03-30-2023, 03:52 PM
It seems that you have already purchased a Qnap 2-bay NAS and you plan to use it for storing your photo and music files, as well as providing access to those files to anyone on your home network. You also want to access the NAS remotely from a different physical address. You are considering placing the two hard drives in RAID 1 configuration to have a backup copy of your data.
Regarding your question about using an external disk, it really depends on your needs and preferences. If you want to keep your data all in one place, using an external disk as a backup could be a good option. However, if you prefer the redundancy and convenience of having your data already on the NAS, using RAID 1 could be the better option.
As for the hard drives, it is generally recommended to use identical drives in a RAID configuration to ensure compatibility and optimal performance. However, it is possible to use different drives, as long as they are of similar capacity and speed. Using a mix of WD and Seagate drives should not be a problem, as long as they meet the other requirements.
Regarding your question about WD Red drives, CMR is generally considered to be better for RAID setups than SMR due to its better performance and reliability.
Regarding your question about using an external disk, it really depends on your needs and preferences. If you want to keep your data all in one place, using an external disk as a backup could be a good option. However, if you prefer the redundancy and convenience of having your data already on the NAS, using RAID 1 could be the better option.
As for the hard drives, it is generally recommended to use identical drives in a RAID configuration to ensure compatibility and optimal performance. However, it is possible to use different drives, as long as they are of similar capacity and speed. Using a mix of WD and Seagate drives should not be a problem, as long as they meet the other requirements.
Regarding your question about WD Red drives, CMR is generally considered to be better for RAID setups than SMR due to its better performance and reliability.