QNAP announced the availability of its QTS 5.1.0 beta program. Highlight features of the new major OS update for QNAP NAS include SMB multichannel, delegated administration, accelerated SMB signing, automatic RAID disk replacement, and multi-device management through its cloud platform. Here’s all you need to know and how to install it.
What’s new in the QTS 5.1.0 beta?
In order for you to take full advantage of the potential of the best NAS, it’s important for you to not only be running the latest version of the OS, but also the company behind the enclosure to further develop the software with new features. That’s what we’re seeing from QNAP with the new QTS 5.1.0 beta program.
Here are some of the highlight features of this release:
SMB multichannel: This allows the NAS and QTS to aggregate multiple network connections and maximize bandwidth with higher transfer speeds, perfect for transferring larger files.
Support for AES-128-GMAC SMB signing acceleration: Windows Server 2022 and Windows 11 clients will be able to take advantage of this new addition to increase data signing efficiency and lower CPU utilization.
QNAP Authenticator: QNAP is releasing an Authenticator mobile app for setting up 2-Factor Authentication (2FA), supporting one-time passwords, QR code scanning, and login approval.
Delegated administration: No one wants to have to be tasked with doing absolutely everything on the NAS, especially in a busy environment, which is where the ability to delegate 8 types of roles to other users with specific permissions comes in handy.
Automatic RAID disk replacement: Should a potential drive error be detected by QTS, the system automatically moves data from the affected disk in a RAID group to a spare disk. This negates the risk of RAID rebuilding. Additional integration with S.M.A.R.T., Western Digital Device Analytics, IronWolf Health Management, and ULINK DA Drive Analyzer is also included.
Comprehensive drive health analysis: Even the best NAS drives will inevitably fail, which is where ULINK DA Drive Analyzer comes into play with cloud-based AI to predict failures. A desktop suite is available for macOS and Windows.
Monitor multiple NAS with AMIZ: AMIZ Cloud is a centralized cloud management platform that can monitor QuCPE NVP equipment as well as QNAP NAS. It’s also possible to remotely update firmware, start/stop/update/install apps, and more.
Hailo-8 M.2 AI module support: Install a Hailo-8 AI acceleration module to a QNAP surveillance server to increase the number of IP cameras for simultaneous analysis.
See the full release notes on QNAP’s official website.
How to install the QTS 5.1.0 beta
In order to install the QTS 5.1.0 beta, your NAS must be on the list of supported hardware. We also highly recommend (no, seriously!) backing up all your data if you’re comfortable running this update on a live server, though QNAP would advise testing on a different enclosure/
- Go to QNAP’s website.
- Select NAS/Expansion from the product type drop-down menu.
- Select how many drive bays your QNAP NAS has from the bays drop-down menu.
- Select the model of your QNAP NAS from the product drop-down menu.
- Choose the operating system tab.
- Click on one of the download links for QTS 5.1.0.2348 build 20230325.
- Log into your QNAP NAS.
- Go to Control Panel > System > Firmware Update > Firmware Update.
- Click Browse.
- Select the downloaded QTS 5.1.0 OS update file.
- Click Update System.
Should you be shopping around for a new NAS and have settled on QNAP as a brand, we’ve got a collection of the best QNAP NAS to help you choose the right one.
