QNAP Systems Ts 253 User Guide

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can connect the network interfaces to different switches and configure the TCP/IP 
settings. The NAS will acquire an IP address for each connected interface, which can 
access a subnet for each IP. This is known as multi-IP settings*. When using Qfinder 
Pro to detect the NAS IP, the IP of Ethernet 1 will only be shown in LAN 1 and the IP 
of Ethernet 2 will only be shown in LAN 2, etc. You can choose to use port trunking for 
multiple LAN connections. 
o Jumbo Frame: Jumbo Frames refers to Ethernet frames that are larger than 1500 
bytes. It is designed to enhance Ethernet networking throughput and reduce the CPU 
utilization of large file transfers by enabling more efficient larger payloads per packet. 
The NAS uses standard Ethernet frames (1500 bytes) by default. If your network 
appliances support Jumbo Frames, select the appropriate MTU value for the network 
environment. The NAS supports 4074, 7418, and 9000 bytes for MTU.  
 
Note:  
To use Jumbo Frames, all of the connected network appliances must enable Jumbo 
Frames and use the same MTU value. 
Jumbo Frame is only supported by certain NAS models. Refer to the software 
specification page on the QNAP website for further details. Some NICs only support 
1500 and the max speed of some NICs is 8096. 
  
o Network Speed: Select the network transfer rate according to the network 
environment of the NAS. Select auto-negotiation and the NAS will automatically select 
the transfer rate. The Network Speed field is not shown for 10GbE & 40GbE adapters 
and is automatically set to auto-negotiation. 
VLAN: A Virtual LAN (VLAN) is a group of hosts which communicate as if they were 
attached to the same broadcast domain even if they are located in different physical 
locations. The NAS can join a VLAN and be configured as a backup storage of other 
devices on the same VLAN. To join a VLAN, select Enable VLAN (802.1Q) and enter the 
VLAN ID (a value between 1 and 4094.) Keep the VLAN ID safe and make sure the client 
devices are able to join the VLAN. If you forget the VLAN ID and cannot connect to the 
NAS, you will need to reset the network settings by pressing the NAS reset button. Once 
the NAS is reset, the VLAN feature will be disabled. If the NAS supports two Gigabit LAN 
ports and only one network interface is configured to enable VLAN, you can also connect 
to the NAS via the other network interface. 
 
Note: The VLAN feature is only supported by x86-based NAS models. 
 
 
  
						

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DNS Server 
A DNS (Domain Name System) server translates between a domain name (such as 
google.com) and an IP address (74.125.31.105). On this page, you can configure the NAS to 
obtain a DNS server address automatically or to specify the IP address of a DNS server. If 
you choose to specify the IP address, fill out the following fields:  
o Primary DNS Server: Enter the IP address of the primary DNS server. 
o Secondary DNS Server: Enter the IP address of the secondary DNS server. 
 
Note: 
Contact your ISP or network administrator for the IP address of the primary and the 
secondary DNS servers. When the NAS plays the role as a terminal and needs to 
perform independent connection (BT download, etc) enter at least one DNS server IP 
for proper URL connection. Otherwise, the function may not work properly. 
 
Port Trunking 
The NAS supports Port Trunking which combines two or more Ethernet interfaces to increase 
bandwidth and offers load balancing and fault tolerance (also known as failover.) Load 
balancing is a feature that distributes workloads evenly across multiple Ethernet interfaces for 
higher redundancy. Failover ensures that the network connection will remain available even if 
a port fails. 
 
To use Port Trunking on the NAS, make sure at least two LAN ports of the NAS have been connected to the same 
switch and the relevant settings (IP address, network speed, jumbo frame, VLAN, DHCP Server) have been 
configured. 
Follow these steps to configure Port Trunking on the NAS: 
1. Go to “Control Panel” > “Network & File Services” > “Network & Virtual Switch” > 
“Interfaces”. Click "Port Trunking", then click “Add”. 
2. Select the interfaces for a trunking group (for example, adapter 1+2, adapter 3+5+7, or 
adapter 4+6+8+10). 
3. Select “Warn me if a network cable is disconnected from the trunking group” to enable 
warning messages for this trunking group. 
4. Select type of switch being used: directly connecting two NAS without a switch (VJBOD), 
general switch (most common), or managed switch (supports Port Trunking/LACP). Click 
“Next”. 
5. Select a Port Trunking mode. See the Port Trunking options table below for option details. 
Select “Apply”.  
  
						

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Note: 
Make sure the Ethernet interfaces are connected to the correct switch and the switch 
has been configured to support the Port Trunking mode selected on the NAS. 
Port Trunking is only available for NAS models with two or more LAN ports and certain 
models only provide one Giga LAN port and therefore do not support dual LAN 
configuration or Port Trunking. 
 
