Essential Guide to NAS as Backup Storage for SMBs

81% of businesses use some form of storage array (e.g., SAN, NAS).
Source: Spiceworks

NAS, or Network Attached Storage, is popular among small and medium-sized businesses. They are convenient to integrate into existing network environments, secure, easy to use, and generally affordable. And they are becoming even more affordable as the price of HDDs and SDDs continues to drop.

In today's blog post, we'll introduce Network Attached Storage (NAS) as a backup medium for SMBs, IT integrators, and Managed Service Providers (MSPs), highlighting best practices for a reliable backup strategy and providing a few pro tips from our support team.

Understanding the NAS and Its Benefits

In contrast to USB hard drives, which are connected directly to a single computer via USB, a Network Attached Storage (NAS) is a storage device that is usually integrated into a network environment with the purpose of making the storage accessible to multiple computers within the same network, for example, to enable collaboration among employees.

Often used as media streaming devices in the home, small and midsize businesses are increasingly using them as a simpler version of a file server, to run server-based applications, or as private cloud storage.

And the reasons for that are simple. NAS are:

• Easy to use: From network integration to storage access, maintenance, and more.
• Flexible: Adding more storage is relatively easy, especially with a NAS designed for businesses.
• Reliable: Most business NAS systems come with options for RAID or other redundancy settings. NAS also run an operating system that can, for example, send email notifications if something goes wrong.
• Cost-effective: With the ever-decreasing price of hard drives, it's a cost-effective storage option.

Aside from being used as a storage hub for a business, NAS are also a fantastic option for backup storage. Why is that?

• NAS enables a centralized backup without the cost of a backup server, while simplifying the backup process for users on the network because they don't have to remember to plug an external device into their computers at a certain time of the day.
• This also simplifies backup procedures for the IT administrator, who doesn't have to juggle multiple removable storage devices.
• Thanks to additional security features, NAS devices can be set up so that, for example, only the backup software can access them.
• The NAS is always available, so backups can be performed at any time. Moreover, this availability enables users to run an ad hoc backup without the need to find a backup device (the same is true for restores, as users don't have to figure out on which storage device the backup is stored on).

NAS Backup Strategy for Businesses

With the NAS as the central location for the storage of your backups, it makes sense to set up an automated backup solution for your business. To be fair, businesses should be automating their backups anyway, but having a NAS as the central backup storage makes it much easier for IT administrators to manage the setup.

Your backup strategy should be based on your requirements and any regulations you need to comply with. At a high level, here is what you typically want to keep in mind though:

• After an initial full backup, consider backing up any changes to your files and applications on a daily or even hourly basis. For a backup to a NAS, an incremental forever backup is ideal, as it only sends the changes made since the last backup, reducing the amount of data sent over your network.
• Don't forget to set up a retention schedule, so you don’t run out of storage space. Again, how long you want to retain the backup files depends on your business needs, but ideally, you should keep multiple versions of each file so that you can restore an older version just in case.

Note: The NAS should never be your only backup storage device. Remember the 3-2-1 rule, which states that you should have 3 copies of your data stored in at least 2 locations, one of which should be outside your office. So, combine your backup to a NAS device with a cloud backup, for example.

That's it, really. A NAS is indeed simple when it comes to backup.

Best Practices for Backup to NAS

In addition to regular, automated backups to your NAS device, there are several features you should be aware of to improve the reliability of your backups and restores and increase the security of your backup data. Let’s take a look:

• Lock down the NAS: Only allow the backup software to access the NAS, not random users. A dedicated backup user with specific permissions that follow the principle of least privilege reduces the ability of ransomware and/or bad actors to access your backup storage. It's not a foolproof method, but it does add another layer of security.
• For backup only: Similarly, use a dedicated NAS for your backups, and don't use it as a media player, for user data, or anything else.
• Test your restores: This is not specific to a backup to a NAS, but crucial for your entire backup strategy. Verify that your backups are working by reviewing the reports. And test your backups regularly by restoring individual files or entire systems to ensure they are working as expected.
• Encrypt your backups: This may not be necessary, but it can be useful if you have compliance requirements that encourage you to encrypt your data.

