QNAP ES2486AFDC-2142IT-128G 24-bay U.2/U.3 NVMe All-flash Dual Controller Enterprise ZFS NAS, Xeon D-2142IT 1.9GHz, 128GB RIDMM RAM, 4x 10GbE SFP+, 6x 2.5GbE

QNAP ES2486AFdc-2142IT-128G 24-Bay NVMe All-Flash Dual-Controller Enterprise Storage Array

The QNAP ES2486AFdc-2142IT-128G is a high-performance 24-bay U.2/U.3 NVMe all-flash enterprise storage array designed for mission-critical workloads that demand high availability, low latency, and consistent storage performance. Built around a dual active-active controller architecture, the ES2486AFdc combines two Intel Xeon D 8-core processors, 128GB total DDR4 ECC memory, 24 hot-swappable dual-port U.2/U.3 NVMe SSD bays, eight 10GbE SFP+ interfaces across the two controllers, and the enterprise-focused QES operating system. It is an ideal storage platform for virtualisation, databases, business-critical applications, VDI, high-performance iSCSI storage, and demanding enterprise data centre environments.

Dual Active-Active Controllers for High Availability

At the heart of the QNAP ES2486AFdc is a dual active-active controller architecture designed to eliminate the storage controller as a single point of failure.

Both controllers operate simultaneously, with each providing independent processing, memory, networking, and storage management resources. In the event of a controller failure, the remaining controller can take over services, helping maintain access to critical business data and applications.

This architecture makes the ES2486AFdc particularly suitable for organisations where storage availability is essential, including:

• Enterprise virtualisation
• Mission-critical databases
• VMware and Hyper-V environments
• Virtual Desktop Infrastructure
• High-availability application platforms
• Business-critical file services
• Enterprise iSCSI storage
• Data centre infrastructure

The dual-controller design provides the resilience required for environments where storage downtime can directly impact business operations.

24-Bay U.2/U.3 NVMe All-Flash Storage

The ES2486AFdc provides 24 × 2.5-inch drive bays supporting dual-port U.2/U.3 PCIe NVMe SSDs, combining high storage density with the extremely low latency and high IOPS performance of enterprise NVMe flash.

Unlike conventional SATA or SAS SSD storage, the NVMe architecture communicates directly over PCI Express, reducing protocol overhead and allowing modern enterprise SSDs to deliver significantly greater performance.

Dual-port NVMe support is especially important in a dual-controller storage architecture because both controllers can maintain access to the storage media, contributing to overall system availability.

The all-flash architecture is particularly suited to workloads involving:

• High random I/O
• Large numbers of virtual machines
• Transactional databases
• VDI deployments
• High-performance application storage
• Latency-sensitive workloads
• Large-scale simultaneous user access
• Enterprise block storage

Dual Intel Xeon D 8-Core Processing

Each controller is powered by an Intel Xeon D-2142IT 8-core processor operating at 1.90GHz with burst speeds up to 3.0GHz.

With an independent processor in each controller, the ES2486AFdc provides substantial compute resources for demanding enterprise storage workloads.

The 64-bit x86 architecture also includes Intel AES-NI hardware encryption acceleration, helping maintain storage performance when encryption is used.

128GB DDR4 ECC Memory

The ES2486AFdc-2142IT-128G includes 128GB of DDR4 ECC memory, configured as 64GB per controller.

ECC memory helps detect and correct memory errors before they can affect data integrity, making it particularly important for enterprise storage systems handling critical workloads.

Memory capacity can be expanded significantly as requirements grow, with each controller providing eight RDIMM/LRDIMM memory slots and supporting up to 512GB, for a maximum system memory capacity of 1TB across both controllers.

This provides considerable headroom for larger workloads and future expansion.

High-Speed 10GbE Connectivity

Each controller provides four 10GbE SFP+ interfaces, giving the complete dual-controller system a total of eight 10GbE SFP+ ports.

This high-bandwidth connectivity helps the ES2486AFdc support demanding storage traffic generated by virtualisation clusters, databases, high-performance file services, and enterprise applications.

Each controller also provides three Gigabit Ethernet interfaces, with one assigned for remote management.

The combination of multiple 10GbE interfaces and redundant controllers enables resilient storage networking architectures while providing substantial bandwidth for simultaneous workloads.

PCIe Expansion for Faster Enterprise Networking

The ES2486AFdc provides two PCIe Gen 3 x8 expansion slots per controller, allowing organisations to expand the system's connectivity according to application requirements.

Expansion options can include higher-speed network adapters such as 25GbE, providing an upgrade path for environments where storage bandwidth requirements exceed the system's standard 10GbE connectivity.

With four PCIe expansion slots across the complete dual-controller system, the ES2486AFdc can be adapted to suit demanding data centre and enterprise storage architectures.

Cache-to-Flash Protection for Write Cache Data

Enterprise storage performance relies heavily on caching, but cached data must remain protected if power is unexpectedly lost.

The ES2486AFdc provides Cache-to-Flash (C2F) protection on each controller, using dedicated 64GB M.2 SSD storage to help protect cached write data.

This architecture combines high-performance write caching with protection against unexpected power loss, helping maintain both performance and data integrity in mission-critical environments.

Enterprise ZFS-Based QES Operating System

The ES2486AFdc runs QNAP QES, an enterprise storage operating system built around ZFS and designed specifically for QNAP's dual-controller enterprise storage platforms.

ZFS provides a strong foundation for protecting business-critical data and delivering predictable enterprise storage performance.

