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Hi. Thank you in advance. I've gone down the NAS rabbit hole and feel a bit lost. I'm looking to ditch my cloud service but can't figure out which NAS is best for me. I design custom homes and need somewhere to store/backup files as well as access them remotely. I'd also like to store my photos and videos and be able to access those on my mobile if possible. The max. amount of space I need is 4TB as I'm barely using 1 TB at the moment. Love your videos btw and appreciate your advice. I was going to go with Synology but so many say the speeds are slow accessing files remotely.
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Thank you for reaching out, and I’m glad you enjoy the content! Based on your requirements—ditching cloud services, storing and backing up design files, and accessing photos/videos remotely—a NAS is an excellent solution. Here’s my recommendation:
Recommended NAS Models
1. Synology DS423+
Why It’s Great:
Perfect for small businesses, offering excellent data organization and easy file sharing.
Includes Synology’s DSM software, which is intuitive and integrates well for remote access with Synology Drive and Synology Photos.
Speeds: While Synology’s remote speeds depend on your network setup, configuring QuickConnect or a reverse proxy can improve access speeds significantly.
2. QNAP TS-464
Why It’s an Alternative:
More powerful hardware with an Intel Celeron processor, which can handle more demanding tasks.
Excellent for remote access with apps like Qfile and Qsync.
Offers more flexibility for advanced users or potential future needs, such as multimedia streaming or additional workloads.
Storage Recommendations
Since your max storage need is 4TB:
Use 2x 4TB NAS drives (e.g., Seagate IronWolf or WD Red Plus) in a RAID 1 configuration. This gives you 4TB of usable space with redundancy to protect against drive failure.
Remote Access & Speeds
To improve remote access speeds:
Use a dynamic DNS setup for direct connections instead of relying solely on vendor apps.
Opt for a NAS with 2.5GbE ports (both recommended models have them) to future-proof your setup and maximize local network speeds.
Your internet upload speed will also play a significant role in remote access performance.
