🔍 Read the full analysis: How We Picked A 6-Bay NAS And Prepared It For AI on ThorstenMeyerAI.com
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TL;DR
Thorsten Meyer says repeated iCloud sync conflicts and backup-cleanup delays prompted the purchase of a six-bay UGREEN NASync DXP6800 Pro for a small AI and publishing operation. As of Nov. 1, 2026, it has four hard drives and an NVMe SSD installed but is not connected or configured; the planned backup design has not passed its acceptance tests.
After 29 duplicate database dumps created by an iCloud sync conflict left a server with 2% free disk space, Thorsten Meyer says he bought a six-bay UGREEN NASync DXP6800 Pro to add local storage and a faster recovery option for his AI and publishing machines. The NAS has been equipped with four hard drives and one SSD, but as of Nov. 1, 2026, it is not connected to the network, and the proposed backup setup has not been tested.
Meyer says two machines uploaded database dumps with the same filename to one iCloud folder on Sept. 17. The service retained conflict copies, and 29 duplicates accumulated until the database server was nearly full. A separate problem followed on Oct. 29, when a nightly job to remove old copies timed out while iCloud was busy. Meyer says the backup itself was intact; managing the copies was the problem.
The purchase is a UGREEN NASync DXP6800 Pro, with four Seagate IronWolf Pro 16 TB hard drives and one NVMe SSD. Meyer says the current plan is to place the four hard drives in RAID 6, giving an estimated 32 TB of usable capacity, and use the SSD as a separate pool for containers and test databases. The figures are planned capacity, not measured results from a live system.
Meyer identifies the six drive bays as the reason he chose this model over a less expensive four-bay option: the extra bays could allow capacity to grow without replacing existing drives. He reports that his immediate backup requirement is about 6 to 8 TB, based on measurements of the machines in use. The NAS and drives were bought with his own money, he says; he describes the piece as a setup report, not a review or long-term test.
Infographic 01 · The box
Six bays, two fast slots, two 10GbE ports
What UGREEN lists for the NASync DXP6800 Pro, and how we plan to fill it.
How we fill it
Delivered and equipped; the setup is our plan (1 Nov 2026)
Bays 1–4: Seagate IronWolf Pro 16 TB, RAID 6, Btrfs → ≈ 32 TB usable, any two drives may fail. Bays 5–6: free for growth. M.2 slot 1: the NVMe SSD (ordered: Samsung 990 Pro 1 TB) as its own fast pool. Slot 2: free. Six 16 TB drives in RAID 6 would give ≈ 64 TB.
What else UGREEN lists
From the product page, not measured by us
- Separate 128 GB SSD for the operating system, UGOS
- RAID: JBOD, Basic, 0, 1, 5, 6, 10
- 1× PCIe x4 · 2× Thunderbolt 4 · 8K HDMI · SD card reader
- Power: 43.07 W drives in use · 24.91 W drives in hibernation
- Stated maximum: 208 TB with 32 TB drives · 3-year warranty
Why six bays: with RAID 6, two drives always hold parity. In four bays that leaves half the raw space usable; with all six bays filled it becomes two thirds.
Sources: UGREEN DXP6800 Pro product page, checked 1 Nov 2026; Seagate IronWolf Pro data sheet DS2129.4; our setup plan, 6 Oct 2026.
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A Local Copy Could Speed Recovery
The proposed NAS would give the operation a local destination for backups and test data, rather than relying on a sync folder as the first landing place for database copies. Meyer says restoring hundreds of gigabytes from cloud storage over his office connection could take hours; a restore from a device on the same local network could be quicker. Actual restore times have not yet been measured.
That distinction matters because synchronization can replicate unwanted changes, including deletions or duplicate files, rather than preserving an independent recovery point. UGREEN’s help center, as cited by Meyer, says deletions in its Cloud Drives two-way sync are mirrored on the other side. The planned design adds snapshots and an encrypted offsite copy, but until those layers are configured and tested, they are a plan rather than protection in operation.