The Port Trunking options available on the NAS: 
Field Description Switch Required 
Balance-rr 
[Round-Robin
](Supported 
by Direct 
connection 
between 2 
NAS or using 
a managed 
switch) 
Round-Robin mode is good for general purpose 
load balancing between two Ethernet interfaces. 
This mode transmits packets in sequential order 
from the first available slave through the last. 
Balance-rr provides load balancing and fault 
tolerance. 
Supports static 
trunking. Make 
sure static trunking 
is enabled on the 
switch. 
Active-Backup 
(Supported by 
using general 
switch) 
 
Active Backup only uses one Ethernet interface. It 
switches to the second Ethernet interface if the 
first Ethernet interface does not work properly. 
Only one interface in the bond is active. The 
bonds MAC address is only visible externally on 
one port (network adapter) to avoid confusing the 
switch. Active Backup mode provides fault 
tolerance. 
General switches 
Balance-tlb 
[Adaptive 
Transmit Load 
Balancing] 
(Supported by 
using general 
switch) 
 
Active-Backup only uses one Ethernet interface. It 
switches to the second Ethernet interface if the 
first Ethernet interface does not work properly. 
Only one interface in the bond is active. The 
bonds MAC address is only visible externally on 
one port (network adapter) to avoid confusing the 
switch. Active Backup mode provides fault 
tolerance. 
General switches 
Balance-alb 
[Adaptive 
Load 
Balance-alb is similar to balance-tlb but also 
attempts to redistribute incoming (receive load 
balancing) for IPV4 traffic. This setup does not 
General switches  
						

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Balancing] 
(Supported by 
using general 
switch) 
require any special switch support or 
configuration. The receive load balancing is 
achieved by ARP negotiation sent by the local 
system on their way out and overwrites the 
source hardware address with the unique 
hardware address of one of the Ethernet 
interfaces in the bond such that different peers 
use different hardware address for the server. 
This mode provides load balancing and fault 
tolerance. 
Balance-xor 
(Supported by 
using 
managed 
switch) 
 
 
Balance-xor balances traffic by splitting up 
outgoing packets between the Ethernet 
interfaces, using the same one for each specific 
destination when possible. It transmits based on 
the selected transmit hash policy. The default 
policy is a simple slave count operating on Layer 
2 where the source MAC address is coupled with 
destination MAC address. Alternate transmit 
policies may be selected via the xmit_hash_policy 
option. Balance XOR mode provides load 
balancing and fault tolerance. 
Supports static 
trunking. Make 
sure static trunking 
is enabled on the 
switch. 
Broadcast 
(Supported by 
using 
managed 
switch) 
 
Broadcast sends traffic on all network interfaces. 
This mode provides fault tolerance. 
Supports static 
trunking. Make 
sure static trunking 
is enabled on the 
switch. 
802.3ad 
dynamic 
[Dynamic Link 
Aggregation] 
(Supported by 
using 
managed 
switch) 
 
Dynamic Link Aggregation uses a complex 
algorithm to aggregate adapters by speed and 
duplex settings. It utilizes all slaves in the active 
aggregator according to the 802.3ad specification. 
Dynamic Link Aggregation mode provides load 
balancing and fault tolerance but requires a 
switch that supports IEEE 802.3ad with LACP 
mode properly configured. 
Select the desired hash policy for 802.3ad 
trunking: 
Layer 2 (MAC) – Compatible with all managed 
Supports 802.3ad 
LACP 
(802.1AX-2008)  
						

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switches (default). 
Layer 2+3 (MAC+IP) – Not supported by all 
switches. If supported, offers better performance 
(recommended). 
 
As an example, refer to the following table for Port Trunking modes and their recommended scenario: 
Scenario Recommend
ed Mode 
Remark 
(1) Directly connect two NAS without a switch 
(for VJBOD)  
 
Balance-rr For VJBOD only. 
(2) General Switch 
 
Active-Backup
;  
Balance-tlb;  
Balance-alb 
General switches 
(3) Managed Switch which supports Port 
Trunking/LACP 
 
Balance-rr;  
Balance-xor;  
Broadcast;  
802.3ad 
dynamic 
The switch must be 
configured before 
setting up Port 
Trunking. 
 
To delete a Port Trunking group, first select a group from the list and click Delete.  
To be automatically notified if a network cable has been disconnected, check Warn me if a 
network cable is disconnected from the trunking group on this page.  
 
