Having your cloud storage might just be the ultimate dream, it’s rather easy to get started with solutions, for example, Synology DiskStations and Synology drive. Though Synology is mostly known for its hardware; recently it has been stepping up its game on the software side, too. Synology Drive competes with Google Drive, it provides a clean interface along with several modern features. If you’re looking for ways to set up Synology Drive, this article will show you how.
Should you consider using Synology drive over Google Drive?
Synology 2 Bay NAS DiskStation DS220+ (Diskless)
$281.49
It has to be said that Google Drive would be a much more feasible option for the majority of users than jumping to a Synology NAS, especially for a single purpose, like to back up your data. Though you don’t have to pay a monthly fee for a NAS, there’s still an upfront cost, a pretty hefty one. Even if you decide to pay Google a monthly fee, it will take years to match what you’ll be paying for your network storage.
Unless we’re dealing with more than a terabyte of data, Google Drive is your best bet and has all the smarts and integrations to go along. It all comes down to the fact of how much value you place on your personal/business data and how important it is to keep your files in your own storage space instead of cloud servers. Then there are a few use cases where you need spacious local storage, which would make it necessary to make the switch to a Synology NAS.
Google One, the subscription service that includes Google Drive storage along with Google VPN and other niceties, starts at $2/mo or $20/year for 100 GB of storage. It also offers $300/month for 30 TB of storage. The sweet spot is the $10/mo or $100/year for 2 TB of data, making it cheaper than most 2 TB HDDs.
How to manage your files on a Synology NAS?
Synology has few file management systems in place with a bit of overlap, it can be confusing if you’re new. I will try to break down what works best based on how to plan to use your network drive.
How to Map your Synology NAS to Finder or File Explorer?
File managers on both Mac and Windows can connect to your network drive, providing you to access your files on Synology. These don’t occupy any space. Follow the steps below:
Navigate to Synology DSM in a web browser, click on Control Panel, then enter File Services. Under the SMB tab, enable the SMB and WS-Discovery services, then click on Apply.
Next, in Mac’s Finder, click on Go, then select Connect to Server. OR, Use the Cmd + K shortcut to enter the NAS’s local address. This address could be a custom name you’ve given, for example, mb://xyz.local, or a local IP address that your router has assigned to the NAS, mostly in the 192.168.X.XXX format.
For Windows, right-click on This PC, then click on Map network drive. Select the drive label, then pick your Synology NAS under Browse. Your NAS would now appear in the list, that is if you enabled WS-Discovery.
Login using your credentials, now your Synology NAS should be visible in Finder/File Explorer.
How to Allow Synology to automatically sync/backup your computer’s folders?
Go to your Synology’s DSM, open Package Center, then locate the Synology Drive Server. Click install under it, then let it run until the process is done. This will install the Drive app itself with the admin console. You can start using Drive’s web app and also move files in other directories. We will further set up sync and backup for the files on your computer.
Download the Drive Client for your computer. Go with the installation flow and enter Synology’s address along with your login details.
On the next screen, you’ll be asked to set up sync/backup tasks. Click on Backup Task to select the folders you want Synology to keep a copy of. You have the ability to set a backup schedule or you can allow it to run all the time.
For syncing, create a new Sync Task from the Drive app, then select the folder both on your NAS and computer that you want to keep in sync. You can set up multiple rules, for example, filters by size or file type, to further fine-tune the sync behavior.
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