What Most First-Time NAS Buyers Don’t Know Before They Buy One

Synology

Many people think that buying a Network-Attached Storage (NAS) system is just a matter of picking out the right hardware. Most first-time buyers only care about the size of the drive, the price, or the brand’s popularity, thinking that all NAS devices do the same thing. In reality, a NAS is a long-term part of your IT infrastructure that helps with storage, backups, security, and sometimes even keeping your business running. Explore common NAS mistakes and how to avoid them here.

Mistake 1: Not thinking about how much storage will grow in the future

The most common mistake is to buy a NAS based only on how much storage you need right now. Media libraries, business documents, backups, and cloud sync data grow faster than we thought they would.

People who are buying for the first time often choose:

Not enough drive bays
RAID flexibility is very low
No room to grow

You can add more bays to a NAS to make it bigger without having to buy a whole new system. Making plans for future storage growth protects your investment and lowers costs in the long run.

Mistake 2: Not paying attention to RAID and your data protection plan

A lot of buyers think that RAID is optional or the same as a backup. RAID only protects against drive failure. It doesn’t protect against accidental deletion, ransomware, or corruption. See how data scrubbing further protects your stored data.

Some important things that are often missed are:

Picking the right RAID level for extra space and backup
Support for snapshots to speed up recovery
Integration with backups stored off-site or in the cloud

RAID, snapshots, and backups are all parts of a good data protection plan. Data is still at risk on a NAS without this layered approach.

Mistake 3: Only caring about the size of the drive and not how well it works

Having big drives doesn’t mean that performance will be good. The performance of NAS depends on:

The power of the CPU
Memory that is available
Type of disk (HDD vs. SSD)
Access for multiple users at the same time

First-time buyers often choose entry-level systems that have trouble with real tasks like backing up files, streaming media, or sharing files. This makes transfers take a long time and makes the user experience bad.

For long-term use, it’s important to find a balance between capacity and enough processing power.

Mistake 4: Not paying attention to network limits

Network speed is a big problem that a lot of buyers don’t think about. A high-performance NAS can’t reach its full potential if it’s connected to a slow network.

Some common mistakes are:

Thinking that Wi-Fi is good enough for big transfers
Not paying attention to the quality of the switch and cables
Not getting ready for upgrades to multi-gig or 10GbE

Even for home or small business use, properly wired networking makes things much more reliable and faster.

Mistake 5: Not thinking about NAS security until the last minute

People often forget about security when using NAS systems to store private or business information. New buyers might not change the default settings, which puts systems at risk for no reason. Also watch for business surveillance blind spots and security gaps.

Key security features are:

Strong controls over who can access and use things
Encrypted storage for private information
Two-step verification
Firewall and splitting up the network

You should set up security from the start, not add it later when there is a problem.

Mistake 6: Not thinking about how to integrate backups

People often buy a NAS to store all their data in one place, but they forget to make a plan for how to back it up. A NAS without a backup plan is a single point of failure. See our Hyper Backup guide for better protection and access.

Planning well means:

Backups to external or secondary NAS in the area
Cloud backups keep your data safe off-site
Regularly testing how to restore things

This is very important for businesses that need data to run their daily operations.

Mistake 7: Picking hardware without knowing about the software ecosystem

The operating system on the NAS is very important for usability and long-term support. First-time buyers often look at the specs of the hardware but forget to look at:

How often do software updates happen?
Features for taking snapshots and backups
Tools for monitoring and sending alerts
Ecosystem of applications

A strong software platform cuts down on administrative work and makes the system more reliable over time.

Mistake 8: Not hiring professionals to plan and deploy

A lot of buyers think that setting up a NAS is as easy as “plug and play.” Setting up a NAS is simple, but making it work better, be more secure, and be more resilient takes some thought. Consider renting Synology NAS for secure, scalable storage.

Professional design takes into account:

Architecture for storage
How the network is set up
Goals for backup and recovery
Future workloads and how well it can grow

If you skip this step, you may have to reconfigure or replace things sooner than you thought.

The Right Way to Buy a NAS

First-time buyers should:

Plan your storage needs three to five years in advance.
Pick hardware that can grow with you and has enough bays.
Make a plan for protecting your data in layers
Make sure that network performance matches NAS capabilities.
Make sure the system is safe before letting people use it or access it from afar.

About the Epis technology

Epis Technology helps businesses make smart NAS decisions by offering enterprise IT infrastructure, data protection, and Synology consulting services. The company focuses on scalable storage solutions, safe backup plans for Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, fully managed PC backups, and Synology setup and support.