Quick NAS Upgrade Advice Needed: 2-Bay or 4-Bay for Family Photo Backups?

[Enquiries]

Hi Rob,

I’m currently using a Synology DS214play with 4TB SHR (ext4) mainly for backing up family photos and videos. We love the Synology Photos app but it’s become slow and sluggish on this older model.

I’m considering upgrading and would appreciate your advice on a few points:

For our needs—regular photo/video backup with no business or remote work use—should I go for a 2-bay or 4-bay NAS? I want something fast and future-proof but not overkill.

Regarding file systems, should I stick with ext4 or switch to Btrfs? Does Btrfs offer real benefits for home users focused on photos and videos?

If I switch to Btrfs, how do I migrate data from my ext4 drives? I assume hot-swapping isn’t possible.

Docker use (for Adguard DNS and n8n) is optional but a nice bonus.

Thanks for your expert advice!

[ed]

2-bay vs 4-bay

I’d recommend going with a 4-bay. Even if you only start with two drives, having the extra bays gives you more flexibility to expand capacity or redundancy later. For example, you could start with 2×4TB in SHR and add more drives down the line as your storage needs grow, without having to replace drives or start from scratch. Performance-wise, a 4-bay can also stripe reads/writes across more drives if you set it up that way, which helps with responsiveness for photo browsing.

A good fit in your budget range would be the DS423+, which is much faster than your DS214play, supports Docker, and has plenty of headroom for years to come.

File system: ext4 vs Btrfs

For home users managing lots of photos and videos, Btrfs is worth it. It gives you snapshots, easier recovery if you make mistakes, and better data integrity checking. DSM makes using Btrfs very easy — you won’t notice much difference day-to-day, but it’s nice insurance to have.

Migrating from ext4 to Btrfs

Unfortunately, you can’t just migrate ext4 to Btrfs in place or by hot-swapping the drives — Synology requires you to create a new volume in Btrfs. The typical process is:
1. Back up your data somewhere else temporarily (USB drive, external HDD, cloud).
2. Install new drives (or wipe your old ones if you’re reusing them) in the new NAS.
3. Create a new SHR volume using Btrfs.
4. Restore your data onto the new volume.

It’s a bit of a hassle, but it’s the cleanest way to start fresh on the new file system.

Summary
• Go 4-bay for flexibility.
• DS423+ is a great choice here.
• Use Btrfs for peace of mind and snapshots.
• Plan for a temporary backup to move your data over.
• Optional: Docker on the DS423+ will happily run Adguard and similar small apps.