Best Synology QNAP TS-h973AX-32G 40TB (Seagate Ironwolf) 9-bay NAS; AMD Ryzen V1500B 4C 8T 2.2GHz; 32GB DDR4 SODIMM; 5 x 2.5/3.5 SATA 6Gbps + 2 x 2.5 U.2 NVMe PCIe Gen3 x4 / 2.5 SATA 6Gbps + 2 x 2.5 SATA 6Gbps drive bays. 2 x 2.5GbE; 1 x 10GBASE-T Multi-Gig (1 for Business

Featuring an AMD Ryzen™ V1000 series V1500B quad-core processor and 10GbE/2.5GbE connectivity, the 9-bay TS-h973AX packs a high-capacity hybrid storage infrastructure into a compact physical footprint. With five 3.5-inch SATA 6Gbps drive bays, two 2.5-inch U.2 NVMe SSD slots (Slot 1 & 2 support both U.2 NVMe and SATA SSDs ), and two 2.5-inch SATA 6Gbps SSD slots, the TS-h973AX can benefit from SSD caching to boost IOPS-intensive applications. With the ZFS-based QuTS hero operating system, the TS-h973AX ensures data integrity and supports block-level inline data deduplication and compression, near-limitless snapshots, and real-time SnapSync to satisfy mission-critical file servers, virtualization servers, collaborative video editing, and efficient data backup and recovery with business-class performance, job reliability, and lower overall cost.

- Install high-performance U.2 NVMe PCIe Gen 3 x4 SSDs or SATA 6Gb/s SSDs in the dedicated SSD slots for cache acceleration and improved random I/O.

- One 10GBASE-T Multi-Gig and two 2.5GbE LAN ports accelerate virtualization, intensive file access, large backup/restoration tasks, and media transfer.

- Experience a business-class backup center, supporting backup/restore of cloud data and VMs (including Google™ Workspace, Microsoft 365®, VMware® and Hyper-V).

- Host multiple virtual machines and containers to run a wide range of applications on the TS-h973AX.

- Cloud storage gateways realize hybrid cloud applications by working with the cache space reserved on NAS to ensure low-latency data access to the cloud.

- Flexibly scale your total storage capacity to match your business growth by connecting USB expansion enclosures (TR or TL series JBOD).

Absolute performance with AMD Ryzen™ and up to 32 GB RAM
Powered by an AMD Ryzen™ Embedded V1000 series V1500B 4-core/8-thread, 2.2 GHz processor with up to 32GB DDR4 RAM, the TS-h973AX delivers aggressive yet power-smart performance for compute-demanding applications. AES-NI encryption support boosts encryption performance while also maintaining the security of your NAS data. SSDs can be flexibly installed for cache acceleration to maximize network and storage performance for data-intensive applications.

Dual U.2 NVMe PCIe Gen 3 x4 SSD slots for optimal I/O and low latency
The TS-h973AX has four 2.5-inch SSD slots - with slots 1 & 2 supporting both high-performance U.2 NVMe PCIe Gen 3 x4 SSDs or economical SATA 6Gb/s SSDs. For tackling latency-sensitive applications, you can take advantage of U.2 NVMe PCIe Gen 3 x4 SSDs that supply up to 32Gb/s bandwidth to attain optimized performance and efficiency.

Coupled with QNAP’s SSD-aware features, the TS-h973AX maximizes performance with high cost-effectiveness.

Streamline large file transfers and video editing with 10GbE and 2.5GbE
The TS-h973AX has one 10GBASE-T Multi-Gig (10G/5G/2.5G/1G/100M) port and two 2.5GbE RJ45 (2.5G/1G/100M) ports, providing out-of-the-box support for high-speed networking and supporting Port Trunking and Failover to reinforce your network infrastructure. QNAP also provide many other high-speed networking solutions, including 10GbE/2.5GbE managed/unmanaged switches, 2.5GbE/5GbE/10GbE PCIe cards and USB 5GbE adapters for Windows®/Linux® workstations, allowing you to build a budget-friendly high-speed network environment for productive team collaboration.

ZFS-based QuTS hero operating system enhances NAS performance and data integrity
QuTS hero combines the app-based QTS with the 128-bit ZFS file system to provide flexible storage management, comprehensive data protection, and optimized performance to tackle the complexity and performance demands of modern IT. From storage management, virtualization, to collaborative media workflows, QuTS hero streamlines your business-critical tasks.

