Neat Synology NAS features for Mac

[Kaido]

I've been working with some Synology standalone NAS devices lately & found some neat Apple features that I didn't know existed on them:

No-hassle Time Machine support:

https://www.synology.com/en-us/dsm/data_backup#desktop

iTunes Server: (with Smart Playlists)

https://www.synology.com/en-us/dsm/app_packages/iTunesServer

Neat if you're looking for a turnkey solution for hosting your music & backups locally on your network :thumbsup:

 

[tsupersonic]

I can vouch for the Time Machine support. I have had a DS213 for about 2 years now, and I use it to store all my media, as well as backup my Surface Pro 2, and my desktop. I got a MBP last year, and setup my Time Machine backups to my NAS. It was easy to setup, and it seems to work. I use the word 'seems' because I haven't tried a restore. I don't do any mission critical work on my MBP, so no harm would be done if I lost the SSD or had some other failure.

I also have setup iTunes server, but I don't use it anymore.

 

[Michael]

iTunes server does not work for things like appleTV.

The time machine backup seems to just work. I set up my two daughter's to back up to the Synology and it works every time.

Michael

 

[Kaido]

I can vouch for the Time Machine support. I have had a DS213 for about 2 years now, and I use it to store all my media, as well as backup my Surface Pro 2, and my desktop. I got a MBP last year, and setup my Time Machine backups to my NAS. It was easy to setup, and it seems to work. I use the word 'seems' because I haven't tried a restore. I don't do any mission critical work on my MBP, so no harm would be done if I lost the SSD or had some other failure.

I also have setup iTunes server, but I don't use it anymore.

Yeah, I've done the hack mode on my old FreeNAS server, but I like the idea of official support a lot better, especially for something as critical as a backup system.

 

[Kaido]

iTunes server does not work for things like appleTV.

The time machine backup seems to just work. I set up my two daughter's to back up to the Synology and it works every time.

Michael

Thanks for the input. Does it work with desktop streaming, just not AppleTV streaming? Any idea why? I did some googling & apparently it doesn't work for iOS streaming either. Seems pretty useless if that's the case. Good thread on it here:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4967024

Aside from that, I've been pretty impressed with Synology products so far, despite some of the mixed reviews I read while researching them. I love the variety of apps they have available - I had no idea there were so many (easy) options within the system! The NAS to NAS migration tools are really nice for adding more drives or moving to a different NAS appliance, and the different supported features for virtualization, iSCSI, etc. are really convenient. I was a big fan of DIY methods before like FreeNAS, but using these systems have changed my perspective quite a bit for home & small biz storage applications!

Plus, it's so cheap (relatively speaking, in terms of other storage options). The very first one I built was $2400 - an 8-bay Synology unit with eight 4TB WD NAS drives. Literally 10 minutes from start to finish...pop the drives in, do the initial settings, build the array, join the domain, poof...25 terabytes of networked SHR-2 storage. It's the same with other DIY sizes...40 or 60TB Synology units for under $100 per networked terabyte, rackmount optional, integrate with LUN, HA, all kinds of fun stuff. I had no idea all of these goodies were available at a reasonable cost! +1 for stuff like Synology & QNAP devices!

 

[manly]

"so cheap?"

I think the iTunes server is a legacy protocol that's been around for many years. Apple must've done something newer within the past 2-3 years, I can't recall details. But it's almost certainly proprietary with no open-source implementations (yet).

 

[Kaido]

"so cheap?"

Yeah, like I said, relatively speaking I usually work with stuff like servers & Equallogic gear & whatnot. Sometimes even getting a few terabytes of server-grade storage for your network can run $10 or $20k. Granted, you don't get 10 or 15k-RPM server-grade drives, fiber, and all that jazz, but you do get link aggregation & super easy SHA RAID for growth & migration, plus I can overnight the parts from Newegg or Amazon, spend 10 minutes setting up, and have a backup NAS or simple network file share box ready to roll in no time. Plus I do think 25TB for $2400 is a pretty amazing deal :awe:

 

[boomhower]

I have a DS214 and love it. Don't mess with the iTunes server but love the time machine feature along with the rest of the stuff Synology brings to the party.