Restoring not so easy

[WDKarl]

Hey All!

I recently purchased my first NAS, a DS918+, and am learning a lot. I’ve been using Synology’s Drive software on all of my client computers to back up their data (some have just one storage drive while others have multiple drives.) Everything works great until I need to restore or reinstall windows. The scenario is:

A computer with the OS installed on the C: drive and a second D: drive, used for storage, are both being backed up using the Synology Drive client software to the NAS. The OS C: drive is then reformatted and windows is reinstalled. The second D: drive for storage is untouched.

Issue one:
From my understanding, and talking to Synology support, I cannot simply reinstall the Drive client software and use it to restore my data on the C: drive. I would need to remotely login to my NAS, navigate the file system or Synology Drive software on the NAS and then download my data using the web interface.
Q1:
Is this the only way to recover data from a restore standpoint?

Issue two:
My D: drive, used for storage, has been untouched and I would like to re-link/synchronize this drive with the NAS. Again from my understanding and talking to Synology I cannot simply resynchronize this D: storage drive. It seems I would need to create a new session and re-upload all of my data.
Q2:
Would I need to re-upload all of my data from this drive to re-establish my link using the Synology Drive software?

Q3:
The Synology representative did mention the application Backup for Business, but I thought this was being phased out in place of the Synology Drive software. Is Backup for Business easier for restoring and relinking a restored client?

Q4:
How do all of you backup your data? (Application(s) used, techniques used on server and client side)

I was thinking of using the NAS as a file server and running a backup to an external HDD instead, which I already do, as this would allow me to easily add/remove clients without the headaches previously mentioned. However, this would make things a little more complicated for me in my situation. For one it would eliminate one of my backups as the NAS would become my original and not one of my copies if following the 3-2-1 backup rule. Two, not sure if this is true or not, I wouldn’t have file versioning like I do now.
Q5:
Is this an option some of you have done?


Somethings to consider for the future would be:

• Option to access data from the internet
• Use partially as media/photo server
• Use as offsite backup server by backing up another NAS and the other NAS backing this one up

Any other information would be greatly appreciated and thank you in advance.

 

[Rusty]

Welcome to the forum!

The Synology representative did mention the application Backup for Business, but I thought this was being phased out in place of the Synology Drive software. Is Backup for Business easier for restoring and relinking a restored client?

Active Backup for business is the backup tool you wanna use. Drive is more dropbox alternative (sync tool) then a proper backup.

How do all of you backup your data? (Application(s) used, techniques used on server and client side)

Personally I use Acronis True image to mirror the whole computer onto a nas. On top of that I use Time Machine for single file backups.

As for the NAS backup, I use multiple remote NAS units as a backup destinations for all my main ones, and use Synology’s C2 cloud backup as a “glacier” backup.

Option to access data from the internet

This can be done in a number of ways. VPN, https web access via Drive or DSM FileStaton, WebDAV to name a few.

Use partially as media/photo server

Upcoming DSM7 will release the new Photos app (merge of Moment and Photo Station app) but atm I would recommend Plex for all media needs.

Use as offsite backup server by backing up another NAS and the other NAS backing this one up

This can be done using Hyper Backup tool with no problem.

 

[jeyare]

welcome in this forum.
Firstly - difference between entire diskbackup/restore and data availability feature in Drive is huge.
Syno Drive is not a backup solution prepared for backup/recovery scenarios, when you need recovery whole disk data from your previous disk, include filesystem, OS, ...
Yes and of course, Synology Drive has implemented feature - Backup your files or folders. It is meaning = when you need an immediate action for certain file(s) or folder(s) = copy them from Drive storage (NAS) back to your computer. But it is not entire disk recovery.
Synology Drive is driven by data availability. It is not entire machine backup/recovery solution. It us just sync of your local data to Syno Drive server.
For entire disk backup/recovery you can use Synology Active Backup Business, that is free of charge and it will help you to backup/recovery entire disk for future recovery activity = new disk, new computer, ... Even you can browse and download certain file(s) or folder(s) back to your machine, when necessary. You can prepare USB medium from NAS for your recovery activity. Tested, works well. Great solution.

then
Q1: yes
Q2: when your drive is C: is system drive and you need reinstall entire disk from a scratch you have to install Syno Drive and re-setup your sync to NAS. If you will use same NAS user account, you can use existing D: drive folder and new reload is nod necessary. But take into consideration, when you change NAS account into new sync in your desktop to, you will get new copy of the data. Never use same target folder (in your desktop).
Q3: yes
Q4: Active backup, HB
Q5: in this forum you can find lot of solutions

 

[Telos]

I would never rely on Syno NAS to restore Win OS partition. If you do, then please test out in real terms now, before you have a disaster and need to restore. Don't simply "restore" on top of an existing Win OS, but erase the Windows folder structure on your PC (or reformat its partition) prior to restoration. Be sure you understand the nuances of restoration before your day of need.

FWIW Synology Drive is incapable of restoration at this level.

