Your QNAP NAS comes with predefined number of Bays which are fixed. For Example a TS-453 is a 4 bay unit and the maximum raw capacity ( using 8TB HDDs) is 8TB x 4 = 32 TB.
So what do you do when you have filled all your Bays on your QNAP NAS ? If you buy an additional NAS, it will add to your infrastructure and configuration complexity with 2 different Manangement consoles. The answer to your growing Storage Need is to buy a QNAP Expansion unit that connects to your QNAP NAS VIA USB or SAS wide Port ( Depending on the model of your NAS).
The process is as simple as filling your Expansion unit with Hard drives and connecting it to your QNAP. Upon connecting it physically, your Storage Manager will show the Extra Hard drives and you can start Expansing your RAID Volumes or create new Volume.
There are 2 Expansion Units Available with QNAP - UX series that Connects with USB Connection and REXP that connects with SAS Wide Port. REXP is comptible with Higher end models, while the UX series is compatible with Lower End Models.
The sytem know a keeps a track of which data is Kept in the NAS and which goes to the expansion bay. So in case your Expansion unit is disconnected from NAS, it will block the input/output to Expansion unit, safeguarding your data.
Not all the QNAP Models are expandable though. Check the expandability of your NAS before buying. Major points to know are
- QNAP Supports Expansion units
- 2 Series - UX and REXP
- UX Is Lower End connects Via USB
- REXP is Higher End, connects via SAS Wide. Also Supports Daisychaining
- Easy to Expand operation. Missing mode protection protects your data , if the expansion unit is disconnected
- Not All models are Expnadable.
