Hi! I'm a professional photographer and graphic designer. I'm looking for a whole NAS system. Your videos are helpful but my brain hurts. Can you just put together a package of everything I need to buy? I'm Mac OS and have less than 14 TB of data scattered on several drives. I'm currently adding about 2-3TB of data a year. But, that may change as technology and workload changes. I want to be able to work directly on the NAS from multiple Macs in different locations. Mobile device access is also necessary. I'm currently backing up my drives to CrashPlan. I don't know what RAID to configure for the best/safest file protection. I really just want you to send me a package/list of everything I need so I can check this off my list. Thanks so much!
Hi there! As a professional photographer and graphic designer, a NAS system would be a great investment for you to store and manage your valuable data. Based on your requirements, I would recommend either the Synology DS420+ or the DS920+ NAS, both of which are powerful and flexible devices that can meet your needs.
In addition, since you are working with large files, I would suggest investing in a NAS with a GPU to enhance video transcoding and photo editing performance. The Synology DS920+ offers an integrated Intel UHD Graphics 630 GPU, which can accelerate photo and video editing workloads.
Here's a list of items that you'll need to create your NAS package:
Synology DS420+ or DS920+ NAS
Hard drives: You'll need to purchase hard drives to install in the NAS. Based on your current data storage and future growth, I would recommend purchasing four 8TB or 10TB hard drives. You can configure these drives in a RAID configuration for data protection.
RAM: To enhance the performance of the NAS, you can upgrade the RAM to 8GB or 16GB depending on your budget.
GPU: If you opt for the DS920+ with an integrated GPU, you won't need to purchase a separate GPU.
Ethernet cables: You'll need Ethernet cables to connect your NAS to your router or network switch.
Backup software: Synology NAS devices come with built-in backup software, but you may want to consider purchasing a third-party backup solution such as CrashPlan for added redundancy.
With regards to the SHR configuration, I would recommend configuring the NAS in a SHR configuration, which will offer a balance of data protection and storage capacity. SHR can withstand the failure of one hard drive without data loss, but you will need to replace the failed drive and rebuild the array.
I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any further questions.