 

[WDKarl]

Active Backup for business is the backup tool you wanna use. Drive is more dropbox alternative (sync tool) then a proper backup.

Active Backup for Business is looking like the way I’ll go. I originally was going to use it in the first place, but thought it was being phased out in place of Synology Drive.

As for the NAS backup, I use multiple remote NAS units as a backup destinations for all my main ones, and use Synology’s C2 cloud backup as a “glacier” backup.

This can be done in a number of ways. VPN, https web access via Drive or DSM FileStaton, WebDAV to name a few.

What is Synology’s C2 and what do you mean by glacier?
Good to know I would need to setup a VPN or of the sort between remote NAS systems. This would be something I would implement in the future.

...when you need an immediate action for certain file(s) or folder(s) = copy them from Drive storage (NAS) back to your computer. But it is not entire disk recovery.
Synology Drive is driven by data availability. It is not entire machine backup/recovery solution. It us just sync of your local data to Syno Drive server.

Yes, this is what I’ve found out the hard way by trying Synology Drive out. I was under the impression that it worked like a cloud service, but also a backup and recovery when I was deciding on an application to use. For some reason I thought Synology Drive was phasing out Active Backup for Business, but now I cannot find that reference. I’m starting to believe I misread and it was for Cloud Station Server instead.

For entire disk backup/recovery you can use Synology Active Backup Business, that is free of charge and it will help you to backup/recovery entire disk for future recovery activity = new disk, new computer, ... Even you can browse and download certain file(s) or folder(s) back to your machine, when necessary. You can prepare USB medium from NAS for your recovery activity. Tested, works well. Great solution.

Yes, this will be the route that seems best for me. I usually reinstall a clean OS anyway rather than from an image or snapshot.

To confirm Active Backup for Business will work with resynchronizing a drive, such as my D: drive, when reinstalling an OS from scratch. I wouldn’t have to re-upload my data.

I would never rely on Syno NAS to restore Win OS partition. If you do, then please test out in real terms now, before you have a disaster and need to restore. Don't simply "restore" on top of an existing Win OS, but erase the Windows folder structure on your PC (or reformat its partition) prior to restoration.

I don’t plan on using my NAS to restore my whole OS, but just to save my data so that I can restore it myself (documents, photos, .exe programs, etc...) I would rather reinstall the OS as I find that overtime of adding/removing software bogs down the system and having a clean slate works best for me.

Be sure you understand the nuances of restoration before your day of need.
FWIW Synology Drive is incapable of restoration at this level.

Yes, I try to test things out as best as I can or at least have a few backup plans (plan B, C, D...) if there’s a fail. Having this little NAS has taught me so much with research, so many helpful videos/forums/community and such have been great.

Thank you all in advance.

 

[Rusty]

What is Synology’s C2 and what do you mean by glacier?

Synology C2 | A Cloud for Safe Data

Boost efficiency with secure and reliable cloud solutions for storage, password management, file sharing, and backup.

c2.synology.com

By glacier I mean a slow backup restore point. But, saying that, in DSM 7 there is a feature coming up called Hybrid Share that will allow you to have C2 storage space mounted to your NAS (or multiple nas) for direct access, not just via Hyper Backup tool as it is now. So it will open up a few more solutions to use it as an off-site backup/remote storage.

 

[WDKarl]

Hey Everyone!
Still trying to figure this whole backup thing out. There's just so many flavors with software that make a big difference in what I'm looking for.

After looking into Synology's Active Backup for Business it comes near to what I'm looking for in a backup, except that I cannot choose down to the specific folders to backup only the entire drive. Most of my client machines have a separate storage drive which is what I want to backup in its entirety and some have select folders on the drive with the OS. I also have a couple of client machines with one storage drive where I only want to backup certain folders.

Q6: Is this the case with Backup for Business that I can only backup the entire drive?

Q7: It also seems to create a system image, which is great, but there are instances where I may need to retrieve a single file. Could I do this somehow?

If so, I'm thinking of just partitioning the storage drive to make two with machines that have only one physical storage drive, that would solve that problem. I would also need to make sure that my certain folders to backup would need to be stored on that partition/other drive. A small inconvenience, but this would be what I want.

Q8: If recovering from a disaster with a client machine with a secondary storage drive, would I be able to re-link that second drive without re-uploading any data? I know I asked that before, I just wasn't too sure on the answer.

Q9: Is that even possible in this day and age?


I looked into the Acronis True software and that seems to be very attractive to me. I do like the ransomware protection and cloud storage capabilities. I also see there's a sale going on as well.
A few questions regarding Acronis True software:

Q10: Is there any free cloud storage and if so, how much?

Q11: Would I be able to choose specific folders to backup?

Q12: Is there a limit on the number of storage drives and folder locations I can backup?

Q13: Can I re-link a secondary storage drive from a client machine after reinstalling the OS? Is this even possible?

Thank you all so much for the help. This is an interesting and educating adventure.