I usually recommend budget home NAS servers if you're just getting started with the category; they give you a great overview of what's available with storage servers, and the affordability means you don't have to invest too much cash to get started. There's no shortage of choice in this regard, and in recent years, ASUSTOR has delivered a lot of good options in the entry-level and budget categories.
The AS3302T v2 is its latest showing, and it ticks a lot of the right boxes. It is powered by Realtek's RTD1619B platform and is noticeably faster than its predecessor, and you get 2GB of RAM, 8GB embedded flash storage, and three USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports.
The key talking point is the connectivity; the AS3302T v2 has a single 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet port at the back, and that gives it a distinct advantage over just about any other NAS in this segment. ASUSTOR routinely offers multi-Gigabit connectivity on its mid-range servers like the AS5402T, but to see a 2.5GbE port in this segment is a welcome move. The AS3302T v2 retails for $269 on Amazon, so it goes up against the likes of the DiskStation DS224+.
You don't usually see any major design changes with NAS servers, and ASUSTOR didn't change the overall aesthetic to any noticeable degree with the AS3302T v2. The NAS has the same design as most of the brand's 2-bay servers, with a magnetic panel covering the drive bays.
The panel has a geometric pattern and the ASUSTOR logo, and it attaches securely to the NAS. The dual drive bays have a tool-less installation — which hasn't always been the case with ASUSTOR — and they slot in standard 3.5-inch drives or 2.5-inch drives.
There's the usual array of status indicators located below the power button to the left, and on the whole, the AS3302T v2 has a familiar design. The build quality is good, and the fan at the back ensures the drives don't overheat under heavy loads. What's good to see is that ASUSTOR offers the same three-year warranty as its mid-range servers.
ASUSTOR is usually generous with port selection, but the AS3302T v2 doesn't have an HDMI port or dual Ethernet connectivity. That's not a huge omission given that you get a 2.5GbE port at the back, and other than that, there are two USB ports along with a USB-A connector at the front.
ASUSTOR is still using a Realtek platform with the AS3302T v2, but the RTD1619B goes up to 1.7GHz, and is a good choice. It isn't quite as powerful as the Intel Celeron-backed products in this category, but as a daily workhorse, I didn't see any issues. You get a native Plex utility, and again, it is good enough to stream content to connected devices on your home network.
The AS3302T v2 has 2GB of soldered memory, and there isn't a slot to add more down the line should you need it. Similarly, you don't get M.2 slots, so if you want to use SSD storage, you'll need to get 2.5-inch drives instead. While 2GB of RAM is adequate in daily use, I would have liked the ability to extend the memory, but the bigger omission is NVMe storage.
That said, the AS3302T v2 has plenty to offer in its own right, and ASUSTOR's software comes with a ton of useful features. You get container management, video and audio utilities designed to make it easy to access your media collection from anywhere, and back up vital data with ease.
I slotted in two 6TB IronWolf drives into the AS3302T v2, and the 2.5GbE connection is able to maximize the bandwidth of the drives — I routinely saw transfers averaging 214MB/s. Link Aggregation would have achieved similar results, but I like that there's multi-Gigabit connectivity as standard.
I'd still prefer the DiskStation DS224+ in this category as it has better software and standout mobile clients — it continues to be the best home NAS server around. Having said that, the AS3302T v2 is a good alternative if you want to maximize value.
The AS3302T v2 has decent hardware upgrades and 2.5GbE connectivity, making it a strong contender in this category.
