Backup folders on PC to NAS on a different network

[ubulord]

I'd be very thankful if anyone could help me here. I've just bought a QNAP and I want to do the following:
a) place the QNAP on my holiday home
b) backup folders on my PC to NAS (it will be on a different network, 100 km away)

c) I can't use QNAP's own backup program (NetBak Replicator) because instead of backing up "Test" (on my PC) to "Test" (on the QNAP) it instead creates an unwanted path on the QNAP - "\\NASXXXXX\Test\NetBakData\PSM@DESKTOP-XXXXX\Disk G\Test". This artificial path renders the backup useless for my intended purposes.

d) some backup/sync software also create unwanted paths (like NetBak Replicator does) but some don't. I always use the ones that don't, like FreeFileSync or Goodsync, but I've only used those to backup to USB, never to a NAS on a different network.
e) although I'm very proficient with computers I have zero experience with stuff like SFTP, FTP, etc., so any configuration to allow FreeFileSync or Goodsync to backup to the QNAP on a different network will need to be explained in detail and step by step.
f) alternatively, if there is any way of making NetBak Replicator behave normally and not create artificial paths that would also be a viable (actually preferable) solution
Thanks in advance for any help
Pedro

 

[ch33zw1z]

The preferred method to "joining" your local and remote sites is with a VPN device at each end.

 

[SamirD]

I have experience in this area as I'm about to set up the same thing.

How are you currently running your test copy between the two sites?

 

[ubulord]

Thanks for your input.
I intend to copy all the data to the QNAP via USB, then move it to the holiday house and connect it from there to my home PC, so that I can keep the folders updated. I presently have the QNAP on my next door neighbour's house, so it's on a different network but just 20 metres away, so it's easy to get to it.
Thanks for your suggestions. I'm delving into an area that I know almost nothing about. I can foresee weeks of watching YouTube tutorials... I have tried to install OpenVPN. Although it wasn't totally successful it must be, at least, partly working, because QNAP's Qsync is now working.
Qsync doesn't do what I want though, it's sort of a "Dropbox" two-way sync that requires the files to be on my PC and not on external (portable) drives. What I need is something that works like FreeFileSyn: one-way non recurring backup that backs up only when I tell it to, as part of what I want to keep updated is not on my PC but on external drives instead.

 

[ch33zw1z]

I would likely start by getting the VPN working and stable. Once that's happy, from the PC I would map a network drive to the qnap, then use either robocopy or something like create synchronicity (old app, but works) to one way sync the files when I wanted.

Please do not consider your setup a full on backup, more like an online DR mirror. You'll need to get an offline storage device, for me to qualify this as a complete backup solution.

 

[ubulord]

Mapping a network drive to the QNAP means that I create a drive on the QNAP and it appears as a drive on my Windows desktop, a 100 km away, right? If that is treated as a normal drive, then I can use FreeFileSync to backup to it, I guess. If that's the case then what I actually need to learn IS
HOW TO MAP A DRIVE FROM THE QNAP TO WINDOWS 10
and all is solved.

Until now I've had a set of external drives in home 1 and a mirror set in home 2. I also have a third set of drives that I rotate between the two houses so that the lag between the backups is never bigger that the time I've been absent from one of the houses: 100% safety rating, 0% user-friendly. The network backup to house 2 would only make the third set of external drives redundant, the other two sets would still exist (one in each house), so there would actually be TWO offline backups, each also 100 km away from each other. My backup solution might actually withstand nuclear war (assuming anyone would bother to nuke Lisbon, Portugal).

 

[ch33zw1z]

Ok, where's your main file storage going to be, and where's your remote mirror going to be

 

[ubulord]

Main file storage is in house one, where I have a Windows 10 PC with some of the folders that need to be backed up, and some external drives with folders that also need to be backed up.
House two will have the QNAP with 40TB of storage space (actually around 30 because it'll be in RAID5).
I want a decent level of security but there's no need to be paranoid about it because I'll keep the "sensitive" stuff out of the QNAP, (around 5TB on external drives encrypted with TrueCrypt).

 

[SamirD]

So the way I accomplish what you're doing (and more) is to firstly, join the two networks via an ipsec vpn tunnel. This can be accomplished to a certain extent with openvpn, but it's not as robust. You need to get ipsec vpn routers though, one for each site.

Each site will still have its own dhcp server and ip subnet, but the difference is that each site has to have a different ip subnet--like 192.168.1.x and 192.168.2.x.

You configure an ipsec vpn tunnel between the two and basically when you try to hit IPs on the other end of each tunnel, it gets encoded, goes over the Internet, and gets decoded on the other side in real-time that's only limited by your bandwidth and routers. For example, I have about 25Mbits available from Alabama to California--more than fast enough for a daily incremental backup.

Once you have a network like this, you can do all sorts of neat things--you can just copy files around like normal to either end, print documents to either end, look at security cameras on either end, have redundant nvrs for security cameras on both ends, have network scanners scan documents to a central and replicated file server, remote into systems on either end, and more! I do almost all those daily, especially remote desktop.

 

[ubulord]

So the way I accomplish what you're doing (and more) is to firstly, join the two networks via an ipsec vpn tunnel. - Thanks for your suggestions. What you do on your network is exactly what I'd like to do. All that's left now is the small detail of learning how to do it. As I've said before, I can foresee long sessions of watching and reading tutorials on the WEB...

 

[SamirD]

It's actually pretty easy once you know the ropes. The first thing I'd look into is how much bandwidth do you have at each location and what's your budget? Expensive enterprise routers can get even gigabit speeds between them if the bandwidth is there, but for lesser bandwidth, smaller versions or even some smb or soho routers can do it.

I watch the cdw outlet for vpn router deals:
https://www.cdw.com/search/?key=vpn&outlet=1&searchscope=all&sr=1&SortBy=PriceAsc

There aren't any really good ones in there right now, but I've seen fortigate models for $150 for $450 models, and these can do the job very, very well. I have watchguard units and they work very, very well as well, but can be pricey if not deeply discounted.

With enterprise routers you have to watch for the service/features as a lot of times they only have certain features with a service agreement, etc. For most ipsec tunnels are always part of the base features, but you'll want to make sure.

I'd start by looking at some of the routers within your budget and then download and read the owners manuals. And then feel free to ask questions. I've done this so many times that it's second nature now.

 

[KentState]

Not sure if Qnap offers this, but with synology, you can setup a Google drive sync from the NAS to G-drive on both ends.

 

[ch33zw1z]

Not sure if Qnap offers this, but with synology, you can setup a Google drive sync from the NAS to G-drive on both ends.

Definitely something to look at for a simpler solution, good call.