Asustor Flashstor 6 Gen 2 (FS6806X) NAS Review

1. Introduction2. Asustor Flashstor 6 Gen2 / Packaging & Bundle3. Asustor Flashstor 6 Gen 2 / Design4. Asustor Install5. Asustor ADM6. Testing Methodology7. ATTO Disk Benchmark8. CrystalDiskMark 8 9. NASPT10. NAS Performance Test11. Encyption performance12. Workload Scenarios13. PCMark 10 Data Drive Benchmark14. Real Life File Testing15. Power Consumption16. Closing Thoughts17. View All Pages

The latest Gen2 version of Asustor's Flashstor 6 sees a whole raft of improvements over the previous generation model. The original Flashstor 6 (FS6706T) used an Intel Celeron N5105, but the new unit sees a switch to AMD power in the shape of a Ryzen V3C14 processor running at 2.3GHz (boosting up to 3.80GHz). The memory support sees an upgrade from DDR4 to DDR5-4800 with increases in the pre-installed size from 4GB to 8GB, and maximum memory support rises from 16GB to 64GB via a pair of SO-DIMM slots.

The Flashstor 6 Gen 2 supports 6 PCIe Gen 4  x4 M.2 2280 NVMe SSDs. The drive slots are a tool-less design using a simple lock but unfortunately, you still need a screwdriver to remove a cover in the base of the unit to get to them.

If you do away with having to house hulking great 3.5-inch, or even 2.5-inch drives, then a NAS enclosure can be far more interesting to look at than the usual cube. The Flashstor 6 certainly falls into this category – it looks more like a game console or digital media player than a multi-disk storage unit. Although the new unit is identical in size to the original, it has put on a little bulk as it weighs in at 1.4kg compared to the 1.35kg of the first generation. The power requirements have also increased so the bundled power adaptor is 90W compared to the previous 65W one.

The original Flashstor uses a pair of 2.5GbE ports for network connections, these have been replaced in the Gen 2 with a single 10GbE RJ45 port. The USB support has been tinkered with as well so instead of the pairs of USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gbps) and USB 2.0 ports, there are now a couple of USB 4.0 (40Gbps) ports along with three USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports.

The latest version (5.0) of Asustor’s ADM (Asustor Data Master) OS is a significant upgrade from previous generations, using Linux Kernel 6.6 LTS. The upgrade in kernel means you won’t be able to roll back the software after upgrading. Kernel 6.6 LTS brings with it an improvement in security features. ADM 5.0 also brings with it the new ADM Defender which provides both preset and custom firewall profiles and features intelligent security protection to protect the NAS from suspicious IP addresses.

Should you find yourself running out of storage space, the NAS supports up to a maximum of 18 drive bays via Asustor's AS5004U (USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type C) or AS6004U (USB 3.1 Gen1 Type A ) expansion units which support standard 3.5in drives and 2.5in SSDs

We found the Asustor Flashstor 6 Gen2 (FS6806X) on Amazon UK for £979 HERE.

Pros

• 10GbE networking.
• Gen4 x4 M.2 SSD support.
• ADM software.
• Fast performance.

Cons

• Expensive.

KitGuru says: The latest version of Asustor's Flashstor 6 has significant upgrades from the original model, in almost every area where it matters – CPU, memory and drive support – but those upgrades don't come cheap.

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