Loving your channel. Typing on my Razer Blade, and also using my Macbook, Linux, Pi, etc. IT Pro of over 30 years and appreciate the very analytical and intuitive approach you take with your videos. Will voice some more in response to the detailed reviews of the other items including the Mac as you may have me switching to Apple Devices for sheer time savings and productivity.

Nice, thanks for sharing the studio setup, and looking forward to your new PC to Mac transition videos. Just ordered a macbook pro as well, after using Windows all my life.

such a great video about video files storage and handeling for studio!

Suggestion for next project: FStoppers road-trip/photography van buildout.

Was waiting for this video. Thank you guys for making them.

However much multiple drive NAS RAID arrays cost up front, all that expense is worth it the first time you have a drive failure and do not lose any data.

Great video. Nice and clear rundown! Hoping your viewership gets back to normal.

Thank you! I love workflow videos. And I know the Coronavirus Journals messed up your analytics... but I watched every single one of them! It gave me something to look forward to every night. 😊

great video, another advantage of a synology NAS (one of the reasons I got a Synology NAS): both windows AND macs and access the same files and save to the NAS drive. My Windows NTFS external HDD were no good for my Mac when I switched to Mac 10 years ago.

Lovely setup!

Those quarantine talks were ok They were just a bit long, But I think people need it that it was so much going on at that time.. I did enjoy the information that I got from them especially when you guys cover the move to Puerto Rico. When I look at KZfaq it’s often to look at the shorter form videos. I’m mostly play it in the background while I get work done on the computer, so in theory it could be longform cause I’m not really overly paying attention. Just some feed back. Honestly I used to really love those competition videos where you guys would invite a guest on and you would attempt to out shoot one another that was always fun. But either way I’m here for it. You guys bring value to the platform.

In addition to a file server, I began using NAS for backup only about three decades ago and currently using 3x NAS. Redundancy and multiple file generations are part of my backup methodology.

You definitely will get those numbers back 👍 Liked.

The video I needed! Thanks!!!

Great stuff. Thank you!

Great video, congrats

Subbed. Thanks for this workflow stuff - love the SanDisk Professional dock. Just bought one. Have you found a use for the Ethernet port yet?

The 3-2-1 backup rule is an easy-to-remember acronym for a common approach to keeping your data safe in almost any failure scenario. The rule is: keep at least three (3) copies of your data, and store two (2) backup copies on different storage media, with one (1) of them located offsite. RAID by itself cannot be considered a backup. As a multi-decade veteran of the IT Wars, I can recount some stories about companies that have lost all their data because of a fire/flood/natural disaster at the single location where they kept their live data and backups. I'd also add that backups should be tested regularly for integrity, and restores attempted periodically to make sure they work. More unpleasant stories about failed/corrupted restores in the middle of the noght can also be related.

Great post

great video!!

My current setup uses 2 m.2 NVMe SSDs, 2 SATA SSDs, and 6 hard drives. Then for the home server build, I use a direct 10GbE connection (10GbE NICs are cheaper but there is a ton of price gouging on 10GbE switches). I then use 2.5GbE for everything else. I would have liked to try a more purpose built NAS, but could not justify the cost compared to a building a storage focused PC (7 hard drives, 1 SATA SSD). Since it was older hardware, (AMD Phenom II x6 1075T CPU), the system build cost around $200 in parts, but is fast enough to handle acting as both a NAS and NVR. Hard to justify a dedicated NAS cost when the NAS without any drives, will cost as much as an entry level gaming PC. Easier to do a lower cost PC build, and put that extra money towards more hard drives. Even under 10GbE it is not worth it to try editing from a NAS, unless it has a very good CPU (best single threaded performance that you can get), since when you move from local storage, to a NAS, IOPS take a significant hit, and that will show in some workloads.

I'd recommend also a hyper backup to an offsite nas or to synology c2

Hey nice video, like all things there's cost/benefit analysis. I will say not using a switch, personally wouldn't recommend. It may be a cost thing, at those speeds switches become very expensive. However, you shouldn't hang your entire network off your NAS. Even if you buy a smaller, slower switch for your other devices that were going in the 4 ports. Essentially you don't want your WiFi, routers, other devices to all disconnect if the NAS goes down. Take your new NIC for example. It has a rather large heatsink, but you've put it in a case with no active air flowing over it. Probably do you a few years, but if it goes, and shorts the rest of your system, your network is dead. Also RAID is not backup, AWS does long term storage, I forget the name, but you can get your synology to back up every night.

Great content! I love the Fstoppers style, it’s been being a great inspiration to me for the last two years. 10G is great for transferring files if you can run the cable to the computer. Is the access time in those hard spinning drives an issue when it comes to video editing off the NAS? I hope Synology will release a NAS with a PCIe port and a CPU that has hardware transcoding capabilities because right now you have to choose.

Real nice!

You didn't go into detail about how you import and manage your workflow in Lightroom with the NAS setup which would be really interesting.

