Looking for a NAS for all our photos and backups - Do you have one?

[skyking1]

I've been thinking of a NAS too, and had been looking at Synology.

I have a small business, and I'd like to be able to access my spreadsheets and files from wherever I am. Have any of you set your NAS up to be internet accessible? If so, how hard/easy was it? And is it pretty secure?

You can set up a VPN at your router. Many routers support that with a feature.
If you have a very stable IP address you can find your place on the net with your IP.
If it is a dynamic IP and it changes while you are on the road, you would be locked out unless you also set up dyndns or something similar.
https://oci.dyn.com/dynamic-dns-hostname-search/

Some routers have a built in Dyndns updater client, or you can run a client app on a computer that you leave running.

 

[mountainsoft]

I started to think I need a real high-speed NAS for all my data, videos, photos, software and everything else.

One other note, many routers let you plug a USB drive into them and use them as a basic NAS. It's a good way to "get your feet wet" if you want to experiment and see if a NAS is going to benefit you.

I tried with my old Netgear router, but it was extremely slow, under 10mbps. It might be okay for sharing PDF's or Word docs, but it's basically worthless for streaming HD video.

 

[misanman]

We have a Synology with two mirrored drives. I think we've had it for about ten years and the only problem was a disk that went bad. Installed a new drive and it rebuilt the mirror. Also use it to share photos and videos to our tv.

 

[target2019]

I've been thinking of a NAS too, and had been looking at Synology.

I have a small business, and I'd like to be able to access my spreadsheets and files from wherever I am. Have any of you set your NAS up to be internet accessible? If so, how hard/easy was it? And is it pretty secure?

My network guy has Synology. It is all about the apps they provide.

I've accessed his NAS, to retrieve wedding photos he took. I don't have the specifics, but you set up a share, and connect that through Synology Cloud.

QuickConnect - Based on Synology's reliable global infrastructure and hole punching technology, QuickConnect allows you to access your Synology NAS anytime, anywhere, from*any device and browser, without having to set up port forwarding and firewalls.

https://www.synology.com/en-my/dsm/feature/cloud_service

You really need to view the details for each hardware system they offer. All features are not available on each NAS. Look at the ports and the speeds offered.

To me it appears the purchase decision is more complicated than the setup choices you need to make. For instance, what hard drives are fully supported with a NAS and their OS called DSM.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

What UPS do you folks use? I had a big bulky one but it was overkill (2kva) for my system and the batteries died today, it takes 4 and they pass out every 18 months like clockwork.

I really only need one for the Modem, Router and my Laptop. I have 2 whole house surge protectors too.

 

[Sojourner]

What UPS do you folks use?

I've always just bought basic, lower-end UPS units by APC that provide 500-650VA of power backup. The nice thing about these is that you can keep the enclosure and just replace the battery when it fails with an inexpensive generic one.

This is the one I bought about 7 years ago.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005GZRUZW/

Prices have really gone up on these. I paid $60 and now it's selling for $95!

 

[OldShooter]

I've always just bought basic, lower-end UPS units by APC that provide 500-650VA of power backup. The nice thing about these is that you can keep the enclosure and just replace the battery when it fails with an inexpensive generic one. ...

I have always liked APC for the same reason. The last one I bought had detailed battery replacement instructions right there in the user manual.

 

[target2019]

I've always just bought basic, lower-end UPS units by APC that provide 500-650VA of power backup. The nice thing about these is that you can keep the enclosure and just replace the battery when it fails with an inexpensive generic one.

This is the one I bought about 7 years ago.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005GZRUZW/

Prices have really gone up on these. I paid $60 and now it's selling for $95!

Any UPS I tried at home which wasn't APC eventually became a problem.

It is interesting years later when you need a replacement battery and see the cost.

 

[mountainsoft]

What UPS do you folks use?

I have a CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00429N19W?th=1

Mine is about 13 years old now, and I've replaced the batteries about three times I think. The "genuine" batteries cost me around $80-90 if I remember correctly, but I tried a generic brand once and they only last about a year.

