Home Forums Discussions IT, Networking, PCs and more Anyone using network attached storage (NAS)

Box with 4 hard drives (or ssd). Brand Synology or Truenas or others. Use for backup target and file shares. Has separate admin password and "immutable snapshots" that no one can delete within x days/weeks.

Great for backup target and additional ransomware hardening.

Thinking about setting one up or building one.

Anyone use this?

Many years ago, I used Seagate Goflex network drive. AC never successfully made backup copies on the network drive. I used it to store import items and manually copy / paste .enc files. Have been thinking of getting a new one.

Big upvote for Synology

Some people may think it's overpriced but it's like the Sonos of the sound world. What you're really paying for is the software than the hardware.

They even have ActiveBackup now which allows you to directly backup Hyper-V machines. Windows Server backup leaves a lot to be desired and apps like Veeam can be a little complicated/expensive

Good to know. Is Synology ActiveBackup for Hyper-V VM good enough to replace something likely backupassist/veeam/altaro?

May even be cheaper with 1 time Synology cost vs subscriptions?

It's definitely not good enough to replace something like Veeam. Veeam has so many enterprise features like proxy servers, tape repositories, wan accelerators, etc.

If you're using AC, you're probably not going to use 90% of those features. Most people don't even want to get a dedicated backup server for Veeam. They also have a free option.

Go with Hornet Security (Altaro). Simpler, faster, way more straightforward than Veeam. Veeam is used at the top enterprise level but run specifically by IT pros. I used Veeam for two years. Switched to Hornet Security. Cheaper, easier, better support.

My solution for backup is as simple as I can make it and I use Veeam Backup and Replication. I am a Veeam reseller.

Hyper-V virtual machines (I never use VMWare). Bare metal installations are not supported.

One VM will have Veeam Backup and Replication installed on it.

Onsite Backup Repository is, for the typical AC client, a 2-bay or 4-bay QNap that exposes a single file share that requires a password. You can find them here: https://tinyurl.com/2yrdv97c

Onsite backups store 14 days of backups.

Offsite backup is provided by me, and I have a setup at a datacenter in Greenville, NC. Offsite backups store 3 days of backups.

I never use AC backup. All clients are required to have both onsite and offsite backup. Monthly rate is determined by how much data and how many virtual machines. In a typical setup that I create for a client, there will be two virtual machines: A domain controller (I do not support peer-to-peer networks) and an Applications server for AC, file shares, etc. I can also backup Office 365 if the client has that.

My largest client (not an AC client) has 37 virtual machines in a Hyper-V Failover Cluster. All of it my implementation. My second largest client has 22 virtual machines in a Hyper-V Replica setup. Again, all my implementation. In both scenarios, the client can lose an entire server and suffer only a few minutes downtime. The Cluster is automatic failover. The Replica does require my intervention for failover, but I'm pretty good at answering my phone.

JamesNT