Introduction
The Thecus N16000 is a 16-bay SAS III and SATA 6G combined NAS that is squarely aimed at Enterprise level customers that will also be an attractive proposition to medium and large corporations for its huge data storage capacity capability as well as the feature set that combines iSCSI, Virtual client support (VMWare, Hyper V etc) as well as being used as a repository back from file servers that need the extra capacity or just to off load data for secondary and archival data use. The Thecus N16000 packs a humongous 48tb and at full capacity will cost just a tad below $8900.00, that is $185.00 per Terabyte and that includes all the hardware and software inclusive. That is uncompromising value for money. Promise Technology with their offering comes in at just shy of $25000.00 whilst Netgear ReadyNAS 4200 (12-Bay) with 24TB is just over the $15,000.00 price tag. The Thecus then is clearly value for money, with the support of SAS (Serial Attached SCSI), the product will enhance Thecus’s reputation to no end. The N16000 is joined by its smaller sibling the N12000 which comes with 12-Bays again supporting SAS and SATA, and with less memory and a slightly smaller process clock.
Editor's Note: click the photos below for larger images
Figure 1: N16000 Open Front Unit
The Vital Stats
At the heart of the Thecus N16000 harnessing its power is Intel’s Xeon X3480 processor and pushing it to its limits by combining 8GB of DDR3 memory allowing it to handle almost anything you care to throw at it. Bottlenecks and the sudden drop in performance handling large files do seem to be a thing of the past! We are most certainly limited by the network bandwidth otherwise the N16000 performance would astound the most obdurate skeptic amongst us! Mind you Thecus recognizes this and has made an allowance for the unit to be upgraded by a 10GbE add-on card if you wish to step up your bandwidth and get some serious increase on your network. Thecus recognizes to ensure correct deployment of the N16000 and for the unit to have continuity and continuous data protection (CDP) one of the most critical and vital features needed to be included at this level. Enter High Availability (HA), for the first time in this sector the most important feature for Data Protection and for Disaster Recovery has now been incorporated so as to allow identical NAS devices to be replicated in case one has to go down for any reason the other one takes over seamlessly.
Figure 2: Thecus N16000 Processor and Memory
The Thecus N16000 and N12000 already have a comprehensive list of supported hard disk drives, the list is frequently updated and when we asked Thecus about when the SAS list might be updated, we had already seen the update the following day before they could finally respond. This list is vital for the DIY HDD installers amongst you, as it will ensure compatibility as well as warranty service when you need it.
Connectivity is impressive with 3 x RJ45 (Ethernet) ports using the Intel 82574L supporting 10/100/1000 modes with WOL supported. This is then coupled with 6 x USB 2.0 host ports with 2 at the front and 4 at the back, and not to be outdone USB 3.0 and eSATA are both supported with 2 ports each at the back.
Figure 2: Thecus N16000 Connectivity
At first glance the size can be daunting with its 3U form factor, with 16-bays it can’t be small can it? Albeit Thecus has used every conceivable trick in the book to make it as compact as it can be without compromising design and airflow. With 16-bays airflow is critical and Thecus does not disappoint. The hard disk drives do not overheat, they stay at a steady temperature allowing the system to continue performing at its optimum level. In nearly all our previous reviews we have always encouraged manufacturers to adopt OLED technology for system monitoring panels; Thecus clearly seems to have taken notice. The display is crystal clear and provides all the relevant HDD, RAID monitoring and connectivity information you would need.
Figure 1: N16000 Dimensions
Open, RAID, Set and Store
Unpacking and removing the unit to installing all sixteen drives took us less than twenty minutes. The packaging is impressive, substantial enough to avoid damage, yet easy to unpack. The drive trays (caddies), do not come installed in the drive bays, but are provided in a specially cut foam that accommodates all sixteen trays in one large panel thereby allowing the panel to double up as an extra layer for packing purposes. If you are installing drives please take the necessary steps for using anti-static precaution in case you accidently touch the bare HDD controller located at the back of the drive. Everything needed to install drives is provided and the process is not difficult, just needs care and attention when handling the drives. We do advise all our readers to consider buying units ready assembled and tested by resellers who are specialist in the storage arena, who also carry out the required testing and burn in process. The important word here is “tested”; if the units are not tested with the hard drives installed to an accepted level to ensure a very low risk of Dead on Arrival (DOA), then don’t buy it with drives installed. Of course, this comes at a small premium price and that is always worthwhile when buying equipment of this caliber.
