NAS for Photography

[Enquiries]

Hi there,
I am looking for NAS to sort, store, share and overall manage my photos (hobby photograph). Hence, Synology is my choice (Photostation).
Besides, I want to use it as generic data storage and maybe as a VM for Smart Home environment (maybe I will use my Pi which currently runs OMV for that - but who knows).
Plex etc. will not be used.

Priority should be a smooth working for a huge number of photos.
Currently I have a 4 TB Ironwolf, would add a 8TB and later exchange the 4TB to a 2nd 8TB for RAID1 usage (is 2Bay fine? makes 4Bay more sense?)

Thoughts:
2Bay:
Basic: DS220+ (~320€)
Advanced: DS720+ (~440€)
2023: DS723+ (~490€)
4Bay:
Basic: DS420+ (~520€)
2023: DS423+ (~520€)
Advanced 2023: DS923+ (~595€)

The more the better - sure - but
1. Does the extra money pay out?
2. do I need 4 Bay? Probably 2x8TB would run for years.

I would definitely upgrade the RAM to at least 10GB (+~30€/ ECC: ~60€).

Would be happy for help. Many thanks!

[ed]

For your use case, a 2-bay NAS like the DS220+ or DS720+ should be sufficient. The main advantage of a 4-bay NAS would be the ability to expand storage capacity in the future, but since you plan to use RAID 1 with two 8TB drives, a 2-bay NAS would meet your needs for a while.

The DS220+ is a good choice for a basic setup, but if you want more advanced features and better performance, the DS720+ would be a better option. It has a faster CPU and more RAM (2GB vs. 4GB), which should help with handling a large number of photos.

Upgrading the RAM to at least 10GB would be a good idea, especially if you plan to run VMs in the future. However, keep in mind that Synology NAS systems use non-ECC RAM, so if you choose to go with ECC RAM, you may experience compatibility issues.

Overall, I would recommend the DS720+ for your use case. It offers good performance and expandability options, while still being affordable.
With a 4-bay you can take advantage of RAID5 which use less storage space for parity.