Nas vs das: comparison, functions, hardware and features

In the last few days we have had the opportunity to test two of the new QNAP products, the QNAP TS-332X NAS and the DAS QNAP TR-004. That is why we have taken advantage of to see the differences between a NAS vs DAS, and thus clarifies concepts and functionalities for each of these devices.

Index of contents

What is a NAS and What is a DAS

Well, the first thing we will have to know is the definition of each of these two devices. With this definition, we can already have a lot of knowledge about the main differences that we will have between one and the other.

NAS

Well, a NAS (Network Attached Storage or networked storage) is a device that in its most basic version is mainly used to store files and eye, to share them over a network. We are talking about the most basic version because a NAS can do much more than this, it is a centralized repository in which a series of access permissions will be managed for the users and computers that are connected to it through a network.

NAS are capable of acting as servers themselves, what's more, they even have their own operating system in most cases that will provide complete intelligence to the devices. With a NAS we can create a multimedia server, since most of them support DLNA and H264 video transcoding, for example. This allows both sharing and transmitting multimedia files directly from the network in real time on the client devices that we have connected to it.

In the same way, they carry out the very important task of storing files using RAID systems, which, depending on the type, will ensure their integrity by replicating files by snapshots, for example, with a RAID 1 or 5. We can also make backups of the computers connected to the network and always have a safe backup of the files.

YOU GIVE

And a DAS (Direct Attached Storage) is a device that will basically be connected to our computer through a wired interface, be it USB, Firewire, eSATA or Thunderbolt. In this way, the device connects directly to the workstation and it will use it to store files, with the possibility of even creating RAID.

A DAS does not have an operating system as a general norm, but will be managed by a basic firmware that can also be accessed through software installed on our computer. As a general rule, it does not have the possibility of becoming a multimedia center, so we are dealing with a simple massive data storage system as if it were a portable hard drive.

An important fact is that sometimes the DAS of the manufacturers are oriented to complement and expand the storage capacity of their NAS, as in this case the TR-004 from QNAP.

How is your storage system?

Well, in this sense, NAS vs DAS are very similar, even in their external aspect it could lead to error.

Both NAS and DAS are basically square or rectangular boxes in which we have a series of bays to install hard drives. These bays are small removable trays where we can place storage units, either 3.5 inches or 2.5, SSD or HDD. In most cases under SATA III interface at 6 Gbps.

Currently, both of them support mechanical hard drives and SSDs. In fact, we also find inside a PCB that includes M.2 slots, under a SATA interface almost always, although the most expensive equipment also has support for M.2 NVMe PCIe. Of course, this is only available for NAS equipment, for the simple fact of the speed limitations of a DAS and its hardware.

Network connectivity

A fundamental aspect that is already evident in the definition is that a NAS is connected through a network, that is, it has RJ45 ports or, where appropriate, high-speed SFP + fiber optic ports that are directly connected in a router or switch to be visible by all the connected equipment in that network.

This connectivity is typically gigabit Ethernet or up to 10 gigabit Ethernet to take full advantage of the read and write capacity of RAIDs or the high speed of M.2 slots. Let's not forget that a NAS is a storage server that is capable of streaming video in real time being a container of virtual machines.

For its part, a DAS does not have RJ45 or fiber connectors. It is not connected on a network, but directly to a PC via USB, although there are units with Thunderbolt 3 intended for professional use.

QNAP TS-332X	QNAP TR-004
2x RJ45 GbE 1x SFP + 10 GbE 3x USB 3.1 Gen1 1x 3.5mm audio jack	1x USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-C

The typical connections that we can find in NAS and DAS will be the following:

Connections	NAS	YOU GIVE
USB	Yes	Yes
Thunderbolt	Yes	Yes
RJ45	Yes	Do not
SFP +	Yes	Do not
HDMI / DisplayPort	Yes	Could have
Audio jack	Yes	Do not
Wifi	Yes	Do not

NAS devices that support video transcoding and DLNA protocol almost always implement connectors such as HDMI to directly connect monitors or SmarTV and view the content.

