Overview
Unpredictable server malfunction or volume crash poses a grave risk to your paramount data. Synology NAS provides users with alternatives, either locally or remotely, to back up safe copies of your most important data, so you are always prepared for the worst. You can choose to back up in one or more ways to reduce the risk of data loss, depending on the requirements and situations of your business.
1. Back up to an external storage device
When backing up locally, you may choose to set the backup destination to another folder in the same volume, RAID group, or even the same physical disk. In this case, if your data is mistakenly deleted, you will be able to recover it from the backed up copies in another folder. However, when facing unfortunate server failures or volume crash, your data, as well as the backed up copies, might be lost. Therefore, you are always suggested to back up your important data to an external storage device, rather than on the same server. Synology NAS allows users to set their backup destination to not only local drives, but also external USB devices. The feature is available in Main Menu > Backup & Replication. For step-by-step instruction, please refer to here.
2. Back up to another Synology NAS over the network
Backing up your data to an external storage device improves data availability, but think about the risk of disasters, such as fire or earthquakes, of the place where your server and storage devices are located. Synology NAS allows users to set up an off-site backup by transferring the copies of your data to another server elsewhere over the network, minimizing the risk of data loss out of server location's disasters. Data transfer of the backup can be encrypted to protect your important data with a higher level of security. With the block-level backup option, your NAS will back up only modified blocks, and this is practical especially when the backup is executed over the Internet. The feature is available in Main Menu > Backup & Replication. For step-by-step instruction, please refer to here.
3. Back up to public cloud storage
Remote backup among different NAS devices requires two or more servers, including a number of disks put inside them, and places to locate your servers. The situation of your business may not allow you to set up an off-site backup with multiple NAS devices. To provide a solution to the issue of unviable NAS deployment for network backup, Synology's Backup feature offers support for several public cloud services, allowing you to back up data directly to your public cloud account. The feature is available in Backup & Replication or Package Center depending on your preferable public cloud storage. For step-by-step instruction, please refer to here.