The QNAP TVS-473 lets you build a tailored NAS storage system for connected users by featuring four Gigabit Ethernet ports as well as four 2.5"/3.5" storage bays and two M.2 slots. This design offers multi-tiered storage options, allowing the TVS-473 to utilize ultra-fast SSDs and high-capacity hard drives side-by-side. You can use optional M.2 SSDs as cache memory, which enhances the delivery of data stored on the hard drives. To manage your data and a QTS 4.3 operating system. it sports a 2.1 GHz AMD RX-421BD quad-core processor along with 64GB of DDR4 memory. The AMD APU has speeds of up to 3.4 GHz and comes with an embedded Radeon R7 graphics processor, which delivers up to 3840 x 2160 visuals through two HDMI ports. There's also a built-in hardware transcoding engine that provides optimal video resolutions for your various devices.
Other notable connections include three audio jacks, four USB 3.0 ports, and two USB 3.1 ports with 10 Gb/s speeds. The four Gigabit Ethernet ports offer teaming and failover support so the TVS-473 can quickly provide always available data. For supporting a greater number of users, you may install a sold-separately 10GbE adapter in the TVS-473's PCIe 3.0 x4 slot.
Once drives are installed into the NAS server, you can configure your drives in a RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 5 + hot spare, or JBOD mode. To safeguard data, AES-NI encryption is on board. Moreover, the QNAP TVS-473 can perform real time or scheduled data backups to a remote NAS or FTP server as well as a rsync function that backs up data stored on this server to another remote server on a scheduled basis, such as cloud storage.
Performance and Security
The TVS-473 is equipped with an AMD R-Series RX-421BD quad-core 2.1 GHz APU (burst up to 3.4 GHz), dual-channel 64GB DDR4 RAM, and four Gigabit LAN ports. It is capable of delivering up to 1,035 MB/s throughout with an optional 10GbE adapter. A hardware-accelerated encryption engine with AES-NI provides up to 502 MB/s speeds with AES 256-bit volume encryption to boost system performance and security for sensitive business data stored in the NAS.
Expansion
The TVS-473 features two PCIe Gen 3.0 x4 slots—one preinstalled with a USB 3.1 Type-A dual-port card—and the other allows for installing an optional dual-port 10GbE (10GBASE-T or SFP+) network card. This allows for greater flexibility in setting up 10GbE environments for high-performance virtualization and backup tasks.
USB 3.1 (10 Gb/s) Connectivity
USB 3.1 provides faster maximum speeds of 10 Gb/s—double that of USB 3.0—to boost data transfer performance. The TVS-473 comes with a USB 3.1 Type-A dual-port card for connecting up to two USB devices, allowing compatibility with faster USB devices for transferring large-sized media files.
M.2 SSD & 2.5" SSD Cache with Qtier Optimization
The TVS-473 supports 2.5" and M.2 SSDs for caching to increase IOPS performance. Using an SSD cache boosts overall system performance and improves the overall workflow of random IOPS demanding applications such as virtualization. The TVS-473 combines ultra-fast SSDs and high-capacity HDDs in one box to effectively realize tiered storage for application performance and lower TCO of storage at the same time.
USB QuickAccess
With its USB QuickAccess port, the TVS-473 eliminates the complications of first-time NAS installation and provides easy direct access to files without needing network connectivity. You can use an optional USB 3.0 or USB 2.0 Type A to USB micro-B cable to connect it to a PC or Mac device and use Qfinder Pro to configure it. Moreover, you can assign access rights to users for different folders to prevent unauthorized access to important files.
QTS 4.3 NAS Operating System
The TVS-473 natively supports the 64-bit QTS 4.3 operating system, which provides intelligent features to enhance management efficiency. One of those features is Qtier 2.0 that learns from NAS usage and analyzes system performance and peak usage hours to process auto tiering. Qfiling is another feature to help categorize files and perform schedules, making organizing files automatic and efficient. With its intuitive and simplified user interface, QTS allows you to find desired functions quickly, create desktop shortcuts or group shortcuts, monitor important system information on a real-time basis, and open multiple application windows to run multiple tasks concurrently.
4K Video Transcoding and Display
The TVS-473 features an AMD 3rd Gen GCN architecture with GPU performance to support 4K H.264 video decoding and deliver 4K UHD visuals. It offers real-time 4K and 1080p video transcoding that converts videos to universal formats, which can be smoothly played on PCs, mobile devices, and Smart TVs. With offline transcoding, you can still enjoy smooth video playback via File Station, Video Station, and the Qfile mobile app by selecting a pre-rendered lower resolution video when connecting to slower Internet connections. The TVS-473 also allows you to set a dedicated folder for automatic video transcoding.
