Delivering enterprise high availability, the QNAP ES1686DC-2142IT-96G 16-Bay NASfrom QNAP ES1686DC-2142IT-96G 16-Bay NASfeatures an Intel Xeon D processor, dual active controllers, 96GB DDR4 ECC memory, SAS 12Gb/s, and ZFS that supports logical volume management. The ES1686DC runs the latest QES 2.1.0 operating system that supports near-limitless snapshots, SnapSync, block-level data deduplication, and inline data compression. Whether being used as a mission-critical file server, virtualization server, VDI, medium-sized data center, video streaming, surveillance storage, or efficient file backup & recovery, the ES1686DC helps your business to achieve service-level agreements for performance and uptime.

Dual Active-Active Controllers    16 x 3.5" / 2.5" SAS/SATA Drive Bays    1.9 GHz Intel Xeon D-2142IT 8-Core    96GB DDR4 ECC RAM (Total)    6 x Gigabit Ethernet Ports    8 x 10GbE SFP+ Slots    4 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Ports    2 x PCIe 3.0 Slots    Rackmount Design

In Active-Active storage system architecture, both controllers are able to provide a complete range of services, which is different from the Active-Standby architecture of single-controller systems. The Active-Active architecture does not have the disadvantage of idle computing resources. To leverage the strengths of the ES1686DC Active-Active controller architecture, it is recommended to create multiple storage pools and distribute their ownership between both controllers. This allows simultaneous output from both controllers for better load balancing.

Related Questions and Answers

Q: 1. What is the maximum supported capacity of a drive to be put inside the enclosure?

A: It will support 16TB drives.

Q: 2. Can I connect one edit system via T3 and another edit system (located in a different room) via 10gbps ethernet and have them both editing at the same time? I assume the second ethernet port could then be hooked up to my router/modem?

A: This system uses RJ45. It does not have any FIber ports for a T3 connection. The enclosure can support 10GbE connections.

Q: 3. I meant - is there a recommended drive size (i.e. 256gb, 500gb, 1tb, etc.) that is recommended for the cache drives?

A: Depends on your needs, as there are options for 1TB and 2TB. With two slots, this means you can configure either 2TB (2x1TB) or 4TB (2x2TB) all together.

Q: 4. Can i use this as a DAS with usb 3.2 on Ubuntu? On mac using thunderbolt as a DAS will files written be accessible to computers

A: Yes, the QNAP TVS-h874T 8-Bay NAS Enclosure can be used on Ubuntu and on a Mac using thunderbolt.

Q: 5. Hi there, Is the RAM on this model expandable? If I go with the 8 GB option, what is the maximum RAM it could be upgraded to?

A: The QNAP TS-464 4-Bay NAS Enclosure BH #QNTS4648GUS has 8GB of non expandable RAM.

Q: 6. Could you please confirm that this doesn't support Raid 5?

A: The QNAP TS-216G 2-Bay NAS Enclosure does not support RAID 5 and is only capable of RAID 0, RAID 1, and JBOD. Only enclosures with three or more bays (and a minimum of three drives installed) can support RAID 5.

Q: 7. I see suggestions for Q-nap expansion cards, but on the back of the TS-h973AX I don't see any place to put them. Is there an ability to expand some capabilities internals or does this not support expansion cards?

A: Unfortunately, the QNAP TS-h973AX 9-Bay NAS Enclosure does not support extension cards.

Q: 8. Will the thunderbolt 3 expansion card enable the QNAP TVS-H1688X to function as a DAS? Can I still daisy chain more storage?

A: The Thunderbolt ports on the The QNAP Dual-Port Thunderbolt 3 Expansion Card along with the QNAP TVS-H1688X can be connected to directly or used for expansion and daisy chaining.

Q: 9. What would be the read/write speed of the QNAP 1688 with a full set of 16 x 18TB HDDs?

A: It depends on the type of hard drive that is connected to the NAS, its speed and the the RAID configuration (RAID Modes supported on the QNAP TVS-h1688X 16-Bay NAS Enclosure with Dual-Port Thunderbolt 3 Expansion Card: RAID 0, 1, 10, 5, 50, 6, 60, JBOD)

Q: 10. Can you use the 4 2.5'' ssd slots as a bigger cache for added speed and performance for video Editing?

A: Yes, the QNAP TVS-h1688X-W1250-32G 16-Bay NAS Enclosure features four 2.5" SATA bays and two M.2 PCIe slots that can be used for an SSD cache.