My Newbie Experience Getting Into NAS

[tonmischa]

Very important point. Worth repeating:

It isn't a backup. It is hardware fault tolerance only.

If you delete your data accidentally, it is gone

Otherwise:
@drrich2 Kudos for your excellent write-up. You put enormous effort into this and I believe that a lot of people will be very grateful to you.
If I could nominate you for some kind of MR Forum Award, I would.

 

[MGrayson3]

I assume you have no relationship with UGREEN aside from being a satisfied customer? It's worth clarifying.

And no mention of the NAS OS differences? Or I missed it. I chose my NAS specifically for ZFS and its penchant for NOT erasing data. I have plenty of TB, so I like having one more layer of disaster recovery.

 

[macdaddy43]

Excellent write up, explained for a normal person to understand. This would make a great YouTube script, you should try that out! I’d watch you!

 

[klasma]

It's not the best time to get into NASs now, as HDD and SSD prices have gone up considerably due to AI company demand. Also RAM if you want to upgrade beyond what's included.

 

[klasma]

And no mention of the NAS OS differences? Or I missed it. I chose my NAS specifically for ZFS and its penchant for NOT erasing data. I have plenty of TB, so I like having one more layer of disaster recovery.

Yes, it's a pity that none of the NAS vendor OSs use ZFS (no, QNAP's QuTS Hero doesn't use real ZFS).

 

[JamesMay82]

I wish Apple just made the time capsule again. Was simple and didn’t have to faff with different hardware and maintenance. Just worked.

Now with the next Mac OS, time capsules are no longer supported so need to find an alternative.

Thanks for sharing the NAS learns!

Yeah I wish they did as well.

I’m always sceptical of NAS brands because they all seem to be from more generic companies, and I worry about security…. especially when it comes to exposing devices to the internet.


I even feel that way about Synology. While I know they’re well regarded and widely used, they’re not a household name or privacy focused company like Apple or Google, so there’s an extra level of trust involved. For me, that means being cautious about enabling remote access features, locking things down as much as possible, and assuming responsibility for my own security rather than relying on the vendor by default.

At present I’m on raid DAS but very often just multiple Samsung T7 for backups in rotation

 

[drrich2]

Hah! I knew I'd likely get pushback on the issue of whether RAID (other than zero) is a 'backup' or not. The reviewers generally say no. It is said to be 'redundancy.' Just how the term 'backup' is defined (e.g.: is it just a copy of your data, or does it need to be a copy on a different device, and does it need to offer the option to go back to an older version of a file, etc.) comes up. My main interest is that newcomers who see this thread are aware of the issues.

I assume you have no relationship with UGREEN aside from being a satisfied customer? It's worth clarifying.

And no mention of the NAS OS differences? Or I missed it. I chose my NAS specifically for ZFS and its penchant for NOT erasing data. I have plenty of TB, so I like having one more layer of disaster recovery.

I have no role with any of these companies; I've bought a few UGreen accessories - an on sale cheap ethernet switch and one or more USB cables.

Ironically, I went with a Terra-Master F8 SSD NAS instead of a UGreen. After months of gradually building toward buying a UGreen, it came down to this...their solely SSD-based NAS cost more than I wanted to pay (and only had 4 SSD bays), and the Terra-Master option was on sale for around $450 by New Egg (undercutting competitors I saw at the time).

I'm slowly getting acquainted with Terra-Master's TOS 6 (7 is in beta and will hopefully be out soon). I haven't dealt with others. From the reviewer discussions I'd heard, in terms of maturity on brand-specific NAS OSes, polish and plethora of offerings, Synology is the 'go-to' and maybe QNAP next. That's not to say they're the only one's who've been around and evolved; Terra-Master and Asustor are not new to the game. UGreen and Ubiquiti got into the NAS game pretty recently, but reviewers indicate UGreen has made great strides in maturing their software platform and their mobile app. (e.g.: for smart phone) is highly praised. On the strength of those reviewer reports, unless I had particularly niche needs, I'd take a gamble on UGreen.

