What to consider when buying a NAS? (Synology vs QNAP)

Most businesses that say "we'll buy a NAS" pick a random model from the store and bring it to the office. A few months later capacity runs out, performance falls short or the backup strategy doesn't hold. Choosing the right NAS requires needs analysis before hardware.

1. The use case first

A NAS can take on one or more of these roles:

• Central file storage and sharing
• Backup server (Active Backup, Veeam target)
• File synchronization (Synology Drive)
• Surveillance recording (IP camera recording)
• Virtualization (running VMs)
• Application server (Docker, web)

Whichever of these you expect, you should choose the model accordingly.

2. User count and concurrent access

While a "2-bay entry NAS" suits 5 users, a 50-user design studio needs an 8+ bay model with 10 GbE. The number of concurrent connections and the workload type determine the CPU/RAM choice.

3. Disk layout (RAID) and capacity planning

The misconception that "disk size shows usable capacity" is very common. Depending on the RAID level, a large portion is spent on redundancy:

• RAID 1: 50% of capacity usable (tolerates 1 disk failure)
• RAID 5: (N-1)/N of capacity (1 disk failure)
• RAID 6 / SHR-2: tolerates 2 disk failures, slightly less capacity

Synology's SHR (Synology Hybrid RAID) enables flexible use with mixed disk sizes; it wastes less space compared to classic RAID levels.

4. Disk brand and class

Don't put desktop disks like WD Blue or Seagate Barracuda in a NAS. NAS-class disks (WD Red Plus/Pro, Seagate IronWolf, Toshiba N300) are designed for 24/7 operation, vibration and TLER. Otherwise you'll see disk deaths within 6-12 months.

5. Synology vs QNAP — what fits where?

Synology

• Strongest in software maturity and ease of use
• The DSM ecosystem is extremely stable
• Excellent backup with Active Backup for Business (free!)
• More conservative hardware — sometimes very fast CPU/10GbE stays pricey

For those who say "it shouldn't need an expert to use — keep it simple and stable," the choice is usually Synology.

QNAP

• Generally more powerful/aggressively priced on hardware
• ZFS file system with QuTS Hero (data integrity, advanced snapshots)
• Strong virtualization and container-hosting capabilities
• Broader on the software-flexibility side but sometimes complex

For virtualization, advanced storage and performance/cost-focused projects, the choice is usually QNAP.

6. The backup strategy comes before the NAS

Don't fall for the "we bought a NAS, our backup is sorted" fallacy. A NAS is primary storage; it's not a backup on its own. In a 3-2-1 backup strategy the NAS is an important player but not sufficient by itself.

7. Network and UPS

• Connecting the NAS to a link below Gigabit throttles performance
• If multiple users access heavily, 2.5 GbE or 10 GbE should be considered
• Don't consider a NAS without a UPS — RAID corruption during a power outage is a serious risk

As part of our NAS solutions we analyze your needs, recommend the right model and disk layout, and manage everything from installation to backup integration.