My UPS powers my home computer, monitor, router, modem, two network switches, TV tuner, and VOIP telephone adapter. Everything running at once uses about 120 watts at idle. I can run somewhere around 45 minutes to an hour with everything running, but I generally shut the computer and monitor down after 10 minutes or so, which lets our wifi internet run for over two hours. This lets us use our tablets and whatnot during power outages.

 

[Sunset]

What UPS do you folks use? I had a big bulky one but it was overkill (2kva) for my system and the batteries died today, it takes 4 and they pass out every 18 months like clockwork.

I really only need one for the Modem, Router and my Laptop. I have 2 whole house surge protectors too.

We use these:

https://www.amazon.com/APC-Battery-Protector-Back-UPS-BE600M1/dp/B01FWAZEIU

One for each desktop + monitors + sound.
I thought about putting one on the modem and router, but I can live without internet. If the power failure was long, the UPS would die anyways.

A laptop doesn't really need one as it has a battery inside.

 

[skyking1]

My ISP drops so quickly in an extended outage that my UPS gets turned off manually to make the dogs happy. They don't like the beep
I too use APC all over, partly because it is popular and linux has an app called apcupsd that lets the UPS talk to the servers via USB or in the case of the older rigs, via serial.
You can check the battery health, perform tests etc via command line.
When the power goes out, the UPS will inform the server(s) of battery level and can then do a graceful shutdown of the server when it reaches a predetermined level.
Most times it is best to not pull the rug out on a file server.

 

[jollystomper]

What UPS do you folks use?

I am also in the APC camp. I have 6 for all my computing and critical electronics. Most as ES 550 but two provide 1300V and 1500V protection for my tower systems. In my experience the batteries last 4-6 years, and are easy to change.

I too use APC all over, partly because it is popular and linux has an app called apcupsd that lets the UPS talk to the servers via USB or in the case of the older rigs, via serial.

I learn something new every day . I have their windows app for monitoring the UPS with my main desktop and servers, but since all of the others are within physical range of a Linux system, you have given me a project for consolidating my APC UPS monitoring . Thanks!

 

[skyking1]

you are welcome. I have not explored the intercommunication of apcupsd with windows clients, but it does talk between the main server and other servers in linux. You could have a decent sized UPS in a rack with a couple 3 servers and the one that was connected via USB would let the others know when to shut down.

 

[A Gold One]

I have a three-level external storage approach. Synology box #1 (RAID 1) is used as shared storage between DW and me. It contains all of our photo files (thousands) but its main role is as a local "cloud." With this Synology software, we have a folder that is stored on the NAS and on our two laptops. When I upgrade a file in that folder locally, it is updated on the NAS and on DW's machine. This is especially useful for our Lightroom database because Lightroom insists on the database being local. The #1 NAS is backed up around once a month to a SATA drive that is kept in my gun safe. That is not as good as off-site, but it is adequate for us IMO.

The #2 NAS, again RAID 1, is the backup destination for the automatic backup software that runs on both DW's and my laptops.

Both the Synology boxes are hot-swap, which is unnecessary to the point of being silly. I have never needed to swap a drive but powering a box down to make the swap would be entirely adequate. Both are also the "+" series, which is the fastest model. Both the boxes have the "sleep" option enabled to power down the disks when there is no activity.

The Synology boxes are noiseless, although probably there is a fan in there somewhere. The only noticeable noise is the rattle from the discs when the automatic backups run. I could easily move them to another room, but the noise is so little that I haven't bothered.

+1
I have used synology Nas's for home use for11 years now. I use it for backups, photo and vieo storage and multimedia access. I use it from my home network and access it remotely. I also keep an offline backup about every 6 months or so. I've never had a problem or a disk failure.

Also agree that you should by the + versions and add extra memory for increased performance. I used the DS2XX model for many years and recently upgraded to a DS1621+ with 24 TB (i noodle around with archive projects). On a 1GB network I find it as fast and responsive as a local hard drive. Good luck!

