Help setting up Synology NAS

I bought a Synology DS218+at the beginning of the year and populated it with 2 each 10TB drives. Got everything us and running but ran into a roadblock when trying to figure out how to set up folders to be backed up. I tried for hours and then gave up.

Revisiting this now...
Got my Time Machine backup set up to the Synology (as well as an external USB drive) thanks to a YouTube tutorial. Still cannot find ANY help regarding how to back up particular folders and such.

I'm on an iMac and have two external USB drives that I currently back up my photos to manually. When my Lightroom folders on the iMac drive get a few months old i move them to one of the external USB drives and then manually copy these files to the second USB drive for a backup. I'd like to set up the Synology to automatically back up these folders.

I'm not a complete idiot but WOW this thing makes me look like i just fell off the turnip truck. I'm missing something entirely. I'm absolutely stuck.

Anyone been through this and is willing to help me out?

Sorry not clear excatly. You want to back up from the computer to the NAS, or from the external drives to the NAS or from the NAS to somewhere else?

What backup software are you using?

I want to back up folders on an external USB drive.

The NAS has a 'desktop' with apps... apps to do all kinds of things, yet I do not see one that specifically is for backing up. Is the key some kind of third party backup software? Is that the entire thing I'm missing? And if so, why is it not mentioned anywhere on YouTube or on the manufacturers website?

I also found it a little confusing and tricky to start with.

You need to download and install the "Cloud Station Backup" Application and this needs to be set running after the NAS is powered on (unless you set it to run automatically).

I use this on a Win 10 PC to a DS214Play and the Cloud Station Backup app needs configuring (Settings) so that you tell it which Folder, Files, etc. to back up (from your PC) to the NAS.

You can also set up how much history you want to keep (i.e. Versions of a file before the oldest drops off as a new one is saved.)

Here is a Screen Capture of the "Cloud Station Backup" running on my Win 10 PC.

The "Settings" Button opens up the Backup Source and Backup Rules dialogue where you can tailor what to back up and do not back up e.g. .tmp files.

Keep bashing away, it will all eventually come clear but definitely test all is working by navigating to the NAS Backup Location and check that the files are being backed up and do a practice restore.

Cheers

Dennis

Just to clarify, the "Cloud Station Backup" Application was downloaded and installed on my Win 10 PC - it is not in the suite of "Packages" in the "Package Centre" on the NAS.

I also downloaded and installed Synology Assistant (from the Synology website) to my Win 10 PC (not to my NAS) which I launch to connect to the NAS via a Browser.

Cheers

Dennis

An NAS is simply 'an external disk' which your PC communicates to via an ethernet connection.

A backup entails that you (or a program) to say 'Copy folder X from disk M to disk N'.

The Synology itself does not 'come with' specific software to do this task in an automated manner. But Synology does offer software, as described on its web site

"There are many add-on packages available to expand the value and functionality of your Synology NAS. You will be able to download and install the packages designed specifically for your unique needs, whether it's sharing files on the cloud, sharing photos on an online album, setting up a VPN environment or even an antivirus to protect your system. Everything can be found and done in Package Center, with just a few clicks.

"Hyper Backup
Synology Inc. 2.2.1-1110
Hyper Backup helps you back up data and LUNs, and retains multiple data backup versions to keep important information handy and easy to track. Hyper Backup also makes restoring data and LUNs simple and straightforward."

Wilt wrote in post #18928200
A backup entails that you (or a program) to say 'Copy folder X from disk M to disk N'.

This is key! There are tons of backup software on the market. Be aware that mirroring or syncing (= copy) is not really a backup - especially not with the prevalence of ransomware in the wild. Use a software that offers versioning and best is to make existing backups read only. Good luck.

Thank you for the responses so far. What are some good options, besides what has been mentioned above, for Mac backup software?

Wilt wrote in post #18928200
An NAS is simply 'an external disk' which your PC communicates to via an ethernet connection.

A backup entails that you (or a program) to say 'Copy folder X from disk M to disk N'.

The Synology itself does not 'come with' specific software to do this task in an automated manner. But Synology does offer software, as described on its web site

"There are many add-on packages available to expand the value and functionality of your Synology NAS. You will be able to download and install the packages designed specifically for your unique needs, whether it's sharing files on the cloud, sharing photos on an online album, setting up a VPN environment or even an antivirus to protect your system. Everything can be found and done in Package Center, with just a few clicks.

"Hyper Backup
Synology Inc. 2.2.1-1110
Hyper Backup helps you back up data and LUNs, and retains multiple data backup versions to keep important information handy and easy to track. Hyper Backup also makes restoring data and LUNs simple and straightforward."

Diskstation by Synology is a bit more, you get a lot of nice features. Software apps are a thing, cloudstation is like dropbox, not nearly as polished, but no limit and incredibly useful. I was on vacation a little while back, simply offloaded photos and videos as needed into my external drive, and it's there on my machine at home. Another thing they give you is DNS service, in a no hassle method. Simply create an account, and they give you an address.

I had a basic NAS for a decade, in comparison, that was really basic. The synology is seriously nice, but hyperbackup requires another synology device.

FarmerTed1971 wrote in post #18928366
Thank you for the responses so far. What are some good options, besides what has been mentioned above, for Mac backup software?

For simplicity, you can use cloudstation, I have my macbook setup that way. Anything that goes into a specific folder, gets synchronized to the drive, not a true backup, but synchronized like a mirror.

Synology support SUCKS! I have a 4 bay NAS and have had no luck at all getting it to do more than just basic operations.

I use Carbon Copy Cloner to back up and sync files between drives, it has worked very well, and is very easy to use.

https://sites.fastspri​ng.com/bombich/product​/ccc5

I work off of a box with 4 drives (JBOD), and back those up to the NAS, which I use to access information and photos remotely.

I have a synology. I use AOMEI Backuper free (Windoze) to back-up my images, documents and other key things (Lightroom presets and other important files that aren't included in LRs own back-up process). I was previously using EaseUS but found that it causes issue on my PC... the PC would lag and oddly the wireless mouse would become laggy/twitchy.

I also configured Lightroom's Import presets so that on importing to my PC it creates a second copy of the files on my NAS (which I keep until the ones on my PC are culled, processed and backed up to the NAS). LR is also set to write it's catalog backup to the NAS rather than the default local computer hard drive.

I also ripped all my DVDs and music to it so I could stick the original disks in the storeroom and just play everything from the NAS.