Building your own server at home or in the office is no longer something new, but rather a necessary practice. After all, your number of files and documents will only increase as time goes by. While there are different live streaming platforms for movies and music, there is still a need to store personal backup files. Moreover, if you are an enthusiast in music/photography, you are bound to have numerous uncompressed files of different sizes. In such cases, a Network-Attached Storage (NAS) device becomes indispensable. For corporate users, it goes without saying that while tools like Google Drive or OneDrive are useful, internal transfers may not always be fast enough for multiple colleagues to connect. Therefore, having a personal server would be a good choice.

I happened to make a small update for the NAS at work as one of the 2-bay NAS devices malfunctioned. So, I thought it would be a good opportunity to write about the point-to-notes on the packages and important configuration considerations regarding the NAS.

By the way, it is worth mentioning that NAS devices are commonly designed with 2 bays to achieve different backups and enhance data security. These 2-bay NAS devices are typically consist of a minimum of two hard drives, providing a higher chance of data recovery in case one of the drives fails. However, the capacity of a NAS is limited as it can only accommodate two hard drives. Therefore, another common NAS option is a 4-bay version with additional drive slots, allowing you to add more hard drives to your NAS and increase storage capacity to meet the needs of different users.

3 important steps to set up your NAS

Of course, there are numerous detailed adjustments involved in the actual setup process. So this time, let's start by introducing three important settings to configure your NAS.

1. Change the Default Interface (Port) of the NAS

I personally use the NAS from Synology, so the default ports would be 5000 (HTTP) and 5001 (HTTPS). However, since these are commonly used NAS settings lead to potential targets for hackers, it is advisable to enhance security by changing the default interface to a custom port.

2. Set up the Firewall

The second step is to configure the firewall for your NAS. There is already a firewall in place by default, but Synology will assign specific ports based on your commonly used applications. The router can allow users to pass through using the configured ports. However, it is recommended to fine-tune this aspect for better security, by setting specific ports for relevant NAS software and disabling other unnecessary parts. Additionally, Synology only allow specific IP addresses to connect to the NAS, which helps prevent suspicious IPs from attempting to connect to your NAS in the company or at home, contribute to a more appropriate and independent firewall to your need.

3. Install Antivirus Software

The final aspect is antivirus software. NAS devices are electronic devices that are typically running 24/7. They store personal or company files which may even be more important than our everyday work computers. Since they can be targeted for attacks or inadvertently store unintended files, installing a antivirus software is crucial. Synology NAS offers two options for antivirus software: a free official version and another paid version offered by McAfee. Personally, I think using the official Synology version would suffices, but the most important thing is to keep it regularly updated and scan the NAS files for security. This ensures that the NAS continues to operate in a secure and stable environment.

For now, I have highlighted 3 important steps to configure a Synology NAS, which should be aware when using a self-built server. It is also important to regularly update the software of the NAS system to ensure optimal protection with software support for this daily-used tool. If there are any recommended useful packages for NAS in the future, I will also mention them here.