Greatest NAS drives for Mac 2025

You’re spoilt for alternative in terms of Western Digital’s My Cloud vary, with a number of fashions out there for house customers and small companies, in addition to a variety of Skilled and Professional fashions for bigger organizations.

The My Cloud Residence is a bit more costly than different fashions within the My Cloud vary, however is quick and gives further options reminiscent of help for the Plex Media Server software program (though that’s most likely not essential for Mac customers).

It comes with a variety of storage allocations; 8TB must be greater than sufficient for many houses, in addition to small places of work and self-employed customers. The slimline white-and-silver unit is neatly designed and solely measures 2in large, so it’ll sit simply in your desk or on a shelf near your router with out taking on an excessive amount of house.

There’s additionally a bigger dual-drive mannequin, known as the My Cloud Residence Duo, which homes two matching drives and affords significantly extra storage. That gives RAID 1 mirroring for further knowledge safety, however in order for you extra refined RAID options, in addition to the power to put in and take away drives your self, you’ll must step as much as the My Cloud Skilled or My Cloud Professional fashions.

Western Digital all the time does an excellent job with Mac help, and the My Cloud Residence is not any exception, with apps that deal with a variety of duties rapidly and simply. The iOS app can carry out computerized backups of your images and movies, whereas the Mac app helps you to use Time Machine to your backups (and there are Mac and Home windows variations of the apps out there too).

There are some good touches too, reminiscent of the power to right-click a folder in your Mac and routinely sync the contents of that folder on to the My Cloud Residence. That will probably be useful for individuals who need an additional backup of their present work information or initiatives along with the essential Time Machine backup. It’s also possible to right-click any file that’s saved on the My Cloud Residence and ship a obtain hyperlink so as to rapidly share that file with buddies or colleagues.

And, for those who additionally use a web based backup service, reminiscent of Dropbox, then you’ll be able to sync the contents of your Dropbox account on to the My Cloud Residence too. You’ll be able to even again up images and albums from Fb on to the drive for safekeeping if you wish to.

There are a few tough edges. You’ll be able to’t merely double-click the drive’s icon on the Mac desktop so as to open the drive after which drag-and-drop to repeat folders or information on to the drive. For some purpose you need to open the app’s pulldown menu and look at the contents of the drive via the app as a substitute.

You’ll be able to’t create particular person person accounts on the Mac both, so that you’re pressured to make use of the app on an iPhone or iPad if you wish to invite another person to create their very own private folders on the My Cloud Residence drive. Most Mac customers could have an iPhone or iPad, after all, however we’d wish to see the Mac app up to date to permit you full freedom to regulate the My Cloud Residence along with your Mac as properly.

Synology’s DiskStation DS925+, affords expandable storage with future-proofing capabilities.The DS925+ resembles its predecessor, the DS923+, with a black design and 4 drive bays for exhausting drives or SSDs. Two M.2 slots on the bottom permit for SSD modules for a high-speed cache.

The DS925+ includes a quad-core AMD Ryzen V1500B processor operating at 2.2GHz, two 2.5Gb Ethernet ports for a high-speed community connection, and a most write velocity of as much as 565MB/s and browse velocity of 522MB/s. These speeds depend upon community configuration and drive kind.

Like many Synology NAS drives, the DS925+ is bought ‘unpopulated’, an empty chassis with out drives. The unpopulated drive prices $640/£575, requiring further exhausting drives or SSDs. You need to choose 2.5-inch SSD or 3.5-inch exhausting drives authorized by Synology. These will be purchased from Synology or on-line sellers. 

The DS925+ has 4 bays that may maintain as much as 20TB of exhausting drives, offering a most of 80TB of storage (with RAID choices supported). An growth module known as the DX525 will be linked to additional improve storage. It prices $449/£467 and provides 5 drive bays, giving a most of 180TB of storage. USB-A (3.2) ports on the back and front panels permit connecting exterior drives.

Synology’s {hardware} design is environment friendly, however the software program is complicated for brand new customers. The field features a QR code that results in prolonged, sophisticated Assist information on Synology’s web site, which might simply confuse first-time NAS customers. The DS Finder app, out there for iOS and Android, can detect the DS925+ when linked to the workplace community. Nonetheless, it solely suggests utilizing an internet browser to obtain and set up DiskStation Supervisor (DSM) software program, which doesn’t work both. It then prompts customers to obtain a separate desktop app known as Synology Assistant, which initially fails however gives ideas for adjusting encryption settings. 

After putting in DSM, customers can change again to the DS Finder app on their iPad to finish the setup course of. The app additionally features a QuickConnect choice for distant entry, permitting customers to entry information as a ‘non-public cloud’ when away from the workplace.

Sadly, the DS Finder app requires further apps for file administration, images, and different options. Synology ought to enhance its documentation and simplify its app choice to make it extra user-friendly for small companies and residential staff with out IT help.