RAID support

If something basic must have a NAS with at least two bays it is support for RAID levels. RAID is an advanced recursive data storage system that uses two or more hard drives to create a single data store.

RAID levels are essential when storing backups and important data, in fact, the basic purpose of a NAS or also a DAS is data storage. In this regard, both computers will almost certainly have support for basic RAIDs such as 0, 1, 5, 10 or JBOD for virtual disks.

Hybrid storage

NAS for their part take this one or two steps further, since those that implement M.2 slots or SSD support, will even allow us to create caches, or fast storage drives such as QNAPs.

Another very interesting functionality is the configuration of storage levels based on the use of files through autotiering, Qtier in the case of QNAP. With this, the NAS will intelligently store the most used (hot) data on the fastest drives (SSD), and the least used (cold) on the slowest mechanical drives.

Operating system vs basic software

QTS for NAS

To be able to do all of this, a NAS needs an operating system. It does not make sense that a network storage server needs software installed on a client computer for its management. So this is another basic and fundamental different from NAS vs DAS.

The flexibility that a system like QTS gives a QNAP NAS makes it extremely superior to the basic firmware of a DAS. Almost always, we have graphical management through a web interface, as if it were a router.

QTS is a system that has countless installable applications, to provide greater functionality to the NAS that we have, as long as it is compatible, of course. But, in addition, these applications will be able to communicate with others that we have installed on our PC, such as QSirch or Qfile for file management, or QVR Pro to mount a surveillance station.

QTS is able to intelligently detect installed hard drives and provide highly advanced management of RAID levels, SSD cache, Qtier and snapshot storage automatically. A very important aspect is that all these functions are performed autonomously by the NAS, with its own hardware.

DAS software

On the other hand, a DAS does not have an operating system, what we will have is a firmware that will establish communication with the software that we install on our equipment. This software in most cases will not be more complex than that of a multimedia hard drive. With basic functions such as creating RAID levels and monitoring temperature and data volume at most.

Only some more complex will support the configuration of backups or playback of multimedia content, but always with the hardware that the computer has, not the DAS itself.

Functions and capacity

Of functions we could make a single article, or rather a manual, because those provided by a NAS are tremendously large, directly proportional to the cost and hardware capacity of the equipment in question.

Precisely for this it will be better to prepare a table with the functions that both a NAS and a DAS provide us.

NAS Features

DAS functions

· Video transcoding · OS · Web management · Management with mobile app · Hot swapping of disks SSD Cache Acceleration Autotiering IR sensor for remote control · Audio playback · Support for EXT3, EXT4, NTFS, FAT32, HFS +, exFAT files UPnP network services VLAN · AES hardware file encryption · Snapshot support RAID creation 0, 1, 5, 5+, 6, 6+, 10, 10+, JBOD, single disk · RAID recovery, expansion and migration · Support for iSCSI and iSCSI LUN Thin provisioning volume · Virtualization container · VMware / VirtualBox / Citrix / Hyper-V virtualization station · Domain Controller · Permission management · LDAP server and client · Remote backup · Management by VPN, PPTP, OpenVPN, L2TP · Cloud management myQNAPCloud or similar Wake-on-LAN SNMP, SMB, DLNA, SSH, FTP, HTTP, AirPlay, Chromecast protocol · QVR Pro Surveillance Server, Surveillance Station

· NAS extension box · Management through PC software · Management through QTS connected to a NAS (in the case of QNAP) · Creation of RAID 0, 1, 5, 5+, 10, JBOD, single disk · Multimedia hard disk (depending on the case) · Backups · Support for EXT3, EXT4, NTFS, FAT32, HFS +, exFAT files

It is obvious that a NAS has little to do with a DAS in terms of functionality. Of course, an interesting aspect of a DAS is that the brand itself surely has NAS that are compatible with the storage extension function. In this case, the DAS will become an active part of the NAS to create RAID and everything necessary.

