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+--- Thread: Do I need a NAS? (/showthread.php?tid=12023)
Do I need a NAS? - Enquiries - 05-21-2025
Hi, I am looking for storage options that are both secure and convenient. My current use case is just to clear off space off my phone (Photos and videos) which has only 256GB of storage. I am looking for a long term solution for this use case and want to bring my old photos and videos over (about 1.7 TB). I have looked at the Synology BeeDrive and BeeStation. and both seems to offer only up to 4TB and the Beedrive has no form of password protection.
I am considering a NAS just for the purpose of having at least 8TB of storage, redundancy, security and scalability.
Is it a good idea or should I just stick with external HDDs?
RE: Do I need a NAS? - ed - 05-23-2025
For your needs—storing and securing around 1.7TB of photos and videos with room to grow—a NAS is definitely a better long-term choice than just external HDDs.
I’d recommend looking at something like the Synology DS224+ or the QNAP TS-264. Both are solid 2-bay NAS models that support RAID for data redundancy, come with user-friendly software, and offer apps to easily back up photos from your phone. They also provide password protection and other security features to keep your data safe.
Regarding the Synology BeeDrive and BeeStation, these devices are quite limited and locked into a specific ecosystem, which makes them less flexible and less future-proof. If you want to expand storage or add features later, you’ll quickly find them restrictive.
With a NAS like the DS224+ or TS-264, you get much more freedom to scale up your storage, add new features, and protect your data reliably.