When a NAS is useful at home, and when it isn't
People get told to buy a NAS all the time. Often it solves a problem the household doesn't actually have.
- Useful when
- Several people share large files, you have lots of photos or video, or you need one central place for backups.
- Not when
- One or two people with a laptop and a cloud account, and nobody who will maintain it.
- Key catch
- A NAS is not a backup by itself. It needs its own offsite copy.
When a NAS makes sense
- A household or home office with multiple computers sharing files.
- A large photo or video library you don't want to pay monthly cloud fees to hold.
- A central backup target for every computer in the house.
When it doesn't
- One person with one laptop. A good external drive plus cloud backup is simpler and cheaper.
- No one willing to apply updates. An unpatched network device is a liability.
The misconception I correct most
People buy a two-drive NAS and think their data is safe. Mirrored drives protect against one drive failing. They don't protect against deletion, ransomware, theft or fire. A NAS should itself be backed up offsite.
If you're unsure, describe what you store and who uses it. I'll tell you straight if the answer is "you don't need one."
Related: Data backup & recovery