Approaching The Scene 248: How to Backup Your Synology NAS Locally & With Backblaze

[@truenorth5072]

Definitely way….yyyy clearer than explanation about Synology product than from plenitude of IT professionals!!!

[@bryanbbarnes]

My Drobo finally died and so I am setting up a 1522+ in the next couple of days. I didn't have a local back up so I had to get my backup from Backblaze which arrived. So it was timely that I stumbled onto your videos about the set up and back up. Both have been very informative, so I appreciate you for putting them out there. I look forward to your third video in the series!

[@GaryScharlach]

Thank you, fantastic backup. I replaced my Drobo with Synology and now setting up my cloud backup. Welcome back from Cuba.

[@carlmarch603]

Hi Hudson - thanks for the heads up on GoodSync. I’m a long time Synology NAS (mine is old enough that it’s just 1Gb/s) and Backblaze user. I have an old OWC 60TB Thunderbolt 3 RAID array that I can use to backup my entire NAS. Now that I know about GoodSync, I’ll get that set up which will be easier than using Carbon Copy Cloner (CCC) to backup each drive and folder individually. I’ll still use CCC for the third leg of the backup stool, off-site hard drives that I keep in a storage unit…

[@20centurymodern]

Great series. A suggestion which would be great to see in this series is a practical video showing your use in various programs like LR and photo editing in real time from your 10GB NAS setup

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

Every video I've done with editing lately showcases that. It's where all my files live. There'll be one with a Z9 file using LR"s new Noise reduction engine later this week. The files are on the NAS.

[@jackh_irl]

Genius, man, genius. Thanks for another really solid video

[@tjcuneo]

I use the same system except for BackBlaze. Another Synology drive offsite is the BackBlaze replacement. Enjoyed learning how you handle your backups.

[@jeffrey3498]

You’re so on top of anything photography. Awesome! Congrats! 📷😎👍

[@luisfaustino]

Awesome timing! Just fiddling with my Sinology after following your recommendations, the DS1522+ is slick!

[@robertmoore1583]

Much appreciate your wisdom here ... Had a QNAP running with decent security ... was hit by the bitlocker ransomware and lost most everything on the QNAP from a photo aspect ... interestingly no RAW files were corrupted. The QNAP was an archive of older files and new ones ... the new ones were duplicated locally. However I probably lost a couple thousand personal photos ... Now use a secure firewall and only turn on the QNAP as a secondary backup .... but Backblaze will allow me the offsite which I have resisted to this point. Thanks for the post and information.

[@DarrenLloydPDX]

I do this a bit differently, but this is my reminder to get things also backed up offsite automatically, rather than manually like I do now! I do all of my editing on my MacBook, but periodically I export everything new as a catalog, then I import that into Lightroom on my desktop. That automatically backs up to my Synology NAS using a piece of software I've used for *years* called SyncBack Pro. Regardless of how anyone backs up their data: have multiple copies with one offsite, and (this is the part that people forget often) *don't forget to test your backups/restoration process!*

[@HillCountryDemo]

Hudson, thank you for this informative video. Very important information here!!

[@carlmarch603]

One additional comment for Synology Users: You might have to go to the Synology NAS Control Panel-Shared Folder-Edit-Permissions and then in the drop-down box where it says Local users, select System internal user and change the permission for GoodSync to Read/Write or Read Only. If you choose Read Only, you will have to use the Options panel in GoodSync to select No _gsdata_ folder here in the Left Side options. Otherwise, you might get a permission denied (error 13) error when trying to access the Synology NAS folder when setting up a Job.

[@jjmucker]

Thanks for this mate. I’d have never have figured this out otherwise.

[@MichaelSeneschal]

I have a very similar setup, only backwards. :) My attached drive that syncs with Backblaze is a Drobo that hasn't died yet. I work off that since I'm only using 1 computer (speed is fine since the Drobo is connected to the computer via a cable). Then I use Synology Drive to sync my Drobo to the NAS. Synology Drive is 100% free and super easy to set up. So in my 1-computer setup, the NAS is the local backup, the DAS is the working drive, and Backblaze is the safety net.