It was mentioned that he wanted to ensure to get NAS Quality drives. It is also helpful for example this is a 6 bay NAS, it is helpful to make a purchase of 3 drives and then wait a short period of time and make the 2nd purchase of 3 drives (or if you have more time make 3 X purchases of 2 drives). This then helps you to try to get different production runs of those drives. This way if there was a bad batch which has a flaw, only 2 or 3 of your drives are affected at a time.

First of all: great video! I'm building a similar setup at the moment as well with a macBook pro and a windows desktop which I want to connect to both a Synology NAS and the Sandisk Pro Dock 4. I was wondering why you have a second dock for the PC instead of connecting it to the Pro Dock. Since I haven't gotten it I wanted to ask if you could use one thunderbolt plug to connct t he macbook (like you did) and the other (since there are two on the back of the dock) to connect it via a USB C 3.2 or a thunderbolt cable to the mainboard of the PC. Am I missing something or could this work also?

Except that you kinda missed the definition of a backup (because a RAID isn't one) you really explained that very good

Hi excellent video, may I know which tool to use to see the transfer speed, thanks

Well done great video :) more natural and real ;)

I love the idea. I just wish I understood it enough to implement the solution myself.

I might be wrong but if your connecting directly to the nas from the computer it is then a DAS direct attached storage.

I have always wanted to do what you mentioned. Synology Connected directly to MacBook and PC and to the network as well. Can you please let me know what configuration dis you use and the problems that you faced, if any.

FUN FACTS 1) NAS is not a backup. NAS as in online storage. you will need another NAS to to a backup, preferably not within the same building. 2) RAID rebuild isnt immediate. it takes a few days. 3) using the NAS as a switch also adds latency and it's not a full duplex "switch" so meaning 1 of the ports can saturate the bandwidth of the Software defined network switch . 4) ironwolf drives are meant for NAS only.. usually 8 drives are less uses ironwolf. for servers that use 9 drives and above, SEAGATE EXOS are usually used. 5) fi you are using a NAS for video, you need more than 10Gbe. at least do a channel bonding or invest in 25GbE or 40GbE networks. 6) a proper video server will need at least 4TB of SSD cache to cache even the progresQL for davinci. 7) do remember to set MTU to 9000. **I do run my own VPN/video/file/SQL/web servers. I do own a few NAS and my main NAS has got 16TB of SSD cache with 25GbE Fibre to the switch.. so yeah, i do know my stuff.

What is the exact model of the Behringer mixer you are using? The one from the link is a bit larger, more complex.

Liked 💪

what's the name of the app you use to track your data transfer speeds? i know you said it somewhere, in some video, but I can't remember which one...

@lee morris, I really enjoy f stoppers videos but KZfaq very rarely recommends them so I miss a lot of them.

Suggestion... You should put links to your previous videos in your series on your description or in the related videos area. I want to see them, but I'm (very likely) not going to go through the hassle of finding them.

The cabinet in the background with the movie reel in it - who makes it or where did you get it ! Thanks

DANG... I remember the recent MBP switch series and you ranting about the MAC just like myself... Your comment today have shaken me a bit. I will admit I got kinda used to the MBP at this point, but I still prefer my Windows overall experience. On another note: I've noticed you use the Dell monitor with the built in KVM switch, I use a similar setup (49" Dell + MX keys + MX3 mouse) and simply plugged in the LOGI dongle to my monitor and never need to press another button on my keyboard/mouse - the I/O switches between my MAC and PC automatically when I change the monitor input.

Looking forward to the MacBook Pro video. I have so loved my maxed out M1 Max 16 inch for photo and video editing. It’s so nice to finally have a laptop that feels like a pro machine. Keep up the great content!

When's the next Journal coming out?

I have just gotten a two drive Synology NAS, to store my music and some video. My only gripe has come with my windows desktop, even though my desktop computer sees the NAS on the network but I can’t map it as a drive, I have to use internet connection. Yet I have been able map the NAS, on my 2015 MacBook Pro no problems.

Good video and this is what I look forward to. The Covid series was a waste of my time and that's when you guys lost me as a subscriber. I got enough of that content on the network news and did not want to get that from my photography you tubers.

which app do you use to monitor network speeds please?

wondering why you have the mac book at all? whats the specs of your windows pc?

Man, sorting data nowadays seems like you have to become an IT pro to build and understand your own hardware

why do u use 10g internet adapter with your MacBook Pro ? thunderbolt 4 is 40Gb/s it's not enough for 10gb ?

What program do you use to see the transfer speed on the mac?

Onboard nic - you could have bonded them for 4Gbps on the Synology nas itself then configured your switch. Would have saved you $

Don't forget about off-site backup in case theft or some other disaster.

Why is it possible to get speeds up to 800mb/s with hard drives? Aren't harddrives usually slower?

What happens if the NAS eventually dies? Can those RAID-ed drives be easily re-used in another NAS box with the data intact or does it use some Synology proprietary format?

Can you give me the link to find the keyboard you talked about in the video.

What type of Raid did you use on your synology? I use Raid 5 (as Opposed to SHR1) with 2 500gb NVME Drives as my SSD Cache. Stock Ram on the 1621+. Also which 10Gbe adapter do you use for your Mac?

