Need NAS recommendation - QNAP or Synology

[gsethi]

My current setup is as follows:
Main Desktop computer has OS/application SSD + separate internal hard drive for data.
The Data hard drive is backed up (via crashplan) to another internal hard drive (inside same desktop...i know)
The Data hard drive is also backed up to crashplan cloud.
All mobile (mainly pictures) & laptop (mainly videos, work files) data remain on mobile/laptops and are backed up manually once in a while (this is getting hectic and I want to automate pictures/video backup on mobile devices)

I am planning on changing my setup (and automate) so that my data (work & personal) is available to me anywhere (mobile, laptop, main desktop) and I am thinking as follows:
Main Desktop with OS/App SSD + Internal Data Hard drive

Local external NAS will sync (separate folders for each device on nas) to each device with mobile (ios mainly, 1 android device), laptops (mac + windows), and few other desktops (mac + windows).

NAS and my internal Data Hard drive to Sync at all times.
Internal Data Hard drive will be backed up to crashplan cloud.

Example:
Hard Drive folder 1<-> NAS folder 1<-> iphone1
Hard Drive folder 2<-> NAS folder 2 <-> Mac1
Hard Drive folder 3 <-> NAS folder 3 <-> Mac2
Hard Drive folder 4<-> NAS folder 4 <-> Windows1
Hard Drive folder 5<-> NAS folder 5<-> Android1
and so on.
Complete Hard drive -> backed up to crashplan cloud.

Can this be accomplished ?
For NAS, should i go with Synology ds215j or QNAP TS-251 ? (Qnap is ~$100 more expensive which is not an issue).

 

[dave_the_nerd]

I'm not sure I approve of your folder syncing - it seems awfully complex. But if it makes sense to you, that's what matters.

Looking just at the spec sheets for the DS215j vs. the TS-251, the Qnap is significantly more capable (RAM and CPU) than the Synology, and should offer noticeably faster local file transfers, along with maybe having enough oomph to run your crashplan engine (instead of keeping all that stuff running 24/7 on your desktop.)

 

[gsethi]

What do you suggest to backup pictures/videos from multiple devices (mix of mobile + laptops) automatically ?

I do not want to use separate cloud account for each device. I also do not want pictures from iphone1 belonging to person1 to be shared/mixed with pictures from iphone2/person 2.

I am thinking of keeping separate folders for each device on the NAS is probably the best way, and automate Sync/backup over wifi. The mobile/laptop data just needs to be backed up (with only me or wife having access to backed up data from all devices).

Any suggestions on how to do this any other way ?

EDIT: I was thinking of keeping crashplan running on my main desktop. Reason not to have it running on NAS is that I read that when crashplan updates, changes have to be made to crashplan profiles/settings on NAS. I want to avoid this and keep crashplan backups simple.

 

[nk215]

for what you are doing, I recommend a QNAP x51 series. I would pick a 4-bay over the 2-bay.

The main reason for my QNAP recommendation is that you can run Win7 virtually under QNAP x51 and use that to run your crashplan as a more future proof approach.

When you have everything up and running for your initial need, you'll find way to off load more work to the NAS.