Hi Neal...
You have a quite a list of things there. To pick up a few points that are basic for you:
I tried to configure them into a RAID (the version where they duplicate each other), but I don’t know if I’ve done that correctly.
Go into Storage Manager. This app will tell you if your RAID is setup correctly. Look for words like
Healthy in green colour and the total capacity in your volume. These will tell you if things are good.
I have been able to get my computer to back up to the drive using Synology Drive Client 2.0.3-11102 set to Continuous Backup, but this doesn’t seem to be working properly
It probably is. If you open your Drive client and note the backup time on yours and then add a file in your PC in the area being backuped up, you will see the backup time change. Therefore it is running. (Note the
continuous backup in the pic below.
Also, when you launch the Drive portal from your Synology, you will see your backup. You can go into this and see if the file you just created was present.
When using the Synology Drive Client, backups are incredibly slow considering it’s hardwired.
Yes, it is slow. Good things come and all that.
I probably need a VPN for secure connections when we’re not at home (wife at office, daughter in college, etc.).
I suggest you leave this one for now until you have the basics setup. It is a little more complex.
- Partition the drive into four sections, one for me, my wife, and my daughter, and one for sharing files.
- Everyone must be able to backup to their partition.
- In addition to the backup, I want everyone to be able to store files there as if this were a regular server.
In Synology world, you have
Shared Folders. This is how you will separate your storage areas. Each user will have their own storage area, invisible to the other users.
Backing up 'to their partition'. You would have appear to have found the tool
Drive. This will do this for you, in a variety of ways. You experimented with Continuous backup...
Storing files as per a server. This you will be able to do by creating a network drive in Windows, pointing to your NAS.
In short, you do not want to watch more videos, but in the end I suggest you will have to. I'm not a fan either, but in the end they can be easier than text descriptions. There is a lot to learn, but it is possible, eventually...
Telos has given you the link to mydoodads. It is a truly excellent series, clear and concise. Try it, even the first ones that are VERY basic. They give you valuable basics. This series is in many ways targetted at your situation.
Have fun...