How do I set up my NAS? (2024)

Follow the steps below before turning on the NAS (or after a factory reset).

1. Place your NAS in an environment that meets the following requirements:

   Category	Requirements
   Environment	Room temperature: 0˚C to 40˚C (32˚F to 104˚F) Non-condensing relative humidity: 5% to 95% Wet-bulb temperature: 27˚C (80.6˚F) Flat, anti-static surface without exposure to direct sunlight, liquids, or chemicals Free from objects that may obstruct device ventilation or apply pressure to the device or power cord
   Hardware and peripherals	Storage drives For the list of compatible drive models, go to https://www.qnap.com/compatibility. Network cable
   Tools	Flat head screwdriver Anti-static wrist strap

2. Install storage drives.
   Your device may support different types of storage drives such as 3.5-inch hard drives, 2.5-inch solid-state drives, or M.2 solid-state drives. For drive installation instructions, see your NAS user guide. To check if a particular storage drive brand or series is compatible with your NAS, see the QNAP Compatibility List.

   Warning

   Installing an operating system on your NAS will delete all data on any installed drives. If you do not want the data on your drives to be deleted, first install the operating system on your NAS without any drives installed, and then migrate your drives. For detailed instructions, see I bought a new QNAP NAS. How do I move my data over from the old one?

3. Optional: Connect expansion units.
   For instructions on connecting expansion units, see your NAS user guide. To check if a particular expansion unit brand or series is compatible with your NAS model, see the QNAP Compatibility List.
4. Connect the power cord and all applicable cables.
5. Use the Ethernet cable included in your NAS packaging to connect the NAS to your local area network.
6. Power on the NAS.
7. Download Qfinder Pro to a computer that is connected to the same local network:
   • Qfinder Pro (latest version)
   • Qfinder Pro (Windows 8.0 or earlier / Windows Server 2012 or earlier / macOS 10.13 or earlier)
8. Open Qfinder Pro.
9. Locate your NAS in the device list.
   
10. Double click the NAS to open the web interface in the browser.
11. See the next section for installing a QNAP operating system.

After completing the previous steps to prepare your NAS, perform the following steps to install a QNAP operating system.

For additional installation details, see your NAS user guide from the QNAP Download Center.

1. After the NAS web interface opens from the last step of the previous section, review the QNAP Warranty Service and click Next.
2. Click StartSmart Installation Guide.
3. Specify a operating system version.
   

   Tip

   Click Check for Update to upgrade the operating system if a newer version is available.

4. Click Next.
   The Enter the NAS name and administrator passwordscreen appears.
5. Enter the NAS name and administrator password.
   • NAS name: Specify a name containing 1 to 14 characters. The name can contain letters (A to Z, a to z), numbers (0 to 9), and hyphens (-), but cannot end with a hyphen. Additionally, the name cannot contain only numbers.
   • Username: Specify an administrator username containing 1 to 32 characters. The name can contain letters (A to Z, a to z), numbers (0 to 9), and hyphens (-), multi-byte Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Russian characters.
     A new system administrator account will be created with the entered username. After completing initialization, the system's reserved user "admin" will be disabled.

     Warning

     To protect your NAS from brute force attacks, ensure that you create a new system administrator account different from "admin". The default "admin" account will be automatically disabled after creating a new system administrator account.

   • Password: Specify an administrator password containing 1 to 64 characters. The password can contain any ASCII characters.
6. Click Next.
7. Specify the time zone, date, and time.

   Tip

   QNAP recommends connecting to an NTP server to ensure that the NAS follows the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) standard.

8. Click Next.
9. Configure the network settings.

   Tip

   QNAP recommends using a static IP address for your NAS.

10. Click Next.
    Additional steps may be required depending on your NAS model.
11. On the Summaryscreen, click Apply.
    A confirmation window appears.
12. Click Initialize.
    The firmware file will be downloaded and the QNAP operating system will be installed on your NAS. This process may take several minutes.
    

    Important

    Do not power off the device during the installation process.

To store data on the NAS, you must create storage pools, volumes (QTS only), and shared folders, which are features designed to help you facilitate data storage and management. You can configure storage settings in the built-in application Storage & Snapshots.

A storage pool combines multiple physical disks into one large storage space and may contain one or more RAID groups. You need to create at least one storage pool. You can also choose a RAID type that meets your needs for data redundancy and storage performance.

1. Log in to the operating system using the administrator account created during installation.
2. Open Storage & Snapshots.
3. Go to Storage> Storage/Snapshots.
4. Click New Storage Pool.
   TheCreate Storage Pool Wizard appears.
5. Optional:Enable Qtier.
   Qtier is an automated-tiering storage solution to improve storage performance. Once Qtier is enabled, it cannot be disabled. For details, see your QNAP operating system user guide.
6. Optional:Enable SED encryption and create a SED secure storage pool.
   A SED secure storage pool requires SEDs installed on the NAS. For details, see your QNAP operating system user guide.
7. Click Next.
8. Select one or more disks.

