Sure, internal storage keeps getting bigger and better. The latest 16-inch MacBook Pros and Mac Pros can handle up to 8GB for super-fast SSD. But, they'll never have the capacity of old-school HDDs, and they'll never have the backup capabilities of a NAS. So, with Synology's two-bay NAS DiskStation going on Cyber Monday sale — $254 instead of the usual $299 — grab it now while you can.
NAS to meet you
Synology 2 bay NAS DiskStation
Like backup on Hulk serum
If you only have one copy of your data, you might as well have no copies of your data. With a Synology NAS DiskStation, you'll be on your way to at least the best local backup available. Your data deserves it, and so do you.
Drive you crazy
Seagate IronWolf 4TB NAS Internal Hard Drive
Maximum storage
NAS are nothing without the drives that drive them. You can — and maybe should! — get bigger, but you currently can't save better. So, fill your DiskStation up with IronWolf and then let the backups flow!
I went for the 4 bay version, because I needed as much space as possible to backup as many Final Cut Pro X projects as possible. That one isn't on sale, alas, but if two bays aren't enough for you, especially if you want extra redundancy, then I'd absolutely recommend you go for the four-bay anyway.
The Seagate IronWolf 4TB NAS Internal Hard Drive are also on sale: $90 instead of the usual $125.
Again, I went for the Seagate IronWolf 12TB NAS Internal Hard Drive versions, because of Final Cut Pro X project file backups.
Now, if you just want to set up Synology as a Time Machine backup, you can totally do that. You can also use it the way I'm using it — as a dumb drive to copy files to as a repository.
If you want to do a whole lot more, though, a whole lot more can the Synology do. Including:
- Media server that transcodes between a variety of formats.
- Home security with intelligent monitoring and management.
- Remote access to your files if/when you need them.
- A ton more, especially for your networking needs.
If you don't have a backup, all your data is at risk. One splash, one leak, one fire, one drop, one bad upgrade or install, one theft away from being lost and gone forever. A local backup is the bare minimum you should have for anything that matters to you, and nothing handles that local backup better than a Synology.
Get as big and as much as you can afford and set it up as automatically as you possibly can. Future you will thank present you for it.
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