Build the Right NAS for Home Backups
This preset favours reliable home backup, simple setup and a practical UPS recommendation.
What do you mainly want your NAS to do?
Choose one primary workload. You can add secondary workloads below.
What this builder sizes for a backup target
A backup NAS is the opposite of a media server: it mostly receives data on a schedule and sits idle, so a fast CPU and big RAM barely matter. The builder therefore spends your money where it counts — capacity and fault tolerance — and keeps the box modest. It sizes generously, because a backup you outgrow in a year is a false economy; aim for two to three times the data you are protecting to hold version history.
3-2-1: the NAS is one copy, not the whole plan
Keep three copies of your data, on two kinds of media, with one off-site. The NAS holds the on-site backup of your PCs, Macs and phones, and then the NAS itself replicates off-site — to a cloud tier, a friend's NAS, or a rotated external drive kept elsewhere. This is the part people skip, and it is the part that saves you: RAID keeps the NAS running through a dead drive, but a fire, theft or ransomware takes the whole array at once.
Software makes it painless. Synology's Active Backup for Business images whole PCs and Macs for free; every brand handles Time Machine over SMB and scheduled folder sync.
A UPS and quiet, reliable drives
Two finishing touches for a box that runs unattended for years. A small UPS lets the NAS ride out brief outages and shut down cleanly instead of losing a write mid-backup — cheap insurance for a device you never look at. And use CMR NAS drives sized generously; a backup target values reliability and capacity over speed, so buy the best CA$/TB in a NAS-rated drive and leave a bay free to grow.
Frequently asked questions
How much capacity does a backup NAS need?
Aim for two to three times the data you are protecting, so there is room for version history and growth. Spend on capacity and fault tolerance rather than a fast CPU — a backup target sits idle most of the time and just needs to be reliable and roomy.
Is a RAID NAS a backup on its own?
No. RAID survives a drive failure but not fire, theft, ransomware or accidental deletion — all of which take the whole array. Follow 3-2-1: the NAS is one copy, and it should replicate off-site to cloud or another location.
Do I need a powerful NAS just for backups?
No. A backup target mostly receives data on a schedule, so CPU and large RAM barely matter. A modest two- or four-bay box with big CMR drives and a small UPS is the right, cost-effective choice.