[Michael Greene]

Cost is a prohibiting factor in buying those two NASs you mention.
They add at least $1000 each and I’m already pushing the very outer limits of the allotted budget.

But I am proposing the switch to my team.
Do you see any issue with getting the 5-port Netgear XS505M?
And then connecting the fifth hypothetical computer to a Thunderbolt port?

[Michael Greene]

Oh, and to answer your question, we were planning on getting either the QNAP QXG-10G1T Single-port expansion card or the QNAP LAN-10G2T-X550 Dual-Port expansion card.
Even just the single-port one would give us 4 high speed connections and leave one two 1Gbe for less important or less time-sensitive tasks.

But I am also going to discuss the possibility of getting an ethernet switch with my team.

Thank you again!

[Michael Greene]

Thank you so much, Bob!
That’s really useful information and feedback.

Thank you for your expertise and for taking the time to write those responses up for me!

[Michael Greene]

Hi there Bob,
Thank you so much for your reply and valuable insight!
I have a few follow up thoughts and questions for you, if you would be so kind.

So the Micron SSDs are offered as an add-on SSD option for this NAS on qnapdirect.com.
There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with them, but based on your hesitation, I am now also hesitant!
I’m thinking we might end up going with 6 or so of the 4TB Samsung 860 EVO SSDs.

Next, what concerns me about the TVS-872XT over the TVS-882 is the slower processor speed.
The 872XT does have a 6-core processor, but only at 1.7 GHz.
While the 882 has only a quad-core processor, but at the speed of 3.6GHz.
I honestly have no idea which one would be faster for multiple people trying to access the NAS at once.
Does that lower processor speed in the 872XT concern you at all?

Lastly, I spoke with a representative from QNAPdirect earlier today and then one from QNAP and I am hoping you can confirm what I have learned.
We essentially want this NAS to connect directly to multiple computers. (As in NOT connecting through a network and router, etc.)
For example, I want to use a Macbook or an iMac and connect it directly to the NAS in order to read and write files to the NAS. (And we potentially want to do this with up to 5 computers.)
As far as I have learned, you can do this fairly natively on Mac OS by mapping the IP address of the server. (Or by using a program like Qfinder Pro.)
But only Ethernet and Thunderbolt are capable of this sort of direct connection.
The USB 3.1 connections on the back of these NASs are only for connecting an external drive or expansion ports/accessories.
Can anyone tell me if all of that information is accurate?