NAS and sync

I have a question about syncing 2 network drives.

Say I have a NAS that has 2 bays. On my PC, Bay1 is mapped to drive M and Bay2 is mapped to Drive N. The drives are setup as separate drives, no RAID or other protocols.

Drive M has my music library, and Drive N has most of it, but a lot is missing since I last synced the drives. The music files are not fluid data, so manually syncing every few weeks is fine.

My question is, since I am on my PC and using a program like FreeFileSync, if I sync M to N, does the data ever flow out of the NAS, like to the router and/or PC, or would the files update internally in the NAS?

I hope I explained my question ok. I am hoping the data wouldn't flow through the network and PC, but if so, what would be the better efficient way to manually or occasionally sync 2 NAS drives?

Thanks!

Hi, Hollywood
I can’t think of any reason freefilesync wouldn’t behave the way you are wanting it to. And converting a freefilesync file to a realtimesync file will ensure that any changes you make to one of the drives is reflected on the fly to the other, provided that you setup the backup as a mirror in freefilesync. Just save/point the realtimesync file to your startup folder.
The video tutorials on the FreeFileSycn site are really good.

antspants said:

Hi, Hollywood
I can’t think of any reason freefilesync wouldn’t behave the way you are wanting it to. And converting a freefilesync file to a realtimesync file will ensure that any changes you make to one of the drives is reflected on the fly to the other, provided that you setup the backup as a mirror in freefilesync. Just save/point the realtimesync file to your startup folder.
The video tutorials on the FreeFileSycn site are really good.

Click to expand...

I guess I didn't explain it as well as I thought.

I am not looking for on the fly syncs. I am just asking IF I want to sync or copy files from one NAS bay to the disk in the other bay, and I use software on my PC (even File Explorer), will the files flow through the network and PC, and then back to the target NAS drive, or does the data transfer directly within the NAS?

Thanks for your reply.

@Hollywood you probably did explain yourself properly, I’m just not very switched on. But you said FreeFileSync and I got all excited.
I am guessing if you’re connected to your nas via ethernet/router then yes it will flow through, if directly connected to your pc then no. I should bow out, networking is my weakest point.

antspants said:

@Hollywood you said FreeFileSync and I got all excited.

Click to expand...

FreeFileSync IS a great program!

Your copy will NOT remain internal only to the NAS device. Since you are running your file sync utility on your local PC, the data will have to go from the NAS, through your machine, and to the second drive on the NAS.

pparks1 said:

Your copy will NOT remain internal only to the NAS device. Since you are running your file sync utility on your local PC, the data will have to go from the NAS, through your machine, and to the second drive on the NAS.

Click to expand...

That's what I was thinking might happen. If you logon to the NAS, are there such options to copy/move/sync within the NAS?

Thanks for your answer.

Easy to find out!
Open taskmanager (ethernet tab)
take a testfile and copy from M ==> N
Watch the lan traffic.

I like FreeFileSync too.
I set the batch files to run at a specific time every night using task scheduler.
I don't even have to think about it any more.
I have to remind myself to check my backups every once in a while just to be sure it is happening.
It is.
(sorry for the hijack)
...back to network flow
yes I think so too.
If you use a program on your pc to copy data then the data will flow.
If you use an internal program in the NAS then I think the data should stay in the NAS.
But the internal programs are usually so clunky compared to FreeFileSync.
Oops there I go again - sorry.