ASUSTOR LOCKERSTOR 4 Gen3 (AS6804T) four-bay NAS review

The ASUSTOR LOCKERSTOR 4 Gen3 (AS6804T) is a four-bay desktop NAS whose defining difference from a typical four-tray file server is its network and SSD provision: the chassis has two built-in 10-Gigabit Ethernet ports, two more 5-Gigabit ports, and four separate M.2 NVMe positions. The manufacturer lists a Ryzen Embedded V3C14 processor and 16 GB of ECC DDR5 memory. This assessment is based on the exact model documentation, not hands-on testing; link ratings are not measured file-transfer results, and the U.S. seller's precise part number or bundle remains unverified.

Four SATA bays, plus a separate M.2 layer

The product-ID-86 hardware table lists four internal SATA positions for 3.5-inch hard drives, 2.5-inch hard drives, or 2.5-inch SATA SSDs. It separately lists four M.2 2280 NVMe slots on PCIe 4.0 x1. The M.2 devices may be assigned to storage or caching in ASUSTOR's software, but they are not four extra SATA trays. Buyers counting native hard-drive bays should therefore treat this as a four-bay enclosure, not an eight-bay one. The manufacturer advertises 72 TB of maximum raw internal capacity as four 18-TB drives; that figure is a raw, component-dependent ceiling, not usable volume space or confirmation of a supported drive-and-firmware combination.

Memory and software headroom need a real workload

The documented configuration comes with one 16-GB ECC DDR5-4800 SO-DIMM and has two memory slots, with a listed maximum of 64 GB. ASUSTOR notes that ECC functionality is disabled if non-ECC memory is installed or mixed with ECC memory. The quick-install guide shows that memory replacement requires opening the chassis, powering down and disconnecting cables; check the exact module support list and warranty implications before planning an upgrade. The Ryzen V3C14 is a four-core processor listed at 2.3 GHz with boost up to 3.8 GHz. Those are specifications, not evidence that a particular number of virtual machines, containers, streams, or users will run at a promised speed. The datasheet lists virtualization and Docker applications, so buyers should separately check the current application and operating-system compatibility for their intended services.

Four built-in ports do not create one 30-Gbps connection

The exact hardware specification lists two individual 10-GbE ports and two individual 5-GbE ports. That gives this four-bay model a documented single-port ceiling of 10 Gbps without first adding a network card; the lower-rated ports may be useful for separate links, but neither their number nor aggregation makes one 30-Gbps Ethernet port. A 10-GbE link also needs a compatible client, switch or router, transceivers or copper ports, cabling, storage arrangement, and workload. Any one part can become the bottleneck, and actual throughput is not established by the port label. The quick-install guide documents an optional PCIe network-card installation path that involves removing the M.2 daughterboard before fitting the card and reinstalling it; that is a configuration to verify, not a reason to count a card as supplied or a built-in port.

Choose the storage layout before filling the trays

ASUSTOR lists Single, JBOD, RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 6, RAID 10, and RAID 1 or RAID 5 with a spare drive among the volume types. One possible owner-created RAID 1 arrangement uses two buyer-selected SATA drives, occupies two of the four native bays, and leaves two bays unused. The same supported arrangement can use one of the built-in 10-GbE ports; those capabilities are not competing modes. ASUSTOR's RAID calculator states that one RAID 1 volume supports at most two drives. This mirror can help a volume remain available after a drive failure, but it does not protect against deletion, ransomware, theft, fire, or loss of the enclosure. A separate, recoverable backup is still needed. The installation guide also warns that initializing disks erases existing data, so do not migrate or initialize drives without a verified backup and model-specific instructions.

Check the package and compatibility at the exact listing

The manufacturer's package-contents page lists one AS6804T, a quick installation guide, one AC power cord, one AC power adapter, four Cat 6a 10-GbE network cables, and screws for 3.5- and 2.5-inch drives. It does not list data drives or a prepared storage volume. A reseller may change or supplement a package; no particular retail bundle, offer, stock, or price was checked. Before ordering, verify the exact model name and seller SKU, the drives and firmware against ASUSTOR's compatibility list, whether the included cables suit the intended 10-GbE path, and which warranty actually applies to the seller and region. The specification lists a 90-W power supply, a 185.5 × 170 × 230 mm (H × W × D) chassis, and a 3.2-kg unit weight; allow room for the connected cables and airflow rather than treating the bare-box dimensions as installation clearance.

Who should shortlist it?

This is a plausible reference for a small office or technically prepared home that can use a 10-GbE NAS link, wants four conventional SATA positions, and values a separate NVMe layer and ECC-capable memory. Its key advantage over the four-bay ASUSTOR LOCKERSTOR 4 Gen2+ (AS6704T v2) is not an extra SATA tray: both are four-bay machines. The Gen3 specification instead adds built-in 10-GbE alongside 5-GbE, moves to the V3C14 and ECC DDR5, and lists PCIe 4.0 M.2 positions; the earlier v2's faster-than-5-GbE route is an optional card with a daughterboard tradeoff. For a simple 1-GbE backup target, much of the Gen3's network capability may go unused, so map the whole network path before paying for the feature set. ASUSTOR's support-status table lists AS6804T as generally available and supported with a three-year warranty entry; this is not proof of retailer stock or a particular U.S. seller warranty.