Best practices for new NAS newbie

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Best practices for new NAS newbie

I see it in my synology account - would clicking on the "Unlink" button suffice before doing a factory reset on the device?
if you want to release the name. If you want to keep it just leave it and factory reset the nas. Later reconnect that QC name
 
if you want to release the name. If you want to keep it just leave it and factory reset the nas. Later reconnect that QC name
I'd like to release the name (as it wasn't a good name anyway!), so sounds like unlinking is the next step.

Thank you again for your help - this forum is the first time I fully grasped DSM and NAS! I may have more questions down the road though. ;)
 
You were obviously connecting with a "admin" class user. Those users have a complete control of all the content.
@new_nas Create a regular "user" account for yourself. Do not use your administrator account, except to manage the NAS and its users. Your "user" account should be used to store your files, photos, downloads, media... etc.

For regular use then, connect with your use account.

However... your administrator account is always unrestricted, and can access/view/edit/delete all user content.
 
Last edited:
Wanted to follow up to make sure my "strategy" makes sense!

Jenny
  • MacBook, use Time Machine to backup everything to NAS. The Time Machine backup would be in a shared folder (separate volume, e.g. "backup1" or "timemachine1") as per this excellent article.
  • iPhone, use Synology Photo app to automatically back up photos to "jenny" account on NAS.
  • NAS, "jenny" folder on NAS can be used for anything as she deems fit (from MacBook, or a Windows laptop at work)
James
  • MacBook, use Time Machine to backup everything to NAS. The Time Machine backup would be in a shared folder (separate volume, e.g. "backup2" or "timemachine2") as per this excellent article.
  • iPhone, use Synology Photo app to automatically back up photos to "james" account on NAS.
  • NAS, "james" folder on NAS can be used for anything

NAS general set up
  • Use Synology Hyper Backup to back up everything on NAS to an external USB drive.
  • Long-term, use Hyper Backup to backup everything on NAS to an off-site NAS (e.g. at parents)

Questions
  1. Does all that sound like a good approach?
  2. Anything obvious I missed or overlooked?
  3. With the Time Machine, there's no need to copy individual files from our MacBooks, right?
    1. However, I guess I need to copy important individual files to a separate folder on NAS if I need to access them on another device, as Time Machine won't do this (I think!)
  4. Once everything with NAS is set up, any tips or tricks with our iCloud accounts? I'd like to use it only for iPhone backup (so we can restore later if necessary)
  5. With Synology Photo automatic backup enabled, does deleting photos on our iPhone mean that these photos on NAS will be deleted too?
  6. Given that we would no longer use iCloud for photos, what approaches do you use to manage and share your photos?
    1. I assume that moving to Synology Photo would mean we lose the "People & Places" feature in the iOS Photos album. Unless there's a way to reference the photo?
    2. How do we ensure that we don't use too much space on iCloud and our iPhones?
  7. HTTPS protocol - some oddity with invalid certificate when navigating to the DSM 7. I see that https is enabled. Is this a known bug or...?
  8. The URL XXX.quickconnect.to redirects to an external IP causing a "This site can’t be reached" error - I think it's because I am on local network. Is there a specific setting in DSM to make sure the URL works no matter if I am at home or away?
Apologies for many newbie questions for my first thread! :)
 
  1. Does all that sound like a good approach?
  2. Anything obvious I missed or overlooked?
Looks fine to me

With the Time Machine, there's no need to copy individual files from our MacBooks, right?
  1. However, I guess I need to copy important individual files to a separate folder on NAS if I need to access them on another device, as Time Machine won't do this (I think!)
Good point yes

With Synology Photo automatic backup enabled, does deleting photos on our iPhone mean that these photos on NAS will be deleted too?
No

Given that we would no longer use iCloud for photos, what approaches do you use to manage and share your photos?
Synology Photos shared album feature

HTTPS protocol - some oddity with invalid certificate when navigating to the DSM 7. I see that https is enabled. Is this a known bug or...?
This is a separate topic, but in short, accessing over https a valid certificate is needed in order to match your name. If you are accessing your nas via its IP address in LAN, you can ignore it and set it as exception.

