Beginner!

[fistsergeant]

Hello all! As you can tell by the subject I am new to the NAS concept.

I have over 8TB in movies and over 2TB in music. I mostly use macOS in my home network. I would like to use NAS to access multimedia (specifically to play movies on the tv) and for backups. Right now I have a whole bunch of external hard drives that I would like to consolidate somehow.

Do you have specific models for macOS?
Can I use NAS for both backup and multimedia simultaneously?
If I purchase a 4-bay model, do all bays need a disc before I can use it?
I would like to purchase directly from Qnap, is that possible?
If not, do you have any recommendations?

Thank you for taking the time. Please forgive my ignorance on this subject!

[OneCD]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Do you have specific models for macOS?

Nope, all models work the same with macOS.

Can I use NAS for both backup and multimedia simultaneously?

You sure can, but a low-end, underpowered ARM model might be a bit "glitchy". Choose one with an Intel or AMD CPU instead.

If I purchase a 4-bay model, do all bays need a disc before I can use it?

No, but you must begin with at-least one drive. You can then add more as-required. More drives gives you redundancy, then higher capacity.

I would like to purchase directly from Qnap, is that possible?

QNAP don't sell their NAS direct to the public. But there are many QNAP dealers out there you can buy from. There are a few on eBay that can ship almost anywhere.

As you can tell by the subject I am new to the NAS concept.

As you're a mac user, something to be aware of: owning and maintaining a NAS requires a bit of work and a lot of knowledge. It helps if you already know your way around IP networking.

Please ensure you purchase compatible drives for your NAS. Good luck!

[spile]

My LAN is not reachable from the internet. I have no ports (other than for Wireguard) forwarding on my router and of course, UPnP is turned off.
Wireguard (running on the RPI) creates a tunnel with a virtual network interface.

Client (phone, tablet, laptop) ------------ Internet ------------------ Router (DDNS* URL -------------- Wireguard VPN Server on RPI

* Instead of using a dynamic DNS provider, I run an updater script on the RPI that keeps my public website CPanel updated.

It has been rock solid in terms of reliability and makes accessing my NAS, security cameras and other LAN devices much easier as well as more secure.