I've spent the past few weeks using the Asustor Lockerstor 2 Gen2+ NAS, and it is definitely a different experience than I'm used to.Focusing more on security and enterprise-grade features, this NAS is a great fit for small/medium businesses or enthusiasts, but it might not be the right choice for someone just starting out with homelabbing or self-hosting.Asustor Lockerstor 2 Gen2+ NAS 8 Brand Asustor CPU Intel Celeron N5105 quad-core, 2.0GHz (up to 2.9GHz) Memory 4GB DDR4-2933 SO-DIMM; expandable to 16GB Drive Bays 2× 2.5/3.5-inch SATA III The Asustor Lockerstor 2 Gen2+ NAS offers enterprise-grade features in a compact form-factor.
With a premium security suite to keep your NAS safe, this system has more options than the average NAS when it comes to security.Plus, though slightly older, the Intel N5105 CPU is able to handle up to 14 simultaneous Plex transcodes as tested.Pros & Cons Four NVMe drive slots Extensive security and administrative controls Strong performance despite five year old CPU Upgradable RAM 3.5-inch drive caddies require screws and are not toolless Complicated interface for home users Expensive for a 2-bay NAS See at Amazon $517 at bhphotovideo $517 at Newegg $518 at Micro Center $549 at Best Buy Expand Collapse See Our Process How We Test and Review Products at How-To Geek We go hands-on with every product to ensure it's worth your time and money.
Posts By Justin Duino Price and Availability The Asustor Lockerstor 2 Gen2+ NAS is available from $517 from Amazon, Best Buy, B&H Photo Video, Newegg, and Micro Center.Specifications Brand Asustor CPU Intel Celeron N5105 quad-core, 2.0GHz (up to 2.9GHz) Memory 4GB DDR4-2933 SO-DIMM; expandable to 16GB Drive Bays 2× 2.5/3.5-inch SATA III Expansion 4× M.2 2280 PCIe 3.0 NVMe slots Ports 2× USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 1× USB 2.0 Type-A, 1× HDMI 2.0b Caching NVMe caching through the four M.2 slots OS ASUSTOR Data Master (ADM) Dimensions 163.5 × 108 × 230mm Weight 4.41lb (2kg) Storage Diskless; SATA drives and M.2 SSDs sold separately LAN Ports 2× 5GbE RJ45 Expand Collapse Solid hardware, but missing one core feature I'd expect toolless drive bays at this price point Close I've harped on this before, and I'll harp on this again: a NAS should have toolless drive bays, no question.Especially when the NAS is over $500 for a 2-bay system.
Asustor should definitely have included toolless drive bays here, and it's a big letdown that it's not.I expect to have to use a screwdriver to install 2.5-inch SSDs, but when installing 3.5-inch hard drives, I should just be able to use latches on the side of the tray.Synology does it, Ugreen does it, TerraMaster does it, so why doesn't Asustor? There's really no reason to not have a toolless drive caddy in 2026.
Outside of the drive caddies, the Lockerstor 2 Gen2+ offers four NVMe drive slots that are accessible by removing just three screws at the back of the unit.Those three screws let the whole shell slide off and expose both the NVMe drive slots as well as a SO-DIMM DDR4 RAM slot for expanding the RAM of the system.It seems like the Lockerstor 2 Gen2+ is easy enough to work on once you pull that back panel off, which is nice.
However, something I don't understand is the fact that the NVMe drive slots are toolless, yet the 3.5-inch drive bays aren't.ADM gives you a lot of control — and a lot to manage This is an enterprise-ready NAS, after all Close I've used a lot of NAS interfaces and operating systems over the years, and I've done Linux network systems administration for fun for about 15 years now.ADM is one of the more complicated interfaces I've ever used, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
While Synology and Ugreen aim their hardware at consumers, Asustor is aiming at slightly different clientele with its Lockerstor 2 Gen2+ NAS.This NAS has a of business and enterprise features built-in, which gives a lot of control.It's a bit like looking at an enterprise networking setup and saying that it's more complicated than a consumer networking setup.