The compact DS925+ is appropriate for small companies or places of work, with growth choices for future storage. Nonetheless, its software program is unorganised, so it’s finest fitted to skilled networkers establishing a NAS drive.notably lethal.

The TerraMaster F8 SSD Plus is an 8-bay/slot NVMe NAS field with an 8-core Intel Core I3 CPU, 32-execution unit GPU (a part of the CPU), 16GB of DRAM, and 10Gbe ethernet connectivity.

Ports embrace 10Gbe ethernet, three 10Gbps USB ports (two Kind-A, one Kind-C), and an HDMI port for diagnostics quite than direct video output.

It’s 7-inch tall, by 2.25-inch large, and 5.5-inch. It’s not notably hefty, weighing only one pound, 10 ounces with eight SSDs put in. The eight included warmth sinks add one other 5 ounces for those who want them (that relies on how a lot site visitors the fan-cooled field is subjected to).

It opens by way of a single thumb screw and rests on rubber toes. It’s steady regardless of its vertical orientation, however you may need to lay it on its facet. After all, SSDs aren’t as delicate as exhausting drives that usually inhabit NAS packing containers, so a tumble seemingly wouldn’t be catastrophic.

NAS/server options embrace safety, file sharing, media streaming, BitTorrent downloads, video surveillance, Docker and VM internet hosting. These all require putting in functions from TerraMaster. There are quite a few backup options out there, and the File Supervisor helps you to add distant folders from Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, and Amazon S3/S3-compatibles.

The working system, TOS 6.0, isn’t fairly as refined as these provided by QNAP and Synology. I couldn’t run file supervisor or the rest whereas putting in an app, for instance.

Additionally, this system didn’t register a deleted storage pool, an added on-line vacation spot, or a brand new quantity instantly. I needed to reboot every time to get adjustments to register.

Regardless of this, I discovered TOS 6 engaging, decently intuitive, simple to make use of, and steady. However it might use some fine-tuning (and multi-tasking), even when not one of the points are notably lethal.

The widespread use of cloud storage companies reminiscent of iCloud and Google Drive implies that NAS drives aren’t as well-liked as they was once, and Synology is likely one of the few firms nonetheless making NAS drives that cater to the SOHO market (small workplace/house workplace) with its DiskStation vary. Synology is increasing its product vary with the introduction of the BeeStation.

The BeeStation seems like a reasonably typical desktop exhausting drive, and it gives 4TB of storage so that you’ve bought loads of room to your work or private information. Like most NAS drives it makes use of an Ethernet port to connect with your property or workplace community, however when you’ve linked it to your Wi-Fi router, you’ll be able to merely scan a QR code along with your iPhone or iPad to connect with the drive remotely and set it up utilizing an internet browser (though you’ll want to offer an electronic mail deal with to arrange your Synology account first).

You’re then prompted to obtain two cellular apps known as BeePhotos and BeeFiles, which, because the names recommend, let you back-up images and different information onto the BeeStation. As soon as the drive is ready up, you’ll be able to log in by way of an internet browser in your Mac, after which obtain the BeeStation desktop app for Macs (operating macOS 12 or later) and Home windows PCs.

These apps present loads of helpful options, together with the power to routinely add images and movies out of your cellular units onto the BeeStation. You’ll be able to share information with buddies, household or colleagues, and sync particular folders in your Mac with the BeeStation. Nonetheless, these apps generally is a bit tough to make use of – they have an inclination to throw a whole lot of settings and data onto the display screen, and the Assist information on Synology’s web site use a whole lot of techno-jargon that is likely to be complicated for much less skilled customers. Mac customers, as an example, will discover that directions for utilizing the BeeStation with Time Machine are hidden inside a quite convoluted Assist file about ‘native entry’ settings.

So it could take a bit of work to get the BeeStation correctly arrange, however its skill to offer each on-line storage for cellular units and a NAS drive to your house or workplace community makes it a really versatile back-up system for house and small enterprise customers.

Western Digital’s My Cloud Residence drive gives a fast and straightforward choice for house customers who aren’t accustomed to NAS drives and networking know-how. The truth is, the corporate doesn’t even name it a ‘NAS drive’, choosing the extra user-friendly ‘private cloud’ label as a substitute. (Should you really feel a bit extra snug with jargon reminiscent of NAS and RAID, you may need to step as much as WD’s ‘skilled’ vary with the My Cloud EX2 Extremely as a substitute.)

The EX2 Extremely is a no-compromises NAS drive with further options and customisation choices, whereas remaining inexpensive sufficient for house customers or self-employed individuals, reminiscent of photographers or designers, who want a very dependable backup drive for essential work information.

It’s a ‘two-bay’ drive that holds two separate exhausting drives, and means that you can take away the highest panel so you’ll be able to take away the drives for repairs or including extra storage sooner or later. You should purchase the EX2 Extremely with a pair of drives pre-installed, with a variety of costs relying on the storage you choose.

