QNAP TL-R1620SEP-RP 16-Bay SAS-3 / SATA III JBOD Expansion Enclosure

Overview

The QNAP TL-R1620SEP-RP-US is a 16-bay rackmount expansion enclosure designed to significantly increase storage capacity for servers or NAS systems. It supports both 2.5- and 3.5-inch SAS-3 and SATA III drives, allowing a flexible combination of high-capacity hard drives and fast SSDs. With four 12 Gb/s mini-SAS HD ports, it ensures high-speed data transfer and efficient cabling in dense rack environments.

This enclosure is ideal for IT teams managing large-scale storage needs such as backups, virtualization, media archives, or video surveillance, offering scalability up to 4.6 petabytes by daisy-chaining multiple units.

Key features

• Supports a mix of 2.5- and 3.5-inch SAS-3 and SATA III drives to balance capacity and speed according to workload demands
• Four 12 Gb/s mini-SAS HD (SFF-8644) ports combine data and power signals, simplifying rack cabling and maintaining consistent throughput
• Broadcom SAS DataBolt technology buffers slower 6 Gb/s drives to sustain full 12 Gb/s backplane bandwidth, optimizing performance of existing drives
• Expandable by daisy-chaining up to fifteen additional enclosures, enabling a total raw capacity of 4.6 petabytes for future growth
• Multipath routing and link aggregation distribute traffic across all lanes, delivering up to 96 Gb/s aggregate bandwidth for fast data transfers even at scale
• Dual hot-swappable 550 W power supplies provide redundancy and minimize downtime during maintenance
• Compatible with QNAP QTS, QuTS hero, and Windows Server 2019, ensuring smooth integration into existing IT environments

Key specs

• Drive bays: 16 (supports 2.5- and 3.5-inch SAS-3 and SATA III drives)
• Host connectivity: Four 12 Gb/s mini-SAS HD (SFF-8644) ports
• Maximum raw capacity: Up to 4.6 petabytes with daisy-chaining
• Aggregate bandwidth: Up to 96 Gb/s via multipath routing and link aggregation
• Power supplies: Two hot-swappable 550 W units
• Typical power consumption: Approximately 207 W
• Chassis size: 3U rackmount

Connectivity and compatibility

The enclosure connects to host systems through four mini-SAS HD ports, each supporting 12 Gb/s data transfer rates and carrying power signals to reduce cable clutter. This setup ensures reliable, high-speed communication with compatible QNAP NAS devices and Windows Server 2019 systems. The ability to daisy-chain multiple units expands connectivity options for large storage deployments.

Performance and reliability

Broadcom SAS DataBolt technology enhances performance by buffering slower 6 Gb/s drives, allowing them to operate at the full 12 Gb/s backplane speed. Multipath routing and link aggregation further improve data flow by balancing traffic across all available lanes. Redundant, hot-swappable power supplies ensure continuous operation and easy maintenance without service interruption, making this enclosure dependable for critical storage tasks.

Ideal uses and environments

This expansion enclosure fits well in data centers and IT environments requiring high-density, scalable storage solutions. It is particularly suited for large-volume backup systems, virtualization labs, media production archives, and long-term video surveillance storage. Its compatibility with QNAP NAS operating systems and Windows Server 2019 makes it a practical choice for IT teams seeking to expand storage economically while maintaining performance and reliability.