My review unit that Synology provided came preconfigured with two 16TB drives, which, when configured as RAID 1, will provide me plenty of storage to house Time Machine backups from my 256GB base model 2020 iMac. With that being said, the DS220j comes in a diskless configuration for $169.99, but you can add a pair of 4TB NAS drives for around $200 more. Not only does this save on costs, but it also allows users to choose the exact disks they wish to use, and/or it allows them to reuse media that they already have on hand. Note that Synology NAS boxes are often sold in a “diskless” configuration, which means that the user is responsible for installing the hard drives inside. Video: Synology NAS Time Machine backup system But with this initial tutorial, I wanted to showcase a basic Mac staple: how to set up Time Machine backups using a Synology NAS. We’ll explore some of that potential in more posts and videos to follow. Thanks to the software, Synology NAS boxes are capable of wearing many hats. With the DS220j’s rather modest specifications, this fact stands out even more. When it comes to Synology, the hardware is important, but as I’ve explained before, it’s the excellent DiskStation Manager operating system that makes these boxes such a joy to use. RAID 1 protection to avoid sudden drive failure.In this first hands-on video, I’ll walk you through what it takes to set up the DS220j as a Time Machine backup solution for your Macs. I’d also like to begin regular discussions of more common needs for the everyday Mac user, such as Time Machine backups, private cloud storage, etc.īeing an entry-level model, the DS220j is marketed as a personal cloud solution for data sharing and backup, and I find it to be a good fit for those applications.

Today, I’d like to flip the script and talk about Synology’s entry-level NAS, the compact DS220j. In the past when I’ve covered my experience with Synology NAS products, it’s usually been from the perspective of using one of Synology’s more powerful offerings as a media server for Final Cut Pro X libraries.

Install time machine backup on new mac