Asustor AS4004T 10 Gigabit NAS Review - Asustor Introduction

ASUSTOR AS4004T - 10GbE NAS Server
10GbE is finally coming to lower-cost devices

Slowly but steadily Multi Gig Ethernet is arriving into the consumer domain. ASUSTOR has released a new NAS with 10 Gigabit Ethernet for the consumer market. Armed with a dual-core processor the AS4004T NAS is to set a record or two in the consumer and SOHO NAS domain alright. Yeah, they released a NAS that features a whopping 10Gbps Ethernet jack as four drive bays, and do so at a very interesting price point. The new AS4004T (there also is a two-bay version AS4002T) features one 10GbE network port and two 1GbE ports. Next, to the lovely ADM software suite, ASUSTOR also upgraded the drive caddies, now in a tool-less design. The price for this NAS series is a proper one as it sits under $400, we expect final pricing to settle at $359 / € 379,-for the four-bay unit. That is unprecedented price wise for anything offering 10Gbps Ethernet.

Obviously, they had to save on some features in order to present a price competitive product, ergo ASUSTOR dropped the multimedia features, there is no HDMI output. However, this is a NAS back to its roots, a proper file streaming server with an excellent application suite. To further reduce costs the AS4004T makes use of a dual-core Marvell Armada 7020 processor running at 1.6 GHz. Next, to that, it has been paired with 2GB dual-channel memory (not expandable) and yes, it has a nearly exhaustive plethora of ASUSTOR features and APPs making this a small server really. The four in that product name means we'll be testing the 4-bay version of this dual-core processor based NAS.

The AS4004T as tested today is intended for the consumers that want their NAS to be 10 GbE ready, to be future proof for what is coming, all at an attractive price point. In your home, it will function as the perfect low power home server for all your streaming needs. The AS4 range can in this respect be compared a little to what Intel is doing with the Core i3, i5, and i7 naming schema. The Asustor NAS product line offers AS1, AS2, AS3, AS4, AS5 and this AS6 series of NAS server, and yes, that means the AS4 or the AS4004T falls within their mainstream line of products.

While it does not have the spiciest processor, it has plenty enough to offer for performance. It is also an energy friendly unit as well, offering a wide range of features including file-sharing, Usenet download, web applications, download systems, security center and so on. Yes, years ago a NAS unit had the sole function to serve files. These days however they have become easy to manage servers with selectable applications you can install. Combined with the right amount of security and options a NAS can be a very powerful solution for your LAN or SOHO environment. Today's tested model NAS unit has four HDD bays (hot-swappable) that are RAID 0/1/5 compatible. It offers 2x full duplex Gigabit Ethernet jacks and one 10 Gigabit Ethernet jack, it also comes with two USB 3.1 (Gen 1) connector. Power consumption with one storage unit like an HDD or SSD sits at roughly 10 Watts. So this NAS might be a terrific low power option while providing a small server in features. Have a peek at the product and then we'll dive a little deeper into the review.