By Akash Jain in QNAP —

QNAP High Availability: How It Works and Why It’s a Game Changer

QNAP has introduced its own native High Availability (HA) feature. Previously, users could replicate data across two devices using SnapSync, but in the event of a failure, the switch to the backup NAS had to be handled manually. Now, with QNAP’s HA, that gap is closed.

QNAP has officially launched its own High Availability (HA) cluster, bringing automatic fail-over between NAS devices to its ecosystem. Until now, QNAP users relied on SnapSync for replication, but true seamless fail-over wasn’t possible. This new feature closes that gap.

What is High Availability (HA)?


High Availability (HA) makes sure your storage stays online even if something goes wrong with the hardware. It works by linking two NAS devices into a cluster: one acts as the active node, the other as a standby (passive) node. Alongside the usual network connection, a special heartbeat connection checks if the active node is healthy. If the active NAS fails, the standby instantly takes over, keeping your services running with minimal disruption

This is critical for businesses that can't afford to lose access to data, applications, or backups even for a few minutes.

Synology’s Synology High Availability (SHA) has been a key selling point for years, letting businesses create an active-passive failover cluster out of the box. Meanwhile, QNAP users needed third-party solutions or virtual machines for HA functionality.

With the release of QNAP High Availability Manager, QNAP now natively supports HA on compatible NAS models running QuTS hero 5.3 or later.

How QNAP High Availability Works — and How It Differs from SnapSync

QNAP’s High Availability (HA) uses an Active-Standby configuration. Here’s how it works:

  • Two identical QNAP NAS devices (same model, same configuration) are connected.
  • One acts as the active node; the other acts as the standby (passive) node.
  • Both devices are linked via a dedicated heartbeat network—a direct Ethernet connection that constantly monitors the active node’s health and keeps data synchronized in real-time.
  • If the active NAS experiences hardware failure, software issues, or power loss, the standby node automatically takes over—without any manual intervention.

How is this different from SnapSync? While SnapSync allows you to replicate data between two QNAP NAS devices, it doesn’t provide automatic failover. If one device fails, the second device holds a backup copy of the data, but you must manually configure access or switch services to the second NAS.

In short: High Availability provides seamless, automatic failover; SnapSync provides data replication but no automatic failover.

Important Setup Requirements

Before setting up QNAP HA, note these key requirements from QNAP’s official guide:

  • Both NAS devices must be the same model and have identical configurations ( RAM, model, Firmware Version, Disks, HA manager version....)
  • Only static IP addresses are supported for HA nodes.
  • HA is supported only on QuTS hero (not QTS).
  • Two-step verification must be disabled on the standby node during setup.

Warning: Setting up HA will erase all data on the standby node as it gets synchronized with the active node. Be sure to back up any important data before configuring the cluster.

Setup with High Availability manager is fairly straightforward with a guided wizard

  1. Launch High Availability Manager on the primary NAS.
  2. Follow the wizard to verify both NAS meet HA requirements.
  3. Select network interfaces for:
    • Cluster connection: used for data and client connections.
    • Heartbeat connection: used for node health checks.
  4. Input administrator credentials for the passive node.
  5. Specify the cluster hostname and cluster IP address.
  6. Review all settings before creating the cluster.

Once the cluster is created:

  • The standby NAS enters Maintenance Mode.
  • You can view cluster status and roles (active/passive) in Qfinder Pro or High Availability Manager’s dashboard.

Why It’s a Big Deal

With native High Availability, QNAP finally delivers enterprise-grade redundancy without relying on third-party tools. Businesses previously hesitant about choosing QNAP over Synology for mission-critical workloads now have fewer reasons to hold back.

  • If you already own compatible QNAP NAS devices, adding a second unit for HA is an easy upgrade.
  • Resellers and integrators can now confidently offer QNAP in high-uptime environments.

Final Thoughts

High Availability isn’t just for large corporations. Even small businesses can benefit from eliminating single points of failure. With QNAP High Availability now a native feature, you get the flexibility of QNAP hardware combined with robust failover protection—bringing it closer to parity with Synology for enterprise deployments.

Leave a Comment