QNAP TS-251+ problems!

[Ian]

@NigelB & @davidhendon

Thanks for the interest - I have spent more time investigating.

More concerning than the disk swapping question is -

I read a couple of items online reporting issues with the QNAP NS-251+, re: the fan & a .tmp file causing a problem

I asked on QNAP forum and got the reply below today (with the link removed) :

" At the time of introduction the bug in the Intel processor range causing this problem was not known and it is affecting more products using one of the affected processors, not only some QNAP NAS’s in the x51/x53 range. What is annoying to say the least is that QNAP plays dumb about the issue although it’s a well known problem as you have found out. The 451+ is internal basically the same NAS as the 251+, just 4 bays instead of 2. With same processor and bug. Buying that one at the time would not have prevented you from this situation. And yes, with another 251+ you can just swap the drives, just make sure to use the drive in the same drive bay. In fact, you can do this with many other QNAP’s The current 251D looks like the direct replacement for your 251+ and has a newer Intel processor without that bug. "

So it looks like I will be buying a different model, I have someone to speak to on Wednesday who should provide a definitive answer - Not good !?

[davidhendon]

I guess it’s choice between a newer QNAP or a Synology. It depends whether you want to learn how to speak Synology or not. If you would prefer not, then just buy the latest QNAP, pop the drives in, and forget about it.

Best

David

[Deeg]

Thanks for the heads up… was not aware… ordered a new 251d to replace my current 251, would be just my luck for it to strike at most in opportune moment.

[NigelB]

Thanks for the information.

My QNAP model is in fact TS-251A, and not TS-251+. Can I take it that this bug goes not affect the 251A?

[Ian]

@deeg & @NigelB

The TS-251+ has - Intel Celeron J1900 quad-core 2.0 GHz processor (burst up to 2.42 GHz)

Both of your NAS have different processors, though I am not an expert, therefore no idea if they are affected or not.
Let well alone until a problem arises, just making sure you keep backups up to date !!!

[Deeg]

Looking at the wiki page it appears to potentially impact the cpu family from before 2017 which mine is so dont mind upgrading just to be safe, its getting abit long in the teeth anyway and struggles with on the fly video conversion so a convenient excuse to smuggle a new toy into the house

[Tamarin]

Yes, per the wikipedia article:

" In July 2017 Intel published that a similar quality issue affects also Atom E3800 series embedded processors. The erratum named VLI89 published by Intel state, similar to issue with Atom C2000, that there is a defect in the chip’s LPC clock and affected systems “may experience inability to boot or may cease operation”.[19] Issues extend also to USB bus and SD card circuitry and should happen “under certain conditions where activity is high for several years”. In April 2018 Intel announced it is releasing a new D1 stepping to fix the issue.[20]

The LPC, USB and SD Card buses circuitry degradation issues also apply to other Bay Trail processors such as Intel Celeron J1900 and N2800/N2900 series;[21] also to Pentium N3500, J2850, J2900 series; and Celeron J1800 and J1750 series – as those are based on the same affected silicon.

Cisco stated failures of Atom C2000 processors can occur as early as 18 months of use with higher failure rates occurring after 36 months.[22]"

Nigel, I think the TS-251A has a Celeron N3060. I see N2800/N2900 listed in the wikipedia article, but don’t see N30xx mentioned, so you might be okay. But I’m no expert on the Intel naming scheme. Best to regularly back up just in case. If you want to be sure, you could post to the QNAP forum and ask if the Celeron N3060 processor has the LPC clock issue or not.

Btw, just to make sure my original response wasn’t misinterpreted, I was not advocating switching to Synology due to this bug. It’s not QNAP’s bug, it’s Intel’s. And Synology may have NAS’s from that time period with the same problem (I don’t know either way, just saying).

As David already said, if you have a NAS of any brand with an affected CPU, you can simply buy a current gen NAS from the same brand.

Thus you can avoid this particular problem, if it hasn’t already reared it’s ugly head (just double check the CPU of the new NAS against the list above).

Btw (#2), one significant factor affecting the time-to-failure is whether you leave your NAS on all the time or not. I did leave mine powered up at all times (for 5 years), and the longer it’s powered up, the more likely it is that the failure will occur.

[NigelB]

Thanks for the reply, Tamarin.