Independent Australian storage and infrastructure guides. Real AU pricing, honest verdicts.
A hybrid NAS and cloud setup gives you fast local access for active data and secure offsite copies for protection. This guide covers which data to keep on your NAS, what to push to the cloud, and how to automate the whole workflow on Synology and QNAP.
Running Ollama on a QNAP NAS delivers a private local LLM on hardware you own. QNAP's AMD Ryzen models (TS-473A, TS-873A) outperform equivalent Synology units for LLM inference due to AVX2 support and higher core counts. This guide covers hardware selection, Container Station setup, model deployment, and Open WebUI installation.
Running Ollama on a Synology NAS gives you a private local LLM accessible from any device on your network. This guide covers compatible Synology models, Container Manager setup, model selection, Open WebUI installation, and what to expect from performance on Synology hardware.
How to enable and verify Plex hardware transcoding on QNAP NAS units. Covering Intel Quick Sync setup, the required VAAPI package, Plex Pass requirement, and troubleshooting common failures.
How to configure a NAS for multi-editor shared video storage. Covering SMB share structure, user permissions, 10GbE networking, cache SSD configuration, and read/write workflow for 2-8 simultaneous editors.
How to set up a Ugreen NAS running UGOS Pro. Covering initial configuration, storage pool creation, SMB shares, user accounts, Docker via Container Manager, and remote access.
How to configure and use Immich's AI-powered features. Face recognition, CLIP semantic search, and smart albums. On NAS hardware, with performance expectations by CPU architecture.
How to install Open WebUI on a NAS using Docker. A self-hosted ChatGPT-style interface for local LLMs via Ollama. Covers setup on Synology and QNAP with GPU passthrough notes.
How to set up a NAS for a small business. Configuring Windows SMB shares, user accounts, group permissions, backup, and remote access for a 5-20 person workgroup environment.
How to migrate a Windows file server to a NAS. Covering share mapping, user accounts, permissions, offline file migration, and DFS namespace considerations for SMB environments.
How to automatically back up Android photos to a NAS. Covering Synology DS Photo, QNAP Qfile, and Immich mobile app methods with configuration steps for automatic Wi-Fi background upload.
How to set up offsite cloud backup from a NAS to Backblaze B2, Synology C2, and Wasabi. Covering Synology Hyper Backup and QNAP Hybrid Backup Sync configuration with cost comparison.
How to configure Synology Hyper Backup for scheduled NAS-to-external-drive, NAS-to-NAS, and NAS-to-cloud backup. Covers versioning, integrity checks, and restore procedures.
How to run Home Assistant in a Docker container on a NAS. Covering Synology and QNAP setup, network mode configuration for device discovery, and the key differences from a dedicated Home Assistant installation.
How to install Vaultwarden on a NAS using Docker. A self-hosted Bitwarden-compatible password manager. Works on any NAS running Docker, including Synology and QNAP.
How to install Portainer on a NAS and use Docker Compose to deploy and manage containers. The foundational skill for running self-hosted apps on Synology or QNAP hardware.
How to install Jellyfin on a NAS using Docker. Covering Synology and QNAP setup, library configuration, hardware transcoding via VAAPI, and client setup. The open-source Plex alternative.
How to install Immich on a NAS using Docker Compose. A self-hosted Google Photos alternative with AI face recognition, smart albums, and mobile backup. Covers Synology and QNAP setup.
How to install Nextcloud on a NAS using Docker Compose. Covering setup on both Synology and QNAP, MariaDB configuration, HTTPS with a reverse proxy, and trusted domain configuration.
How to install Plex Media Server on a QNAP NAS. From App Center install through library setup, hardware transcoding configuration, and remote access. Includes which QNAP models can hardware transcode and which cannot.
QSync is QNAP's built-in file synchronisation tool. The equivalent of Dropbox or Synology Drive, hosted on your own NAS. This guide covers setting up QSync Central on your QNAP, installing clients on Windows and Mac, creating sync pairs, and managing remote access.
Container Station is QNAP's built-in Docker and Docker Compose environment. This guide covers installation, creating your first container, using Docker Compose, managing persistent data, and the most useful self-hosted apps to run on your QNAP NAS.
Upgrading to a new Synology NAS? Drive migration and the DSM Migration Assistant let you move your entire storage pool, configurations, and data with minimal downtime. This guide covers both migration methods. Moving physical drives and network migration via Migration Assistant. With Australian context on models, retailers, and ACL protections.
Synology's Container Manager lets you run Docker containers directly on your NAS. Self-hosted apps, home automation, media servers, and more without needing a separate server. This guide covers installation, pulling images, composing multi-container apps, and the hardware requirements that trip up Australian users.