I am considering moving my 10 TB Raw photo files from external drives onto a NAS. I increase my photo storage needs by about 5TB per year. I use Lightroom Classic daily and upload photos daily. Is it worth the time and expense to change from external drives to a NAS? I am an amateur photographer. I am looking at the TS-673A-8G on RAID 6 and on a 10Gbe network with my PC. Thank you in advance.
RAID6 with 6 drives is kinda borderline, you DO plan on running backups right?
I do not use any apple products, but I also remember lightroom having issues to index from SMB sources (no idea if that was adressed by apple or not)
I would say this partly depends on how you use the data. If it needs to be online for frequent or occasional access, then a NAS solution may be worth the cost to you. If it is purely archival, and rarely accessed, then your current approach may be fine.
Ultimately, only you can decide if the expense is worth it and if it fits your needs. There is nothing special about it being photographs, it is really just data. The “time” is really a minor issue as copying the data may take a few hours or a couple of days at the most.
Your mention of 10Gbe makes it sound like you want the data online, and if doing a lot of editing, that would be a factor.
As @dolbyman said, RAID is not a backup so factor that into your plan, if the data is of importance to you.
Thank you for your reply, back up with Back blaze to the cloud and an old TS433.
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I edit with lightroom classic and photoshop, and the photos are raw images and high resolution thus the 10Gbe. I have infrequent need to be online to access the NAS. My need is archival. So, you hit on my questioning myself on the need to move to a NAS. Thank you.
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i think 855x may solve your needs completely
Hi Clide,
I completely understand your hesitation. Moving from the simplicity of a plug-and-play external drive to a NAS feels like a big leap. However, for a photographer, this isn’t just about changing where you save files—it is about upgrading your entire workflow from “storage” to “asset management.”
Here is why I recommend making the switch, specifically for your Lightroom/editing needs:
-
You Don’t Have to Sacrifice Speed (Thunderbolt™ 4) The biggest fear photographers have is network lag. You might be surprised to know that QNAP offers Thunderbolt™ 4 NAS models (like the TVS-hx74T series or the all-flash TBS-h574TX).
• How it helps: You can connect your Mac or PC directly to the NAS via a Thunderbolt cable for high-speed bandwidth—perfect for ingesting RAW files or editing 4K video—while simultaneously sharing those files with your team over 10GbE/2.5GbE networks. It bridges the gap between DAS speed and NAS collaboration. -
Data Safety: RAID vs. “The Click of Death” With a single external drive, if the drive fails, your data is often gone.
• How it helps: QNAP NAS uses RAID protection (e.g., RAID 5 or 6). If a drive fails, your data remains safe, and the system stays online. You simply swap in a new drive, and the system rebuilds the data. This is critical insurance for your client work. -
No More “Disk Full” Anxiety Managing stacks of external drives is a nightmare for Lightroom catalogs.
• How it helps: A NAS gives you a massive, centralized storage pool. If you run out of space, you don’t need to buy a new isolated drive; you can simply replace existing drives with larger ones one by one, or connect an expansion enclosure (JBOD) to grow your capacity logically. Your file paths remain consistent, keeping your Lightroom library happy. -
It is Your Own Private Cloud
• How it helps: Need to deliver a file to a client but you are out of the studio? With myQNAPcloud, you can securely access your NAS remotely or create share links for clients without uploading to a third-party service.
Recommendation:
• For Studio/Desktop: The TVS-hx74T series (Thunderbolt 4 + 10GbE) is the gold standard for creative professionals.
• For On-Set/Travel: The TBS-h574TX NASbook is an all-flash (SSD) unit that fits in your bag, perfect for needing speed on location.
One final question: Where are you currently located?
If you are based in the USA, I highly recommend reaching out to Bob Zelin. He is a legendary expert in N&E industry for video and creative workflows and also has the good relationship with top post production companies. He can give you very specific advice .
If you are in another region, let us know, and we can point you toward other local experts or integration partners!
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Hi Sam, thank you for your response. I am in the USA. Your response to my question was an echo of several other folks who responded to that question on other sites. I decided on the QNAP TS-673A. I decided to go with 10GBe, 64GB RAM and 2 1TB NVMe SSD for cache and 6 WD Red PRO16TB 3.5” HDDs in a RAID 6. I plan on running ZFS ARC. I have a 3-2-1 backup plan in place. I will reach out to Bob Zelin. Just received the unit today. I am waiting on RAM to be delivered before I set up. 10GBe wiring is complete. Any other recommendations please do not hesitate to let me know. Thanks again. Clide
You have made a great start in your journey. You will soon become addicted to using a NAS!
Save your pennies and eventually upgrade to a TVS-hx74T model. Why? You’ll be amazed at how fast the Thunderbolt connection is. It’s crazy fast. Unfortunately, only certain models can use the Thunderbolt cards. Those are the T models or the newest models that have PCIe version 4 motherboards.
Then you use your TS-673A as a backup NAS where you keep an additional backup/snapshot vault of all your data. Trust me - it’s worth it… My second NAS was in repair for about a month and I felt lost w/o it…
Thank you. I hope to get a few years out of my set up. IF I move into video and video editing I will definitely want to upgrade.
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