Surprised you didn't use a SSD for Write/Read files. Also if you enable Jumbo Packets through your ethernet and set it to the highest setting you can get even faster speeds then 800 mb, I have the exact same setup as you just with SSD for read and write as well the 10GB add-on card with 8GB Iron wolf drives instead of 16GB. Defiantly check it out though, you'll be surprised how much faster the jumbo packets work.

What is your security plan against ransomware?

I think you could of use a KVM to make things much easier.

We need the Mack book pro review. ASAP

So what’s the total cost?

Can someone link to the 10 gigabit thunderbolt Ethernet adapter?

Great video but there is on thing I heard you say that is not exactly correct, RAID is not a backup. It is redundancy, so if a drive fails your can recover that data and suffer no downtime. However, if the array fails or the NAS fails, you may not be able to plug in the drives to a new Synology and get it to recognize the volume and then you’re looking at a prolonged downtime. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great solution and I use one myself, especially with Synology Hybrid Raid allowing me to use various drive sizes, but to be safe you should consider an offsite backup solution that backs up the critical data on the NAS. Whether that’s a cloud storage solution or a second NAS in a secondary location or even just a large single HDD that you plug in every so often and store in a safety deposit box.

how to you store your files on your nas for final cut and lightroom?

Instantly it rebuilds everything is a bit overkill 🙂It takes several hours depending on the disks you have.

This might be a good time to remind everyone that a NAS RAID is not a backup. A true backup solution includes backing up your data offsite as well. You can either mirror your NAS offsite or use a service like Backblaze.

Ok, looking for a solution to have video filmed in Africa so that I can get in USA. Would this work to download big files? Currently use dropbox and google drive but it's a big pain to get downloaded. They try to zip, etc. Wondering if this would work to download over the internet. Thoughts from anyone

Playing a dangerous game trusting Seagate lol

Haha, makes me laugh how much he hated MacBooks at first and has now been converted. Similar situation to when I first tried a Mac. Unfortunately, I use too many programs that require a windows PC :(

RAID is not backup. Cannot say that enough.

“RAID array” is tautology. Redundant array of independent disks array......

“Once you go mac you never go back”

Hold up. Last time this guy appeared in my KZfaq feed he was crapping all over the mac. Now all of a sudden he's all in on the apple ecosystem (note the Apple Watch he's sportin) and buying synology NAS's?!? lol

For personal data only, In the last 15 years I have lost 2 SSDs, and 3 hard drives. In the previous 10 years I lost 14 hard drives. Since 10 years ago, I spin up my mechanical hard drives at most every 3 months. The last time I lost 2 months of data was in 1999. Currently my archive drives are 3 drives in 3 inclosures with mirrored data. In my commercial IT work I often have to do reports on how data was lost. It is usually due to cascading failures. Several times the client did not have a spare drive to swap in, so when the second drive failed a few weeks later, all data on the array was lost, or one drive failed, then while the array was rebuilding the second drive failed, and since they only had one drive of parity all data on the array was lost. 2 drives of parity plus one hot spare (unused) hard drive in the enclosure would have removed the need for a data loss explanation. If I needed more archival space I would always do a zfs parity array with at least 2 parity drives. For up to 16 drives per sub array. Also keep a hot spare for each drive type in the enclosure. These days you really want a Linux nas with zfs to detect bit rot. To make larger volumes to work out of, you should make a stripe of 3 drive mirrors with at least 2 hot spares per enclosure. This method often works well for up to 320 drives, with SSD read and write caches. Zfs will span the read events to unoccupied drives. If you do have 320 drives you should get truenas commercial support with redundant head units and redundant data paths to the hard drives. You could pull the cpu on the active head unit and not loose any data or drop any connections or data transfers. I have 20 years of IT experience, including a contractor at ixsystems (makers of freenas and truenas) where I automated their subscription log analysis services to reduce errors. Be forewarned, server equipment is LOUD. Unless you have a machine room, you will probably want to put it in a sound insulating enclosure.

I bet 90% of the non nerd population don’t back up their photos and data anymore.

I feel like you haven't been making the videos that made you popular; stuff about photography - actually doing things rather than what feel like sponsored tech videos at a desk. Where's Patrick anyway?

KZfaq are doing something fishy 🤔

The comment about buying NAS drives is not very accurate. In a multi user environment, sure get NAS drives but for a single user the NAS normally sleeps if it is not reading or writing at a given time.

You need serious work on your thumbnails is all

Be ready for Apple high cost of ownership...lousy customer misinformed useless service high junk prices tags...no upgrades and don't do repair they replace if under warranty or applecare is costly. Apple replace not repair. New m series arm cpu ....ram and ssd soldered...you stuck what you get or can't replace parts/upgrades/repair. Seagate has high rate of hdd failures...I rather go with WD. RAID is not backup...even NAS or the cloud/Google drive....no guarantees...still can lose data even multiply backups on different places or sources...worst event scenario...mostly unlikely though but can happen...Murphys law. $899 just for the case...sdd hdd extra costs...ouch.

Why did you use HDD instead of SSD?