NAS Advice

[Enquiries]

I have a 2024 M4 Mac mini connected to multiple, partitioned drives for storage and back up. I am away from home over the winter and would like access without bring a bunch of drives with me. Direct Ethernet connection is not possible to my Orbi router, so it will need to be WiFi. Can you recommend an optimal 4 Drive NAS set up?

[ed]

Hi, for your setup I’d suggest a 4-bay NAS that balances performance, ease of remote access, and strong macOS integration. Since you want something that can work smoothly over WiFi and still handle 16TB of data, I’d recommend the Synology DS425+ or the QNAP TS-464. Both are well under your budget and are ideal for home users who need reliable remote access through apps like Synology QuickConnect or QNAP’s myQNAPcloud.

Go with four 6TB or 8TB WD Red Plus or Seagate IronWolf drives in RAID 5 for a good balance between protection and usable capacity. Either NAS can connect to your Orbi via Ethernet, and you can still access it remotely through secure cloud relay if you are away. If WiFi is your only link locally, you can add a USB-to-WiFi adapter supported by QNAP or Synology, but a wired connection to the router (even via a small Ethernet extender) is still preferred for reliability.