🔍 Read the full analysis: What We Considered Before Choosing A NAS For Our AI Fleet on ThorstenMeyerAI.com
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TL;DR
Thorsten Meyer says 29 duplicate iCloud conflict copies pushed a database server to 2% free disk space, prompting the purchase of a six-bay UGREEN NASync DXP6800 Pro. The NAS has been equipped but is not yet connected or tested; its proposed backup layout and safeguards remain plans, not proven results.
After 29 duplicate iCloud conflict copies pushed a database server to 2% free disk space, Thorsten Meyer says he bought a six-bay UGREEN NASync DXP6800 Pro for his small AI and publishing operation. The device has been delivered and fitted with drives, but it is not yet connected or configured, so the proposed backup system has not been tested.
Meyer says two machines had uploaded database dumps with the same filename to one iCloud folder, creating conflict copies. The incident happened on September 17. A later problem, on October 29, occurred when a nightly job to delete older copies timed out while iCloud was busy. Meyer says the dump itself was intact; managing the accumulated copies was the problem.
The fleet comprises several Macs running a publishing database, local AI models, content workflows and tests. In measurements taken October 6, Meyer reports about 2.6 TB in use on the main desk machine, 744 GB on the database server and 3.2 TB on the model server. He estimates the current backup requirement at 6 to 8 TB, noting that much of the model data can be downloaded again.
The purchased unit is a UGREEN NASync DXP6800 Pro, with four Seagate IronWolf Pro 16 TB hard drives and one NVMe SSD. Meyer says the planned arrangement is four drives in RAID 6, yielding about 32 TB of usable capacity, with the SSD reserved for containers and test databases. He chose the six-bay model over a cheaper four-bay option for room to add drives later. These specifications are attributed to UGREEN and Seagate; the layout is Meyer’s plan, not an operating configuration.
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 purchase addresses recovery time and backup control, rather than a need for more raw storage alone. Meyer says restoring hundreds of gigabytes over his home-office internet connection could take hours, while a local NAS on the same network could offer a faster route back after a failure. A local copy would also separate backups from the sync folder that generated the duplicate files.
The distinction matters because sync is not the same as backup: a sync service can replicate deletions or other unwanted changes. UGREEN’s help center, as cited by Meyer, says its Cloud Drives app two-way sync mirrors deletions between connected locations. A NAS would add an on-site storage layer, but would not by itself protect against every failure, including theft, fire, or an error copied across systems.
Meyer also reports recurring kernel panics on the database Mac since August, at their worst roughly every five days. He says one crash on August 8 caused 2¼ hours of database downtime. The NAS cannot prevent such crashes; the intended benefit is a quicker restore. Whether it achieves that in practice remains untested.
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From iCloud Conflicts to NAS Plans
Meyer describes the operation as a small fleet of always-on Macs rather than a data center. Alongside local Time Machine disks on two Macs, the existing process sends a nightly database dump to iCloud. As of November 1, those backups still run the old way; the NAS has not replaced them.
The planned setup adds several safeguards: separate non-admin accounts and storage quotas for each Mac, daily snapshots that those accounts cannot access or delete, and an encrypted offsite copy sent with restic to Backblaze B2, with deletion protection through Object Lock. Meyer says disk-heavy tasks would run from 20:00 to 06:00 to keep drive activity down during working hours. He also plans to keep live database change logs off spinning drives, deny AI agents admin credentials and avoid internet-facing remote access.
Meyer says he bought the NAS, drives and SSD with his own money. He reports no vendor sample, sponsorship or affiliate links, and says the manufacturer has not seen the article. He describes the piece as a purchase and setup plan, not a review or long-term test.
“That was the day I stopped treating a sync service as a backup.”
— Thorsten Meyer, describing the September 17 incident
The Backup Tests Are Still Pending
The NAS is not yet on the network, and Meyer says neither acceptance test has run. It is not known whether Time Machine will work as planned with a non-admin account, whether snapshots can be kept beyond that account’s reach, or how quickly a restore will work in this environment.
The stated 32 TB capacity is an approximate usable figure for the proposed four-drive RAID 6 arrangement, not a measured result. The offsite Backblaze B2 copy, Object Lock settings, SSD pool and overnight schedule are also planned rather than verified. Meyer says the NAS will be returned if either of the first two tests fails. No results from those tests or evidence of improved recovery time were available in the account published November 1.
Acceptance Tests Before Rollout
Meyer says the next step is to connect the NAS and test Time Machine access through a non-admin account and confirm that the same account cannot view or delete snapshots. He says both checks must pass before the NAS enters regular use; if either fails, he plans to return the hardware.
If the tests succeed, the stated plan is to move backup storage and test databases onto the NAS, then add an encrypted offsite copy. Meyer says he will report back once the system is running. Until then, the purchase is confirmed, but the backup design’s performance and reliability are not.
Key Questions
Why did Meyer buy a NAS?
He says duplicate iCloud conflict copies nearly filled a database server, while a later cleanup job timed out. A local NAS is intended to provide a separate copy and a faster restore route than downloading large files from cloud storage.
Is the NAS already backing up the Macs?
No. Meyer says it has been delivered and equipped but is not connected to the network. Existing backups still use local Time Machine disks and an iCloud copy of the nightly database dump.
What storage setup is planned?
The plan is to use four 16 TB drives in RAID 6, which Meyer estimates would provide about 32 TB usable, and a separate NVMe SSD for containers and test databases. This arrangement has not yet been configured or tested.
What must happen before rollout?
Meyer says the NAS must pass two tests: Time Machine must work with a non-admin account, and snapshots must remain inaccessible to that account. He plans to return the unit if either test fails.
Does a NAS replace an offsite backup?
Not in Meyer’s plan. He intends to keep an encrypted offsite copy in Backblaze B2, protected against deletion with Object Lock. That part of the setup is also still pending.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