Oh, but since you brought up NAS OSes, I don't recall if I mentioned this - some NAS vendors on at least some of their models let you install a 3rd party OS if you want to. So, let's say you get a UGreen and decide you don't like their OS and want to switch to TrueNAS. You can do that.

ZFS is kind of like the issue of ECC memory; I had to make some judgment calls about (note: I like cliches and metaphors; not sure how well they're known by the international audience) how far to 'venture off into the weeds.' That's the thing about going down the NAS 'rabbit hole' - there's always more to know.

It's not the best time to get into NASs now, as HDD and SSD prices have gone up considerably due to AI company demand. Also RAM if you want to upgrade beyond what's included.

Yes, they have! To the point where, in the wake of the late 2025 holiday season pricing, I think the prices on SSDs (even worse if you demand SSDs with high TBW ratings) will push more people into units relying mainly on HDD (which appeared to dominate already).

I’m always sceptical of NAS brands because they all seem to be from more generic companies, and I worry about security…. especially when it comes to exposing devices to the internet.

It's my understanding Synology is often used in business, and Ubiquiti is a reputable brand amongst prosumers and professionals (I'm talking networking gear generally, not NAS-specific), judging from reviews and comments. That suggests some user confidence.

People who have the technical knowledge and sophistication to really get into maximizing network security are a minority of home computer users, and while the NAS community likely average more sophistication, I suspect a lot of them, too, aren't as astute about it as experts wish. Many of us have to trust!

But before I come off as pooh-poohing security concerns about NAS, another topic I didn't get into - apparently some years back there was the Deadbolt Ransomware attack affecting a number of NAS brands at the time. NASCompares got into it a bit (see 12:25 at Terramaster F8 SSD NAS - Should You Buy? (Short Review)).

The issue of NAS security is important, though on another level from my intro. Maybe too important to ignore. Here, a little quick Googling turned up this July 30, 2024 (last updated) resource by NASCompares:

A History Of NAS Security Incidents – Deadbolt, Synolocker, Muhstik, ECh0raix And More​

 

[ProbablyDylan]

Wow, this is a great read! You really get into a lot of details that are often overlooked - love to see it.

About a year ago I embarked on procuring a real NAS, and ended up building a custom one since I couldn't find an off-the-shelf solution that did what I want at a price point I was happy with. Admittedly, I blew past that price argument really quickly, but I'm very happy with my UnRAID box.

 

[drrich2]

I wish Apple just made the time capsule again. Was simple and didn’t have to faff with different hardware and maintenance. Just worked.

Now with the next Mac OS, time capsules are no longer supported so need to find an alternative.

I would love to see what a high-end, highly motivated Apple team could do with NAS development. I had an Airport Extreme router, not the Time Capsule version, but it was such as easy, 'just works' pleasure. I like my TP Link router, but people buy into the Apple ecosystem for a reason. That said, I have to wonder how well an Apple NAS would work with Windows PC users. They also call the Apple ecosystem a 'walled garden' for a reason.

About a year ago I embarked on procuring a real NAS, and ended up building a custom one since I couldn't find an off-the-shelf solution that did what I want at a price point I was happy with. Admittedly, I blew past that price argument really quickly, but I'm very happy with my UnRAID box.

How long and how much work would you estimate it took you to get a good handle on your NAS, such that you could confidently manage/administrate the thing and had it doing what you wanted? Just curious how daunting you found the learning curve to be.

Did you build from a tower PC, get a tower unit (or similar) made for a NAS, or something else?

 

[Runaway Train]

Moving to a NAS solved a host of issues for me. It was the single most important purchase for me in the past few years.

I got tired of having data on separate machines. The NAS allows me to have things centralized. Via SMB shares I just load the share and done. The Synology Photos Mobile app just dumps everything from my iPhone to the NAS, neatly ordered in the background.

Local stand alone copies on Mac’s for important files. Also stored in a separate cloud account for work off site as I do not and will never open the NAS to Internet / Remote access.

