The QDA-SA2 adapter is designed for dual-controller servers (Windows, Linux) and QNAP NAS (HDD/SSD sold separately) and allows the use of a 2.5-inch SATA 6Gbps SSD in a 3.5-inch SAS drive bay. It can be installed in a QNAP NAS or server (Windows®, Linux®) – providing the capacity to replace an expensive SAS drive with a more-affordable yet high-performing SATA SSD.

Key Features

• Form Factor Conversion: Allows you to use a 2.5-inch SATA 6Gbps SSD in a 3.5-inch SAS drive bay(SSD sold separately).
• Cost Efficiency: Replaces expensive SAS drives with more affordable SATA SSDs while maintaining high performance.
• Dual-Controller Compatibility: Designed for dual-controller servers and QNAP Enterprise ZFS NAS systems.
• SAS Dual-Port Advantage: Even though SATA SSDs don’t natively support dual-porting, this adapter lets them share the fault-tolerant benefits of SAS setups.
• Transfer Speeds: Supports up to 6 Gb/s file transfer speeds
• Ideal for enterprise IT teams seeking high-performance yet budget-conscious upgrades

Note: QDA-SA2 adapters are sold in a pack of four. (Order number: QDA-SA2-4PCS)

Leverage SAS dual-port advantage for fault tolerance

SAS features dual porting for redundancy, eliminating single points of failure and allowing for higher reliability and performance. Although SATA 6Gbps SSDs provide high-performance and affordable storage, the lack of dual-port support makes them unsuitable for dual-controller environments. By installing a SATA SSD with the QDA-SA2 into a dual-controller Enterprise ZFS NAS or a dual-controller server, the SATA SSD can share these SAS dual-port advantages to ensure a high-availability, fault-tolerant enterprise storage environment.

• Inherits the fault tolerance of SAS dual-port design
• Eliminates single points of failure in high-availability deployments
• Enhances storage reliability in mission-critical and dual-controller environments

Designed for dual-controller servers and Enterprise ZFS NAS

• Compatible with QNAP Enterprise ZFS NAS using SP-ES-TRAY-WOLOCK trays
• Works with Windows and Linux servers supporting SAS without Broadcom RAID controllers
• QES 2.0.0 or later required for NAS operation

Limitations

• No TRIM or S.M.A.R.T. Support: These features aren’t supported unless you’re running QES 2.0.0 or later.
• Not Compatible with Broadcom RAID Controllers: So double-check your server specs before installing

Conclusion

The QNAP QDA-SA2 offers an affordable way to integrate high-performance SATA SSDs into SAS-based enterprise environments. Supporting dual-port redundancy, the QDA-SA2 allows IT teams to deploy reliable and scalable storage using more cost-efficient components. Ideal for ZFS-based NAS and dual-controller servers, it ensures business continuity and high availability in demanding storage applications.