Hello, I posted pretty much this same thread over on the "new" synology forum that everyone seems to hate. I appreciate the response there, but am hoping to find a little more active discussion here. The question below is a direct copy from the other forum up until the \\\.
So I'm sure this question has been asked umpteen times in different flavors, but I'm new to this and my head is kind of spinning as to what my best path to using my NAS for a backup is. My question is: which backup solution suits me best? Here's my situation:
I work from home. We have 2 laptops, plus mobile devices. I've purchased a DS918+ to act as my backup. It has (4) 2-TB drives in it Drives 1&2 are configured into Volume 1 via RAID1, while drives 3&4 are configured in Volume 2 via RAID1. Eventually I want to get another NAS and place it off-site to backup the on-site box, but my internet is pitifully slow and I'm afraid doing so will eat up all my bandwidth. Gotta keep Netflix running smoothly for the kids or I'm in trouble...
My plan is to use Volume 1 to backup/archive my business files, while Volume 2 will backup/archive personal files. I'm an engineer and my files get updated quite often because I constantly save them due to buggy design software I'm required to use. I want to be able to backup my engineering files from one specific working folder on my PC down to a specific backup folder within Volume 1. I want to be able to store up to say 10 versions of each file in the backup so that I have a history of work, in case I accidentally mess up a model. If a file gets deleted from the PC, I do not want it deleted from the backup until a set amount of time has passed (if possible). Once a project is complete, I plan to pull those files out of the working folder on the PC and store them in an archive folder in volume 1.
Volume 2 will be used for backing up all the rest of the files on the computer that are not in the engineering working directory, and will also be used as cloud storage for various personal files. In addition, it is going to be used as the main storage for 27000 photos we've taken.
So far, I've tried Cloud Station (because that's what is currently recommended if you search for backups in synology's help), Drive (because a Synology chat tech told me Drive replaced Cloud Station and would work better for me), and Active Backup (because another Synology chat tech told me it was probably a better solution for me). I didn't play with Cloud Station enough to know if I liked it or not, but I like some of Drive's mobile features for the personal side of things, so I don't plan on going back to Cloud station if I can avoid it. Drive Sync folders seem to do most of what I want, but I'm worried about what happens if I delete a file either on the NAS or the PC. I've played with Active Backup a bit, and it just doesn't feel like its quite what I want, but maybe I'm wrong.
I apologize for asking what I'm sure is an oft-repeated question, but there are so many different methods and options out there, I'm not sure which is the best for me. I've read through several threads and white papers and faqs and am getting bogged down in details and jargon. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
\\\ As a result of the feedback I got from the other forum, here's my plan:
1. Active Backup or Cloud Station Backup for backing up snapshots of the computer daily at midnight
2. Drive sync with only one-way sync (PC to sync folder) for backing up the working files in a specific PC folder.
3. Hyper backup for making a mirror of all data on the NAS to a USB HD.
What says the good people here? Solid plan, or does it need some work? I'm pretty new to this and didn't realize how in-depth setting this up would end up being. TIA.
So I'm sure this question has been asked umpteen times in different flavors, but I'm new to this and my head is kind of spinning as to what my best path to using my NAS for a backup is. My question is: which backup solution suits me best? Here's my situation:
I work from home. We have 2 laptops, plus mobile devices. I've purchased a DS918+ to act as my backup. It has (4) 2-TB drives in it Drives 1&2 are configured into Volume 1 via RAID1, while drives 3&4 are configured in Volume 2 via RAID1. Eventually I want to get another NAS and place it off-site to backup the on-site box, but my internet is pitifully slow and I'm afraid doing so will eat up all my bandwidth. Gotta keep Netflix running smoothly for the kids or I'm in trouble...
My plan is to use Volume 1 to backup/archive my business files, while Volume 2 will backup/archive personal files. I'm an engineer and my files get updated quite often because I constantly save them due to buggy design software I'm required to use. I want to be able to backup my engineering files from one specific working folder on my PC down to a specific backup folder within Volume 1. I want to be able to store up to say 10 versions of each file in the backup so that I have a history of work, in case I accidentally mess up a model. If a file gets deleted from the PC, I do not want it deleted from the backup until a set amount of time has passed (if possible). Once a project is complete, I plan to pull those files out of the working folder on the PC and store them in an archive folder in volume 1.
Volume 2 will be used for backing up all the rest of the files on the computer that are not in the engineering working directory, and will also be used as cloud storage for various personal files. In addition, it is going to be used as the main storage for 27000 photos we've taken.
So far, I've tried Cloud Station (because that's what is currently recommended if you search for backups in synology's help), Drive (because a Synology chat tech told me Drive replaced Cloud Station and would work better for me), and Active Backup (because another Synology chat tech told me it was probably a better solution for me). I didn't play with Cloud Station enough to know if I liked it or not, but I like some of Drive's mobile features for the personal side of things, so I don't plan on going back to Cloud station if I can avoid it. Drive Sync folders seem to do most of what I want, but I'm worried about what happens if I delete a file either on the NAS or the PC. I've played with Active Backup a bit, and it just doesn't feel like its quite what I want, but maybe I'm wrong.
I apologize for asking what I'm sure is an oft-repeated question, but there are so many different methods and options out there, I'm not sure which is the best for me. I've read through several threads and white papers and faqs and am getting bogged down in details and jargon. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
\\\ As a result of the feedback I got from the other forum, here's my plan:
1. Active Backup or Cloud Station Backup for backing up snapshots of the computer daily at midnight
2. Drive sync with only one-way sync (PC to sync folder) for backing up the working files in a specific PC folder.
3. Hyper backup for making a mirror of all data on the NAS to a USB HD.
What says the good people here? Solid plan, or does it need some work? I'm pretty new to this and didn't realize how in-depth setting this up would end up being. TIA.