TR-004U

4-bay Rackmount USB 3.2 Gen 1 RAID Expansion Enclosure

Supports various RAID levels

The TR-004U supports a variety of RAID configurations. Depending on your requirements, you can switch between hardware- or software-controlled RAID modes. Move the DIP switches to corresponding positions for your ideal RAID mode: Individual, JBOD, RAID 0, RAID 1/10 or RAID 5. You can also configure the RAID settings from your QNAP NAS, or by using the QNAP External RAID Manager utility on your computer.

Learn More: External RAID Manager

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  Individual Mode

  Treats every disk as separate storage spaces, allowing you to independently access each one.

  Drive hot-swap is not supported in this mode

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  JBOD Mode

  All the disks are recognized as a single drive. This allows maximal storage utilization but provides no data protection.

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  RAID 0 Mode

  Data is split amongst the drives. RAID 0 provides the fastest performance but does not protect data from drive failure.

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  RAID 1/10 Mode

  Half of the total storage capacity is used to store data, and the other half keeps a copy of this data. This provides high data protection at the cost of only being able to use half the installed storage space.

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  RAID 5 Mode

  RAID 5 requires at least three drives to use and parity information is distributed among the drives, providing optimized storage capacity and protection against one disk failing.

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  Software Ctrl Mode

  Use this mode to control the RAID configuration from your NAS or computer.

RAID mode supported	NAS expansion	External storage for NAS	External storage for Windows/Mac computers	External storage for Linux computers
Software Ctrl	Required to switch to Software Ctrl mode
Individual
JBOD
RAID 0/1/5/10
Multiple RAID

Linux computers can recognize existing partitions on multiple RAID configurations, but they cannot create new ones.

Flexible storage configuration and management

Compared with other RAID enclosures, the TR-004U provides software-controlled configurations for greater management flexibility. Users can configure RAID and monitor disk health using the Storage & Snapshots Manager on a QNAP NAS, or by using the QNAP External RAID Manager utility on their computer.

Note: When connecting the TR-004U to a NAS, users can choose either the NAS expansion storage mode or the external storage mode.

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  Use Storage & Snapshots Manager to configure the TR-004U as a storage expansion unit for your QNAP NAS. In addition to RAID configuration, the NAS expansion storage mode supports various NAS functions, including storage pools and snapshots. By choosing external storage mode, you can use the TR-004U as a DAS.

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  The QNAP External RAID Manager is a utility for Windows and Mac users to set up, monitor, and view the status of the TR-004U. Users can easily configure RAID groups on the TR-004U and quickly obtain the status of RAID performance and health at a glance.

Versatile usage scenarios to meet storage expansion needs

The TR-004U meets many storage expansion requirements for home and work use, including:

Scenario 1: Expand the capacity of your NAS

Use the TR-004U instead of a conventional NAS expansion unit.

Scenario 2: External storage for your NAS

Use the TR-004U as external storage for your NAS.

Scenario 3: Expand the storage space of your computer and server

Use the TR-004U to provide more space for your computer and server.

Scenario 4: Cross-platform file sharing

Use the TR-004U to move files between various devices with various file systems.

Scenario 1: Expand the capacity of your NAS

The TR-004U provides an alternative method for users to expand their rackmount NAS storage capacity. By connecting the TR-004U to their NAS and using the Storage & Snapshots Manager, users can easily configure and manage their storage expansion. The TR-004U supports a variety of QNAP NAS storage and file management functions, allowing users to build storage pools, find files with Qsirch and organize files with Qfiling.

Function	QNAP TR-004U	Other external RAID/ JBOD device
Connection Type	USB 3.2 Gen 1	By device
Drive bays	4	By device
Supported systems	QNAP QTS, Windows, macOS, Linux etc...	QNAP QTS, Windows, macOS, Linux etc...
Disk health monitoring	Supported (QNAP QTS, Windows, macOS)	Not Supported
Hardware RAID protection	Supported (QNAP QTS, Windows, macOS)	Varies by device
Create Storage Pool	Supported (QNAP QTS)	Not Supported
RAID migration, capacity expansion	Not Supported	Varies by device

Note:
1. The TR-004U does not support the following: the TS-128, TS-228, TS-131, TS-231, TS-431, TS-431U, and NAS models that cannot be updated to QTS 4.3.6 (or later).
2. The TR-004U can only be used as an individual storage pool or volume on the NAS. Its storage pool/volume cannot be combined into the connected NAS. NAS applications cannot be installed on the TR-004U.
3. Drives can only be migrated from one TR-004U to another TR-004U. The files and data stored on drives moved to/from a NAS (or another device) will not be recognized.
4. Drive hot-swap is not supported in the Individual Mode for the TR-004U.
5. The performance of the TR-004U may vary based on the specifications and available system resources of the host device.

Use the TR-004U as an alternative to conventional NAS expansion enclosures

As an external hardware RAID device, the TR-004U operates independently and does not require additional NAS system resources. When compared with the UX-500P expansion enclosure, the TR-004U uses less NAS system resources.

RAID 5 Performance with Blackmagic Disk Speed Test

Read

239.1 MB/s

Write

224.8 MB/s

Tested in QNAP Labs. Figures may vary by environment.

TR-004U
Volume type: RAID 5; 4 x 1TB ST1000NM0033 HDD
Client PC: Intel® Core™ i7-6700 3.4GHz CPU; 64GB RAM; USB 3.2 Gen 1; Windows® 10 Pro 64-bit

Scenario 2: External storage for your NAS

Instead of using the TR-004U to expand the capacity of your QNAP NAS, you can use it as a complimentary storage unit for backing up or moving data. It also allows you to physically migrate huge data collections that would require significant network bandwidth. While connected to the NAS, you can monitor the health and status of the TR-004U by using the Storage & Snapshots Manager on the NAS.

Scenario 3: Expand the storage space of your computer and server

The TR-004U can quickly add storage space to your computer and server. You can use the DIP switch to configure a hardware RAID mode or manage it by using the QNAP External RAID Manager utility. The health and status of the TR-004U can also be monitored by using the QNAP External RAID Manager utility.

Learn More: External RAID Manager

*The QNAP External RAID Manager requires Windows 8.1 (or later), Windows Server 2012 R2 (or later) and macOS 10.13 (or later).

Scenario 4: Cross-platform file sharing

From your NAS to Windows, Mac, and Linux computers, the TR-004U is compatible with a wide range of devices. This makes it ideal for quickly moving large files between different devices. The TR-004U is even compatible with devices that use the exFAT file system, adding further convenience for accessing and sharing files from a wider range of devices.

Learn More: exFAT