Set-up QNAP TS453D, and synch

[Enquiries]

Hi Robbie et al,
Thanks for your QNAP 1st-time set-up videos. Learning a lot, and it's a tough slog.
NAS is QNAP TS453D, 4x4TB drives. Host computer is HP desktop, Windows 10. Initially 1 user (me). Later will add other devices and users. Thanks to Video #1 I have created one storage pool (4 disks), RAID 5, and 3 volumes, created and mapped 1 shared folder.
Next step (?) is to populate the NAS with “all” my data from the host computer, and to set up a means of keeping it up to date. I think (thanks to Video #2) I need to install and use Qsynch. Right? Wrong?? How should the data be copied to the NAS?
And, in plain language, what does “synch” actually mean? What is the source; what is the destination; what gets deleted when you “synch”? What are the rules for updates and deletions? I want the computer file to be the master; the NAS to be the backup file. Appreciate any explanation you can give, or you can point to me to.

Regards,
Paul
CTL (certified tech luddite)

[ed]

I'm glad to hear that you've found the QNAP setup videos helpful! To populate your QNAP TS453D NAS with your data and keep it up to date, using Qsync is indeed a good option. Qsync is a file synchronization tool provided by QNAP that allows you to synchronize files between your computer and the NAS.

When using Qsync, you can select specific folders on your computer that you want to sync with corresponding folders on the NAS. The source would be the folder on your computer, and the destination would be the folder on the NAS. Any changes made to files in the source folder will be automatically synced and reflected in the destination folder.

Regarding deletions, Qsync provides options to handle deleted files. You can choose to either keep the deleted files in the sync folders on the NAS or delete them as well, depending on your preference. By default, Qsync keeps deleted files in a special folder on the NAS called the "SyncDebris" folder.

In your case, since you want the computer files to be the master and the NAS to serve as a backup, you can set up Qsync to perform one-way synchronization from your computer to the NAS. This means that changes made on your computer will be synced to the NAS, but changes made on the NAS will not be synced back to the computer.

It's important to note that before using any synchronization tool, it's recommended to have a backup of your important files elsewhere, as synchronization tools can sometimes lead to unexpected file changes or deletions.