I have always thought of a NAS (Network Attached Storage) device as a backup device or a file server. But with the up rise of fiber internet connections in our homes, streaming services, and cloud storage, we have stopped storing a lot of data on-premises. However, it goes deeper than that.
The Synology DS920+ has changed my outlook of many services in my Home Office, as well as replaced so many devices I have running concurrently for different things…
On top of this, there is an App Store of sorts, with community contributors that makes the Synology device a complete multi device replacement.
What do I mean by multi device….
Windows 2019 server that consumed lots of physical space and uses lots of power. It performed a couple of functions
- Ran a virtual machine with MacOS for my Time Machine backups (painful to keep this VM running since its a hackintosh)
- Ran a Plex server for multimedia streaming
- Ran a file server for storage of old files
- Ran some docker containers for some dev environments
- Windows Storage Pools for redundancy
ZBox mini PC, which ran my Home Assistant Virtual Machine and containers for all my home automation tasks.
Vivotek NVR, which runs the recording for all my Home security cameras, I have 5 in total, this is a 1U device that makes a real noise because of its fans.
Each one of these services or devices was lengthily to install and maintain, or made a noise, or took up a lot of space, or consumed a lot of power. The Synology comes out of the box with many of these features available for install with one click from the package center and very minimal configuration. I drill down into these features in later posts. It also consumes 32watts without the disks and is smaller than a mITX PC.
AND it doesn’t stop there….
What about backing up your cloud services in-case you want to move (iCloud to Google or visa versa)?
What about full system state back-ups that get your machines up and running in 1 step?
What about running docker containers?
What about recording Live TV?
What about syncing remote Cloud Storage like Azure Blob?
Originally I was going to run Active Backup for Office 365 for my Office 365 tenant…. But it has grown and expanded to another 5 posts.
The possibilities are endless with this device…
Below you will find my reviews and my tutorials on this incredible device that has given my tinker brain much pleasure over the past couple weeks.
Active Backup for Office 365 on the Synology DS920+
Active Backup for GSuite on the Synology DS920+
Active Backup for PC’s and Files on the Synology DS920+
Running Docker Containers on the Synology DS920+
Recording Live TV on the Synology DS920+
Installing the Community SynCommunity Repos on the Synology DS920+
Configuring the Surveillance Station on the Synology DS920+
Connecting Azure to the DS920+ using Cloud Sync