This will need to be resolved if you will access your resources from outside your lan

The URL XXX.quickconnect.to redirects to an external IP causing a "This site can’t be reached" error - I think it's because I am on local network. Is there a specific setting in DSM to make sure the URL works no matter if I am at home or away?
Does this mean it works if you are outside your network? If so, it could be your router settings, lack of NAT loopback support might be an issue. What ISP are you using?
 
So if we want to delete a photo completely, we need to delete it from both iOS Photos and in Synology Photos app? E.g. delete it twice?
Does this mean it works if you are outside your network? If so, it could be your router settings, lack of NAT loopback support might be an issue. What ISP are you using?
I haven't tried accessing the NAS outside of network yet but assumed that it was an issue for local network because the IP was being redirected to 84.XX.XX.XX.XXX. The ISP is Vodafone and I can confirm that I haven't made any changes to the router or NAS when it comes to network access.
 
So if we want to delete a photo completely, we need to delete it from both iOS Photos and in Synology Photos app? E.g. delete it twice?
Correct. iOS Photos has zero connections with Syno Photos

being redirected to 84.XX.XX.XX.XXX
It could be that ISP is then blocking return calls coming over QC relay. But I could be wrong. There are some Vodafone users here, so maybe someone will share some 1st hand info on the matter as well.
 
Just wanted to confirm in case this is useful - I used the same URL (XXX.quickconnect.to) when on VPN, and it works with no issues.

Does this still point to something on the Vodafone router rather than NAS?
 
Yep back to work (or rather to the office servers)
Depending on the configuration of the VPN connection (full or split) I would then say that your local ISP is hitting the spotlight even more. In this configuration you are presented as a full remote user coming from a different location vs when you are in LAN.

I would say that ISP is not handling access to your NAS (in LAN) using essentially a public QC name to access something that is again, inside your LAN. Sounds like a potential NAT loopback (hairpin) problem. But, best to check with your ISP then, and ask them if you are able to access local resources while inside your LAN using a public name that points to that same internal service/device.

Or, wait for someone here to respond who is on Vodafone for more accurate details.
 
Depending on the configuration of the VPN connection (full or split) I would then say that your local ISP is hitting the spotlight even more. In this configuration you are presented as a full remote user coming from a different location vs when you are in LAN.

I would say that ISP is not handling access to your NAS (in LAN) using essentially a public QC name to access something that is again, inside your LAN. Sounds like a potential NAT loopback (hairpin) problem. But, best to check with your ISP then, and ask them if you are able to access local resources while inside your LAN using a public name that points to that same internal service/device.

Or, wait for someone here to respond who is on Vodafone for more accurate details.
Thanks to you, I was able to google with NAT loopback term - it appears to be a common issue with Vodafone routers and so far I haven't found any meaningful answer.

Seeing as accessing DSM is something that wouldn't happen very often (after set up), do you see any issue with accessing DSM via an internal IP (e.g. 192.168.1.XX) even though I'm getting an SSL certificate warning?
 
Thanks to you, I was able to google with NAT loopback term - it appears to be a common issue with Vodafone routers and so far I haven't found any meaningful answer.

Seeing as accessing DSM is something that wouldn't happen very often (after set up), do you see any issue with accessing DSM via an internal IP (e.g. 192.168.1.XX) even though I'm getting an SSL certificate warning?
Externally absolutely. Do not do that. Internally, just use it over http or with an exception over https.
 
Externally absolutely. Do not do that. Internally, just use it over http or with an exception over https.
Ah sorry I mean when I am at home and accessing DSM on the local network. When outside of the local network, I would use the quickconnect.

Does this sound OK? Or should I still push to try to get NAT loopback work?
 
Drive, File, and Photos, are 3 separate apps with 3 specific major roles. Drive is your sync tool and access to any shared root folders that you might have shared with other drive clients. The File app will allow classic access to the whole content of your nas in terms of files/folders. It will also allow for picture backup (this is an added feature).

Photos on the other hand is a new app that works with the Photos server-side element and ofc allows for image and video backup, as well as access to any shared album from another syno server running Photos as well.

One app will not cover all the features, so depending on what you want/need, you will have to choose and install multiple ones.
 

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