Also indicate that to share a file over the network with a DAS, it must be connected to the PC, and it will be the one that allows the transfer over the network. In no case will the DAS itself do so.

Hardware

And of course, at this point, no one escapes that, if it has so many possibilities, the hardware must have a power according to the needs. That's right, a NAS is practically a computer, while a DAS only has basic hardware with a ROM to store the firmware and a more or less complex and fast processing chip depending on whether we can play multimedia content or have connectivity Thunderbolt.

NAS is more powerful than a low-end PC

And even mid-range PCs we dare. The PCB of a NAS is practically a motherboard, in which we will have SATA connectivity for HDDs, M.2 slots for ultra-fast solid drives and even PCI-Express x2, x4 and x16 slots to install a basic graphics card, an expansion card with Thunderbolt, or expansion cards with M .2 and 10 GbE network connectivity.

Processor: Low-end NAS has RealTek, Marvell or Alpine processors that vary in power between approximately 2- and 4-core 800 and 1.5 GHz. Some of them have integrated graphics support. The most powerful NAS have Intel Celeron processors, reaching the most powerful that have AMD Ryzen 5, Ryzen 7, Intel Core i3, i5 and even i7 CPUs, almost nothing.

RAM memory: of course we have RAM memory, almost always greater than 512 MB, and even reaching 64 GB DDR4. The normal thing is to find NAS with 1 or 2 GB like the TS-332X expandable up to 8 or 16 GB with DDR3L or DDR4 SO-DIMM slots.

Graphics card: In all occasions, NAS that allow video transcoding when with CPU with integrated graphics, for example, Intel HD Graphics or AMD Radeon. But the most powerful, allow the installation of a dedicated graphics card in one of its PCI-Express slots.

Internal Memory: to install an operating system, it is necessary to have Internal memory, using a flash card. This will vary between 128 MB and 4 GB, to support a large number of applications.

Management with mobile App

With so much functionality do not forget the possibility of integrating the NAS with other operating systems such as Android or iOS from SmarPhone. Manufacturers like QNAP or Synology have applications to access the NAS and share files directly with it. There are even applications like QCam to configure our mobile as a surveillance camera that transmits a video signal in real time to the NAS.

DAS does not allow this aspect, at least the most basic systems. But, in any case, the interaction of a mobile with them will be practically for viewing files.

Conclusion on NAS vs DAS and price

Finally we will have to talk about the price. For obvious reasons NAS are usually more expensive than DAS, although this will largely depend on the bays that these and other features will have.

The cheapest NAS can be found for a price of around 170 euros, always without built-in storage and perhaps with one or two bays at most.

But it is that a DAS such as the TR-004 l or we find for an approximate price of 270 euros, which is significantly more, although it has 4 bays, offers much less functionality. It is similar in cost to a multimedia hard drive.

For all this, we see much more advantageous to acquire a NAS, because there is not so much difference in price compared to what they can offer. With a NAS like the QNAP TS-332X of about 400 we will have a very versatile system even with 3 M.2 slots and three other storage bays.

NAS are devices increasingly used by both SMEs and home users. 4K content takes up a lot of space, and more and more users are streaming and editing video. A device like NAS is ideal for keeping files safe and with volumes up to hundreds of TB.

Features like snapshots, virtual machine stores, or surveillance servers are also very attractive options that a DAS or portable hard drive is not capable of.

We leave here the corresponding analyzes of these two QNAP products to see first hand what each of them are capable of offering.

Turbo NAS TS-332X-4G 419.90 EUR Buy on Amazon

Turbo Raid TR-004 231.49 EUR Buy on Amazon

In addition, we have our completely updated new guide to the best marking NAS.

We hope this article has cleared up all the doubts about the differences between a DAS and a NAS. If you have any questions, please contact us via the comment box or our hardware forum.