NAS Selection

[Enquiries]

Thank you for this. I need help with which one to buy, currently looking at (in order): DS1522+, TS-664, DS923+, TS-473A, DS-423+
I've watched about 20 of your videos on the subject and I am still in analysis paralysis.

Use cases:

- media server, Plex, local and remote storage (aka accessible backup), including music, video, photos, and files. I am looking at 5-10 users tops.

- I want to be able to have personal access lists. Ex: I have videos and want to make User123 able to access only some of those, adding more to their collection as User123 becomes "eligible" to see more stuff (kids grow up, it happens). Same with photos, enabling user's access to things instead of copying duplicates into multiple folders for each user.

- data storage - I do photography and my PSDs run up to 2 GBs. Would it work off NAS?

- backups and keeping history of changes?

- sharing certain galleries with "random" people using passwords?

[ed]

Based on your use cases, I would recommend the Synology DS1522+. It has a good balance of processing power and RAM, which should be sufficient for running Plex and handling multiple users. It also has plenty of storage bays for your media and data storage needs, with the ability to expand storage with an additional expansion unit if necessary.

In terms of user access lists, Synology's DSM software has robust user and group management features that allow you to set granular access controls for different folders and files, so you can easily control who has access to what content.

As for data storage, the DS1522+ should be able to handle your PSD files with ease. It supports multiple RAID configurations for data redundancy and protection, and you can also set up automatic backups and versioning to keep a history of changes.

Finally, for sharing galleries with random people using passwords, Synology offers a feature called "Synology Drive ShareSync" which allows you to sync and share specific folders or files with external users. You can generate a secure link or set a password to access the shared content.

DS1522+, DS923+, TS-473A (all similar spec - no GPU),
DS-423+, TS-664 - similar spec + GPU.