RKastner Loc: Davenport, FL

Why the hell would I want that?

I guess I'm not that trusting....could explain why I don't have a lot of friends. ;)

Merlin1300 Loc: New England, But Now & Forever SoTX

Charles: The problem with your solution is if a virus or some other corrupts your 20TB cluster, BOTH drives will lose their data - for example - ransomware. The SAFEST solution is to have an external back-up solution that ONLY runs after the end of your day when you have no reason to suspect any problems.
I have TWO NAS (both by Q-Nap) one a 12TB RAID-5 (4x4TB) and the other a 24TB RAID-5 (3x12TB). I can access either from anywhere in the world over the Internet with a user ID and password known only to me. I use back-up software by EaseUS (TODO Backup) to do complete backups of my system drive every 2 days, and do a makeshift Grandfather (monthly full)/Father(weekly differential)/Son (daily incremental) backup of my data drive. It's makeshift because the program won't automatically delete the files once they become irrelevant - such as the interrim incrementals after a weekly differential has been done, etc. I have to go delete them manually - usually about once per month.
We have replaceable Varactor based whole-house surge suppression (installed when we put in Solar and Generac). Both NAS are powered by UPS which also have surge suppression.
Cloud-Based backup is NOT a choice for me - as I have over 3.5TB on my data drive and stuff on the cloud is Slow Slow Slow, and more than a couple of hundred MB becomes unwieldy AND Expensive!

alvin3232 Loc: Houston, TX

Hello

Well, having a backup is a great option but if the backup is in the same location as you, and there is a fire you lose everything. A much better option I think would be that the backup remains offsite that way your data is safe. Some may argue the point again, but we all will choose what works best for each person. Now you can have 2 backups onsite and off-site so if your house burns down, you have your data offsite, and you're good. Just something to think about.

Al

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

There's nothing wrong with having TWO backups, one on site and one off. Or even THREE backups, one local, one remote, and one cloud. The more the merrier.

A lot of people feel safe if they have one at home and one at a friend's house, or at the bank. The problem with that is that if you have a regional disaster (a lot of wildfires in the news, that destroy whole towns or even more), your secondary backup is toast also. That's why the cloud option is important. The cloud servers are distributed (there are many of them) and they are distributed (across countries, or even between continents). The latency can be a problem, but if your problem is regional, they are a solution.

When it comes to backup you can't be too paranoid.

alvin3232 Loc: Houston, TX

Agree 100%
As your data is most important.

Alvin

neillaubenthal

If you really believe that’s adequate backup…then I pity you. It isn’t.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Well, maybe if one had a dedicated drive for each day of the month and scattered them among neighbors, family, and friends...

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

That won't necessarily work in regions that could be affected by regional disasters: floods, wildfires, hurricanes.......

Embrace the cloud for backup.

(Unless, of course, you place no value on your data).

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

I didn't say it would work (well), it was an example of being paranoid.

aphelps Loc: Central Ohio

Be careful you don't save errors to both.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I really would like to know what's inside. I didn't see any specs listed on the Synology site. Would you buy a can labeled "FOOD" at a supermarket?

Phil Singer Loc: Beautiful Downtown Brighton Michigan

My guess is that inside is good-old reliable flash memory. Their marketing people do a commendable job of not explaining how one can backup their photos in the field without also buying what they call their 'cloud' option. It is not clear if this cloud runs on their hardware or your hardware. If your hardware -- then you must leave your computer running whenever you are offsite but want to download photos to it.

I can buy a 1TB Samsung flash drive at Costco for $89. Cloud storage for my photos worth worrying about is cheap from either Google or Amazon.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

It’s a NAS (network attached storage) device with a 4TB drive and an Ethernet port. You access files with a browser. They, like most external drive manufacturers, don’t specify the drive mfg/model, but for the price, it’s probably a spinning disk instead of an SSD. In terms of performance, it will be limited by by the ethernet speed. If it’s gigabit Ethernet and an internal SATA drive, you can expect ~100MB/sec depending on file size.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I'd prefer two drives for a RAID configuration. That's what I have for a NASW, two drives. I'd like more, but the NAS itself is too expensive. I have enclosures that hold two and four drives, so they are good backups.

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

I have been a Synology user for over 20 years. I own both NAS units and a WiFi router. For e, their software makes them great. I've noticed they now sell HDDs, but I don't know if they actually manufacture them. High Quality equipment. Best of luck.