 

[rmcelwee]

I run a headless SFF computer on my network with a 4TB drive. It stores all my files, photos, videos, etc. I have PLEX server installed on it so I can play all my movies and MP3s on my TV (or anywhere on the net). If I need to access the computer I use Teamviewer free to log in. I also us Cobian Reflector to do a nightly incremental backup to an external drive. Every 3 months I pull the external drive and put a fresh one in. Everything is under Windows 10, easy to use, and free.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

After all my procrastination, I ordered a Synology 220+ and 2 x 8tb Seagate Ironwolf and drives. Along with a CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD PFC Sinewave UPS System, 1500VA/1000W.

Hopefully when all set up life will be good. I also have all my TV Series, Movies, Music and Photos on my Media player on 2 x 2tb Drives.

Once I learn how to have some folders for general backups and some for Media etc. I should be OK. I will use Raid 1 as 8tg is way more than I need or will ever need for everything.

Not related, but all I need now are a pair of Goggles for my Drone. DJI Integra & motion 2, they will round this current BTD spree.

 

[skyking1]

well done on the BTD.

 

[qwerty3656]

For those who have ripped their DVDs, is it still a convoluted process using multiple programs with alot of setup? I started the process years ago using handbrake (i think) and something else, but never got it to work

 

[ShokWaveRider]

For those who have ripped their DVDs, is it still a convoluted process using multiple programs with alot of setup? I started the process years ago using handbrake (i think) and something else, but never got it to work

I forget what I used, but they have all been done for over 10 years. Now I just download everything I need or want in Flac format.

 

[OldShooter]

For those who have ripped their DVDs, is it still a convoluted process using multiple programs with alot of setup? I started the process years ago using handbrake (i think) and something else, but never got it to work

I have done that, didn't enjoy it a bit. My solution was to take a hundred or so CDs to a guy who does the conversions using automated equipment. IIRC it was only a dollar or two per CD to get the work done.

 

[jollystomper]

For those who have ripped their DVDs, is it still a convoluted process using multiple programs with alot of setup? I started the process years ago using handbrake (i think) and something else, but never got it to work

For DVDs (video), I have used MakeMKV, and it is very simple. Start the software, put DVD in, it identifies the tracks and their sizes, you select the ones you want to rip, then go.

It creates output in .mkv format. I am fine with watching mp4 format, which is more compressed and a smaller file. So I perform a second step using ffmpeg in a batch file to convert the .mkv files to .mp4.

 

[albireo13]

I have a Synology 220j NAS with 2 x 3.6TB drives in Raid1 config. I use it for storing scanned photos. I also use it for my music collection. I ripped all our CDs to it a year ago.
This is great since we stream all our music using SONOS in our house.

It has a USB port which can be used to access a memory stick so, I could backup stuff to that as well.

So far we've used 1% of its capacity so, I may also use it to backup our main computer.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

I broke down and purchased a Synology DS220+. Currently setting it up.

 

[Z3Dreamer]

My ISP drops so quickly in an extended outage that my UPS gets turned off manually to make the dogs happy. They don't like the beep
I too use APC all over, partly because it is popular and linux has an app called apcupsd that lets the UPS talk to the servers via USB or in the case of the older rigs, via serial.
You can check the battery health, perform tests etc via command line.
When the power goes out, the UPS will inform the server(s) of battery level and can then do a graceful shutdown of the server when it reaches a predetermined level.
Most times it is best to not pull the rug out on a file server.

I use my UPS box to automatically, gracefully shutdown my NAS after it has been on battery backup for an hour or so. Would not work as well if I had multiple devices on the UPS box.

 

[Retch The Grate]

Overkill for your use case but I'm running a Synology 1621+ striped for RAID 10 (36GB of drives, so 18GB of redundant storage) for our media server/VMs/surveillance recording setup with a pretty beefy rackmount Cyberpower UPS keeping the NAS + house network + cable modem up and running for about 90 minutes when we lose power.