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

"yet..." you're doing it the way I used to with 2 Drobos (one backing up the other), just know that when that Drobo fails it's curtains. The 10Gbe is really fantastic and I think networking is evolving to make it the future transfer method of choice. I'm sure loving it.

[@hudsoneric]

Thank you for this and the earlier NAS videos. I’ve set up my 1522+ and now just about finished my initial backup to my external HD via Goodsync. I have just over 8TB on the NAS, and the initial backup looks like it will take about 70 hours. Will backup the HD to Backblaze next. My question is: Should I hold off doing regularly-scheduled Goodsync syncs NAS >> HD while the initial HD >> Backblaze completes? I am between projects and not doing a major amount of Lightroom/Photoshop editing right now. Just worried about the HD updating confusing Backblaze. Eric

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

Hey Eric! No, it's all incremental Goodsync and Backblaze. Backblaze will be looking for changes constantly and keeping things updated. Keep those backups rolling and don't worry about conflicts. I had to upgrade my internet when I initially set up backblaze. I found that my Comcast account so throttled uploads that it would take months and they warned me of data upload limits and fees I had no idea existed before. That was years ago and my business would have long outgrown those limitations, but Centurylind Fiber changed all that. It's not cheap either, but they don't constantly jack my rates and I upload at 1Gb speed in unlimited amounts now. :-)

[@hudsoneric]

One more issue: I’ve been unable to set up the scheduled auto syncs because of an Error 30 drive permission problem that I can’t debug and that GoodSync Help apparently won’t help me with. They just keep sending me info about Synology Photos, which I have not installed and I am not using. Kinda going nuts trying to figure out what to do. Thanks for any suggestions.

[@raweyhrichimagery2609]

Hudson, Great video. I'm setting up similar but have a question. I already had a job nightly syncing my PC files to an external HDD then to cloud but now adding a NAS as my PC HD is getting full. If I understand your workflow correctly if a file is based on your NAS you would have 3 copies. One on the NAS, one on the external HDD and one in the cloud backed up from the external HDD. However for files resident on your PC or Mac it looks like you would have 4 copies. One on the PC which is then backed up to the NAS which is then backed up to the external HDD then to Backblaze Cloud. Is there any advantage to doing that way or for the files on the PC including lightroom catalog etc. to use Goodsync to just send them directly to one of the external HDD then to the cloud in essence having only 3 copies instead of 4?

[@amyperlmutter9112]

Hi Hudson- I’m finally getting to setting up a new system for my main drives as well as backup drives. I currently back up my 2 Pegasus 21tb and 24tb drives to backblaze. I want to switch to the Synology Nas system you’re using. I want more space and faster drives. It took FOREVER for my Pegasus drives to back up to backblaze. Sounds like I’ll have to start all over if I switch to the NAS, unless I use the Pegasus as my backup, correct? But my Pegasus is set up as RAID 5 and is running out of space. So someday I’ll have to add more drives as backup drives. Also, why is Good Sync better than Time Machine? Thanks for sharing all of your knowledge.

[@DreamPrashant]

Gonna give this a try, thank you! Backblaze is still $7 a month for unlimited data?

[@20centurymodern]

I’ve found you can make your own backup drives often cheaper than pre bought external drives. For example WD Blue drives can be cheap and get a case enclosure and you’re good to go

[@brettma]

HI Hudson, do I have this right.... you store your catalog on an SSD, connected to your computer, which is then backed up to a folder on the NAS using GoodSync every 6hrs to pick up incremental changes that have occurred? In addition to this, you direct your Lightroom Backups (either when you quit Lightroom or whatever er interval you set) to be stored on the NAS as well - in a Backup folder. The NAS is then backed up to the spinning drives on your desk and then uploaded to Backblaze. Q. So you have a 'live' copy of your Catalog on the NAS updated every 6 hrs as well as regular Lightroom generated catalog backups - which might occur every few days? And GoodSync manages these tasks no problem? I'm wondering if the 'live' version of the Catalog is necessary given there are already Catalog backups available on the NAS, and desktop drives?

