Can synology really solve my problems?

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Can synology really solve my problems?

19
8
NAS
DS220+
Operating system
  1. macOS
Mobile operating system
  1. iOS
So... from what i've been reading, synology has a chance to solve my problems. I like the idea of RAID one. I want a networked backup solution. I'm currently trailing icloud, dropbox, drive, one drive and amazon accounts. It's insane... and it has to stop.
  • My house has four mac laptops (2X 512mb 2X 128mb). Two news ones and our hand-me-downs that are used by the kids. Same for iphones. 4. I'd like them all backed up. I don't have any particular feelings about what software should do that.
  • My partner and I both work online, we have many thousands of photos and several hundred videos. We would like a home for these and a good backup for these.
  • I would also like to be able to create a video, post my video to an NAS and share it with a client. (i'm using youtube for this now)
  • My partner would like to get out of icloud all together. She'd like to be able to take a picture with her phone and have it show up (or click to get it to show up) on her laptop.
  • Our public photos are currently stored in Flickr... i'd like to get those out of there.
  • She's currently got many thousands of photos in OSX photos which I'd like to have backed up.
  • My understanding is that OSX photos and Synology don't play well together is that true?
  • I'm considering buying a Synology 2 Bay NAS DiskStation DS220+ with 2 X 4 TB drives. Not sure if its worth going SSD.
So... what do you think folks? Will a synology NAS solve my problems?

Cheers,

d.
 
Last edited:
So... what do you think folks? Will a synology NAS solve my problems?
I believe yes. All of the above can be addressed one way or another.

My suggestion is to go with a bigger NAS, like a DS920+. But if you can give an estimate of the storage capacity required (currently) maybe the forum can better “zoom in” on a model suited for now and future expansion.

Edit:
If you don’t mind answering, as this will influence the discussion. Are you and your partner in the photography or videography business or are you hobbyists?
 
Edit:
If you don’t mind answering, as this will influence the discussion. Are you and your partner in the photography or videography business or are you hobbyists?
No way. I hate it when people try to help me.

We are NOT in the video/photo business. We're in the educational technology business. No high volume. Occasional instructional videos. The thousands of photos are almost entirely of our kids. My highest priority is to have a working system for my partner as she gets VERY frustrated with not being able to move her photos around easily.
 
So... what do you think folks? Will a synology NAS solve my problems?

I think a Synology NAS will be a perfect solution for you all.

My suggestion is to go with a bigger NAS, like a DS920+. But if you can give an estimate of the storage capacity required (currently) maybe the forum can better “zoom in” on a model suited for now and future expansion.

DS920+ sounds a bit much for 2-5 users...? But an estimate of storage capacity would be good. Regular HDD (NAS compatible) can go up to 10 TB a piece.

dropbox, drive, one drive and amazon accounts. It's insane... and it has to stop.

The NAS can use these to store automatic backups.. :)
 
We're in the educational technology business.
So you’re both tech savvy. Half of your problems (if not all) are solved already 😀

For Mac backups, you can use MacOS’ own time machine.
For iOS backups, I use iMazing and backup to the NAS.

For photos, I’m not sure what are your exact expectation. Take a look at Synology offerings and see if that works. Many videos on YouTube about the two solutions.

Moments (new relative to PhotoStation and this is where Synology is focusing its development as I understood)

PhotoStation
 
We worked on 128GB SD drives for years... so we're currently pretty compact from a storage situation. Of course, i'm old enough to remember someone telling me that a 20MB hard drive was as much as I would ever need. I convinced him to sell me 40MB -> it was not enough.

I can't imagine using 2TB... so i was thinking 4TB at RAID one.
 
For photos, I’m not sure what are your exact expectation.

I just want her to be able to click a button and move them to her computer. I think. I do have a record going though... i've worked on a dozen solutions to solve this problem and she's been happy with ZERO of them. She's not an unreasonable person... i just don't understand how to store, edit and post pictures.
 
