ASUSTOR LOCKERSTOR 8 (AS6508T) Overview
ASUSTOR, is a sub-division of ASUS focusing on Network Attached Storage (NAS) solutions. During our daily operation, we have the chance to try out one of their commercial line model, the LOCKERSTOR 8 AS6508T.
Due to the short time we have with the device, this article offers a brief overview of its features and capabilities. Detailed testing was limited due to time constraints and equipment availability.
LOCKERSTOR 8 Exterior:
The Lockerstor 8 features a compact mini-server design resembling a medium-sized box. Its front panel accommodates 8 slots for 3.5” hard drives, providing ample storage capacity. A plastic grid sits atop the bays, replaced by additional bays in the Lockerstor 10 model.
Two status LEDs are positioned on the right side, accompanied by an LED panel with navigation buttons on the far right. Additionally, a single USB 3 port is conveniently located on the front.
Moving to the back, we can see two 12cm fans that would ensure efficient cooling even under full load. The side panel houses another USB 3 port, along with two 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports powered by Intel and two 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet ports powered by Realtek.
Each pair of Ethernet ports supports link aggregation, delivering speeds of up to 20 Gbps for Intel ports and 5 Gbps for Realtek ports.
A reset button, accessible only by a SIM tray pin, is located below the ports.
LOCKERSTOR 8 Interior:
Inside the NAS, users will find dual M.2 NVMe SSD ports designed for caching purposes, enhancing overall performance.
Adjacent to these ports are two SODIMM DDR4 RAM slots, allowing users to upgrade memory capacity up to 64GB, with each slot supporting a maximum of 32GB RAM.
The interior layout show the two large fans positioned in a way it will efficiently dissipating heat generated by the drives while drawing in cool air from the front, ensuring optimal operating conditions.
Software:
Our experience primarily involves connecting via Ethernet. We initiated our setup using the ASUSTOR Control Center, a versatile software with various functions, primarily facilitating NAS connectivity.
It’s worth noting that before establishing a connection, it’s essential to initialize the newly installed hard drives.
Once connected, one notable feature of the ASUSTOR Control Center is its ability to effortlessly map NAS drives into network drives with a simple click, streamlining the process significantly.
ADM
Navigating through the GUI NAS drive manager’s ADM, we used the default username and password, which is Admin:Admin.
The interface boasts a clean layout, with all functions clearly labeled and easily accessible. The ADM apps serve as a basic interface akin to an operating system, offering essential functions such as disk information and operations.
Additionally, the NAS is capable of media transcoding. In our tests, a 4.7GB MP4 file captured with our Fujifilm XT3 took approximately 39 minutes to transcode.
Speed Transferring with CAT 5 Cable:
Although time constraints limited our testing capabilities, we managed to assess speed using a CAT 5 cable. It’s important to note that this does not fully reflect the device’s performance. However, with the 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet port, both upload and download speeds reached the maximum capacity of the CAT 5 cable.
SSD Caching
The Lockerstor 8 AS6508T is equipped with dual M.2 PCIe slots designed for installing SSD drives, enabling users to utilize them as caches for the HDDs. Unfortunately, due to our limited time and equipment, we were unable to thoroughly test the performance of this feature.
LOCKERSTOR 8 Overview Conclusion
In conclusion, the Lockerstor 8 AS6508T by ASUSTOR offers a range of features and functionalities tailored to meet various storage and network needs. Its sleek design, coupled with intuitive software interfaces, makes it a compelling option for both personal and professional use.
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