TVS-882ST3 for DIT / shared video production

[peterderren]

Hi all,

I work for a small video production company. We're looking for a small NAS that can serve two functions for us -

- DIT
We'd like to be able to take it to a shoot and use it to offload rushes to it. The 882ST3 appeals to me for this as it has Thunderbolt 3 so should (if it actually works..) work well with single MacBooks and MacPros and should be quick. SSDs appeal too because they should be a little more robust than spinning drives when being carted around between jobs.

- Shared assets for production
We sometimes edit or do After Effects work on location, and this unit seems like it should suit a couple of users working simultaneously on shared assets. For this we'd be using 10GbE as I understand that Thunderbolt networking is too unreliable for this use (do correct me if I'm wrong).

I was wondering if anyone had experience here of using the TVS-882ST3 for either of these purposes?

I have seen Bob recommend the TVS-1282T and TVS-871T as well and would consider these too if they're a better fit - though I know they're spinning drives and a little larger too.
Finally, this is probably a stupid question - but can the Thunderbolt 3 ports on the 882ST3 be used with a Thunderbolt 2 machine?

Thanks all.

[storageman]

The thunderbolt ports are not DAS type thunderbolt ports, it is IP over thunderbolt.

[peterderren]

Thanks Storageman.
Interesting, I notice now that the Qnap site for the TVS-871T mentions DAS capability, whereas it's glossed over somewhat on the page for the TVS-882ST3.

Does is work on the 871T?

Thanks

[schumaku]

Does is work on the 871T?

It's always IP over Thunderbolt - and it does work very good for us ie. on a TVS-882ST2

SSDs appeal too because they should be a little more robust than spinning drives when being carted around between jobs.

Time will tell. We have to replace much more SSD within a comparably short time due to limited lifetime (sometimes enforced by the firmware on the SSDs) than HDDs.

Finally, this is probably a stupid question - but can the Thunderbolt 3 ports on the 882ST3 be used with a Thunderbolt 2 machine?

For Apple systems use the Apple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter. Avoid any "alternate" products.

Putting on the same point Bob mentioned: Always prefer 10 GbE over TB2 or TB3 - it's always a little bit more reliable.

[peterderren]

Thanks everyone, that's really helpful. I think we'll opt for the 1282T.

Is it worth adding the SSDs for cache in our situation? How does it know which things to put on the cache...? Or have I missed the point entirely?

Thanks