Everything is backed up neatly. A master back up then two others for Docs etc to attached local discs. Mine is a Synology 2 disc array and it has RAID writing to each disc in parallel - they are exact copies of each other. This provides protection from disc failure (but not a complete failure of the NAS itself). I also have stand alone SSD’s backing up for redundancy and then the cloud.

For me at least, moving to NAS was a game changer.

 

[cateye]

Hah! I knew I'd likely get pushback on the issue of whether RAID (other than zero) is a 'backup' or not. The reviewers generally say no. It is said to be 'redundancy.' Just how the term 'backup' is defined (e.g.: is it just a copy of your data, or does it need to be a copy on a different device, and does it need to offer the option to go back to an older version of a file, etc.) comes up. My main interest is that newcomers who see this thread are aware of the issues.

You can argue semantics all you like but you are doing beginners a disservice by not being clear: RAID in and of itself is not a backup. It is a way to combine separate physical storage units into a single virtual addressable space for media redundancy or performance. It does nothing whatsoever to protect data from removal by the file system or catastrophic failure of the entire array. You can use a set of RAID configured physical storage units as part of a backup plan, but putting one copy of your data on a RAID does not make it “backed up.”

Yes, others have said the same. Yes, I’m being redundant. But I feel like these points need to be hammered home because there are still people who post on MacRumors all the time in a panic about needless, fully-preventable data loss, so clearly the general message about data security and what is and isn’t a backup—faultless protection against data loss—isn’t getting through.

But kudos to you for creating a comprehensive review of a complex topic!

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

My Beginner's Journey into NAS​

Hello. Over the past several months I've intermittently researched the topic of NAS (Network Attached Storage) out of general interest with an eye toward having multi-device wirelessly accessible centralized large storage without subscription fees. I'm still very new to the NAS world and stumbling along slowly as I learn this, set up that, etc. Even restricted to a home user perspective, the world of NAS is a real 'rabbit hole' to go down, with multiple factors one need understand and seeking answers leads to finding more questions. My purpose in this thread is to share what I've dug up (and maybe save somebody else the trouble), offer a rough overview of some basics, point to some online experts' educational offerings and invite others who have an interest in NAS to share their experience and advice. I'm a newbie, hoping to explain the basis to another newbie the way I wish somebody had explained it to me.

Making the Jump from your Mac to a DAS to a NAS​

It’s easiest to understand by building on the base understanding most any Mac user has. Picture yourself sitting at your desk with your Mac in front of you. That Mac has an SSD inside of it, where everything (e.g.: operating system, applications, files, photos, music) is stored. But Apple charges a LOT of money for ‘extra’ (i.e.: more than you can scrape by with) SSD storage, so many people attach an external SSD, where they put files, photos, videos, music, etc. This device connects directly to your Mac via USB-C (typically with 10-Gbps speed) or Thunderbolt 3 or 4 (40-Gbps speed) or Thunderbolt 5 (80-Gbps speed).

That approach to adding storage is called a DAS (direct-attached storage). Your Mac is the host, the external device is the client, and the device is usually only accessible by your Mac it’s attached to (though Macs can be set up to act as servers).

But what if you wanted more storage. Like, a whole lot of it (e.g.: you have ripped a bunch of DVD movies, or are a content creator working in video). SSDs are very expensive and tend to top out now at 8-terabytes in size; old school HDDs (hard disc drives) are cheaper, way bigger, far slower and often a bit noisy (especially the very large capacity ones).

Hm. What if you had an external storage device that held more than one disk; say, at least 2, maybe 4 or more? Yeah, that’s the ticket! If that’s as far as you go, there’s a name for it – JBOD (Just A Bunch Of Discs). But…that’s like having a few external SSDs hooked to your Mac and/or dock; you need to be organized and know which content is on which disc. Apple Spotlight is good for search, but what if…you could make your Mac ‘see’ all those discs as if they were one huge virtual disc? And what if those discs, transmitting data together, could better saturate whatever connection you used to give higher speed transfers to your Mac (especially for HDDs)?