   Warning

   All data on the selected disks will be deleted.

9. Select a RAID type.
   The system automatically selects the most optimized RAID type based on the disks you selected. Use the pre-selected RAID type if you are unsure of which option to choose. For details on the different RAID configurations, see your QNAP operating system user guide.

   Tip

   You can install additional disks at any time.

10. Click Next.
11. Configure additional settings as needed.
12. Click Next.
13. Verify the storage pool information.
14. Click Create.
    A confirmation message appears.
15. Click Ok.
    The system creates the storage pool and then displays the information on the Storage/Snapshots screen.

After creating a new storage pool, you must create a volume if your operating system is QTS, or a shared folder if your operating system is QuTS hero.

A volume is a QTS storage space created from a storage pool, allowing you to divide and manage available storage capacity. You need to create at least one volume to be able to store data on QTS.

1. Create a new volume:
   1. Go to Storage & Snapshots> Storage> Storage/Snapshots.
   2. Click Create.
      The Volume Creation Wizard window appears.
2. Select Thin Volume.
   Different volume types have different advantages and disadvantages.
   For details on the different volume types in QTS, see "Volume types" in the QTS User Guide.
3. Optional: Under Location, select a different storage pool.
   You can skip this step if you have only created one storage pool.
4. Click Next.
5. UnderVolume Alias, enter a name for the volume.
6. Under Volume capacity, specify the capacity of the volume.

   Warning

   When creating a thin volume, QTS will allow you to set the volume capacity to greater than the capacity of the parent storage pool. This is referred to as over-allocation. However, QNAP recommends setting the volume capacity to less than the parent storage pool capacity to ensure the system can take and store snapshots of the volume.

7. Configure other settings as needed.
   For more details on other volume settings, see "Creating a thick or thin volume" in the QTS User Guide.
8. Click Next.
9. Optional: DeselectEnable snapshot schedule and snapshot retention to disable snapshots for this volume.
   QNAP recommends leaving this option selected. You can configure the snapshot schedule and snapshot retention policy later.
10. Click Next.
11. Review the summary information.
12. Click Finish.

QTS creates and initializes the volume, and then creates the optional shared folder. This process may take some time.

You can create additional shared folders to further manage your storage space and data.

In QTS, a shared folder is created on a volume, allowing you to access, manage, and share your files. QTS automatically creates several default shared folders for various purposes. You can create additional shared folders and configure their access permission settings to better manage your files.

1. Open File Station.
   You can also create a shared folder in Control Panel > Privilege > Shared Folders.
2. On the menu bar, click .
   
3. Click Shared Folder. The Create a Shared Folder windows opens.
4. Specify a shared folder name according to the following rules:
   • Invalid characters: " + = / \ : | * ? < > ; [ ] % , ` ' , non-breaking space
   • The last character cannot be a period (.) or space ( ).
   • The name cannot begin with "_sn_" or "_sn_bk".
5. Optional: Specify a comment that contains up to 128 ASCII characters.
6. Specify the volume where the shared folder will be created.
7. Optional: Enable folder encryption.
8. Click Next.
9. Optional: Specify the access permissions for users.
10. Click Next.
11. Optional: Configure shared folder properties.
12. Click Finish.
    QTS creates the shared folder.

In QuTS hero, a shared folder is a storage space created from a storage pool, allowing you to divide and manage available storage capacity. QuTS hero provides several types of shared folders for different combinations of performance and flexibility. You need to create at least one shared folder to start storing data on the NAS.

1. Go to Storage & Snapshots> Storage> Storage/Snapshots.
   You can also create a shared folder in File Station or Control Panel(Privilege > Shared Folders).
2. Click Create > New Shared Folder.
   The Create Shared Folder Wizard window opens.
3. Specify a shared folder name according to the following rules:
   • Invalid characters: @ " + = / \ : | * ? < > ; [ ] % , ` ' non-breaking space.
   • The last character cannot be a period (.) or space ( ).
   • The name cannot begin with a space ( ) or "_sn_".
4. Optional:Select a different storage pool.
   You can skip this step if you have only one storage pool.
5. Under Space Allocation, select Thin provisioning.
   Different shared folder provisioning types have different advantages and disadvantages. For details, see "Creating a Shared Folder" in the QuTS hero User Guide.
6. Optional:Select Enable snapshot schedule and snapshot retention.
7. Under Allocate Folder Quota, specify the capacity of the shared folder.
8. Optional: Configure other settings.
9. Click Next.
10. Optional: Configure storage settings.
11. Click Next.
12. Optional: Configure user access permissions.
13. Click Next.
14. Optional:Configure shared folder properties.
15. Click Next.
16. Review the summary information.
17. Click Finish.
    QuTS hero creates the shared folder.