DS920+ sounds a bit much for 2-5 users...?
Yes can be. But the word “video” in the original post led me to suggest that. However, since @davecormier is tech savvy and undoubtedly a tinkerer (aren’t you @davecormier?), since he managed to convince a seller to take more money for a bigger drive and by changing his avatar immediately after joining :), I would still suggest a 920+ for future growth. Can start with two drives.
 
I just want her to be able to click a button and move them to her computer. I think. I do have a record going though... i've worked on a dozen solutions to solve this problem and she's been happy with ZERO of them. She's not an unreasonable person... i just don't understand how to store, edit and post pictures.

You can easily have your photos from iphone transferred or backed up to the Synology without even clicking a button.
Most of your requirements can be achieved by a novice quite easily with Synology, only public access would need a liitle more effort (from a novice).

RAID 1 is fine. You could use BRTFS to have the extra features and protection.
And please remember to always have backups of your important files, preferably at a different location.
 
My understanding is that OSX photos and Synology don't play well together is that true?
Considering that most responses here were already helpful and probably got you on the right path I would just like to focus on this question.

In short, no they don’t. Meaning you can’t out of the box use your nas as a target for macOS Photos app.

You can use it only if your library lives on a HFS or APFS partition. That being said you can achieve this my making a volume with those file formats and move it to the nas and then mount it from the nas back to your mac. After that you can move your Photos lib of your mac to that mounted partition. Now your lib will still work with Photos but live on your NAS.

In order to use your Photos you will always need to mount the image with the library onto your mac before opening the app itself.

Saying all this if you do decide to use this method, DO NOT, again, DO NOT under any circumstances format the partition as APFS. Always use HFS. Formatting it as APFS will not allow you to mount that image directly of a NAS and if you can’t do that, well that kills the whole idea.

On the question of can Syno solve your problems/needs, ofc. Best to calculate the storage need for the next let’s say 3-5y and go from there. A 2 bay nas might be more then ok for your household but keep in mind that these boxes can provide a lot more options and solutions then a simple file storage. That being said, if you start to pile work onto then a “weaker” mode might start giving you trouble (not that 220+ is a weak mode).
 
Considering that most responses here were already helpful and probably got you on the right path I would just like to focus on this question.

In short, no they don’t. Meaning you can’t out of the box use your nas as a target for macOS Photos app.
So i'm thinking the thing to do is try and get out of OSX photos. I don't even know if that's a possibility. does lightroom still exist i wonder... god. The OSX infrastructure. If only I didn't love their laptops so much. Such a sucker.

On the question of can Syno solve your problems/needs, ofc. Best to calculate the storage need for the next let’s say 3-5y and go from there. A 2 bay nas might be more then ok for your household but keep in mind that these boxes can provide a lot more options and solutions then a simple file storage. That being said, if you start to pile work onto then a “weaker” mode might start giving you trouble (not that 220+ is a weak mode).
hmm... pay and extra 300 bucks to future proof or buy the cheaper one and buy the newer one later when i outgrow this one. That's the forever question in tech right there. Thanks for spelling it out.
 
Holy. I just realized i could use it as a LAMP server. 920+ it is then... I don't know why that didn't occur to me, as its just a computer connected to the internet.
 
So i'm thinking the thing to do is try and get out of OSX photos. I don't even know if that's a possibility. does lightroom still exist i wonder... god. The OSX infrastructure. If only I didn't love their laptops so much. Such a sucker.
Apple eco system. I love it but I hear where you are coming from. On a happy note, yes you can export images and import them into Synology apps. Current Photo Station app and Moments are your options, apart from simply hosting it on the file system, but the upcoming DSM7, Photos (Photos Station and Moments hybrid) should cover all your needs.
 
You have all been overruled. It seems I want to buy the 220+ and upgrade it later if we need it. I promise that when i hit problems with the 220+ i'll come back here and you can all laugh at me.
 
Apple eco system. I love it but I hear where you are coming from. On a happy note, yes you can export images and import them into Synology apps. Current Photo Station app and Moments are your options, apart from simply hosting it on the file system, but the upcoming DSM7, Photos (Photos Station and Moments hybrid) should cover all your needs.
I looked at moments. That will do. We will export out of OSXphotos and delete the d--- thing.
 

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