NAS - Synology

GeeJay57

GeeJay57

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Have had a WD MyCloud (OS3 version) for about a decade, and while it still functions OK, it's slow and the cloud functionality was 'sundowned' by Western Digital a few years ago due to security concerns. So by way of an upgrade, I've just ordered a Synology 224+ with 2x 6TB WD Red Plus. This will be connected via ethernet cable to the main hub of our Orbi RBR760 mesh network.

Seems to be a very able system. Looking forward to learning more about utilising the features.
 
I ran a 214play for about 10 years (before upgrading to a 923+ (so I can attach the 5 disk array when the time comes...)
One thing you might want to add is a UPS. The amazon basics is <£100 iirc, or there are slightly better APC ones for not much more. I have mine set to shut down when the power has been out for 5 mins (and remain off until I power it back on). This protects your NAS from surges, brownouts and the risk to data when you have power cuts.
Oh, and if you run your router (and modem if needs be) from the UPS, you can continue to have internet access during short power outages.
 
I'm another Synology fan - I bought a cheap, secondhand DS216j a few years a go, to dip my toes in the water with, but it actually did everything I needed to. I have since upgraded to a DS416j, as I needed more storage.

I really ought to sort out a UPS to go with it though...
 
Craikeybaby said:
I'm another Synology fan - I bought a cheap, secondhand DS216j a few years a go, to dip my toes in the water with, but it actually did everything I needed to. I have since upgraded to a DS416j, as I needed more storage.

I really ought to sort out a UPS to go with it though...
Click to expand...

I also have a Synology NAS.

Can I ask what you use yours for and do you also have backup?
 
LC2 said:
I ran a 214play for about 10 years (before upgrading to a 923+ (so I can attach the 5 disk array when the time comes...)
One thing you might want to add is a UPS. The amazon basics is <£100 iirc, or there are slightly better APC ones for not much more. I have mine set to shut down when the power has been out for 5 mins (and remain off until I power it back on). This protects your NAS from surges, brownouts and the risk to data when you have power cuts.
Oh, and if you run your router (and modem if needs be) from the UPS, you can continue to have internet access during short power outages.
Click to expand...

Sound advice about adding a UPS and advice I highly recommend as well
 
I'm using a 718+, definitely recommend a UPS. I backup my NAS to weekly and monthly external HDD's. Raid is NOT a backup
 
Brentor said:
I also have a Synology NAS.

Can I ask what you use yours for and do you also have backup?
Click to expand...
At the risk of ‘butting in’…

I’ve been using the MyCloud as a backup drive. So even though it is NAS, I only connected it to the network occasionally. Also have a USB attached WD Elements drive that serves as a backup of the backup. Again not connected/running all the time. So I have folders for documents, music, pictures, video, downloads. I’ve not used it as a source for DVD/BluRay media and didn’t use it much externally via the cloud function, so didn’t really miss that when it was shutdown.

The Synology NAS will be on all the time (will probably get a UPS as suggested above) and will have folders as above. The general idea is that we’ll be able to use the NAS to offload more files from our laptops which have 512 GB SSD and still have them accessible if needed.

I’m also interested in building a NAS based video library from our DVD and BluRay collection that we can then view using Plex or something like it. The only snag being that if I really get going on this, the drives I have coming may be a bit tight for space but I’ll worry about that some other time.

Being able to use the NAS as a private cloud has become more interesting too. So will be investigating the best way to do this, maybe using Tailscale or the native Synology app(s).

Looks like there’s a lot to learn…
 
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Brentor said:
I also have a Synology NAS.

Can I ask what you use yours for and do you also have backup?
Click to expand...
It is Time Machine for each of the Macs in the house, and also a photo archive. The photo archive gets backed up to a separate external HDD weekly, and also backs up any changes to the cloud nightly. The cloud backup is easy from the NAS, as it is always on and connected to the router, rather than relying on a laptop connecting to the cloud.
 
Well the 'box' and drives arrived this afternoon. :banana:

Put it all together, powered up and went through the first stages of set up only to find that Drive 1 wasn't working. Shut it down, removed Drive 1, all looked OK connections wise. Re-inserted the drive and powered back up, both drives were now found. The newly discovered Drive 1 is in the process of being added to the SHR volume, a process that will take quite a while it seems (overnight...).

Just transferred some image folders to it and I'm getting about 110 MBps over the network. Accessing files is almost as quick as from an internal HDD, which is a lot faster than with the old MyCloud device.

So first impressions are favourable, but my goodness I have a lot to learn in order to get the best out of it.
 
I found it difficult to get remote access to my NAS but eventually got there. Similarly with their media players. Probably me being thick.
 
Brentor said:
I found it difficult to get remote access to my NAS but eventually got there. Similarly with their media players. Probably me being thick.
Click to expand...
Dunno, there's a lot of jargon and acronyms to get your head around. I am absolutely not an IT professional, so many of the terms are unfamiliar to me as well as how they fit in with what I need or want. I'm expecting to take a while getting to grips with it.
 
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