4K HDMI and Remote Control
The TVS-473 offers dual HDMI outputs that support "duplicated" or "extended" desktop configurations. You can connect the TVS-473 to a TV or A/V receiver and use the media player in HybridDesk Station (HD Station) with the bundled QNAP remote control to enjoy rich media content and 4K videos. With the help of the smart remote control learning function, you can pair up to three TVs or stereo IR remote controls as well as program your frequently-used buttons and functions. You can also turn your mobile devices into remote controls by installing the Qremote app.
QButton
QButton works with the QNAP NAS remote control (RM-IR004), letting you choose what each button does. You can select events or conditions in the App Center (including QIoT applications, Surveillance Station for viewing specific monitored channels, Music Station for playing favorite music, or powering on/off the NAS itself) then simply press the button to trigger the action.
Cross-Platform File Sharing, Centralized Data Storage
The TVS-473 supports SMB/CIFS, NFS, and AFP protocols for file sharing across Windows, Mac, Linux/UNIX networks. Data, logs, and ISO images of CDs and DVDs can be centrally stored on the TVS-473 and protected by an integrated antivirus solution. The Windows AD and LDAP services enable system administrators to configure user permissions by using an existing Windows AD server, LDAP server, or built-in LDAP service. It supports SAMBA v4 and can act as a Windows domain controller to manage privilege settings.
Backup Solutions to Secure Data
You can use QNAP NetBak Replicator to back up files on Windows (including Outlook email archiving) to the TVS-473 or use Time Machine for Mac data backups. A wide range of third-party backup software is also supported to facilitate system backup and restoration.
Disaster Recovery Solutions
Hybrid Backup Sync consolidates backup, restoration, and synchronization functions (using RTRR, rsync, FTP, CIFS/SMB) into a single app for easily transfers of data to local, remote, and cloud storage spaces as a comprehensive data storage and disaster recovery plan. It also supports multi-version backup, flexible job scheduling, file compression to save storage space, and more.
Security Options
The TVS-473 provides numerous security options, such as encrypted access, IP blocking, 2-step verification, and more. IT administrators can also control the access rights of each user to different folders, preventing unauthorized access to important files. The TVS-473 supports AES 256-bit encryption, preventing sensitive business data from unauthorized access and breach even if the hard drives or the entire system were stolen.
Qsirch
To complement the TVS-473 as a huge data center, "searchability" is one of the key areas for increasing the value of stored data, and Qsirch is a suitable tool to realize optimized search capabilities for vast data storage and archiving. Qsirch is a full-text search tool for quick file searching, supporting thumbnail previews, and even remembering your search history, allowing you to quickly navigate to files you've previously searched for. Qsirch Helper, a browser extension for Chrome and Filefox, allows you to search for files on your NAS when you use Google Search.
QmailAgent
QmailAgent is an online email client that helps you manage multiple email accounts, allowing you to access all your emails and easily switch between different accounts. It provides complete functionality for composing, reading, and organizing emails. You can even attach files, photos, and documents when composing emails. iOS and Android users can use the QmailClient app to quickly check multiple email accounts on mobile devices. You can use QmailAgent together with Qsirch, which supports searching through the .eml files stored on the TVS-473, to make searching through and managing massive amounts of emails easier.
Qcontactz
Qcontactz helps you centrally store and manage contact information for colleagues, business partners, families, and friends. Other features include: importing/exporting CSV or vCARD 3.0 files, automatic identification of frequently-used contacts, encryption for sensitive/confidential contact information, smart search function, and more. Qcontactz offers snapshot backups that enable you to revert to a previous version of your contacts list according to your needs. A companion app for Android phones and iPhone is also available for easy access to contacts. Qcontactz can also be used with QmailAgent to create an efficient email workflow environment.
Virtualization Applications
The TVS-473 is a comprehensive iSCSI/IP-SAN storage solution that supports VMware, Citrix, Microsoft Hyper-V, and Windows Server 2012 R2, benefiting flexible deployment and management in virtualization environments. It is compatible with VMware VAAI and Microsoft ODX to increase performance by offloading server loading for ESXi server and Hyper-V respectively. QNAP vSphere Client plug-in and QNAP SMI-S provider are also supported to enhance operational efficiency and management in virtualization applications.