That’s called RAID (Redundant Array of Independent (some say Inexpensive) Discs). The data gets spread across the discs, and they work together as one to hold and deliver your data! Awesome! But if that’s all you do, that’s called RAID 0 (zero), and if any disc in that array fails, you lose everything (unless you have an external backup). It’s the fastest RAID, but lacks redundancy (i.e.: there’s no backup function in the device itself). Bummer. You probably don’t want RAID 0.

It’d be cool if your RAID could store data so if one disc, or maybe even two, failed, you couple replace it and not lose any data at all. And there’s a RAID for that. Here are forms you’re likely to see:

RAID 0 – You can access all discs’ full capacity combined like one huge disc, fastest option, no redundancy, any disc fails kiss your data goodbye.

RAID 1 – You have 2 discs and each is a mirror image of the other. If either one fails you lose nothing. But…you only have access to half the storage capacity you paid for (e.g.: if you have 2 4-terabyte drives in your DAS RAID 1, you only have 4-terabytes accessible storage).

RAID 5 (no, I don’t know why the numbers skip around) – Requires at least 3 discs, but only one’s capacity is set aside for redundancy; if any one disc fails, you lose nothing if you replace it before one of the others fails. If more than one fails…you lose it all.

RAID 6 – Like RAID 5, but you have to have at least 4 discs and up to 2 can fail without you losing everything.

You also have to consider your network. It can be a bottleneck when it comes to speed. My NAS, Windows Desktop, and MacMini are connected to a 10GBe switch and 10GBe/Wifi 7 router. So basically my network can take advantage of the speed of have a 2 fault 6 HDD setup. And also my devices that uses Wifi 6e or 7 can take advantage as well. Any device that only has 1GBe or Wifi 6 and below, will suffer with speed. And of course outside your network/home, using your NAS remotely, the speed will depend on your home internet speed and whatever you’re connected to on the outside.

Do get me wrong, you’ll still have great use of a NAS even on a normal 1GBe network and using Wifi 5Ghz. But don’t get excited about the benefit of SSD-like transfer speeds from a HDD RAID, unless your network is 2.5GBe or higher.


I would also advise to purchase a UPS in case of power failures.

 

[drrich2]

You can argue semantics all you like but you are doing beginners a disservice by not being clear: RAID in and of itself is not a backup.

However one labels it, I hope the article and discussion make people aware of the issues. Yes, it's semantics. Even from the perspective of deeming RAID a backup, it's got multiple flaws. My thinking:

I think most average home users consider a 'backup' to be at least a copy of their data in current or near current condition. In my case, each night Carbon Copy Cloner updates the copy of my Mac's SSD on an external USB-C SSD drive. That approach, too, has marked limitations, such as fire, theft, if I mistakenly delete or damage a file it will also be deleted or damaged on the copy that night when CCC updates, etc. (unlike Apple's Time Machine, where you can seek prior versions). But I think most average home users would consider my external SSD copy to be a backup.

In that sense, RAID other than zero could also be called a backup. It has the additional potential failure point of the device housing the RAID malfunctioning in such a way that the RAID array is irreparably damaged - in that case, I supposed both disks in a RAID I, for example, would be lost.

So how to put that in semantics. I'm a literalist. To my analysis, RAID (other than zero) is a flawed backup with substantial vulnerabilities. I suspect many consider it to be an inadequate backup, and to warn and encourage other people not to rely on it, it's easier to claim it's not a backup so as to motivate people to aim for more secure measures.

As you pointed out, semantics. However one labels it, people should understand the limitations.

And of course outside your network/home, using your NAS remotely, the speed will depend on your home internet speed and whatever you’re connected to on the outside.

Regarding remote access, all the more an issue if one's cable modem service has upload speed drastically slower than download, which is the case with my ISP.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

Yeah I wish they did as well.

