ASUSTOR AS-204TE 4-bay NAS Review

We have taken a look at many NAS solutions over the years, but it’s not often that we get to check out a model from a vendor we’ve never had the chance to look at before. So, it’s with great intrigue that we check out ASUSTOR’s AS-204TE, a four-bay NAS solution designed for home use.

It’s been a while since our last NAS review, and by “a while” I mean just over a month. We’ve had the opportunity this past year to review many different NAS boxes from a list of vendors and while 2014 is quickly drawing to a close, it’s always fun to look back on what has transpired. In all of our past reviews, even before this year, we have not yet had the opportunity to work with ASUSTOR. The primary reason for this is the fact that it’s still a fairly young company, founded in August of 2011. An affiliate of a company that we all know, ASUS, ASUSTOR has a strong catalog of products that seems to grow each quarter. Offering NAS solutions for most anyone who doesn’t classify their needs as enterprise level, ASUSTOR was kind enough to offer Techgage the AS-204TE for evaluation. Having no experience with its products other than what we’ve read around the Internet, we’re excited to get know the AS-204TE.

For all intents and purposes, the AS-204TE is a cube. A black cube to be exact. With four exposed drive bays in the front, the NAS makes access to the drive carriers a simple task. By pressing on the tab at the bottom of each bay, a spring loaded arm is released, allowing the carrier to be removed. At the top of each carrier are LED lights that show activity on the respective drive. While the AS-204TE supports up to four drives, users that may want to start out with one will have to install their drive in the left most bay. This was discovered when we originally began testing of the NAS.

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