I tested the LincStation N2 NAS and here’s why I think its a smart storage solution for small businesses

LincStation N2: 30-second review

The LincStation N2 is a NAS and media server in one. Essentially, it's a small, slimline box that's far smaller than your average NAS storage—and takes up to 6 drives. These bays are split between two SATA bays for standard 2.5-inch drives and four M.2. As SATA are relatively cheap, you can instantly create a substantial network-attached storage system (NAS) for all your office data, allowing access from any computer, both within the office and remotely.

However, as this is also a media station, it goes one step further and also enables you to install a series of apps. If you want media management, your own local internet, or even run to a website through this box, then that is perfectly possible. Install Plex for instance and you can scan your drive and add all your photos and video files to the Plex interface, as well as any movies or TV shows that you also want to feature.

The setup process is straightforward, simply install the drives, plug into the network, and then run Unraid OS to configure there's even a one-year free licence thrown in to get you started.

Set-up is easier than ever with this latest firmware update, as version 7.0.1 of Unraid, its possible to just use creating pools, rather than parity and array. You can then create shared environments so that storage inside the NAS box can be accessed from all the machines on your network.

Likewise installing apps through the Unraid interface is easy, with an app tab that allows you to search for and locate the options you want. Some knowledge of networks is handy and if Plex doesn't automatically enable the web GUI to launch from within the Unraid browser interface, you may need to set up that connection manually. But once you know the IP accessible through the tools tab, everything else should be relatively straightforward.

When it comes to performance over the N1, speeds have increased due to the 10Gbps LAN port, which has been upgraded from 2.5Gbps. The processor and memory upgrades have also made this a far faster box than the original.

At the end of testing in a home office, it has been exceptionally good at serving media files needed for video and image viewing and editing both in the office and remotely, and one of the best NAS devices around.

LincPlus LincStation N2: Price and availability

• How much does it cost? $309 Kickstarter price ($439 after)
• When is it out? Pre-Order
• Where can you get it? Directly from Kickstarter

At present, the LincStation is part of a Kickstarter campaign. If you're interested in taking a closer look and getting involved, head over to the Kickstarter page.

• Value: 5/5

LincPlus LincStation N2: Specs

CPU: Intel Alder Lake-N100
OS: Unraid
Memory: On-board LPDDR5 16GB
Storage: 2 x SATA3.0, 4xM.2 2280 NVMe
USB: 3.2 Gen 2 Type-c, 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A
HDMI: 2.0
Audio: 3.5mm
RJ45: 10Gbps
Dimensions: 210 x 152 x 39.8mm
Weight: 800g

LincPlus LincStation N2: Design

The first thing that I noted about the LincStation N2 is that its design is very similar to the N1 (check out my LincStation N1 review). In fact, you really wouldn't be able to tell the difference initially. As with the N1, there's a flip-down front panel that exposes the two SATA drive bays. Then on the base, you have the two M.2 bays, each of which takes up to two M.2 memory sticks.

The unit is also relatively small and stackable, so if you want to have multiple N2 boxes, you can stack them neatly. Compared to the N1, there is also a little more ventilation to help keep the system cool while in use.

One of the things I really like about the design is the row of six small LED lights along the front, which indicate when the drives are connected and working. During initial testing, I quickly installed all the M.2 drives, but one wasn't fully pushed into the contacts. When I booted the system, only five drives were detected instead of six. By checking the front panel, I could quickly identify the drive that wasn't correctly seated, allowing me to shut down the system, fix the issue, and reboot. These LEDs, while simple, are highly effective.

In terms of dimensions, the box measures 210 x 152 x 34 mm in height, excluding the large rubber foot pads which take the height to 40mm, these prevent it from sliding on a surface. Before installing any drives, it weighs 920 g, which is relatively light but solid for this type of device. Once all six drives are installed, it weighs 1010 g.

Looking around the rest of the body, the back features a 3.5 mm audio jack, an HDMI 2.0 port, a USB 3.2 port, two USB 2.0 ports, and a 10Gbps LAN port, which has been upgraded from the 2.5Gbps RJ45 scoket on the N1. There's also a DC power input. Interestingly, on the front, next to the SATA drive bays, there is a USB Type-C port.

• Design: 5 / 5

LincPlus LincStation N2: Features

Inside the processing power for the LincStation N2 comes from a single Intel M100 Alder Lake-M with a 3.4GHz boost. This is an upgrade from the Intel Celeron N5105 Jasper Lake 2.9GHz found in the LincStation N1. The N2, like the N1, features 16GB of memory, although this is now LPDDR5, upgraded from LPDDR4 again soldered to the board, so it cannot be upgraded.

The N2 takes upto six drives with two 2.5-inch SATA bays and four M.2 2280 NVMe slots, allowing for up to 48TB of storage in a combination of SATA and NVMe SSDs.

While in this test I have mainly utilised the drive over the wireless network connected to the router using the 10Gbps Ethernet port. This is a huge upgrade from the 2.5Gbps Ethernet port that was featured on the N1.

There are once again two USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports; however, rather than both being Type-A as they were on the N1, one is now Type-A and the other is Type-C, mounted at the front of the drive. There are also two USB 2.0 Type-A ports, so if you want to connect a keyboard and mouse and use a monitor to access the system directly, you can.

