09-26-2021, 01:05 PM
Hello. Backstory: I've been using Macs for many years with larger internal storage options (3-4TB.) This houses our iTunes music, Plex movies, photos and document collections. We also utilize larger external storage solutions for our photography business (4TB.) Over the years, I've become accustomed to using a system backup application called SuperDuper! and multiple external drives to create 1:1 backups for our main machine. I also utilize a file sync application called ChronoSync to ensure 1:1 copies of our photo business drives. All in all, I have 5-hard drive backups for my main machine, which are rotated frequently and 4-hard drive backups for our photo business, which are also rotated frequently. As you can see, I have a lot going on that needs to be maintained quite frequently and would like to simplify if possible.
New use-case: Now that hard drives are cheaper than ever before, I would rather move into the realm of NAS, but want to see how close I can get to my existing backup solutions?
1. If I purchased the Synology DS920+ with 4-8TB hard drives, could I use each hard drive independently to generate backups directly from the Mac itself whenever I wanted? My thought is that each backup would cover both the main machine as well as the dedicated photos drive into one disk on the NAS. I could then setup an automated solution to perform these 4-separate backups throughout different intervals during the week.
2. If I decided to move away from purchasing Macs with larger internal storage options, could I instead place all my data on the NAS directly and access it at anytime as if it was stored locally? This route would probably mean that I go with a Raid setup, but would need help understanding the best Raid option to choose. My goal for this method is to hopefully allow me the option of no longer needing to worry about my devices having certain internal storage sizes as I should be able to access the singular file on any device that I affectively use (iMac, Macbook, iPad, iPhone, PC, PC Laptop, etc.) Would this option be a solution the NAS can provide? Any downsides to this approach? Of course, I would probably keep some files locally for ease of access, like say 1-2 photo shoots. Once edited and sent off, I could then move that information to the NAS for future access and backup redundancy.
Ultimately, I just want a better solution to what I have today. I have hard drives all over the place. I also want to be able to access data no matter where I'm at in the world for work and I want to be able to utilize my music and movie libraries to stream across all my devices in the house (or on the road too if possible.) Hope the above questions made sense and were clear. If not, please let me know what additional information you require to help me find the right solution for my needs. Thank you for your time!
New use-case: Now that hard drives are cheaper than ever before, I would rather move into the realm of NAS, but want to see how close I can get to my existing backup solutions?
1. If I purchased the Synology DS920+ with 4-8TB hard drives, could I use each hard drive independently to generate backups directly from the Mac itself whenever I wanted? My thought is that each backup would cover both the main machine as well as the dedicated photos drive into one disk on the NAS. I could then setup an automated solution to perform these 4-separate backups throughout different intervals during the week.
2. If I decided to move away from purchasing Macs with larger internal storage options, could I instead place all my data on the NAS directly and access it at anytime as if it was stored locally? This route would probably mean that I go with a Raid setup, but would need help understanding the best Raid option to choose. My goal for this method is to hopefully allow me the option of no longer needing to worry about my devices having certain internal storage sizes as I should be able to access the singular file on any device that I affectively use (iMac, Macbook, iPad, iPhone, PC, PC Laptop, etc.) Would this option be a solution the NAS can provide? Any downsides to this approach? Of course, I would probably keep some files locally for ease of access, like say 1-2 photo shoots. Once edited and sent off, I could then move that information to the NAS for future access and backup redundancy.
Ultimately, I just want a better solution to what I have today. I have hard drives all over the place. I also want to be able to access data no matter where I'm at in the world for work and I want to be able to utilize my music and movie libraries to stream across all my devices in the house (or on the road too if possible.) Hope the above questions made sense and were clear. If not, please let me know what additional information you require to help me find the right solution for my needs. Thank you for your time!