Once booted you can access the management panel via static IP address allocated that is documented and is also displayed on the OLED panel. Tthe WAN, LAN1 and LAN2 ports all have their own static IP addresses. Once in, select the RAID option and continue to set RAID.
Editor's Note: click the photos below for larger images
Figure 2: Thecus N16000 OLED Panel
The RAID levels supported are impressive and more than sufficient. Single disk, RAID 0 (Disk Striping), RAID 1 (Disk Mirroring), RAID 5, RAID 5+ Hot spare, RAID 6, RAID 10, RAID 50, RAID 60 and JBOD (Linear Disk Volume). The Thecus N16000 supports AES 256bit Encryption.
The IP address can be left as is i.e. static or select Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) for the unit to determine an automatic configuration protocol on the network, enabling locating the NAS on your network without having to mess about with settings.
Prominent Features
Thecus has constantly continued to improve the GUI for the Management panel respecting what their customers had to say and its latest version is a major shift from the old days when they were prone to being criticized as unfriendly and difficult to use. The current revision is comprehensive and allows ease of use. We found the flash entry page a little gimmicky but nothing wrong with that really.
Figure 4: Thecus N16000 Flash Entry Page
The features described here are exactly as those offered on both the N12000 and N16000. Note: The Thecus N16000 has more memory and a faster processor platform.
Figure 8: Thecus N16000 Admin Login
Figure 9: Thecus N16000 GUI Home Page
RAID Options and Capacity expansion
The Thecus N16000 has an impressive bevy of RAID options to chose from as we as being able to expand capacity on the fly. Many vendors will have you believe you can add two or more drives into an existing array and expand without loss of data in the current volume, we would advise one drive at a time is the safest option, but expand it does, as it will allow RAID migration to the next level, once you go to the next level it is not possible to go back. RAID options of RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, 60 and JBOD are all offered with RAID 6, 10, 50 and 60 being the most critical for deployment as primary storage as well as when the data is critical and requires a high level of protection. The implementation of RAID 50 and 60 is very sound at this level.
File system support is also sufficient using EXT3, XFS, EXT 4, and ZFS the Thecus N16000 will not disappoint and will conform to almost all requirements.
Editor's Note: click the photos below for larger images
iSCSI with Thin Provisioning
Another fine feature is a built in iSCSI target service that will allow the device to act as a NAS and iSCSI target. The iSCSI target will facilitate connectivity for up to 8 iSCSI devices allowing a small scale IP-SAN farm. iSCSI targets support Microsoft/Mac/Linux initiators, and the iSCSI initiator will allow the N16000 to stack with almost any of the other Thecus products from the 5-bay and above (N5200/1U4500/1U4600/N5500/N7700 series/N8800 series/N12000/N16000). iSCSI Thin Provisioning can configure to a virtual size of 16TB. MPIO and MCS are fully supported as is clustering and SCSI3 persistent group reservation. Thecus was amongst the very first manufacturer to implement iSCSI on this platform back in 2006 with the launch of Thecus N5200.
NOTE: Want to know more about iSCSI? – Click here
Backup, FTP, Add-ons and Remote Replication
Aside from redundancy, storing and sharing files centrally, the ability to share those precious family photos and video’s with family and friends via a secure remote connection established using an FTP server feature or even using the Multimedia Station feature by setting up a fixed IP address and utilizing your routers DDNS service or obtaining your own domain name from any DDNS provider such as http://www.dyndns.com/ is fully supported. Backup is taken care of by the bundled 5 user license using Acronis Backup and Recovery Server OEM for Windows, this is truly comprehensive package that will allow you not only have backup but also recover your data safely and in a timely manner. We hold all Acronis products in great esteem here and this one is no exception. As far as replication is concerned is this is provided by the inbuilt NSYNC and allows for Volume, incremental and synchronized. Setting up the remote replication is a little time consuming but once set up it is flawlessly and continues to operate at a level that is only limited by the network bandwidth.
