I wanted to share my story about NAS (Network Attached Storage) that I started to appreciate more and more. As a photographer – hobbyist, I have been a long-time fan of the PC. In fact, I built my latest desktop 5 years ago in order to dedicate it to my photo editing. However, after my wife presented me with a 15″ MacBook Pro in October, it all changed in a second. I no longer was using my desktop to do photo editing, website building, as well as my daily professional work. However, I still wanted to keep my desktop as a backup as well as a major storage of my images.
Here’s how it worked before:
I would do most of my photo editing on a laptop. Then, I would transfer the images onto the desktop. But wait…. As it turns out, Apple’s file system is not compatible with the Windows NTFS! Now it becomes a struggle. I installed a virtual Windows 10 beta desktop on the Mac so I could still transfer images from it. Then, my desktop would automatically be backed up onto the cloud (I use CrashPlan for that, but more on it later). Essentially the PC became a 4Tb storage that would create a replica copy of itself on a nightly basis. At the same time, my MacBook would also have a backup client installed. But as it turns out, I did not have a 24/7 access to all my files. In order to do that, I would have to leave my noisy powerful desktop ON at all times! Furthermore, the Intel Core i7 (overclocked), the nVidia EVGA 285GTX video card, as well as the 850W Power Supply – all consumed way too much power!
All of the above have pushed me to disassemble and get rid of my desktop.
Welcome, Synology DS214+ NAS!
synology ds214
After doing my research and hesitating between QNAP and Synology, I decided to give Synology a try. It was due to the DiskStation software which they recently upgraded to version 5.1. It allows a seamless access to my files after a minor router modification. All that is required is to forward a port via “port forwarding” to your Synology’s IP address – and it’s all set! One of the challenges, however, was to move data back onto NAS. Once a drive is inserted into Synology, it automatically formats it to its own file system. Therefore, I only inserted one new hard disk (WD RED 4Tb), keeping my original 4Tb drive as a spare for now until all of the data is migrated from CrashPlan.
After spending almost a week with Synology, my initial thoughts are:
Easy to setup
CPU gets overloaded quite frequently. Transcoding images and videos has it running at 99% capacity for extended periods of time
RAM rarely gets to more than 50%
Restore from CrashPlan takes a while. And that considering I have a 320mbps down / 22mbps up cable connection! (For those of you interested – it’s Time Warner’s new MAXX plan
)DiskStation Manager 5.1 is a pure beauty! It even allows for automatic iPhone backup to NAS.
The unit is very quiet. I believe it only has 1 fan. It also runs very cool, and actually looks like a nice accessory on the desk.
For those not interested in changing router configs, Synology allows QuickConnect feature to be used. It’s an excellent way to connect to your personal NAS from WAN (outside of your home network).
Phone applications are great. There are 6 total apps, including file manager, photo +, video +, and more.
It works with both: MAC and PC’s. I have the NAS mounted on my MacBook 100% of the time.
Installing CrashPlan requires a little tweaking. However, there are multiple instructions available online. I can confirm 100% that it works. You can back up your NAS, and you can restore other backups on NAS. The restore feature is what I’ve used to load data back on the 4Tb drive.
USB drives plugged in must be reformatted with the Synology file system. This was a big red flag for me initially, as I expected to migrate my data via external USB drive.
After the initial restore, I’m planning to setup a Raid 1 configuration for complete data redundancy. Both of the 4Tb drives would mirror one another. I know that it’s essentially taking my 4Tb drive. However, if going with a Raid 5 configuration, and the Synology 415+ Quad-Core unit, I’d have to buy 4 4Tb drives, which would cost more than $600 for drives only. Add $600 for the NAS unit, and it becomes a $1200 NAS with 12Tb of storage. Next upgrade? Maybe… But not as a first step into NAS.
After all, and a month of hesitation, I’m glad I made the choice of going with NAS. Synology is a leader in the field, and we also use them at work in an enterprise data center setup. It definitely made my photography hobby a more pleasant experience. Not only I no longer have to worry about moving data back and forth, but it allows me to dedicate my time strictly to photography and editing without thinking that my images are secured and backed up. It also made it simpler for travel photography, where after a day of shooting I could then upload my images onto my personal NAS during the night. It’s all about making the life simpler. Great job, Synology!
For more info feel free to PM me, and I'll be glad to share what I know.
