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These cheap QNAP NAS with ARM processor now support WireGuard

The manufacturer QNAP launched QVPN Service 3 several months ago, most NAS servers already have this new version that incorporates support for WireGuard VPN. This new VPN protocol is very secure and the fastest currently, since we could achieve Gigabit speeds without having to have a very powerful processor. However, not all QNAP NAS models supported this feature, and it is that the entry-level models that have ARM processors did not have compatibility, until now. Do you want to know which models support WireGuard to connect securely to your NAS?

The WireGuard protocol allows us to achieve higher download and upload speeds than using the popular OpenVPN protocol, in addition, it behaves much better when we are using smartphones or tablets, since it allows us to “hibernate” the VPN connection and it is not necessary to wait while it is re-establishes this communication, since it will do so in real time when using the UDP protocol. As if this were not enough, if we change from a 4G network to WiFi and vice versa, we will also notice that it is not necessary to establish a new communication, but it will do so transparently.

What new NAS models incorporate WireGuard?

Until now, any NAS server based on x86 architecture (Intel or AMD) running QTS 5.0.0 or QuTS hero h5.0.0 operating system incorporates this VPN protocol thanks to the availability of QVPN Service 3. Now NAS servers using Low power ARM processors are also supported, they just need to have QTS OS version 5.1.0 or later installed.

The models that can now enjoy the WireGuard VPN are the following:

  • TS-133: This NAS has a 2.0GHz ARM Cortex A55 Quad-Core processor, 2GB non-expandable RAM and a hard drive bay. The connectivity of this NAS is quite complete, since it has a Gigabit Ethernet port with Jumbo Frames support, a USB 3.0 port and another USB 2.0 port.
  • TS-233: This model is exactly the same as the previous one, but it has 2 bays for hard drives. The TS-233 incorporates an additional USB 2.0 port, so we have two USB 2.0 ports in total. The rest of the characteristics regarding connectivity are the same as the TS-133.
  • TS-433: This model features the same 2.0GHz ARM Cortex A55 Quad-Core processor, has 4GB of non-expandable RAM, and a total of four hard drive bays. The connectivity of this NAS consists of a Gigabit Ethernet port with Jumbo Frames support, a USB 3.0 port and two USB 2.0 ports.
  • TS-435XeU: This equipment is rackable and is the most powerful of all. It has a powerful Marvell OCTEON TX2 CN9130 Quad-Core processor at 2.2GHz speed, it has 4GB of RAM, but it can be expanded up to 32GB maximum. This model has four bays to house hard drives and two M.2 2288 NVMe slots of PCIe 3.0 x1 type. Connectivity is really complete, we have 2 10Gbps SFP+ ports, 2 2.5G Multigigabit ports, 2 USB 2.0 ports and also 2 high-performance USB 3.0 ports.

The only requirement is to have the QTS version 5.1.0 or higheran important aspect is that right now the QTS 5.1.0 version is in public beta phase, so we don’t have a final stable version yet. Once you have installed the latest version, you will need to install QVPN Service 3 in its latest versionand you will now have WireGuard VPN available to use your NAS as a VPN server.

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