Editor's Note: click the photos below for larger images
Figure 5: Thecus N16000 FTP Setup
More Features...
Aside from the features we have already mentioned business users can take centre stage with many of the features including having the bundled Acronis Backup and Recovery Server OEM for Windows software that will be a real benefit. Another feature is the Virtual user support with VMware, Hyper V and Citrix ready and compatibility across all platforms for users of Windows, Mac, Linux, UNIX. The unit is well suited for medium to large size businesses as well. The device also logs all events in detail when it connects via FTP, ATP, HTTP, HTTPS, SSH as well as networking services accessed by all online users. The salient features that impressed us were the remote replication, the ease of expanding the capacity of the drives, RAID set on the fly and the encryption to the RAID volume. Both enabling data to be secure in the event the device goes missing and someone attempts to mount the volume on a Linux box, it would fail, as a result of the encryption. The one feature that stood out for us was High Availability (HA) which can actively keep data on two separate but identical NAS devices. This way there is one system that is always up no matter what happens, aside from disaster hitting both places! Highly unlikely.
Figure 7: Acronis Backup and Recovery Server OEM
Performance
The Thecus N16000 does not disappoint in the area of performance with 8GB of memory. It will most certainly be a real advantage when deployed as a Virtual storage appliance. The N16000 did exceptionally well in the Copy, Backup and Restore sections returning one of the fastest scores we have seen thus far. If performance and value for money is the combination you are looking for then the Thecus N16000 will aptly meet your needs.
Test Environment
Thecus N16000 installed with 2TB Seagate Enterprise drives
Firmware Revision: Version: v1.00.09; Build Date: 2011/05/05
RAID LEVEL TESTED: RAID 5
Network
HP ProCurve 1810G-24 Managed Switch
Test Method
We use a Real-World testing utility as well as a realistic Drag & Drop procedure as depicted in everyday normal operations.
Our tests are carried out with a combination of reads and writes, we do not separate the two, both are combined to produce an overall result that depicts the actual performance of the device tested.
This category is one of the most demanding from a file size perspective as the smallest size file is 2GB and the largest being 30GB.
A combination of demanding Video, Audio and Images files are combined to make this the most challenging category of them all.
The Office category is mainly for business users who may compare the typically used business applications, consisting of spreadsheets, databases, Word, PowerPoint, Visio, and email management. We have also combined Photoshop based images that are used to cut and paste within a document to make up a 30 page mailer as well as Visio templates used for presentation within a PowerPoint file that exceeds 15GB file size.
Our Third category is a combination of files from the previous two categories to initiate copying, backing up, deleting all content and then restoring from a backup made within the RAID array.
| Thecus N16000 Read/Write Comparative Performance | |
| Video/Audio/Images | 109.47 |
| Office Productivity | 85.91 |
| Copy, Backup and Restore | 89.03 |
Figure 10: MB/s Read/Write Performance Test Results
| Thecus N16000 | |
| MB/s Overall | 94.80 |
Figure 11: Overall Read/Write Test Performance
Overall Conclusion
The Thecus N16000 is a well rounded product that embodies all that is needed in an entry level enterprise NAS that has capacity to satisfy any need. The recent advent of 3TBG drives allows the N16000 to boost its gross capacity support to 48TB, its not short on expansion, with 8GB memory and an excellent turn of performance the best we have seen thus far, there is very little not to like about the N16000. Thecus have upgrade its warranty offering to 5-years and with that The Thecus N16000 easily has the top value for money and performance ratio currently available on the market.
We found a Street price of $9029.00 for the Thecus N16000 32TB populated with Seagate 2TB Enterprise drives, whilst the Thecus N16000 diskless was $5162.00 with no drives.
