A closer look at the NAS and first installation
The NAS looks quite simple, but it’s actually an advantage. It should present well in any room and doesn’t take much space.
The exterior is made of metal, while the front and back are made of plastic. On the front are HDD1, HDD2, power, and LAN activity LEDs. There is also a power button that works as reset and power up/down, depends on how long we hold it.
On the back, we will find a fan exhaust, two 1GbE ports, one 10GbE port, two USB 3.1 A-type, and a power supply socket.
The F2-422 NAS supports two drives. It can be HDD or SSD in 2.5″ or 3.5″ size. We will use two 2.5″ SSD, so the standard is more commonly used in laptops. Drives’ type highly affects performance and possible maximum capacity, so it’s good to plan everything before purchasing. Since it’s a NAS, then even slower HDDs are usually more than enough. On the other hand, if we will move a larger amount of data more often and don’t need more than 2TB capacity, I recommend a less expensive SSD series. If our budget lets us, then I recommend NAS series SSD, but we have to count that they will cost some more.
The first installation
The first installation is effortless, and I feel it’s even easier than some competitive brands. At first, we have to go to http://start.terra-master.com/ website, pick our NAS from the list and provide our email address. After a couple of simple steps, we can download an application and start the configuration. All that left is NAS initialization, installing the NAS operating system, and configure drives in any possible modes. As far as it sounds scary, almost everything is automatic, and we only have to confirm what is on the screen or pick one of the not many options. Everything is clear and simple.
The first window, which we will see in the application, looks like the one below. We will see all TerraMaster NAS in our local network, so it’s only one in our case. When we click on the listed device, then we can connect with it.
Once we connect with our NAS and provide the user’s password, then we will enter TOS. TOS is short for TerraMaster Operating System.
Our welcome window looks like the one below, and it automatically suggests checking the user’s manual and help options. Most users skip this part, thinking they know everything already. However, I highly recommend checking the TerraMaster manuals and videos on the website as you can find an answer to probably every question and find out how easy it is to set up some services.
Additional, more advanced options are available later from the configuration menu, which you can see as an icon named Control Panel.
We can find the TOS update option in the control panel, which can be automatic or manual. After the first start, it’s good to check available updates. The window looks like the one below.
TOS has changed since the last generation of devices. TerraMaster pointed out that the new NAS’s operating system is better, faster, and provides a wider functionality. Since I wasn’t testing the earlier NAS of this brand, I have to trust these words. So far, it’s pretty good and causes no problems, so I’m satisfied.
Now it’s time for some performance tests. Let’s move to the next page.
