Synology DS918+

2023-07-25 Edit: Removed Amazon affiliate links (I no longer use them)

I have always wanted a proper local storage backup solution. Thus far, I had been using an external 3 TB (Terabyte) hard drive, and Google Drive as a secondary. I attempted to follow the 3-2-1 backup rule whenever I was able. Things are always subject to random hardware failure, so around 2019 I went down the NAS (Network Attached Storage) rabbit hole. After much research, I decided on the Synology DS-918+ (Link to newer model and reviews: DS918+ | DS923+). 

I started out with two 4 TB drives and quickly realized I required much more space. A month later, I purchased two more drives, for a total of 16 TB of raw (total) space, with around 10 TB of usable space. A benefit of the DS 918+ is that you have the option to mirror hard drives, in case of hardware failure. It is inevitable that all hardware fails eventually.

Somewhere down the line I filled the NAS up and migrated to 10 TB drives, two at first, and two more a few months later. At the moment, I am sitting at approx 65% storage capacity. I know one day, I will rationalize the need to migrate to 20 TB. They are running about $320 $350 each on Amazon.

Aside from the 76 GB (Gigabyte) of Photos & Documents that are backed up, I have become a digital hoarder of Linux ISO files. I have preferred the Linux Mint OS (Operating System) over Windows for some time now. It is just easier at this point to use the OS that has the larger user base and subsequently, apps and support. The break down is as follows...

That's a lot of ISOs!

If you are serious about at home storage, definitely check out the links I posted above. It's a good investment into making sure your data doesn't go the way of the do-do bird.