Synology Drive Client VS. Macrium Reflect & Allway Sync

[wizard99]

I've been using a 215J with Macrium Reflect for Daily Operating System Images and Allway Sync for all other multiple Drive Back Up Synchronization. I've just gotten a 920+ to replace it, but decided to keep the 215 in operation until the 920 is up and running as the DSM 7 is due out in a few days. I'm contemplating switching these tasks to My Drive to replace Reflect, and Allway Sync...... Is My Drive as versatile? Does it provide the agility to choose either Image creation (Full / Differential / Incremental) and one to one copies ( i.e. Allway Sync) without compression for other files I choose where they can be viewed?

 

[Telos]

Is My Drive as versatile?

What is "My Drive"? Do you mean Synology Drive? If so, that is not a replacement for Macrium Reflect. Please clarify.

 

[wizard99]

Synology Drive + Synology Drive Client.....

 

[Telos]

Synology Drive + Synology Drive Client.....

Yep... That is nothing like Macrium Reflect.

 

[wizard99]

So it sounds like Synology does not have any native Backup schemes that provide what Macrium and Allway Sync can do.... That's Surprising...

 

[Telos]

So it sounds like Synology does not have any native Backup schemes that provide what Macrium and Allway Sync can do.... That's Surprising...

That's not what I said. While I'm unfamiliar with Allway Sync, it appears similar to Synology Drive. Drive also has a "backup" capability, if you can call it that, but it is quite restrictive on what it backs up, and how the backup is stored/organized.

Macrium Reflect is not a sync tool. It is a disk imaging tool. The closest Synology counterpart is Active Backup for Business (ABB). But for the life of me, I can't imagine ever using it for mission critical backups. Compared with Macrium Reflect, it is slow and inflexible, and frankly, Synology programming and support completely pales to Macrium.

I tried to like ABB but after several months I uninstalled it. Most of my PCs use Macrium Reflect, and I've been running Veeam over the past 4 months, and found it quite pleasing.

FWIW, I uninstalled Drive as well. It's poorly integrated with File Station, and its syncing client is a resource hog. I've transitioned primarily to Duplicacy and Rclone for backup and sync.

Just because I have a NAS, I don't feel like I must turn my life over to Synology. Their software is OK... but far from world-class IMO.

If you are pleased with Macrium Reflect and Allway Sync, why would you abandon them? If you have specific questions, I'm glad to help.

 

[fredbert]

FWIW, I uninstalled Drive as well. It's poorly integrated with File Station, and its syncing client is a resource hog.

I would take issue with it being a resource hog. On my MacBook Air 2014 with 4 GB RAM I found that Dropbox agent was creeping up to 0.5 GB. I've setup the Cloud Sync on the NAS to get my Dropbox files into a folder that I then access via Drive agent. Checking and Drive client processes are taking 75 MB for a backup task and eight sync tasks.

I'd agree that Drive's backup task isn't like a full cloning system. And I'll defer to PC users to say what is best. For me ABB is better than the nothing my kids PCs had.

Going back to the DS215j running an established backup setup, I'd also ask why it needs to change. My old DS215j is still usefully employed as a Time Machine server for four Macs. It can even be used as a Hyper Backup destination for NAS too.

 

[moshimoshi]

That's not what I said. While I'm unfamiliar with Allway Sync, it appears similar to Synology Drive. Drive also has a "backup" capability, if you can call it that, but it is quite restrictive on what it backs up, and how the backup is stored/organized.

Macrium Reflect is not a sync tool. It is a disk imaging tool. The closest Synology counterpart is Active Backup for Business (ABB). But for the life of me, I can't imagine ever using it for mission critical backups. Compared with Macrium Reflect, it is slow and inflexible, and frankly, Synology programming and support completely pales to Macrium.

I tried to like ABB but after several months I uninstalled it. Most of my PCs use Macrium Reflect, and I've been running Veeam over the past 4 months, and found it quite pleasing.

FWIW, I uninstalled Drive as well. It's poorly integrated with File Station, and its syncing client is a resource hog. I've transitioned primarily to Duplicacy and Rclone for backup and sync.

Just because I have a NAS, I don't feel like I must turn my life over to Synology. Their software is OK... but far from world-class IMO.

If you are pleased with Macrium Reflect and Allway Sync, why would you abandon them? If you have specific questions, I'm glad to help.

It seems you already know what's good and bad from Synology. I'm just starting and I have around 11TB of photos on my main PC 16TB hard drive that I regularly access (I also back it up to Backblaze), what' s your best suggestion for a backup solution to my Synology? I've tested ABB but it takes 1.5 to 2 days every time it checks if there is something new to backup, even if there is nothing new. I don't care nor need a full image for Windows, just a simple solution to backup my photos to the NAS (I have 3 Drives to backup, D, E, F) Please advice. Thank you.

 

[wizard99]

11TB is certainly a volume of Data, but may I suggest you give "Allway Sync" a Test Drive. It really is very versatile in Syncing Data between numerous locations including the Cloud should you desire. I've been using it now for 10+ years and for my 2 TB of current mixed data including Photo's, it locates and updates any changes to your files fairly quickly when it senses it. And its frequency of Sync is totally up to you. And its graphical display makes it easy for even the novice. I like to have my Data Backup in two forms: 1) Uncompressed where your files are simply a true mirror of the originals. 2) I use Macrium Reflect for my automated Daily Images. Again.. easy to understand GUI with the ability to also CLONE any Drives or Partitions. It's all automated ... you pick when and what type of Image Back Ups you wish... i.e. Any combination of Full / Incremental / Differential....

Hope that Helps....

 

[moshimoshi]

Thanks, do I need to setup some service on the NAS for Allway Sync to work? Also, what about if I delete something on my pc accidentally, how to I protect for this using it?

 

[wizard99]

You'll set up Folders for the respective Data you wish to back up to. You will also MAP the Network Drives using the Synology Assistant. Once you have these set up, you will then use Allway Sync and it is very self explanatory... almost like a wizard that will walk you through the steps, though I learned most of this on YouTube originally and simply by trying out all the options. Having a Synology gives you a wealth of information that others and Synology have done videos on.... with better explanations than I can provide.

Allway Sync gives you many options to prevent Data Loss as you describe. You can choose:

1) Mirror EVERYTHING that is on the drive or folder you've chosen. Nothing is deleted unless you manually Delete it yourself.
2) "Propagate Deletions" ..... Delete the master and it will Delete the Copy
3) "Propagate Modifications".... It will ONLY change the individual Data of the Master if you changed it.

Start off slow... Play with the options... It gets easier... You'll likely find others who have different methods of doing this than mine. Find the one you find most comfortable..... Have a Question? Check YouTube / Google for others who have done this before.

Hope this gets you started.

Here's some screen shot examples...:

 

[moshimoshi]

Thanks for your answer, my question is regarding what I need to setup and install on the Synology, Synology Drive? Shared Folders? How do I get versioning support?

 

[wizard99]

Synology's library of How to's and YouTube should be the first place you should begin as a new user in my experience.

DSM Online Demo

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Create a Shared Folder | DSM - Synology Knowledge Center

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I have not used "Drive" .... I've opted to use stand alone software for sync and backup tasks....

 

[moshimoshi]

thanks