On the back, there is once again an HDMI 2.0 port for monitor or display connection, as well as a 3.5mm headphone jack if needed.

Unraid comes pre-installed and includes a one-year licence, but you can also select your own operating system if you don’t want to use Unraid.

Power consumption is also very low—just 20W when idle—making it a very cost-effective for any office.

• Features: 5 / 5

LincPlus LincStation N2: Performance

Setting up the LincStation N2 is straightforward; first install the two SATA drives which involves pulling out the drive bays, screwing in your SATA drives—in the case of this test, they were two Lexar N100—popping the bays back in, clicking them into place, and then flipping the front panel of the N2 back up.

When it comes to the M.2 drives, these are even easier to install and tool free, with quick-release covers over the bays on the base of the machine. You simply pull back the spring-loaded levers to insert each of the M.2 drives.

Once done, you can simply plug in the power, connect the network cable, power it on, and then type https://tower.local into your web browser. This will connect you to the start screen of the pre-installed Unraid OS.

The first step is to assign a password and click "Next." You're then given the option to start the trial or purchase a licence. As the LincStation N2 comes with a one-year licence, it’s worth starting with the trial and then registering for the additional year if you wish. If you prefer to use another OS, that is also possible.

With the Unraid initial setup complete, you enter the dashboard. Here, you can see an overview of the model, registration, uptime, motherboard, processor, system interface, parity array (once installed), cache, apps, virtual machines, shares, users, and other information about the drives.

The dashboard is comprehensive, but before doing anything else, it’s best to go to the Tools section to check that you’re using the latest version of Unraid. A simple click under the About section click Update OS, if an update is available, it takes about five minutes to update. For this test, I've been running Unraid 7.0.1.

Once updated, you can go to the main screen, where all six drives are listed. Here, you can set up your drives through the usual process for Unraid with parity and disks.

Using the Unraid browser interface setting up the usual parity drive, then, assigning disks was all straight forward, before adding a pool. Once the system restarted, which took a while for the drives to configure, I could then move in to the other features such as the shares.

However, with the upgrade to Unraid 7.0.1, it is now possible to utilise the ZFS file system. This means you no longer need a parity disk; instead, you can set up a pool device. The ZFS file system uses RAID-Z or mirroring, eliminating the need for a parity drive. Additionally, because it uses RAID-Z instead of the parity drive method, write speeds are significantly faster. For example, over a wired network, the old system provided write speeds of about 42MB/s and read speeds of about 66MB/s. With the new ZFS storage pool system, write speeds increased to 62MB/s and read speeds to 88MB/s, though performance depends on your network.

Once you set up the shares, you can create folders and allocate them to different areas such as images, video, admin, or anything else. You can also assign different access permissions to users. For example, if you have four or five people in an office who need different levels of access to files, you can easily configure this in Unraid. The process is very quick and user-friendly.

Alongside the standard NAS options, the N2 can also function as a media server, which is where things get interesting. Through the Unraid App selection there's plenty of choice with many options to help you to manage media files. Some of theses apps also feature AI enhancements, which can be useful for organising image assets or photographs.

As with the N1 one of the key advantages of this system is the ability to install Plex. I’ve tested several media servers, and with my perpetual licence for Plex, I was able to quickly scan the NAS contents, adding my images and videos directly to the Plex interface. This essentially enabled me to access them from any machine or mobile device at home. I could also configured remote access to these files.

Some manual network configuration may be required, particularly if you have multiple devices and firewalls on your network. In my case, I had to make a few small adjustments, such as updating the shortcut to the web interface. However, once set up, video streaming from the N2 to my machine was smooth enough, enabling me to watch HD and 4K videos without any noticeable lag. Of course there's also the access to the full Plex library of films and TV shows.

At the end of the test, Like the N1 I was once again impressed with the performance of the N2, it all felt like a natural evolution of the system with a bit of a power boost to bring it up to date. The N2 is a nice compact NAS and media server, and the setup process is relatively straightforward. While there are a few technical aspects to consider when setting up the pools, the fact that parity and RAID are no longer required makes the process much easier than before.

• Performance: 5 / 5

LincPlus LincStation N2: Final verdict

I really like the design of the LinkStation N2. Like its predecessor, it's very slim, small, and stylish and will sit under or on top of your router. It's also simple to install all of the drives you need and upgrade those drives as and when you want to increase storage. While the hardware technology upgrades definitely boost performance, it’s the firmware update to Unraid 7.0.1—enabling the use of the ZFS file system and replacing RAID with pools—that provides the biggest performance boost.

The fact that you get a full year’s licence for Unraid is another great features as the system works exceptionally well, offering a clear and easy-to-use browser interface for configuring drive allocations, setting up different pools, shares, and users with specific access rights. If you don't have a dedicated IT person, then this makes the N2 a great solution for small businesses.

On top of the basic use you also have access to a wide range of apps that can be downloaded and installed to help manage files, run web services, and perform other functions further enhances the usability of this small system.

While the N2's performance is excellent and it is very easy to use, keep in mind that this is a small system. Although you can expand internal storage to 48TB, which is ideal for small to medium-sized businesses, if you have multiple people accessing large quantities of data, this NAS may struggle. However, for small offices or home use—especially for those taking advantage of the Plex media server—this is an exceptional option.

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