Virtual Machines and Containerized Applications
Virtualization Station allows you to host virtual machines (VM) on the TVS-473 and access them via a web browser or VNC. Virtualization Station supports multiple operating systems, fast VM creation, VM backup & restoration, VM import/export, snapshot, and Device Management for centrally managing VMs. Virtualization Station allows the TVS-473, VMs, and containers to share the same LAN port. No longer constrained by physical network performance, high-speed virtual switches greatly increase data transfers between VMs, containers, and NAS systems through an internal interface.
Container Station is also available to integrate LXC and Docker lightweight virtualization technologies. You can operate multiple isolated Linux systems on the TVS-473 as well as download apps from the built-in Docker Hub Registry. Containers Station also supports the QIoT Containers platform that helps quickly structure your IoT environment and deployment on your private IoT cloud.
Container Station is also available to integrate LXC and Docker lightweight virtualization technologies. You can operate multiple isolated Linux systems on the TVS-473 as well as download apps from the built-in Docker Hub Registry. Containers Station also supports the QIoT Containers platform that helps quickly structure your IoT environment and deployment on your private IoT cloud.
Volume & LUN Snapshot
QTS Storage Manager adds an easy-to-use, web-based snapshot tool for you to easily backup and restore data on the TVS-473 back to any point of time in case you lose any important data. You can take snapshots for volumes and LUN (up to 256 snapshots per volume or LUN and maximum 1,024 snapshots per NAS), efficiently replicate volume/LUN snapshots via Snapshot Replica to remote servers by copying only the changes made, and quickly clone a volume /LUN snapshot as a local volume without interrupting the current system operation. You can even set up the system to automatically take a snapshot of the volume before backup via RTRR/rsync, even if files are open.
File Synchronization Across Multiple Devices
Qsync utility turns your TVS-473 into a safe, high-capacity data center for file synchronization. Any file uploaded will be made available for all linked devices, such as computers, laptops, or mobile devices. Qsync is useful for frequent travelers to manage files and always have the most up-to-date files on different devices. Qsync provides multiple ways for file synchronization and group file sharing, enhancing the flexibility of team projects and collaboration.
Surveillance Solution
Surveillance Station is a network surveillance Video Management System (VMS) that offers a user-friendly management interface, over 3,000 compatible IP camera models, and expandable IP camera channel licenses. It supports real-time monitoring, video & audio recording, and playback with a wide range of customizable settings. You can also install the Vmobile app on your iOS or Android devices to manage the monitored channels anytime and anywhere, or install the Vcam mobile app to turn your device into a network camera to instantly record to your NAS system. The TVS-473 offers 4 free IP camera channels and you can expand up to 72 channels by purchasing additional licenses.
QVR Pro Surveillance Solution
The TVS-473 also supports QVR Pro (Beta) that integrates QNAP's professional QVR system into the QTS operating system. You can not only arrange a dedicated, independent storage space for surveillance data on the NAS, but also leverage the advantages of scalability and storage manageability from QTS. QVR Pro features a flexible monitoring interface that allows you to adjust the proportion and monitor view of IP cameras, supports an upgraded timeline feature for instant video search and quick view identification in live monitoring mode, and allows for monitoring views and playing back images without switching between different windows. QVR Pro also has the ability for batch adding, and editing cameras, and searching for cameras across different LANs.
OceanKTV
OceanKTV creates a quality karaoke experience at home or in the office. The TVS-473 offers high-capacity storage for accommodating up to thousands of 1080p karaoke videos and supports YouTube video streaming. It comes with two 3.5 mm microphone jacks and can transmit audio to your amplifier using a 3.5 mm line-out or HDMI port. The experience can be managed using the OceanKTV app in QTS or by using the OceanKTV mobile app on your phone or tablet.
Wireless AP
WirelessAP Station coupled with a compatible PCI Express wireless adapter turns this NAS into a dedicated Wireless AP. Network resources can be shared with devices connected to the NAS.
Install-On-Demand Apps
The built-in App Center is a centralized location for managing and updating installed apps for backup/sync, business, content management, communications, download, and entertainment.
Expand Storage Capacity
Up to two QNAP expansion enclosures can be connected to expand the TVS-473's raw storage capacity on demand, making it a suitable file center for storage-intensive business applications such as video surveillance, data archiving, TV broadcast storage, and more.
Vocal Alerts and Music Playback
The TVS-473 features a built-in speaker that supports Chinese and English vocal alerts for important system messages. You can also use Music Station or File Station (coupled with Qfile and Qmusic mobile apps) to directly play music on the NAS.