Inline data deduplication, compression, and compaction drives big data storage efficiency
QuTS hero supports advanced block-based data reduction technologies (including inline data deduplication, compression, and compaction) to reduce file sizes, conserve storage capacity, and optimize performance. For example, if 20 virtual machines on a NAS are replicated using the same template, then storage space requirements for all 20 virtual machines can be reduced by up to 95%. Whether acting as primary or backup storage, the TS-h973AX optimizes storage utilization to provide a reliable storage cornerstone in the Big Data era.

Real-time SnapSync ensures minimal RPO with real-time disaster recovery
Real-time SnapSync ensures that both the primary and secondary NAS maintain identical data. When data is written to the source, it is immediately written to the destination. If the primary NAS goes offline, IT staff can simply adjust the privilege settings of the secondary NAS to ensure continuous operations. SnapSync provides the strongest support for nonstop business operations and helps users to reduce the risk of data loss.

The TS-h973AX also supports snapshots and remote backup to help organizations accomplish routine backup tasks cost-effectively and efficiently.

Snapshots multiply backup protection
Attain peace of mind with near-limitless, instant snapshots. Copy-on-write technology makes snapshot creation almost instantaneous without affecting ongoing data writing. Snapshot Replica replicates snapshot files to the backup NAS, simplifying data protection with version control.

HBS simplifies 3-2-1 backup plans
HBS centralizes backup, restoration, and synchronization for easily transferring data in the TS-h973AX to another QNAP NAS, remote server, or cloud storage space. HBS supports QuDedup technology that eliminates redundant data at the source and makes multi-version backup faster.

All-in-one virtual machine and container hosting solution
You can count on Virtualization Station and Container Station for comprehensive virtualization support. Coupled with the Network & Virtual Switch app that boosts interoperability between virtual machines, containers, QNAP NAS, and other physical devices on the network, you can flexibly allocate physical and virtual network resources to simplify network deployment.

Virtualization Station
Run multiple Windows®, Linux®, UNIX®, and Android™ virtual machines and access them via a web browser or Virtual Network Computing (VNC). Businesses can run virtualized server applications on a single NAS without the need for additional physical servers.

Container Station
Experience LXC and Docker® lightweight virtualization technologies, download apps from the built-in Docker Hub Registry®, import and export containers, and create abundant microservices.

More productivity applications

Ubuntu Linux Station
Run Ubuntu® applications (including apps from the Ubuntu Software Center) directly on the TS-h973AX and remotely access the Ubuntu® desktop from a web browser.

Security Counselor
A security portal for checking weaknesses and receiving recommendations for enhancing NAS security. It also integrates anti-virus and anti-malware scanning software.

Boxafe
Safeguard enterprise cloud data by backing up/syncing files, emails, calendars and contacts from Google™ Workspace and Microsoft® Office 365® to the TS-h973AX.

Qsirch
QNAP’s powerful, Google-like search tool helps you quickly find images, music, videos, documents, and emails by keywords, color, and more search conditions. It also supports Qfiling to perform one-time or automatic archival tasks based on your search criteria.

QuMagie
An AI-powered photo management app, supporting automated photo categorization with AI Albums, iOS® Live Photo display, and powerful search tool for ultimate photo management and sharing solution.

HybridMount
Perfectly integrates NAS with mainstream cloud services. By deploying cloud storage gateways and enabling local caching on the NAS, you can seamlessly use the cloud for storage, backup, and data recovery with low-latency access.

Flexible and economical storage expansion
The storage capacity of the TS-h973AX can be expanded using USB-based expansion enclosures. Two QNAP TR RAID (4-bay TR-004, 2-bay TR-002) or one 8-bay TL-D800C JBOD storage enclosures can be easily attached and managed using the Storage & Snapshots Manager app.

Switch operating systems to upgrade your current storage
The TS-h973AX can also switch to using QTS - QNAP’s standard NAS operating system. This allows you to migrate drives from your current QTS-based NAS to the more powerful TS-h973AX to upgrade your storage infrastructure and take advantage of Qtier auto-tiering from QTS.