Hello there,

I am in search of inspiration for solving several issues I am having.

That’s my situation:

  • ageing Synology NAS (4x4tb drives) with multiple docker containers running on it.
  • old gaming rig (i7-6700, Fedora Server) which I use sparingly for game server hosting

What I want to achieve:

  • Upgrade/replacement of my NAS
  • Offsite backup
  • ~20tb of usable storage (~2-3tb of actual important stuff)

Primary use cases:

  • SMB share
  • Docker hosting (Pihole, unbound, Jellyfin, *arr etc.)

Newly added requirements:

  • Cloud storage for mobile devices of close family members on and off site

Complications:

  • Electricity cost is a scam where I live (~0.40$ per Kwh)

I have an ageing NAS whose capacity is getting to its limits storage and horsepower wise. And since I have to do work on my setup anyways, I was wondering whether you might give me some inputs on what I could/should use to achieve my goals.

  1. My NAS is getting to its teenage years and I am getting worried about its eol. Buying some old server HW is out of the question because of power usage and availability. What are my best options? Build something myself with current hardware? Buy a new NAS? What is a good way to migrate data to a new system? From a power consumption standpoint are SSD’s better than HDD’s?

  2. I have an off site which i visit regularly where I could either place backup drives or put a system in a rack. What would be a good option for an offsite backup solution?

  3. I have gotten my aunt (77) a tablet during covid so she could video call us. In recent months a smartphone has entered the ring because daily life is getting impacted when you don’t have one. Now she is all into taking pictures and videos and the storage on her phone is not enough. What are my options? I’ve experimented with Nextcloud but I am uncertain whether it is the right solution, especially from a usability perspective. (I want to avoid third party services for storage)

I will very much appreciate your input since I’m not working in the field and am getting to the edge of my own knowledge at this point.

Thank you in advance for your input.

  • falkerie71English
    1•1 year ago

    FYI, he posted an apology video not long after that saying he jumped the gun, and that Synology had to remove the software not because they wanted to, but because some parts of their software were licensed and expired. Video link

    • @TCB13English
      0•1 year ago

      I’m aware of that but what practical difference does it make? You buy one of those things and suddenly you got functionality because they weren’t able to properly negotiate lifetime licensing for their devices that are sold, not rented, not leased…

      • falkerie71English
        0•1 year ago

        Well if you’re aware of it, why continue misinforming people with a video he retracted? You’re still using the device as is. They aren’t retroactively deleting functionality off of your device after support ends. The license issue just means that they cannot legally distribute legacy software from their website anymore. AFAIK, Synology emailed their customers informing them ahead of time to download the image before they had to take it down, I think they did what they could have done already.

        The original licensing problem in question was about the AAC codec, which as you probably know, is practically in every device we use and are in use daily. So until another open codec becomes the norm, or until all the patents expire in 2031, there probably will still be cases like this popping up from time to time.

        • @TCB13English
          0•1 year ago

          Because they shouldn’t sell hardware “for life” with an underlaying license that is only temporary. That doesn’t make sense. They’ve to make better agreements or pick other solutions.

          • falkerie71English
            1•1 year ago

            Okay.

            First off, afaik, they never advertised “lifetime” warranty nor software support on their website.

            Secondly, as I told you in the previous comment already, you can still use the product as is! This is no different from phone manufacturers dropping software support after 2 or 5+ years. Not to mention this probably only affects hardware that are older than 2009. That’s over 10 years of software support already. Granted they could have reuploaded a version without the AAC codec, but still.

            Third, looking at Via’s AAC FAQ, license fees are due on “per unit” sale, and the term of the license is five years, with additional five years renewal. There never was a lifetime license for it. The same goes for every single hardware/software sold that has AAC encoder/decoder built in. So if your actual issue is with that, take it up on Via and the patent holders, and start using foss audio codecs like OGG Vorbis or FLAC.

            • @TCB13English
              1•1 year ago

              Third, looking at Via’s AAC FAQ, license fees are due on “per unit” sale, and the term of the license is five years, with additional five years renewal. There never was a lifetime license for it.

              Yes, that’s a scam. One thing is when you rent, lease or have hardware provided on a subscription basis, another entire different thing is when you buy hardware. Synology is just propagating this kind of BS by including AAC.

              Up until now I’ve dealt with a few devices that included AAC and none of them suddenly became obsolete by the lack of license after 5 years.