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New nas? - Enquiries - 09-12-2025
Have Synology 416+ but with raid 1
Want to move to raid 5
Was using macrium reflect but they are changing to subscription model so decided to look at ways to get more secure backup and raid 5?
Have not used Synology backup function and do not want to get into a new Synology that is going to require subscription
Looked at 4 bay Synology terramaster qnap ugreen as author and two others. Ruled out Terra master when realized it was Chinese for security in Canada
Had ruled out qnap because of your comments on dated equipment and then late last night decided to search to see if they had any new releases and found the new product line.
Was nervous about ugreen but figured software changes would be easy to deal with if hardware options were better. Ruled out asustor because of noise and power consumption.
Will be scanning and uploading tons of family photos (guessing about a thousand in high resolution)going back to the 1800s so want great reliable storage Have never trusted.
RE: New nas? - ed - 09-12-2025
Thanks for sharing the details, that helps narrow things down. Your DS416+ has done well, but RAID 1 in a 4-bay setup does limit you. Moving to RAID 5 would give you more usable space, but it’s worth keeping in mind that RAID is not the same as backup. Since you’re working with irreplaceable family photos, it’s best to combine a resilient RAID (RAID 5 or RAID 6) with an actual backup routine, whether to an external drive or a cloud target. Synology’s Hyper Backup is free and works well without any subscription, so you don’t need to worry about the new subscription trend you’ve seen elsewhere.
With your budget of around 1500 CAD and a capacity target of 24–32TB, I’d suggest looking at either the Synology DS923+ or the new DS925+. The DS925+ is the more recent model but requires Synology-branded drives if you want to stay in full warranty. The DS923+ is still current, allows a wider choice of drives, and is often the better value. QNAP’s new Qu series (Qu405, Qu605, Qu805) are interesting if you want something fresher on the hardware side, but Synology still has the edge in backup software, long-term updates, and stability.
UGREEN has good hardware for the price, but their software is still relatively new compared with Synology and QNAP. Since you’re dealing with critical family archives, I’d lean toward Synology for its proven backup tools and community support. You can pair the NAS with NAS-rated drives like Seagate IronWolf or WD Red Plus. For example, here’s a current option: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Seagate+IronWolf+Pro+NAS&linkCode=ll2&tag=dbite_yt-20
If you go with RAID 5 on four 8TB or 10TB drives, you’ll be in the 24–30TB usable range you want. Just make sure you also have an external drive or cloud sync as a secondary backup, since RAID alone won’t protect against accidental deletion or ransomware.