I’m always sceptical of NAS brands because they all seem to be from more generic companies, and I worry about security…. especially when it comes to exposing devices to the internet.


I even feel that way about Synology. While I know they’re well regarded and widely used, they’re not a household name or privacy focused company like Apple or Google, so there’s an extra level of trust involved. For me, that means being cautious about enabling remote access features, locking things down as much as possible, and assuming responsibility for my own security rather than relying on the vendor by default.

At present I’m on raid DAS but very often just multiple Samsung T7 for backups in rotation

Synology is going downhill. The competition is killing them hardware wise, and because of Synology‘s new attempt to force users of newer models to use only their HDDs and SSDs.

Me personally, I’m looking at Ugreen for my next update, probably in a year or two.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

Regarding remote access, all the more an issue if one's cable modem service has upload speed drastically slower than download, which is the case with my ISP.

It depends on what you’re doing. In most cases it’s not an issue.

 

[TechnoMonk]

You can argue semantics all you like but you are doing beginners a disservice by not being clear: RAID in and of itself is not a backup. It is a way to combine separate physical storage units into a single virtual addressable space for media redundancy or performance. It does nothing whatsoever to protect data from removal by the file system or catastrophic failure of the entire array. You can use a set of RAID configured physical storage units as part of a backup plan, but putting one copy of your data on a RAID does not make it “backed up.”

Yes, others have said the same. Yes, I’m being redundant. But I feel like these points need to be hammered home because there are still people who post on MacRumors all the time in a panic about needless, fully-preventable data loss, so clearly the general message about data security and what is and isn’t a backup—faultless protection against data loss—isn’t getting through.

But kudos to you for creating a comprehensive review of a complex topic!

Appreciate OP’s post. But this is important for beginner to understand what is back up and what is fault tolerance. I have used NAS for over decade, and they do fail. When that happens, folks better have a back up. Worst of all, NAS can have backups from multiple devices and can quickly become single point of failure.

 

[myhaksown]

In my experience the UGREEN DXP 6800 over thunderbolt is dramatically faster than over Ethernet but I’m limited on cache capacity so it averages about 800MBps via thunderbolt. Also worth noting (didn’t see it or may have missed it) Synology kicks you to their drives on their newer models whereas UGREEN doesn’t. Also Synology is more expensive and has much weaker processors.

 

[erihp]

cool blog

 

[Abydos]

thanks for the info, I use openZFS on my raid - the usual learn the open source approach and modify to suit your needs, I think your approach is less work than the openZFS approach but hell I'm a cheapskate

 

[WarmWinterHat]

In my experience the UGREEN DXP 6800 over thunderbolt is dramatically faster than over Ethernet but I’m limited on cache capacity so it averages about 800MBps via thunderbolt. Also worth noting (didn’t see it or may have missed it) Synology kicks you to their drives on their newer models whereas UGREEN doesn’t. Also Synology is more expensive and has much weaker processors.

Synology walked back their requirement for Synology-branded drives on the consumer models, but if I was buying today, I would be considering UGREEN too. Since a NAS is kind of a set-and-forget device, I won't be updating my DS224 for, hopefully, years.

As for Thunderbolt, I couldn't imagine having a NAS in the same room as me; they are noisy! I keep mine in the storage area of the basement.

 

[tonmischa]

In that sense, RAID other than zero could also be called a backup.

Sorry for being so blunt, but: No, you can not call it a backup.

Imagine this:
RAID 5 distributes your data across several disks, then calculates ONLY a parity bit which goes on yet another disk.
What makes this a second copy of your data?

All a RAID does - in the context of a 3-2-1 backup strategy - is protect against a single hard disk failure. Nothing else.
If you copy a file onto a RAID, you have created one copy.
One. NOT two.

if I mistakenly delete or damage a file it will also be deleted or damaged on the copy that night when CCC updates,

CCC has a feature called SafetyNet (enabled by default), that keeps previous versions of files in special Archive folders (sorted by Backup date).

 

[TheHareBear]

Sorry for being so blunt, but: No, you can not call it a backup.