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

Theoretically you're right, but if you think of each drive is a separate lane for data to travel... I like my software on my system drive (Lightroom itself), my catalog on a fast SSD, and my data on a completely separate Drive with a fast connection. Keeping the Lightroom catalog on its own fast SSD like a Samsung t7 allows me to switch from my desktop to my laptop with ease... plug it in and fire up lightroom plus it allows the catalog to have its own superhighway to the motherboard. Goodsync is actually keeping it updated to the spinning drives every hour. Back places constantly searching for updates to incrementally back up any changes on the spinning drives. So everything is backed up in three places at all times. That is best data practice: two copies in the studio and one off site. 😊

[@MichaelNarlock]

Hudson, did you ever do the third video in this series regarding Synology Drive?

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

Not yet, but I will. :) thanks for the bump!

[@barryobrien1890]

Thanks Hudson. I use almost an exactly similar system. I use a 5 bay terramaster nas with 64tb, raid5. I also run an always on pc for my security system, music etc. I use freefilesync instrad of goodsync altough i did use goodsync in the past. I also have a 5 bay terramaster DAS, which is a raid 5 pool drive that backblaze sees as a local drive. My home server only runs filesync to all my pc, mac and moves everything to the das and nas. The das mirrors the nas and is backed up to backblaze. Take a look at das drives to make a simpler external drive pool. I use another external drive to automate my osbackup using urbackup which also runs on my server pc and is a centralized os backup on all my pc boot drives, and dumps to backblaze. All automated. I have the 1 year extension on backblaze just in case. Buying a 2 year plan is a good savings

[@gmitchell8672]

This was a great help to me Thank You . Just wondering, would you consider Carbon Copy Cloner instead of Good sync. They seem to do both the same thing but its a one time purchase and has been around for years. I use Back Blasé on my Drobo Das its good pricing and don't want to go to BackBlaze B2 costing.

[@kennethscheepers1616]

Great video, thanks Hudson. How are your Network storage drives formatted since you use Windows and Mac please?

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

Ex-Fat for all. :-)

[@malcolmdillaway8274]

Thanks for the excellent video Hudson I have the DS1522+ looks like Synology dont support the Goodsync Connect as its no longer on the package downloads?

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

It's there with a little work. Here's how: www.goodsync.com/for-nas-synology

[@ephotosaver]

Thank You for the information. I started a trial to test BackBlaze out before commiting. I'm backing up a 6TB Photography raid drive which BackBlaze sees and is backing up but I'm not seeing any of my Nikon raw NEF files in the backup. Seems strange but i wonder if the trial is affecting this.

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

It will take time, but you should see an exact mirror eventually. The interface is very slow, but they will send hard drives in a failure situation. Think of it as catastrophic insurance. I see all 400+ thousand of my raw files.

[@ephotosaver]

@@HudsonHenryPhoto Thank you very much for that information, Hudson. My NEF files started showing up. :)

[@waveneyavenue]

DO the external "14tb" Drives have to be connected to the computer (in my case mac) that you are backing up to Backblaze from? I have an external seagate drive to backup NAS but it is connected directly to Synology NAs

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

Yes. To the computer backblaze is running on.

[@MrCliburn]

This is very helpful. Been doing something close, but not automated. Quick question.... do all 5 Goodsync licences need to be on the same network? Could I back up a local drive to a NAS is my office (on another network)?

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

No absolutely no limitation on networks. It's devices. 1 NAS, 2 PCs, a Mac Studio and I still have one left. I back up on the road off my network to local drives all the time with my road laptop.

[@dalan81]

Thanks for this video. I have most if it in place, but GoodSync is the missing piece. For your 3 14TB drives, are they connected via usb 3.x directly to the desktop? via a USB hub? I'm assuming that if they used the network, they wouldn't show up as local drives and thus the BackBlaze solution wouldn't work.

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

USB-3 Hub. Yep. :-) Easy peasy.

[@randallbacon3065]

Great information, much appreciated. I’m working through much of this and I have a question. What does GoodSync do that Synology’s Hyperdrive doesn’t for free?

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

I tried Hyperbackup and found it slow, finicky and proprietary. It compresses backups into a format that has to be unpackaged by hyperdrive restore. It's not a 1:1 clone like Goodsync. Goodsync is a perfect tool to make an exact clone of your data and keep it incrementally synced. It's a breeze to use. Set it and forget it. If you lose something, you can simply dive into the backup copy and recover either locally or over at backblaze using Finder or File Explorer. It's well worth the modest cost to me.

