Most (99%) of my users are using Apple product (Mac laptop, iOS devices and AppleTV), what alternatives 2-bay model us best suite. Their usage included:
1) watching movies via TV, laptop or iPad
2) listening to stored music
3) listening to Internet radio
4) BT download

Thanks!

Any model with 2-bay will suit your needs, and like I've said, just setup normally, it should be SMB for most compatibility.
It can even has BT download capability by itself so you won't need another PC or Mac as BT client.
I'm not sure about Internet radio though, I think it's irrelevant in this case.
So why Synology NAS is expensive, it's cause the software is darn good.
Though I must say I can do it my way so I'm incline towards DIY build. Much more control... in a way or two.

DSM works very well with Apple products.

File is accessed via SMB or Mac file service. You can configure your NAS for time machine backup.

Synology also build apps so your iPhone or iPad can access the file.

yes there is unit that have eSata interface (DS713+), but not sure if it works like directly plug-in to the PC.

there is alot of usage with the USB port, look into the compatibility page - https://www.synology.com/en-global/compatibility

I think that e-SATA is for connecting to DX513/510 for extended storage.

Yes, yoou're correct. Forgot of the use of the expansion slots

Hi Guys,
I hope I am posting it on the correct thread, forgive me if I have posted wrongly.

I was hoping for some help with a few of my questions.

1) I am looking for a system to back up photos/videos from handheld devices, for the household. My family have about 8 devices, a mixture of iOs and Android devices.
Is there a system where it can automatically download all the new photos and videos into the storage?

2) I know we can set different users, does that mean that I will not be able to see photos of other devices? (Example: I can't see photos my sister took)

3) Also, I was thinking of having that unit to store some songs and movies to stream to the Tv (maybe using DLNA or I could get a WDTV or something similar). I am a bit confused to how much Processing power I need, I don't think I will have more than 2 TV's being watched at the same time.

4) I can't decide between 1,2 or 4 bay system, I would probably need about 3TB of storage space.

5) Finally, I was told that the RAID is not a backup, so maybe I should buy two of them devices and have it to Mirror each other?

Thanks in advance!

I always use my iphone/ipad to assist the synology NAS. BT, photo and file manage. But the DS video have limited usage.

1. There is the default apps DSCloud for the mobile to sync back to Synology.

2. There is 2 way to do it, you can set permission on the folder for each user for other users "read" only and also set a common folder for the items to sync into, best the default "Photo" folder (this is something i haven't try yet).

3. If you using a media box like XBMC (or now call Kodi) or Android Media Player, then you don't need a powerful Synology, I know DSxxxJ can do the load, but if got the money do the the Non J or Non + Synology.

4. To me best to get min 2 bay. as you have atleast 1 redundancy, RAID 1 / Mirror Raid.

5. Raid 1 and Raid 5 have redundancy that you can recover the data. There is 100% full proof but this is your best option. For Raid 5, is expansion due to the needed of 4 bay Synology and 4 harddisk that only utilize 3 harddisk space.

It seems most have answered most of your question, I'll add to your 5th.
RAID is definitely not a backup, as if you corrupt your data, RAID can't recover that for you, so you will need another device for it.
You can plugin any external hard disk or media for backup purpose, it has the USB option so any USB media is usable, pendrive, USB hard disk, etc.
You can use this method to backup your precious things that you find to be critical and you can't lose it.
Another way is Cloud storage, there's free and paid options, choose those that has good history and stick with it for your critical data backup, that way you can have multiple copies any where.

So to summarize, you can backup your data through the USB port (pendrive, external hard disk) and at the same time, backup again to Cloud storage (reliable one).

Thanks for your reply, still have questions though hehe.

For 1) If it is cloud based, doesn't that mean if I delete a photo/video on the handheld device, it would also delete on the NAS itself?

Thanks for your reply, if I use an external media (pen drive or ext hdd) as a back up, if the NAS (not the HDD) spoiled and I buy a new one, would it be as easy as pluging the external media and everything would be back to normal?

Because from what I have researched, it doesn't do that, best is I get two of the same NAS and if one spoil I can just unplug that and everything is back to normal.

Ps. I am trying to avoid external cloud storage.

Thanks

For your question about 1), If you mobile device is sync with your NAS through Internet, it's basically does something like iCloud, you delete yours, it'll sync with the NAS, so NAS's side will delete as well, which what your backup is for when you accidentally did so with important files.

External media is usually manual, means you do manual copy pasta to your external device, I'm not sure if Synology NAS has auto backup to USB media function though, worth a little time to do little research on this.

If your NAS is completely failed, there's a way to "migrate" your hard disk to a new NAS.
https://www.synology.com/en-us/knowledgebase/tutorials/484
Another reason to buy Synology NAS?

I see, but I actually want something whereby, the NAS would just pull new pictures/videos over the minute the handheld device connects to my home network (my wifi). I want the NAS to be the back up itself.

Thanks for the link, I will look at the tutorial when I have the time.

This post has been edited by azimut: Oct 2 2014, 12:02 PM

Have a look at this article, I think it covers most of the Apple's user network features.
http://9to5mac.com/2014/03/10/synology-get...-a-diskstation/

Thanks! That article answered my question. If I have understood it correctly.

But the tutorial left me a few doubts because it was on how to swap the drives from one working drive to another working one, it did not mention if the source NAS was spoiled or anything.
I have been reading through smallnetbuilder.com and quote...



Meaning the author is suggesting having two of the same NAS....

Thanks guys for being patient with me

Ah, that, if you going to migrate to a new NAS, basically it's either the old one is dead or you're expanding to more bays.
Of course if you can afford to run 2 NAS at the same time, your quote from smallnetbulder is the most efficient and fastest way to recover from lost in under a minute (if you know what you're doing).
I don't think any home users is rich enough to mirror an entire NAS just for backup.
Unless you're relying on the NAS for critical works at home, then probably you can do that, just for the sack of recover without the needs of going through the trouble of re-setup a new NAS and re-building the whole RAID setup. Fuiyo..

Oh I see, well then thanks for your reply. I would most likely go for a 2 bay NAS from Synology.


Actually, @KidsCode mentioned something about Kodi and I do not need a powerful (in terms of CPU) NAS? What if I am connecting the NAS to a switch and to a DLNA abled TV, would I still not need a powerful NAS?

Yes, basically DLNA allow streams input only and it does not process the video and audio by itself, for this you needs a NAS capable of process and stream your video content to DLNA TV, higher bitrate video will have a hard time if the NAS is underpowered.
If you already has a normal TV, you can just purchase another media player with network capability, I think it would be a cheaper option compare to NAS that can stream your video content, media player can be range from 200+ and above depends on your features requirement.

Oh I see, which media player would you recommend? Sorry if this is off topic...

Thanks for the information.