart import where it sorts the files for you, one-touch copy, or just use drives connected as normal external storage.

Server Apps

There are quite a few more server apps and features within the control panels application pages such as VPN server and client functionality. Don’t rely on third party setups when you can do it all yourself and keep your data even more secure and out of prying eyes and sticky fingers.

Web and SQL servers can also be created and QTS uses MariaDB for the latter part. Develop and design your own websites with all the data stored locally.

Syslog and Radius servers are also part of the deal and so are a lot more.

App Center

The app center is where you find all the really cool features, not that what we’ve seen so far wasn’t cool. But with the app center you got possibilities to install almost any function onto your TS-453A. You can quickly view all your installed apps and licenses as well as install more.

There are hundreds of apps available and for the most part, they can be installed with a single click.

Whether you browser by essentials, beta apps, or just go through the categories, it’s quick and easy to find what you’re looking for.