I am finally getting around to replacing my old HP MediaSmart Server which I've used for probably 15 years backing up the PCs in my house and as a file server. It has worked great but it is time to upgrade. I've ordered and am awaiting delivery of the DS920+ in late March/early April. I am a NOOB as far as the Synology hardware goes. What do you wish you knew about your systems before you purchased/installed it? What should I watch our for? I'm looking forward to learning from this group. Thanks.
What do you wish you knew?
- Thread starter Aggie88
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What do you wish you knew?
Good choice!
- One of the most important decisions (as changing the decision is a lot of work) is how you want to setup your disks. Will you use a redundant disk setup or separate disks? ( I do warn against raid0 and JBOD).
- Run the security advisor and protect your system.
- Will you setup the system as a full central file server (=no data on your pc's anymore), or will you still backup pc's? The latter option is in my view outdated.
- Will you need offsite backup and versioning?
Great NAS no question about it. If I could offer some advice then maybe have a look at these resources here:
Hope you will get some useful info there.
Things I would have done differently:
1. I would have recognised the advantages of getting way more bays. More bays may seem more expensive but once you factor in the lower price of multiple lower capacity HDDs you can achieve a comparable price for a 'whole storage' system (especially when recycling existing smaller drives) so it can make financial sense. More spindles make for more speed and more flexibility, especially with Synology's SHR.
2. I would have thought more about form-factor. The DS units are nice looking, fractionally quieter and cheaper too but in reality they are devices that don't need physical interaction or to be seen. DS units are oddly shaped and don't really stack with other kit. I moved on to the RS short-depth rack-mounted format and (even without a rack) they are easier to stack with other kit and hide away somewhere. Getting everything into a rack, even at a later date, makes management simple.
3. Upgradability - something I did get right by getting a model with a PCIe slot. Didn't think I would need it but a change of circumstances and home-working made 10GbE networking suddenly an essential feature, along with an SSD-only volume.
4. Partner equipment - loads of things will come to mind when buying a NAS but arguably the best thing I bought for my NAS actually a small, cheap and low-power second NAS. Somewhere to locally back-up to, spends most of its time off-line for that virtual air-gap and has genuinely saved my bacon. Quite frankly it has turned DSM updates, major configuration changes, rebuilds, upgrades, drive issues and alike into a stress-free activity knowing that I have another local backup readily available.
5. Finally I would have asked an open question like yours on a forum such as this. I think it would have helped as in reality these units are not really NASes but small dedicated servers for home & work tasks alike. Something that is obvious to you already but back in the day I just thought about the storage, which is now the thing I think about the least.
1. I would have recognised the advantages of getting way more bays. More bays may seem more expensive but once you factor in the lower price of multiple lower capacity HDDs you can achieve a comparable price for a 'whole storage' system (especially when recycling existing smaller drives) so it can make financial sense. More spindles make for more speed and more flexibility, especially with Synology's SHR.
2. I would have thought more about form-factor. The DS units are nice looking, fractionally quieter and cheaper too but in reality they are devices that don't need physical interaction or to be seen. DS units are oddly shaped and don't really stack with other kit. I moved on to the RS short-depth rack-mounted format and (even without a rack) they are easier to stack with other kit and hide away somewhere. Getting everything into a rack, even at a later date, makes management simple.
3. Upgradability - something I did get right by getting a model with a PCIe slot. Didn't think I would need it but a change of circumstances and home-working made 10GbE networking suddenly an essential feature, along with an SSD-only volume.
4. Partner equipment - loads of things will come to mind when buying a NAS but arguably the best thing I bought for my NAS actually a small, cheap and low-power second NAS. Somewhere to locally back-up to, spends most of its time off-line for that virtual air-gap and has genuinely saved my bacon. Quite frankly it has turned DSM updates, major configuration changes, rebuilds, upgrades, drive issues and alike into a stress-free activity knowing that I have another local backup readily available.
5. Finally I would have asked an open question like yours on a forum such as this. I think it would have helped as in reality these units are not really NASes but small dedicated servers for home & work tasks alike. Something that is obvious to you already but back in the day I just thought about the storage, which is now the thing I think about the least.
D
Deleted member 673
Wish I had initially understood the importance of a UPS connected to the NAS to facilitate a controlled shutdown. Lesson learned!
Wish I had initially developed a clearly written and regularly tested RECOVERY PLAN that would allow anyone (other than myself!) with basic DSM desktop knowledge to recover from the most likely points of failure (e.g. user error resulting in data loss or corruption, NAS failure, HDD/SDD failure, etc.). The plan should include expected recovery timeframes - including time that may be required to obtain replacement hardware. Such plans can be scaled to most any environment from simple home/enthusiast to complex enterprise environments.
When starting a job/gig in a new-to-me business setting, I would insist on conducting at least two independent audits of the organization's backup, recovery, and security processes. First audit is to assess needs and develop requirements. Second (and possibly ongoing) audits are to ensure compliance. This allowed me to initially present a credible risk assessment to senior management - and to justify hardware or other expenses that were required to correct deficiencies. It also resulted in an arguably more robust process than we would have developed internally.
Great topic! Good reading here. Thanks, Ron
Wish I had initially developed a clearly written and regularly tested RECOVERY PLAN that would allow anyone (other than myself!) with basic DSM desktop knowledge to recover from the most likely points of failure (e.g. user error resulting in data loss or corruption, NAS failure, HDD/SDD failure, etc.). The plan should include expected recovery timeframes - including time that may be required to obtain replacement hardware. Such plans can be scaled to most any environment from simple home/enthusiast to complex enterprise environments.
When starting a job/gig in a new-to-me business setting, I would insist on conducting at least two independent audits of the organization's backup, recovery, and security processes. First audit is to assess needs and develop requirements. Second (and possibly ongoing) audits are to ensure compliance. This allowed me to initially present a credible risk assessment to senior management - and to justify hardware or other expenses that were required to correct deficiencies. It also resulted in an arguably more robust process than we would have developed internally.
Great topic! Good reading here. Thanks, Ron
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