QNAP Launches USB 3.2 Gen 2 Dual-port PCIe Expansion Card for NAS and PC

[btarunr]

QNAP Systems, Inc., a leading computing, networking and storage solution innovator, today launched the QXP-10G2U3A - a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Dual-port PCIe Expansion Card which provides speeds of up to 10 Gbps. QNAP USB 3.2 Gen 2 Expansion Cards can be installed in QNAP NAS with a PCIe slot, or Windows /Linux desktops/servers to enable faster connections to modern USB devices.

The QXP-10G2U3A includes two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, with each port providing up to 10 Gbps data transfer speeds. It supports the USB Attached SCSI Protocol (UASP) to facilitate fast file-sharing data transfers, uses advanced low-power processes, and follows standard PCIe/USB bus Power Management to optimize power consumption. The QXP-10G2U3A also supports overcurrent detection and short circuit protection.



"The QXP-10G2U3A expansion card enables transfer speeds up to twice as fast as USB 3.2 Gen 1 and up to 20 times faster than USB 2.0. This enhanced speed opens up new opportunities for NAS and PC users, including the ability to use a QNAP USB JBOD for easy storage expansion and high-speed data backup," said Jason Hsu, Product Manager of QNAP.

No driver is required to install the QXP-10G2U3A expansion card to connect to the TL-D800C and TL-R1200C-RP QNAP USB JBOD product series. QTS / QuTS hero NAS users can manage connected USB JBOD storage using Storage & Snapshots Manager; PC users via QNAP JBOD Manager.

The QXP-10G2U3A USB 3.2 Gen 2 Expansion Card is now available. For more information, visit the product page.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[TheDeeGee]

Nice USB-C connector

 

[bonehead123]

Nice USB-C connector

So nice in fact, that they insisted on using antiquated USB-A ports ....

What a great idea for a "new" expansion card....

Hello QNAP, it's 1998 calling, and we want ALL our A ports back, like, yesterday........

 

[LabRat 891]

For the marketed applications, USB-A would seem preferrable. The article talks about USB JBOD and NAS usage. The idea with something like this would be to attach a hub to each port and then attach multiple inexpensive external mechanical drives. AFAIK, most of these drives still utilize USB-A connections and 2.5-5.0 gpbs interfaces. Therefore, you can connect 2-4+ drives per port via hub, and not be starved for bandwidth.

 

[zlobby]

For the marketed applications, USB-A would seem preferrable. The article talks about USB JBOD and NAS usage. The idea with something like this would be to attach a hub to each port and then attach multiple inexpensive external mechanical drives. AFAIK, most of these drives still utilize USB-A connections and 2.5-5.0 gpbs interfaces. Therefore, you can connect 2-4+ drives per port via hub, and not be starved for bandwidth.

For the sake of the argument, what difference the type of the USB port of the card makes, when using USB hub?

Both PCIe and USB have a decent amount of protocol overhead. With mechanical HDD easily reaching net sequential throughputs of 960Mbps (120MB/s x 8bit for easier calculations), bandwidth surely can be an issue.

 

[unholythree]

PCIe Gen2 x 2

So a limit of 1.0 GB/s on the PCIe bus, not enough for 10Gb (10/8=1.25).

 

[Tardian]

PCIe Gen2 x 2

So a limit of 1.0 GB/s on the PCIe bus, not enough for 10Gb (10/8=1.25).

Maybe for the new WD brand My Passport SSD using fast NVMe technology with read speeds of up to 1050 MB/s, and write speeds of up to 1000 MB/s? In practice, I would guess there are other constraints?

 

[Ruru]

USB-C is still a pretty marginal, if you need to connect your phone or whatever to your PC, why not use an A-C cable?

Not having a header for case's connectors is more a deal breaker IMO.

 

[bonehead123]

USB-C is still a pretty marginal, if you need to connect your phone or whatever to your PC, why not use an A-C cable?

A) Because A-C cables are what's so marginal, and are soooo 1998-ish
B) C-C cables are the here now, and so much easier to deal with, so lets get with the program already

Not having a header for case's connectors is more a deal breaker IMO.

Agreed