That's very true, but it serves a purpose.With ADM, you have a slew of options that simply aren't there on more consumer-grade NAS systems.For starters, the setup alone asks way more questions when configuring things, including helping you set up for multi-user right off the bat.
ADM Defender is also a very robust security platform that started locking me out of the NAS myself when trying to SSH into it.ADM Defender is designed to be a security suite, with a firewall and other technologies at play within the service.There's a trusted list where you can add IP addresses or ranges to what shouldn't be blocked.
After that, you have Intelligent Protection, which can apply to whichever services you select for it.Intelligent Protection uses rules to determine if an IP address should be blocked.There's an automatic blocklist, which is populated when an IP address fails too many times to log in via a specific service.
Then, there's the Risk Detection Greylist, which is actually pretty nifty.It automatically blocks potentially harmful IP addresses that are found in an online database and adds them to the greylist.This means those IP addresses are blocked before they even attempt to access your NAS the first time.
Those features are really just scratching the surface of what ADM offers.Really, ADM is an enterprise-focused operating system that can be used by consumers, not the other way around.If you are looking for the simplest system to get up and running, this might not be the ticket for you.
But if you're in a work environment that prioritizes security over simplicity, then ADM and the Asustor Lockerstor 2 Gen2+ NAS might be the perfect fit.Its older hardware doesn't hold it back Plex transcodes just fine without breaking a sweat For over $500, I definitely was expecting more powerful hardware, but the 2021-era Intel Celeron N5105 actually holds its own, even with just 4GB of RAM.For storage needs alone, the N5105 and 4GB of RAM are honestly plenty.
I had zero problems when using this NAS for file transfers in my homelab.I was running two 4TB SATA hard drives in it with no NVMe cache set up, and I was saturating both my gigabit and 2.5G networking pipes.However, the ability to add more RAM is pretty great, with a max ceiling of 16GB of RAM available if you upgrade both RAM DIMMs.
I also wanted to put the transcoding and streaming capabilities of this NAS to the test, so I fired up Plex and started running transcodes.Transcoding a 4K 65Mb/s movie down to 1080p 8Mb/s supported up to four simultaneous transcodes, 4K 65Mb/s to 720p 4Mb/s supported five simultaneous transcodes, and 1080p at 9Mb/s to 480p at 1.5Mb/s supported 14 simultaneous transcodes.Both the 4K and 1080p movies were already HEVC, and they stayed HEVC during the transcode, and the client I was watching in was Plex Web on Chrome.
Overall, I was impressed with the capability demonstrated here.14 individual transcode streams from 1080p to 480p is genuinely good performance.Asustor touts this system as being able to handle multi-stream transcoding and livestreaming, and, with the Plex performance that I've seen here, I would definitely agree with that.
The Intel N5105 might be older, but it still packs a punch.Should you buy the Asustor Lockerstor 2 Gen2+ NAS? The Asustor Lockerstor 2 Gen2+ NAS is a storage system that is definitely more geared toward business or enterprise use cases than consumer.At a $517 MSRP, this NAS is definitely not on the cheap end.
You're paying for what you get, and what you get is extra NVMe support and a more enterprise-focused operating system.I really don't think that most consumers should get this NAS unless they have a specific reason for it.The NAS would absolutely work fine as a Plex server and photo backup station, but it offers far more than the average person would need.
Enthusiasts, small/medium businesses, or enterprises, however, I think this NAS is the perfect fit.Asustor Lockerstor 2 Gen2+ NAS 8 Brand Asustor CPU Intel Celeron N5105 quad-core, 2.0GHz (up to 2.9GHz) Memory 4GB DDR4-2933 SO-DIMM; expandable to 16GB Drive Bays 2× 2.5/3.5-inch SATA III The Asustor Lockerstor 2 Gen2+ NAS offers enterprise-grade features in a compact form-factor.With a premium security suite to keep your NAS safe, this system has more options than the average NAS when it comes to security.
Plus, though slightly older, the Intel N5105 CPU is able to handle up to 14 simultaneous Plex transcodes as tested.See at Amazon $517 at bhphotovideo $517 at Newegg $518 at Micro Center $549 at Best Buy Expand Collapse
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