Choosing First Nas Setup

[Robbie]

Hi mate!! First off, congratulations on the new baby - I hear that they can be messy at first, but after a while they really get brilliant! So, first and foremost, it's worth highlighting that you need to ensure you have a 2 step/stage backup. Having the photos/data/etc on your phones and sending them to the NAS is ONLY a backup if you intend to keep all that phone/PC/etc data on those devices too - else (as you found with your drive failure) if you delete from those devices to make space, you no longer have a backup - the NAS will have the ONLY COPY of that data in existence. So, you should look at a NAS and a USB backup, or small/free cloud space to backup key files via the software included with the NAS. For your needs, I would recommend a Synology, as they are remarkably user-friendly. However, given the volume of your data (and indeed the type) you are going to have to start with at least 2-4GB of memory, and x86 CPU and maybe even a 4 Bay minimum for future-proofing (you do not need to fully populate the system with HDDs, you Can run on just 1-2 HDDs (remember to have your data in a 2nd location though) and add drives later as time/budget allows. I would say go for the DS920+ (regularly on offer and you can pick it up on sales even now), the DS1621+ if you do not plan on being too close to the system but want to get seriously future proof (scaling towards 10GbE for video editing/production and more storage in years to come) or wait till the Synology DS923+ arrives in order to stay 'current'. Though do remember that it still does not have a confirmed ETA and will be very close to the launch RRP. Hope this helps!