I often recommend Intel-powered servers when shopping around for a network-attached storage (NAS) enclosure. ARM chips don't have the grunt to perform many tasks an Intel CPU can do, including transcoding. They're also equipped with fewer (and slower) ports. That is until the Asustor Drivestor 2 Pro Gen2 (AS3302T v2) came to be. This budget-friendly two-bay NAS is powerful and has some solid expandability. You can connect up to three Asustor expansion units for a maximum of 14 drive bays!

This is thanks to the impressive array of USB-A ports, three of them to be exact. There's only a single LAN connection but it's a 2.5GbE port with a maximum throughput of 250MB/s. This is ample bandwidth for multiple NAS drives and users connected to the NAS simultaneously. After testing the Asustor NAS for a week, I'm a full ARM convert after seeing what this enclosure is capable of. The powerful software is complemented by the faster network link and newer ARM chip for a responsive NAS experience.

About this review: Asustor supplied XDA with a sample for this review but had no input to its contents.

Price, specs, and availability

Costing $269, the Asustor Drivestor 2 Pro Gen2 (AS3302T v2) is a solid NAS for the price. Inside the enclosure is 2 GB of DDR4 RAM, a Realtek RTD1619B processor with four physical cores, and two drive bays. A 2.5Gb connection is on the rear of the enclosure, providing ample bandwidth for multiple users. Three USB-A ports can be used for hooking up external storage drives or expansion units from Asustor to increase the size of your storage pool(s). This is inside a compact, sleek package with an affordable price tag.

Design and features

The Asustor AS3302T v2 looks like any other DRIVESTOR NAS but that's not a negative. It's a sleek-looking device with a removable front cover that attaches to the chassis magnetically. This helps cover the front two drive bays and avoid accidental damage. Alongside this are some LED indicators, the power button, and one of three USB-A ports. The top and sides are completely void of anything aside from some angled detailing to give it flair. The rear of the NAS houses the two remaining USB-A ports, DC input, and the 2.5Gb network link.

The champion feature of this NAS is the 2.5Gb networking, which is almost unheard of in the world of ARM-powered NAS.

Asustor includes a single Cat5 cable with the NAS and an external power supply. The drive bays can be easily removed and a 3.5-inch hard drive installed without a screwdriver. However, to attach a 2.5-inch drive, you will need a screwdriver and Asustor provides compatible screws for the job. The champion feature of this NAS is the 2.5Gb networking, which is almost unheard of in the world of ARM-powered NAS. Then there's the ability to connect three expansion units to this enclosure, adding an additional 12 drive bays.

There's no PCI expansion, nor are there any M.2 SSD slots. RAM is soldiered onto the main board and no SODIMM slot means you won't be able to expand the system memory. Once the 2 GB is fully saturated, you're out of luck. This can occur when using three expansion units and multiple users are attempting to transfer lots of data on top of running apps.

Performance

One should have conservative expectations when it comes to running an ARM-powered enclosure. The chip inside this Asustor NAS has four physical cores and can boost up to 1.7 GHz, but it falls short compared to more powerful Intel Celeron CPUs. It would be best to consider a more capable NAS with internal components to handle multiple users for more resource-intensive tasks such as recording and monitoring surveillance cameras or streaming media. For a small home or office, an ARM chip will do.

Navigating around is easy thanks to the gorgeous intuitive interface and having the option to add a few expansion bays makes the AS3302T v2 a versatile NAS.

I tested this NAS with a switch sporting multiple 2.5Gb links. This allowed me to see if the Asustor AS3302T v2 can fully saturate the network connection with two Seagate IronWolf drives installed. The enclosure had no trouble handling more than 240 MB/s of data. There's enough memory and processing power to maintain good performance across multiple connections, but you will notice a dip in speed with more than one file transfer going simultaneously. Running Plex Media Server is possible and yields good results.

The ADM operating system is fantastic for managing the NAS, installed apps, and stored data. It's easy to use and you can get up and running in no time. Once you're at the ADM desktop interface, just about anything relating to the NAS can be altered. There's an app store for installing first and third-party software, and you can even do it yourself with Docker and other available solutions. Navigating around is easy thanks to the gorgeous intuitive interface and having the option to add a few expansion bays makes the AS3302T v2 a versatile NAS.

Should you buy the Asustor AS3302T v2?

You should buy the AS3302T v2 if:

• You want an affordable ARM-powered NAS for storing data and running an app or two.
• You only need to store data and provide access to multiple users.

You shouldn't buy the AS3302T v2 if:

• You require the performance of an Intel processor for heavier apps such as surveillance or media streaming.
• You prefer to have more than two drive bays inside the chassis instead of relying on expansion units.

I was pleasantly surprised by the Asustor Drivestor 2 Pro Gen2 (AS3302T v2). This is a killer NAS for home and office usage, so long as you don't plan on hammering it with resource-intensive apps. The 2 GB of DDR4 system memory is good for general storage and running an app or two, but any more than this, especially with busier networks, you'll experience some sluggish performance. Having a 2.5Gb network link available is fantastic on an enclosure costing less than $270.

Asustor's AS3302T v2 is a glorious addition to its ARM catalog of NAS.

It's $80 more expensive than the Synology DiskStation DS223j but has faster networking, the same CPU, expansion support, and double the system memory. Where things get interesting for the AS3302T v2 is when we look at TerraMaster's catalog with the TerraMaster F2-423 costing $300 at the time of writing but comes with an Intel CPU, expandable RAM, and dual 2.5Gb networking. We do lose the expansion support, so it depends on how you'll use the two-bay NAS and whether you plan on expanding your storage pool at some point.

The Asustor Drivestor 2 Pro Gen2 (AS3302T v2) is a capable enclosure with a powerful OS. It's ideal for anyone looking at a first NAS but doesn't want the most affordable enclosures on the market. It has some expandability to increase the storage pool and remain relevant, allowing you to avoid the cost of upgrading hardware. Asustor's AS3302T v2 is a glorious addition to its ARM catalog of NAS.