Pro-Tips for Troubleshooting the NAS Backup

In addition to the best practices, our support team has compiled a list of the most common reasons for errors we see when backing up to a NAS.

Retention is active, but NAS is full: You run your retention policy so that your NAS storage has enough room for all your backups. But instead, your NAS keeps running out of space and all you see are backup errors.

Often this happens because the recycle bin is not disabled on the NAS, so when the backup retention kicks in and older backup data is supposed to be deleted, it isn't. No wonder the NAS is still showing as full.

Backups are not running or seem to be off: Somehow your backup doesn't seem to work and you can't explain why, or you keep getting error messages about incomplete backups. But your system seems to be fine and the NAS is accessible.

A NAS is a computer with its own operating system. It may require a reboot from time to time or needs the latest updates. Set up alerts for the NAS so that you can know in advance if there are any errors, such as the hard drive dying.

Backup software can’t find the NAS: Everything worked fine yesterday, but now my backup software can't run the scheduled backup because it doesn't see the NAS device anymore.

Any changes or reboots may cause your NAS to get a new IP address or DNS name, which may cause problems for your backup service to find it. By setting a static IP address and DNS name, you can avoid this problem.

What Is the Right Backup Solution for Backing up to a NAS?

Fortunately, setting up and running an automated backup to a NAS device is relatively simple, and just about any backup solution should be able to handle it.

More interesting are your business and compliance requirements. These define any additional features you need to increase the security and reliability of your backups, such as encryption of backup files, the ability to run backups more frequently without slowing down the network, better data management on the storage itself, etc.

NovaBACKUP is designed for SMBs as well as IT System Integrators and MSPs that focus on smaller businesses. As a result, our backup solution comes with a variety of features that support backup to your NAS – such as the ones mentioned above and:

• File and application backup to protect your Windows PCs and servers, including virtual machines, applications, and databases.
• Forever block-level incremental, so you can run smaller backups more often.
• Centralized management lets you view, create, and manage backup jobs for all agents, no matter where you are.
• Hybrid backup that lets you back up to NAS for local backup and to the cloud for an additional offsite backup.
• Cloud storage is always included.
• Reporting & notifications so you can always verify your backups.
• Ability to create an image backup and store it as a VHD(x) file so that you can mount it as a VM from your NAS if the NAS uses Windows as the operating system and thus has access to Hyper-V.

To learn more about NovaBACKUP, click here: https://www.novabackup.com/solutions

And What NAS Should You Use?

Similar to the backup solution, your business needs will determine the type of NAS you should use. As with all IT equipment, don't cut corners and use a home NAS for your business environment. As for recommendations, we work closely with Buffalo Technology and can confidently recommend their TeraStation for business use.

Learn more about backup appliances with NovaBACKUP: https://www.novabackup.com/solutions/backup-appliance

How Do You Setup and Manage a Backup to NAS With NovaBACKUP

Backing up your data with NovaBACKUP is easy. After the installation, simply follow these steps:

1. Set up the local backup device (aka your NAS storage)
2. Create a file backup job including the schedule and retention
3. Set up your reports and email notifications
4. And don't forget to test restoring a file or two to make sure a) the backup worked and b) you know how to do it

There Is No Reason Not to Use a NAS as Backup Storage

A NAS is a flexible and cost-effective backup storage option for SMBs. It is relatively easy to set up and maintain, and together with NovaBACKUP, you can create a reliable backup strategy that focuses on fast recovery of your data in case of an emergency.

Want to learn more?

• Are you an IT Service Provider or MSP? Find out how you can manage your customers' backups with NovaBACKUP here.
• Are you an IT admin? Take a look at our centrally managed backup solution here. Or contact us if you are looking for an IT Service Provider or MSP and we can put you in touch with one of our partners.