NAS system -

[Enquiries]

I am thinking of getting a NAS to store my photos (backup) along with having a system where my photos on my phone can upload as getting them off my iPhone to the PC can error.
I understand that Synology have a phone app that acts like Google Photos - do this (or any NAS system that offer a photo app for phones) have an upload limit of videos/files ?
If there was a power outage whilst the NAS is in use, would it corrupt the drives, or would it be able to recover?
What NAS would you recommend for home use in 2022?
I have a 4TB hard drive on my PC where all of my phots are. I understand that RAID gives various options; primary and then a back copy or the first drive; also, I see one where it has a copy on a drive and across 2 drives it splits is ... If you could give your views on the best RAID , that would be really helpful too.

[TribalHound]

Synology & Qnap both have apps for your phone where you can access your data, photos, videos etc.. on the move.

The fact you mention Synology means you are probably leaning towards them. They are simpler to setup & manage if you're not particularly technically minded or want to get involved.

If you're not going to be using the NAS for anything except as a backup then the DS220J series is your starter. Simple, effective, but it will have a fairly short life expectancy if you want to do much more with it over the next few years. The DS218 is a marginal step up with the DS218Play more suited if you have video content to consider.

Beyond that you won't be disappointed with the DS220+ capabilities that allow you to expand your knowledge or just buy you longer lifespan before you need to upgrade again. Then there's the DS720+ where you're getting into future proofing, optimal speeds, customization & decisions about how you want it to operate.

If you're running 4TB now with enough space for the future, then you could get 2 x 4TB WD Red or 2 x Seagate BarraCuda drives, they're both NAS designed for 24/7 usage. You can always replace them with bigger later, or go bigger now and avoid having to worry about it as your drives fill up.

Of course, the joy of NAS is your storage limits are only governed by the space you have or the budget you have and there's no monthly fees. Just buy bigger drives / bigger NAS.

In terms of RAID it offers protection against a drive failure. In a 2-4 bay NAS that's one drive fails and you're still OK, but replace it promptly because most people buy all their discs at the same time, from the same retailer, from the same manufacturer, and often from the same batch. So guess what - they wear out about the same time.

Raid 0 is a NO - it writes half your data to one disc and the other half to the other disc - sure it's fast & you get the capacity of both discs, but if your NAS or either disc fail - you've lost the lot.
Raid 1 for 2 bay is the only real choice - you get the storage capacity of 1 disc, but it makes a carbon copy of everything to the other. (Synology can set this up as SHR for you)
With a 2 bay NAS you 'could' just have 2 discs independent of the other, but then why have a NAS and not just two discs in a case ?
All other Raid requires more than 2 discs, so only applicable if that's what you buy.

Don't forget, even in Raid 1 with cover against a disc failing, they are both being managed by the NAS. Think of it like a 2 bed house. If you're decorating one, you can sleep in the other for a bit. But if a tree falls through you're roof, you're off to a hotel.

My advice - keep the photo's on your 4TB PC drive AND on a 2 bay NAS in Raid 1. You can access your data from either, but make sure they're regularly synchronized. There's software you can get for your PC or already exists in most NAS that can manage this actively or on a scheduled basis.

Hope this has been helpful.