DSM 7.1 Using Synology Drive to backup macOS Photos Library?

[guinnsquirrel]

Hello,


Is there a way I can use Synology Drive 3.xx to backup my photos library, on macOS Monterey, onto my DS920+?
If not, is there a better approach to backing up macOS photos onto my Synology NAS?

 

[Rusty]

While Synology Photos platform does support ios backup options, there is no direct macos support for the same.

Still, Photos lib (macOS) could be backed up as a whole "container" just like any other file on macOS, and Drive would be a tool to do it.

Have you tried setting up a Drive backup job that includes the Photos lib location? After that try and restore it as a new/separate photos lib on your mac and connect to it using the alternate library option to see if the restored versions is working fine. If it is, then you have your backup/restore process.

 

[tekguru]

I'd be interested to hear hoe you get on with this.

 

[ChAlb]

Well, in my own experience, storing Photos Library on a network drive (SMB, APFS, Cloud Drive...) is not recommended and tends to corrupt the database.
There is a clear recommandation of Apple about this: Move your Photos library to save space on your Mac (It's a limitation that exists since iPhoto).

I finally found a safe solution by using the Synology SAN Manager to setup an iSCSI Target mounting it on macOS (I use Daemon Tools but there are other iSCSI client available on mac). The drive is then seen by macOS as real drive that you can format in APFS or HFS...

This way I can use the Library with all mac on the network (only one mac at a time can access the iSCSI Drive to avoid corruption and concurrent access)

To backup the library I use the snapshot features of SAN Manager.

My 2 cents.

 

[Rusty]

I used to run it like that as well as a formatted sparse bundle image with HFS+ format. Mounted the image then accessed the lib via Photos app. Never had any issues as the library was on a volume that was intended by design. Since then I have moved to Synology Photos, so not using the native mac app no more.

 

[ChAlb]

I used to run it like that as well as a formatted sparse bundle image with HFS+ format. Mounted the image then accessed the lib via Photos app. Never had any issues as the library was on a volume that was intended by design. Since then I have moved to Synology Photos, so not using the native mac app no more.

Yes this is another good solution.

 

[4mxs]

Well, in my own experience, storing Photos Library on a network drive (SMB, APFS, Cloud Drive...) is not recommended and tends to corrupt the database.
There is a clear recommandation of Apple about this: Move your Photos library to save space on your Mac (It's a limitation that exists since iPhoto).

I finally found a safe solution by using the Synology SAN Manager to setup an iSCSI Target mounting it on macOS (I use Daemon Tools but there are other iSCSI client available on mac). The drive is then seen by macOS as real drive that you can format in APFS or HFS...

This way I can use the Library with all mac on the network (only one mac at a time can access the iSCSI Drive to avoid corruption and concurrent access)

To backup the library I use the snapshot features of SAN Manager.

My 2 cents.

Would this setup be good for Time Machine backups ?
If yes, would it be possible for you to detail a little bit more the config ?

I'd like to add a APFS drive to my Synology, but officially there is no way...

 

[ChAlb]

Sure you can use it too for TimeMachine
Just create a LUN on Syno, and use an iSCSI client on the mac. I use Daemon Tools which is supported on Ventura and should be on Sonoma.