QNAP Partners with ZyXEL for Affordable 10G NAS Solutions
by Ganesh T S on August 15, 2013 4:45 PM EST- Posted in
- IT Computing
- NAS
- 10G Ethernet
- Enterprise
- Switch
Small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) and datacenter operators are minimizing the footprints of their computing equipment using virtualization. Heavily virtualized environments require a good network backend (efficient IP-SANs and / or fast NAS units along with 10G-enabled switches). However, NAS units and switches with 10G functionality are currently not very cost-effective.
QNAP already has powerful and affordable rackmounts capable of accepting 10G add-on cards such as the TS-EC1279U-RP. The need for their customers was affordable 10G networking equipment. While vendors such as Netgear (and, to some extent, Supermicro) bundle both switches and NAS / storage server units as a package for customers, QNAP doesn't have expertise on the networking side in-house. On the other hand, ZyXEL's NAS ambitions have been restricted to home consumer versions. Therefore, teaming up makes a lot of sense for both QNAP and ZyXEL.
We are very impressed by the price points that QNAP and ZyXEL have achieved with their bundles. There are two packages: The Performance Pack bundles a ZyXEL XGS1910-24 (a 24-port switch with 2x 10Gb SFP ports) and a QNAP TS-870U-RP (a 8-bay rackmount with a 2.4 GHz dual core x86 CPU) for less than $3000. The Premium Pack bundles a ZyXEL XGS1910-48 (a 48-port switch with 4x 10Gb SFP ports) and a QNAP TS-1270U-RP (a 12-bay rackmount with a 2.4 GHz dual core x86 CPU) for less than $4000. These price points are way less than what one would pay separately for the units.
While pricing is definitely important, bundling, long term support and reliability are other factors that SMB customers keep in mind while ordering IT equipment. With this partnership, both QNAP and ZyXEL are moving towards addressing these concerns. Long term support and reliability can only be assessed as the partnership gains more customers.
Source: QNAP Newsletter
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merikafyeah - Friday, August 16, 2013 - link
What's so bad about the connector? It goes in extremely easily and locks into place. You don't even need to see the connector as you can insert it by feel, which is extremely convenient in cramped spaces. You can also terminate your own connectors for quick custom length cables. Oh and it's extremely cheap (low cost) and highly reliable. Bandwidth can go up to 100Gbit for short runs with Cat7a cables and 40Gbit for longer runs. You can also get sleeved cables for snag-free runs. And did I mention how cheap it is?There are virtually no downsides. Contrast this with HDMI. Now that's a cable (and standard) that needs to die. Basically inverse all the good things I just stated about RJ45 and you end up with HDMI. It's a genuinely horrible cable.
Master_Sigma - Monday, August 26, 2013 - link
Its affordable for (repeat after me):"Small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) and datacenter operators--"
Which are QNAP's primary customers. If you're looking for $40-$50 crap, look elsewhere.
Theremings759 - Thursday, August 29, 2013 - link
My Uncle Joshua got a six month old Mercedes R-Class Diesel just by part time work from a macbook. visit this website http://jobs63.comludikraut - Friday, August 16, 2013 - link
So I took a look at what Zyxel is offering and what this supposed package is offering. Interestingly enough, while they are shouting 10G, nothing is mentioned of actually including 10G transceivers and the cabling needed to connect the server to the switch. I suspect that at the touted price points all you're getting is a 10G capable switch, but would have to BYOT or shell out extra cash to get 10G interfaces.l8r)
ganeshts - Friday, August 16, 2013 - link
I actually got word from QNAP that the pricing includes a 10 GbE network card and SFP+ cable(s).