IPv6 
The NAS supports IPv6 connectivity with stateless address configurations and RADVD 
(Router Advertisement Daemon) for IPv6, RFC 2461 to allow hosts on the same subnet to 
automatically acquire IPv6 addresses from the NAS. NAS services which support IPv6 include: 
CIFS/SMB 
AFP 
NFS 
FTP  
						

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iSCSI 
Web Server 
QTS Desktop 
RTRR 
SSH 
Qsync for Windows 
Netbak Replicator  
 
To use this function, select the option Enable IPv6 and click Apply. The NAS will restart. 
After the system restarts, go to the IPv6 page. The settings of the IPv6 interface will be 
shown. Click the Edit button to edit these settings:  
IPv6 Auto Configuration: If an IPv6 enabled router is available on the network, select 
this option to allow the NAS to automatically acquire the IPv6 address and 
configurations. 
Use static IP address: To use a static IP address, enter the IP address (e.g. 
2001:bc95:1234:5678), prefix length (e.g. 64), and the gateway address for the NAS. 
Contact your ISP for the prefix and the prefix length information. 
o Enable Router Advertisement Daemon (radvd): To configure the NAS as an IPv6 host 
and distribute IPv6 addresses to the local clients that support IPv6, enable this option 
and enter the prefix and prefix length. 
IPv6 DNS server: Enter the preferred DNS server in the upper field and the alternate 
DNS server in the lower field. Contact the ISP or network administrator for this 
information. If IPv6 auto configuration is selected, leave the fields as ::. 
 
Thunderbolt 
On this page, you can configure Thunderbolt Bridge Addresses, the Thunderbolt interface, and 
monitor bandwidth usage:  
Thunderbolt Bridge Address: This section displays the each Thunderbolt interface 
along with its connection properties such as associated Virtual Switches, Virtual Switch IP, 
and associated Thunderbolt JOBDs. A NAS or a JBOD expansion unit can be connected to 
the Thunderbolt port. If a JBOD expansion unit is connected to the Thunderbolt port, you 
can view the expansion devices in the Storage Manager. 
Thunderbolt Bridge (System): This section displays the bandwidth usage of the 
default Thunder bolt interface. 
 
Note: The function or its content is only applicable on some models. To check for 
applicable models, please refer to the product comparison table on the QNAP website. 
 
 
  
						

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USB QuickAccess 
USB QuickAccess allows users to directly connect their NAS to their computer using a USB 
cable and Common Internet File System (CIFS) for using the NAS as a USB storage device. 
You can perform the following operations using this feature:  
Turn on/off USB QuickAccess: Click the switch icon (to the left of the USB QuickAccess 
Port icon) to enable/disable USB QuickAccess.    
Choose between DHCP and a static IP address: Click the Configure icon and choose 
whether to obtain the IP address via DHCP or to set a static IP address.  
Set user authentication levels: Click Authentication (the icon next to Configure) to 
choose an authentication method for the USB QuickAccess port. There are three methods 
available:  
o All NAS Users: A NAS username and password are required to access files and folders 
using Qfinder Pro or CIFS. 
o Everyone: No username or password is required to access files and folders using 
Qfinder Pro or CIFS. 
o Selected Users/Groups: Administrators can choose users/groups to use USB 
QuickAccess and these users/groups need to enter their username and password 
before accessing files and folders. With this option, only chosen NAS users/groups (or 
domain users) can use USB QuickAccess.    
Monitor incoming and outgoing traffic: Monitor the traffic volume of the USB QuickAccess 
port.  
 
Note:  
This function (or its content) is only available on certain models. 
The DHCP server created by USB QuickAccess cannot be disabled, configured or 
deleted.  
Besides local user or group accounts, you can also grant access rights to domain users 
for USB QuickAccess. To do so, please first set up authentication in Domain Security.  
For the highest possible speed, connect the NAS to a USB 3.0 port on your computer 
using a USB 3.0 cable. 
 
 
Wi-Fi 
To connect to a Wi-Fi network, plug a USB Wi-Fi dongle into the NAS, and a list of Wi-Fi 
access points will be shown. There are two methods to connect to Wi-Fi networks: 
Connecting to an existing Wi-Fi network. 
Manually connecting to a Wi-Fi network. 
 
  
						

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Note: 
Wireless connection performance depends on many factors such as the adapter model, 
the USB adapters performance, and the network environment. Wired connections will 
always provide greater stability and performance. 
The system only supports one USB Wi-Fi dongle at a time. 
For a list of compatible USB Wi-Fi dongles, visit http://www.qnap.com/compatibility 
and select USB Wi-Fi.  
This feature is not supported by the TS-269H. 
 