The NAS is also intended to move test databases off Meyer’s laptop, where he says a Docker virtual disk had grown to about 30 GB. Separating that work could free local resources, though the report does not yet establish any performance or noise benefit. The purchase addresses a specific small-office storage problem; it does not prevent the server crashes Meyer has also experienced.
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From Sync Conflicts to NAS Plans
Meyer says the operation uses several Macs: one hosts the publishing system’s main Postgres database, another runs local AI models, and others handle content pipelines and tests. Measurements from Oct. 6 put storage use at about 2.6 TB on the main desk machine, 744 GB on the database server, including a database of about 293 GB, and 3.2 TB on the model server. Much of the model storage can be downloaded again, he says, so not all occupied space has the same backup priority.
The database machine has also had recurring kernel panics since August, according to Meyer, at its worst roughly once every five days. He reports that a crash on Aug. 8 caused 2¼ hours of database downtime. A NAS would not prevent a hardware or operating-system failure, but a current local backup could make restoration less dependent on an internet connection.
Meyer frames the plan around the 3-2-1 backup rule: three copies of important data, on two types of media, with one copy offsite. The intended NAS would supply an on-site storage medium; it would not replace the existing local Time Machine disks or the planned remote copy. The current backups remain unchanged while the new system awaits setup.
“That was the day I stopped treating a sync service as a backup.”
— Thorsten Meyer, describing the Sept. 17 incident
The Backup Design Is Untested
The NAS is not yet on the network, and its planned Time Machine and snapshot tests have not run. Meyer says the first acceptance checks will be whether Time Machine works using a non-admin account and whether snapshots remain inaccessible to that account. He says the NAS will be returned if either test fails.
The proposed RAID 6 layout, usable capacity, SSD pool, account quotas, and restore process are all unverified in this installation. Meyer’s planned safeguards also include daily snapshots and an encrypted offsite copy sent with restic to Backblaze B2, using Object Lock to prevent deletion. It is not yet clear whether that configuration will work as intended or how long restores will take.
The company’s current backup routine is still local Time Machine disks on two Macs and an iCloud copy of the nightly database dump, Meyer says. No results from operating the NAS are available, and the report does not establish whether the planned system will resolve every cleanup or recovery problem.
Acceptance Tests Before Rollout
Meyer says the next step is to connect and configure the NAS, then run the two stated acceptance tests: Time Machine backups through a non-admin account and snapshots that the account cannot view or delete. The NAS’s place in the backup routine depends on those results.
If the tests pass, the plan is to use separate Mac accounts with quotas, daily snapshots, and an encrypted offsite copy. Disk-heavy tasks are intended to run from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., with the drives meant to sleep during working hours. Meyer also says the setup will not put a live database change log on spinning drives, give AI agents administrator credentials, expose the NAS to remote internet access, or treat a UGREEN cloud mirror as the offsite backup.
Meyer says he will report back with results after the NAS is running. Until then, the purchase and proposed layout are confirmed, but claims about backup reliability, recovery speed, quiet operation, and practical capacity remain to be tested.
Key Questions
What happened that led to the NAS purchase?
Meyer says an iCloud sync conflict generated 29 duplicate database dumps, leaving a server with 2% free space. A later timeout while cleaning up old copies added to concerns about relying on the sync folder.
Is the NAS already backing up the machines?
No. As of Nov. 1, 2026, the hardware has been equipped but is not connected or configured. The existing Time Machine disks and iCloud database-dump copy remain in use.
How much storage is planned?
The initial plan uses four 16 TB drives in RAID 6, with about 32 TB usable according to Meyer’s estimate. The NVMe SSD is intended for a separate pool for containers and test databases; the capacity and setup have not been verified in operation.
What tests must the NAS pass?
Meyer says Time Machine must work through a non-admin account, and snapshots must remain out of that account’s reach. He says he will return the NAS if either test fails.
Will the NAS replace offsite backups?
No. The plan is to keep an encrypted offsite copy using restic and Backblaze B2, with Object Lock to guard against deletion. That offsite setup is not yet running.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