[@ToffeFilm]

Is GoodSync backing up files via network or internet?

[@DrBobke]

Great stuff and something I was looking for (just switching over to using a Syno DS1821+) and was looking for a way to back up the NAS to Backblaze (and not pay the hefty enterprise fees). However, I am wondering why you are using GoodSync for backing up the NAS to the HDD's, instead of using the backup function that Syno Drive offers, which is free to use and all Syno itself?

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

I tried Hyperbackup and found it slow, finicky and proprietary. It compresses backups into a format that has to be unpackaged by hyperdrive restore. It's not a 1:1 clone like Goodsync. Goodsync is a perfect tool to make an exact clone of your data and keep it incrementally synced. It's a breeze to use. Set it and forget it. If you lose something, you can simply dive into the backup copy and recover either locally or over at backblaze using Finder or File Explorer. It's well worth the modest cost to me.

[@DrBobke]

@@HudsonHenryPhoto Thanks a lot for your reply. I thought I could use the Synology Drive client to do just that, but after reading your comment, I know now that I can only back-up to the NAS, not on my pc/ext HDD's. So sorry for the comment and thank you for the explanation!. :-) Also thank you for the fix on Adobe for the error on using Mac and WIN for LR. :-)

[@wellsyboy]

Where does Apple Time Machine figure in all of this process? Separate volume on NAS Drive for Time machine then the rest happens as described?

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

It doesn't. Time machine is fine for the limited backup needs of an average computer user. For a NAS you'll need the software I showcase here: Goodsync, which is vastly more flexible and powerful.

[@wellsyboy]

I'm using Macbook Pro Thunderbolt dock and synology NAS - do you need to run goodsync on the mac AND the server if you are using Time machine to backup mac to NAS? Are you using goodsync on the mac to backup the mac instead of using time machine?

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

@@wellsyboy time machine is fine for system files and documents for a normal computer user. You need Goodsync to do the more sophisticated work of incrementally backing up the the precious data on your NAS and other data drives. Once you use it, you'll ditch time machine too.

[@wellsyboy]

@@HudsonHenryPhoto Thanks Hudson - I guess I'm asking - if I have Goodsync running on the NAS do I need it running on the mac too?

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

@@wellsyboy Goodsync is far better than time machine. Yes. If you have it, use it instead. You can have an infinite number of backup jobs running automated or manually with it.

[@wellsyboy]

@@HudsonHenryPhoto Thanks for your help!

[@wellsyboy]

Sorry to be a pain Hudson but you say Backblaze has to connect to local drive - does that mean my external (slower) drive has to be connected to the dock rather than a USB on the NAS?

[@tjcuneo]

You mentioned that you are editing the files on the NAS directly and then backup to the hard drives. I download the file from the NAS to my computer to edit and then upload the edited file back to the NAS. So, I have reversed the process and edit off the HD and then backup to the NAS. I would prefer to use your method and have us the NAS as the main drive and backup from it. How do you accomplish the edit directly when the file in on the NAS?.

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

There's a previous video linked in this videos full description on setting up your NAS with a 10Gbe connection fast enough to edit off.

[@daleschusterman3873]

Hey Hudson, how do you connect your 3 14T drives to each other? Are they separate drives or linked together?

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

Just 3 separate external drives.

[@deepotter6774]

So wait. Let me get this straight: prompted by your initial video on setting up a fast NAS system, I invested significantly in the Synology 1522+ along with 5 x 12 TB drives, the 10Gbs port, 10Gbs adapter, 10Gbs hub, two 400 Gb read/write cache cards, and 2 x cat 7 Ethernet cables, and now you’re saying I have to buy another 48 TBs of spinning hard drives and external cases to house them just to back up the NAS to the cloud? I already had Goodsync and Backblaze subscriptions for backing up my previous method of storing all photos and videos on several external HDs connected to my MacBook. I thought this NAS idea would simplify all that once I got over the cost of it all to set up. But now having to buy even more HDs with as much space as my NAS storage and housings for them, I’m beginning to question if all this is really worth it. There’s got to be an easier way, isn’t there?

