A few days ago, I saw a promotion from Xianyu and discovered a TS-212P3 at a super low price, so I didn't hesitate to place an order. After actually experiencing it, it completely meets my expectations.
After receiving it, I found that the appearance is decent. Its only drawback is that the front USB port is broken, but for me, I won't be using that port. After all, the functions that can be used with an external hard drive in a NAS are very limited. It's just for backup during idle time, and there is no problem with plugging it into the USB port at the back. The NAS is equipped with a limited 3TB 3.5-inch hard drive. Why spend more on a NAS hard drive at this price? Just use a single drive slot and add a network drive. Moreover, my read and write frequency is not high, so it's very suitable.
Here are the reasons why I chose it:
- Affordable price: The price of 280 yuan is irresistible. Compared to a regular 3.5-inch hard drive enclosure, it may be about 100 yuan more expensive, but it also provides additional network functionality and a complete system from QNAP. It even has cloud services.
- Sufficient functionality: I already have a server running Ubuntu for hosting various Docker containers. Now, I just need a branded NAS to serve as a pure storage server. The low-cost ARM processor is sufficient for my needs. It also saves electricity.
- User-friendly: Although I considered purchasing a domestic brand, thinking that the experience of accessing it from outside the network would be better, QNAP's HBS3 attracted me. With it, I can directly back up the NAS to OneDrive. After configuring Qsync, I directly set up HBS3 and mapped most of the folders to OneDrive. This allows for remote disaster recovery. The educational discount provides 5TB of OneDrive storage, which is more than enough when combined with the NAS.
However, there is also one drawback: the mobile app is indeed difficult to use, as its name suggests. It takes a long time to connect to the NAS every time I open the app.
In conclusion, the QNAP TS-212P3 has brought me a pleasant surprise!