Imagine this:
RAID 5 distributes your data across several disks, then calculates ONLY a parity bit which goes on yet another disk.
What makes this a second copy of your data?

All a RAID does - in the context of a 3-2-1 backup strategy - is protect against a single hard disk failure. Nothing else.
If you copy a file onto a RAID, you have created one copy.
One. NOT two.


CCC has a feature called SafetyNet (enabled by default), that keeps previous versions of files in special Archive folders (sorted by Backup date).

This is should be the end of the discussion - RAID is not giving you a backup and it is disingenuous and unhelpful to try and argue any other position. RAID (other than RAID 0) is fault tolerance of various different flavours. Backups, for example, give you the option to go back to prior versions of files to deal with file corruption or accidental deletion; RAID does not do that.

The RAID level numbers don’t jump about: RAID 0 through 6, then the hybrid/nested levels as well such as 0+1 or 1+0 or 5+0, all exist. RAID 2 is no longer used and RAID 3 is obscure. The main thing is to figure out whether one is preferring speed of reading, writing, or fault tolerance and as a result how many discs one is giving up to achieve that and thus the size/cost/bays needed or possible for a given enclosure.

Additionally - ensure the NAS is not doing something proprietary and it is firmware/hardware delivered and not software delivered. When throwing a decent chunk of money at it in terms of the enclosure and appropriate quality of discs then do it properly so there aren’t tears later.

I’ve been happily using QNAP for many years, initially a 2 bay model running RAID 1, and now a 4 bay model running RAID 5. My Macs use the QNAP Time Machine service, and the data stored on the QNAP I particularly care about is backed up each night to Amazon S3.

The discs in the QNAP are Western Digital RED so they are quiet in a home environment and built to run continuously for very long periods - 1703 days of being powered on according to the current stats and no abnormal sectors. Googling backblaze drive stats shows their findings on drive reliability though it’s worth finding out which might be suitable for home use in terms of how loud they run.

Andrew

 

[JamesMay82]

Synology is going downhill. The competition is killing them hardware wise, and because of Synology‘s new attempt to force users of newer models to use only their HDDs and SSDs.

Me personally, I’m looking at Ugreen for my next update, probably in a year or two.

U green concern me as they are too new ingot the market for my liking.

This year I’ve upgraded all my machines and went for 2TB models so I can keep all my key files local and then I just use Time Machine for back ups..

I’m still very tempted my a nas but that’s just to help keep my families files backed up more so than mine

 

[ProbablyDylan]

How long and how much work would you estimate it took you to get a good handle on your NAS, such that you could confidently manage/administrate the thing and had it doing what you wanted? Just curious how daunting you found the learning curve to be.

Maybe a weekend? Only because unraid has much more functionality than I expected. I initially just wanted bulk storage, but I found myself setting up Jellyfin for media streaming and a bunch of other utilities.

Did you build from a tower PC, get a tower unit (or similar) made for a NAS, or something else?

I bought a NAS case from Newegg - they have a ton of options for this sort of thing. From there I just went down to Micro Center for an ITX motherboard, a cheap ryzen APU, memory, cache SSD, and a pair of 12TB drives. I specifically went with Unraid so that I could add drives to the storage pool later of need be - not simple to do with something like ZFS, as I understand it.

I definitely see the appeal of an off-the-shelf solution, but I enjoy the build and testing and all that nerdy stuff.

 

[seek3r]

Sorry for being so blunt, but: No, you can not call it a backup.

Imagine this:
RAID 5 distributes your data across several disks, then calculates ONLY a parity bit which goes on yet another disk.
What makes this a second copy of your data?

All a RAID does - in the context of a 3-2-1 backup strategy - is protect against a single hard disk failure. Nothing else.
If you copy a file onto a RAID, you have created one copy.
One. NOT two.

While you’re right that RAID isnt backup, you’re wrong about how RAID5 works. The parity data is distributed in RAID5, you’re thinking of RAID4 which uses a dedicated parity disk