Qnap Releases Virtualization Station

QNAP Systems, Inc. announced the availability of Virtualization Station, an integrated virtualization operating platform that empowers the Turbo NAS to host multiple VMs.

With a centralized management interface, it is easy to create and run multiple VMs on a single Turbo NAS.

Virtualization technology allows users to create isolated VMs on a single server and install different OSs and applications. Each VM can be viewed as an independent PC that consumes dedicated CPU, memory, disk space and network resources without interrupting each other. Users can install Windows, Unix, Linux, or server-grade OSs to centralize various services, applications and server management. It is a hands-on NAS-based virtualization platform that centralizes virtualization management to enhance IT efficiency.

Different from typical virtualization platforms, it is designed to be beneficial for businesses and also accessible for general users. The web-based management interface provides convenience for users to access and manage the solution remotely with any device.

“Implementing a virtualization platform on a NAS greatly extends applications and benefits for both business and personal use including reducing physical server maintenance, managing applications via web browsers, building a web server, and flexibly installing multiple OSs,” said Alfred Li, product manager, QNAP. “With the Virtualization Station, users can carry out more operations on a single NAS and complete tasks more efficiently, enjoy high performance for I/O-intensive data access, and secure backup management at the same time,” added Li.

It offers functions of virtualization applications, including, snapshot, VM import/export, providing VMs with dedicated bandwidth, user permission settings, and more. Users can operate VMs as remote desktops via web browsers for management or troubleshooting.

It also provides a solution for VDI, creating multiple independent desktops for users to work on or access data on the NAS from anywhere. The screen sharing technology also enables users to share the same desktop content to optimize VM utilization. Data on the Turbo NAS can be retrieved through the OSs on the VMs, improving the level of security as no data used by a VM is transmitted externally.

Administrators can create users and set proper permissions for each VM, helping to manage and allocate VM resources for users with different needs. With these permissions, users can work independently on their VMs without worrying about their work being interrupted. In addition, it supports numerous VM formats and is compatible with virtual appliances from providers such as VMware Marketplace and Bitnami.

It enables users to expand the applications and features of their Turbo NAS by leveraging the potential of VMs. Coupled with the I/O performance, backup solutions and scalability of Turbo NAS, users can work with higher productivity, flexibility and benefit from the advantages that an integrated virtualization solution can provide them with.

The Virtualization Station is available in the App Center of the following Turbo NAS models: TS-ECx80 Pro, TS-ECx80U-RP, TS-ECx79U-RP, TS-x79U-RP, TS-ECx79U-SAS-RP, SS-ECx79U-SAS-RP, TS-x51, and TS/SS-x53 Pro series.

The availability of the TS-x53 Pro/SS-x53 Pro series Turbo NAS will be announced separately.