Method 1: Connecting to an existing Wi-Fi network: 
A list of Wi-Fi access points with signal strength are displayed in Wi-Fi Network Connection. 
Icon / Option Name Description 
Rescan Rescan Search for Wi-Fi networks in range. 
  Secured 
network The Wi-Fi network requires a network key. 
  Connect Connect to a Wi-Fi network. If a security key is 
required, you will be prompted to enter the key. 
  Edit Edit the connection information. You can select to 
automatically connect to the Wi-Fi network. 
  Disconnect Disconnect from the Wi-Fi network. 
  Remove Delete the Wi-Fi network profile. 
Show all Show all Display all available Wi-Fi networks. Deselect this 
option to only show configured network profiles. 
 
Click Rescan to search for available Wi-Fi networks. Select a Wi-Fi network to connect to 
and click Connect. Enter the security key if needed. Click Next and the NAS will attempt to 
connect to the wireless network. You can view the status of the configured network profiles. 
Message Description 
Connected The NAS is currently connected to the Wi-Fi network. 
Connecting The NAS is trying to connect to the Wi-Fi network. 
Out of range or 
hidden SSID 
The wireless signal is not available or the SSID is not broadcast. 
Failed to get IP The NAS is connected to the Wi-Fi network but could not get an  
						

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IP address from the DHCP server. Check the router settings. 
Association failed The NAS cannot connect to the Wi-Fi network. Check the router 
settings. 
Incorrect key The entered security key is incorrect. 
Auto connect Automatically connect to the Wi-Fi network. This is not supported 
if the SSID of the Wi-Fi network is not broadcast. 
 
Method 2: Manually connecting to a Wi-Fi network: 
To manually connect to a Wi-Fi network that does not broadcast its SSID (network name), 
click Connect to a Wi-Fi network. 
 
You can choose to connect to an ad hoc network in which you can connect to any wireless 
devices without the need for an access point. To set up, follow these steps: 
1. Enter the network name (SSID) of the wireless network and select the security type. 
o No authentication (Open): No security key required. 
o WEP: Enter up to 4 WEP keys and choose 1 key to be used for authentication. 
o WPA-Personal: Choose AES or TKIP encryption and enter the encryption key. 
o WPA2-Personal: Enter a security key. 
2. Type in the security key. 
3. Click Finish after the NAS has added the Wi-Fi network. 
4. To edit IP address settings, click Edit. You can choose to automatically obtain the IP 
address by DHCP or to set a fixed IP address. 
 
If the Wi-Fi connection is the only connection between the NAS and the router/AP, you must 
select WLAN1 as the default gateway in Network > TCP/IP page. Otherwise, the NAS will 
be unable to connect to the Internet or communicate with another network. 
 
Note:  
The WEP key must be exactly 5 or 13 ASCII characters; or exactly 10 or 26 
hexadecimal characters (0-9 and A-F.) 
If you have trouble connecting to an encrypted wireless network, check the wireless 
router/AP settings and change the transfer rate from N-only mode to B/G/N mixed 
or similar settings. 
Windows 7 users with WPA2 encryption cannot establish ad-hoc connection with the 
NAS. WEP encryption must be used on Windows 7. 
A fixed IP address is required for wireless interfaces to establish an ad-hoc connection. 
 
  
						

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Setting up the TBS-453A 
The TBS-453A is the only QNAP NAS model with a built-in physical switch chip for optimized 
switch performance. For this model, you can connect the network interfaces 2-1~2-4 to a 
physical switch for network expansion. This model also has two modes: Switch mode and 
Private Network mode. To set up Switch mode, follow these steps: 
1. Connect one of the four ports (Port 2-1 to 2-4) to an external network or a default 
gateway and connect your local devices to any of the remaining three ports.  
 
 
2. Go to Interfaces (on the left menu) > Interfaces (on top of the page) > click the 
switch icon next to an interface.    
3. Select Switch Mode > Apply. Since the default option is Switch mode, if this is your 
first time setting up this mode, you may skip Steps 2 and 3. 
 
To set up Private Network mode, follow these steps: 
1. Make sure that none of the four ports (Port 2-1 to 2-4) is connected to an external 
network or a default gateway.  
 
 
2. Go to Interfaces (on the left menu) > Interfaces (on top of the page) > click the 
switch icon next to an interface.    
3. Select Private Network Mode > Apply.  
 
Note: The Virtual Switch feature is not available on the TBS-485A. 
 
Virtual Switch 
 
Virtual Switches allow physical interfaces (network adapters, Thunderbolt ports) and virtual 
adapters (VMs and containers) to communicate with each other. For example, with the use of 
a Virtual Switch, a Virtual Machine, container, and physical adapter be connected to the