WD contains its high-performance Crimson Drives and 1GB of reminiscence to assist the EX2 Extremely multi-task when totally different individuals are utilizing the drive on the community on the identical time. There’s a Gigabit Ethernet port for connecting to your community, and the EX2 Extremely additionally has two USB ports that let you join an exterior USB drive for extra storage.

Alternatively, you’ve got the choice of shopping for the EX2 Extremely ‘unpopulated’ – with no drives in any respect – after which offering your personal drives to fit your explicit wants. That is the best choice for those who assume you may need to add further storage sooner or later, and set up is very easy: the highest panel merely pops open on the press of a button to disclose the inner drive bays.

Utilizing two separate exhausting drives additionally means the EX2 Extremely can work as a ‘RAID’ drive, with both RAID 0 – which improves efficiency by splitting information throughout each drives (known as ‘striping’) – or RAID 1 ‘mirroring’, which makes separate copies of your information on every drive for further reliability. If you’d like much more safeguards to your essential information, there’s additionally an choice to again up knowledge from the EX2 Extremely on to an exterior exhausting drive linked to one in all its USB ports.

Regardless of all these further options, establishing the EX2 Extremely continues to be very easy, because the drive helps Time Machine for routinely backing up information out of your Mac. There’s additionally a My Cloud app for iOS/iPadOS and Android that means that you can again up and share information utilizing non-Apple units as properly.

The app gives distant entry to the drive over the web, and there’s an internet browser interface additionally out there for Macs and PCs, which permits extra superior customers to configure RAID settings and options such because the FTP server – and even to make use of it as an ‘iTunes Server’ for streaming music throughout your community.

It’s value trying out the adjustments made by the
My Cloud OS 5 software program replace, nonetheless; this provides a number of new options, however reduces compatibility with some net companies.

Buffalo’s LinkStation 220D is a flexible and inexpensive NAS drive that’s appropriate for each house and enterprise customers. However, as we’ve seen with Buffalo up to now, its merchandise typically lack the simple ease of use that Mac and iOS customers take as a right.

The LinkStation 220D is a dual-bay NAS drive that homes two separate exhausting drives. You should purchase it ‘unpopulated’ – with no drives in any respect – after which present the drives that you just need to use for your self. Alternatively, you should purchase it with 2TB, 4TB or 8TB.

There’s additionally a costlier mannequin known as the 220DR that’s designed to be used with Western Digital’s high-speed Crimson drives, however the usual 220D mannequin that we overview right here must be completely satisfactory for many houses and small companies.

The twin-bay setup additionally means you should use the LinkStation as a RAID drive, supporting both RAID 0 for optimum efficiency, or RAID 1 for optimum knowledge safety (storing separate copies of your knowledge on each drives). Future upgrades are easy as properly, as you’ll be able to rapidly take away the entrance panel of the LinkStation and pull out the drives by their handles, with no screws or instruments required. There’s additionally a USB port on the again of the LinkStation that can be utilized to make further backups to an exterior USB drive for further security.

Getting began is sort of easy, because the 4TB LinkStation that we examined routinely confirmed up on our workplace community as soon as we linked it to our router with an Ethernet cable. That allowed us to easily drag-and-drop information onto the LinkStation for fast backups, however issues get a bit extra sophisticated once you begin to transfer past the fundamentals. The LinkStation does work with Time Machine as a way to again up your Macs over the community, however establishing Time Machine and a ‘shared folder’ to your backups proved quite sophisticated.

Buffalo’s NAS Navigator app for Macs means that you can view the LinkStation in your community and shows primary info, reminiscent of its IP deal with. Nonetheless, utilizing some other options requires you to open up an internet browser so as to view the LinkStation’s net interface.

This does embrace quite a lot of helpful options, together with Time Machine help, distant ‘net entry’ for once you’re away from house or the workplace, BitTorrent downloads, and the power to make use of the LinkStation as an iTunes server for streaming your music throughout the community. However this browser interface could be very sophisticated and gained’t be simple for non-technical customers to grasp – and Buffalo’s 125-page jargon-heavy PDF handbook doesn’t actually make life any simpler.

And neither do Buffalo’s cellular apps. Buffalo gives two separate apps for iOS units: Smartphone Navigator for primary setup, and WebAccess to offer entry to your information by way of Wi-Fi once you’re out and about.

These apps are getting on a bit, and a few customers have complained that they’re unreliable. The truth is, the apps appeared to run on our workplace iPhone and iPad with none issues, however they’re nonetheless fairly sophisticated and unhelpful for individuals who aren’t accustomed to NAS drives and networking know-how.

So whereas the LinkStation is an effective choice for extra skilled house or enterprise customers who already know a bit about NAS drives, it’s most likely not the best choice for first-time customers who’re nonetheless studying the ropes.