Key enterprise storage capabilities include:

• End-to-end data integrity
• Storage pools
• Thin provisioning
• Snapshots
• Data deduplication
• Compression
• SSD optimisation
• Block-level storage
• File-level storage
• Remote replication
• Enterprise access controls

These capabilities make the ES2486AFdc suitable for both SAN and NAS workloads while providing advanced tools for protecting and managing enterprise data.

Near-Limitless Snapshots and SnapSync

QNAP's enterprise storage platform provides advanced snapshot technology for protecting data against accidental deletion, application problems, corruption, and other unexpected events.

Snapshots allow administrators to preserve point-in-time versions of storage data without requiring a complete duplicate copy.

For disaster recovery and business continuity, SnapSync can replicate snapshot data to another compatible QNAP enterprise storage system, helping organisations maintain secondary copies of critical data at another location.

This provides an additional layer of protection beyond conventional backup and can help reduce recovery times following an infrastructure failure.

Designed for Virtualisation and Enterprise Applications

The combination of NVMe all-flash storage, dual active-active controllers, large ECC memory capacity, and high-speed networking makes the ES2486AFdc particularly well suited to virtualised infrastructure.

Potential applications include:

• VMware virtualisation
• Microsoft Hyper-V
• Virtual Desktop Infrastructure
• Enterprise databases
• Microsoft SQL Server
• High-performance iSCSI storage
• Private cloud infrastructure
• Enterprise application storage
• High-availability file services
• Large-scale server virtualisation

NVMe flash storage provides the high IOPS and low latency required when large numbers of virtual machines or applications are simultaneously accessing shared storage.

Redundant Enterprise Hardware Architecture

High availability extends beyond the dual controllers.

The ES2486AFdc is designed with enterprise redundancy throughout the platform, including hot-swappable redundant power supplies and hot-swappable cooling components.

The system also uses dual-port enterprise NVMe SSD connectivity, ensuring storage media can remain accessible through the dual-controller architecture.

This comprehensive approach to redundancy makes the ES2486AFdc suitable for organisations that need storage infrastructure designed around continuous availability.

Ideal Applications for the QNAP ES2486AFdc-2142IT-128G

The ES2486AFdc-2142IT-128G is particularly well suited to:

• Enterprise data centres
• Mission-critical storage
• Server virtualisation
• VMware and Hyper-V environments
• Virtual Desktop Infrastructure
• Enterprise databases
• High-performance transactional workloads
• iSCSI SAN storage
• Business-critical applications
• Private cloud infrastructure
• High-availability storage clusters
• Latency-sensitive applications
• Organisations replacing traditional SAS/SATA storage with NVMe all-flash infrastructure

Technical Specifications

Specification	Details
Model	QNAP ES2486AFdc-2142IT-128G
Product Type	Enterprise NVMe All-Flash Storage Array
Form Factor	2U Rackmount
Controller Architecture	Dual active-active controllers
Number of Controllers	2
Processor	2 × Intel Xeon D-2142IT
Processor per Controller	Intel Xeon D-2142IT, 8-core, 1.90GHz, up to 3.0GHz
CPU Architecture	64-bit x86
Encryption Acceleration	Intel AES-NI
Installed Memory	128GB DDR4 ECC total
Memory per Controller	64GB RDIMM DDR4 ECC
Memory Slots	8 × RDIMM/LRDIMM DDR4 per controller
Maximum Memory	512GB per controller / 1TB total
Flash Memory	4GB dual-boot OS protection
Drive Bays	24 × 2.5-inch
Drive Interface	PCIe NVMe
Supported Drives	Dual-port U.2/U.3 NVMe PCIe SSD
Hot-Swappable Drives	Yes
Cache Architecture	L1 ARC RAM, L2 ARC SSD and ZIL write cache
Cache-to-Flash	64GB M.2 SSD per controller
10GbE Networking	4 × 10GbE SFP+ per controller / 8 total
Gigabit Ethernet	3 × GbE RJ45 per controller
PCIe Expansion	2 × PCIe Gen 3 x8 per controller
USB	2 × USB 3.2 Gen 1 per controller – engineering use
Storage OS	QNAP QES
File Services	SMB and NFS
Block Storage	iSCSI and Fibre Channel support
Snapshot Support	Yes
SnapSync	Yes
Power Supplies	Redundant hot-swappable 700W
Cooling	Hot-swappable fan modules
Dimensions	88.3 × 483 × 525.3mm
Net Weight	Approx. 22kg
Operating Temperature	0°C to 40°C
Typical Power Consumption	754.61W when tested fully populated

Why Choose the QNAP ES2486AFdc-2142IT-128G?

The QNAP ES2486AFdc-2142IT-128G is designed for organisations that require more than simply fast network storage. It combines NVMe all-flash performance with a dual active-active architecture designed for continuous availability.

Twenty-four dual-port U.2/U.3 NVMe SSD bays provide the low latency and high IOPS required for demanding enterprise applications. Dual Intel Xeon D processors and 128GB ECC memory provide substantial processing resources, while eight onboard 10GbE SFP+ interfaces across the two controllers deliver the network bandwidth needed to make effective use of all-flash storage performance.

For mission-critical environments, the dual-controller architecture, cache-to-flash protection, redundant power and cooling, ZFS-based QES operating system, snapshots, and SnapSync provide multiple layers of resilience and data protection.

For virtualisation, databases, enterprise applications, VDI, and other latency-sensitive workloads, the ES2486AFdc-2142IT-128G provides a powerful enterprise storage platform combining high availability, NVMe performance, scalability, and comprehensive data protection in a compact 2U form factor.