I would appreciate some advice on exporting, please!
I am looking for a NAS for very specific tasks.
I am a videographer and I need to send very large files (around 100 to 200GB) on a regular basis. Also, I know that there is a way to automatically upload every image or video that I shoot on my phone to the NAS.
These are the only two things that I need my NAS to do well.
It’s also very important for me that the person who receives the download link for the files will have an easy and simple process to download them. I mean just pressing the link and downloading (not installing software or signing in, and such).
Could you please advise me on a 1-bay system that will do the job, and recommend an HDD?
Hardware isn’t really the problem here; it’s software and Internet-accessibility. The software that comes to my mind is Nextcloud. They have client software for your mobile devices that will do just what you say–automatically upload photos/videos when you shoot them. It let you share files using links, so that the recipient just needs to click the link to initiate the download. It has a nice web interface to manage it. To do what you’re asking, you’d need to expose it to the Internet, probably buy a domain name (they’re cheap, around $10/yr), and probably set up some kind of dynamic DNS (this can likely be free through Cloudflare). You’ll need all of this regardless of which hardware you choose, and really regardless of which NAS OS you choose.
The problem is that it’s kind of a heavyweight application, so you wouldn’t want the lowest-end possible device to try to run it. To use one fairly timely (because they’re currently running a Kickstarter that I believe closes tomorrow) example, the Ugreen NASync devices are getting a lot of social media “buzz” right now[1], among other reasons for their ability to run pretty much whatever OS you want on them. They have a two-bay unit that’s $259 at the kickstarter price, which on its face would look like it would do the trick. But there are a few problems:
Its CPU is fairly weak
Its maximum RAM capacity is only 16 GB, which should really be considered the minimum for TrueNAS (especially if you’re running apps with it)
It doesn’t use a separate SSD for the OS
A much better choice IMO would be the four-bay “Plus” model for $454. It has a soomewhat beefier CPU, can take up to 64 GB of RAM, and does have a separate SSD for the OS. You’d then add to it:
A 16 GB stick of RAM
A replacement boot SSD (that way you can keep the original OS untouched on its own SSD, just in case you want to use it again)
A SSD for applications
and at least one storage drive, though I’d recommend two drives mirrored[2] as a safer option.
Install TrueNAS SCALE, the TrueCharts app catalog[3], their version of Nextcloud along with the various supporting bits and pieces[4], and you should have what you’re looking for.
I’ve heard it reported that the TerraMaster NAS units are also reasonably amenable to alternative OSs. I’m not familiar enough with their product line to recommend a specific model, but you’d want one that could handle over 16 GB of RAM and has not too wimpy of a CPU.
Alternatively, do you really need a NAS at all? A Raspberry Pi 5, a decently-sized SSD, an adapter board, and NextcloudPi would be yet another way to get there.
I’ve ordered one of these devices but otherwise have no affiliation with the vendor, and haven’t received anything from them. ↩︎
Which drives? I’m favoring Seagate Ironwolf or Exos models right now; WD Red Pro are also a decent choice. ↩︎
TrueCharts is a third-party app catalog. Their apps IMO do a much better job than the “official” ones of managing a reverse proxy, TLS certificate issuance and renewal, and TLS termination, all of which would need to be done. ↩︎
Traefik, cert-manager, clusterissuer, OpenEBS–I think that’s all. ↩︎
I would look for non-self hosting service first… see if it’s in your budget - (don’t be cheap if it your career) before looking for self-hosting. (Self hosting - you have to deal with everything yourself)
I’d tend to agree with this, except that sending 100 GB files remotely on a regular basis would likely be pretty painful. But it would avoid a lot of problems, and greatly flatten the learning curve.
Dan, hello and thank you!
I am a bit confused by your answer.
If you can help me understand something, I will thank you.
From the little I know about home NAS, I know that sending files and backing up photos are simple tasks for a NAS.
When I searched on YouTube for something like “Synology send file to client,” I saw a 3-minute tutorial that is built inside Synology OS (the same thing regarding phone photo backup).
In your answer, you advised me to do many complicated things that I know very little about.
What I am asking you, please,
first, is a system like Synology DiskStation DS119J (and similar)
can handle transfer at this size?
second, if Synology DiskStation DS119J can’t handle this kind of size transfer, what system that is ready from the shelf can handle?
When I wrote this post, I was expecting to get recommendations between Synology and QNAP and such…
And now it looks like it’s a lot more complicated.
If it is, I will probably stick to Google Drive and such.
This is a TrueNAS forum, and TrueNAS is neither Synology, nor QNAP, nor any other out-of-the-box NAS–it’s software that runs on your own computer to turn it into a NAS. And because you posted on a TrueNAS forum, I addressed how you’d do what you’re asking for with TrueNAS. If you were wanting recommendations for an out-of-the-box NAS, I agree with @Farout that you’ve posted in the wrong place.
Part of the reason that the task seems simpler with Synology is that when you buy their equipment, you’re also buying some services they provide which simplify the kind of thing you’re wanting to do. What you’re asking for is fundamentally complicated, and it’s difficult to do securely. Their services simplify the task; how secure it is, is anybody’s guess. The method I’ve suggested is secure, but rather more complicated.