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

A 16tb external is very affordable and plugs in via usb3 in seconds. If you prefer to pay backblaze for enterprise rates, upgrade and tie into the 10gbe nas. If instead you'd like to save a ton of money, but still have essentially bottomless, 10gbe storage with cheap unlimited cloud backup, make some big cheap external drives your local nas backup and tie those to a personal backblaze account. No. There's not a cheaper or simpler setup to get dozens of terabytes at 10gbe speed with local and offsite backup. Nada.

[@deepotter6774]

@@HudsonHenryPhoto Thanks, Hudson. Then I guess I'm missing how a 16Tb external drive is big enough to backup the 48 Tb NAS (if and when the 5 x 12TB drives in RAID 1 become fully loaded), so I assume it would have to be 3 x 16Tb drives? And then how are they connected so data from the 5-drive NAS "mega data storage unit" is divided amongst 3 external drives?

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

@@deepotter6774 as your NAS drive grows, you can add externals as needed. I back up all my photos from 1998-2008 on one, video on another, and all other files on a third. That's all simple using exclusions in goodsync.

[@deepotter6774]

@@HudsonHenryPhoto Makes sense. Thanks!

[@patpat8169]

Why not have NAS and cloud only?

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

because when editing photos and video, the 1GB/s speed of 10Gb ethernet is essential. Strictly running from the cloud is 100s of times slower.

[@20centurymodern]

Instead of using the subscription syncing software to do your backup from the NAS to the external hard drives, why not use the excellent app, Hyper backup that comes with your Synology NAS? It’s free and so powerful. You can create backups as well as implement versioning so if you need to go back and restore a file/folder you can. It’s also got apps for windows and Mac so you can access those backup files on them as well. I would highly recommend looking into this, less money spent on endless subscription costs too

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

I tried Hyperbackup and found it slow, finicky and proprietary. It compresses backups into a format that has to be unpackaged by hyperdrive restore. It's not a 1:1 clone like Goodsync. Goodsync is a perfect tool to make an exact clone of your data and keep it incrementally synced. It's a breeze to use. Set it and forget it. If you lose something, you can simply dive into the backup copy and recover either locally or over at backblaze using Finder or File Explorer. Versioning is also a breeze with it. It's well worth the VERY modest cost to me.

[@20centurymodern]

@@HudsonHenryPhoto Hyperdrive offers the option to do a single backup to an external drive which isn’t proprietary. It doesn’t offer versioning this way, but if all one is doing is creating a incremental backup to an external drive then this is free and no need for a subscription. Great it works for you though, keeping our data safe and secure is essential, always enjoy your clarity in your presentations

[@scottcampbell9008]

I’m a backblaze user and there are two critical problems with their service. The first is that if you click Backup Now, it doesn’t. It says it has, but it can take 4 hours or more before it completes the back up. Even though it’s told you that as of a certain time, you are backed up. Not acceptable. And they know because I’ve discussed this issue with them. The second is that migration from one drive to another or from one computer to another simply does not work. I’m talking about of you get a new external drive or get a new computer. It. Does. Not. Work. I just tried for the third time in the last few years.

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

It's quite fast if you have an unlimited fiber connection. With comcast throttling I had those issues. With Centurylink fiber I uploaded 16TB in 2 days last time I upgraded machines. I do wish they allowed you to migrate drives to a new machine. It seems crazy. But... There's no one else even close to competing for this type of service at this price. If you have the cash you can pay by the TB every month. If you want an affordable unlimited service, then backblaze is the only game in town. Looking into a fiber connection with no throttling on the upload speed will mitigate your complaints.

[@dionysusrex9183]

Could be I’ve missed something here, but if you’re saying that you back up to the NAS, then farm it off to drives, then back those up, the topology is wrong. If a link in that chain breaks, you’re not backing anything new up.

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

I work off the NAS via a 1GB/s 10Gbe connection. All my working video and photo files live there. It's backed up to 3 big spinning drives every hour automatically via Goodsync. Those are constantly backed up to Backblaze automatically. If there is any fault with either Backblaze or Goodsync, I'm notified immediately. It's hands free, secure and dead simple.