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Forum Discussion
An Official Client for Synology NAS Devices
Hi all,
I use Dropbox daily and I love it. As a part of my current setup, I sync the entirety of my Dropbox folder to my Synology NAS device, in order to have all of my data available to me locally, through LAN (my laptop doesn't have enough disk space to allow for that), and to be able to copy the Dropbox data elsewhere to serve as a backup.
Right now, I'm using Synology's official application - Cloud Sync - to retrieve the Dropbox data. I believe it works quite well (it has some drawbacks), but it would NEVER be as reliable as an official app. Since the OS that powers Synology units - DSM - is Linux-based, I hope this suggestions is not too much, as there's already an official Dropbox Linux client.
Thanks!
An official Dropbox app for Synology... Yes please!!!!
My problem is very similar to the original post, I want my mobile devices to sync photos and access files using Dropbox. However, when I am home I want to have a NAS backup of my Dropbox that can also sync and operate as a joint workspace for devices connected to my local network (i.e. use my NAS to serve devices with low storage capacity, and leverage the benefits of low latency/high-bandwidth local network a rather than consuming ISP bandwidth.)
I bet this solution is more complicated to realize than it I think - otherwise there would be a user-friendly solution by now. Just put a pin in it, and keep on innovating!
What are the drawbacks?
Hi,
Well, for start, Cloud Sync bases its sync mechanism (in essence, determining when a file has changed) on file modification dates, rather than more reliable methods such as MD5 checksums. From Syno's whitepaper:
Moreover, I'm not sure if Cloud Sync properly supports Dropbox's Delta (incremental, block-based) Sync - I have a sense that even when there's a minor modification to a file, Cloud Sync downloads or uploads the file in entirety, again.
Thanks!
I too LOVE Dropbox and use it regularly and also love my Synology NAS. With the new 'Synology Drive' option on the Synology NAS, could we simply move the 'Dropbox' folder into the "SynologyDrive" folder on a computer and then have that data syncing to both Dropbox and SynologyDrive? Thanks
- Would be nice, for sure
I too am desperate for this. I have my team working with big video files on Dropbox, but I also want to be able to give my team access to a local server so they don't have to wait for Selective Sync. Synology's Cloud Sync does not allow for syncing the Team Folder, only the personal folder, so essentially by NAS is just a brick at the moment.
I would also love this feature. Synology and Qnap are very popular brands among the small business crowd.
I would find this very useful.
- Me too!
I got naively started with CloudSync (Synology's app that offers basic syncing with Dropbox) and I too would LOVE this feature.
I too am working with huge video files, and, having been spoiled for years on Dropbox's highly intelligent backend, underestimated the difficulties of syncing a drive to the cloud. The main problem I have is that, when I move a file or folder on my NAS, it has to actually issue delete and upload commands to communicate to Dropbox, and vice versa if changes are done to the Dropbox server. (The obvious issue here is that I am tying up my bandwidth in both directions needlessly.) It seems obvious that it would work that way in retrospect, but again, I had just come to rely on Dropbox's magical properties.
I'm curently figuring out work arounds involving a competitor (Backblaze) because I need to be able to access the video files locally on the LAN, but also have the peace of mind of an off-site backup. I would love to do all of this inside of Dropbox, but the risk of duplication and accidental deletion is too great, with too many points of access to the file tree.
Thank you in advance for considering this!
