Forum Discussion

Aspirant

Oct 21, 2019

Backup ReadyNas 214 to External Drive

I'd like to back up my ReadyNAS 214 and its current contents. The shares have both Windows and Mac files on them. I understand that things can go south quickly when formats mistmatch. So, if i buy a target back up drive, which format should i use? NTFS, MacOS, some other format? The goal is if I have a catastrophic failure on the ReadyNas 214, I'd have a back up to the backup. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Model: RN21400|ReadyNAS 214 Series 4- Bay (Diskless)

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Marc_V
NETGEAR Employee Retired
Oct 21, 2019
Gearmeister

Welcome to the Community!

Since you both have Windows and Mac OS I would go with the FS that you will be able to access on different systems. I think the best option would be to go with NTFS.

While it is mainly for Windows, I think Mac OS provides support already. Also, if you can setup a different external for MacOS then that would be best.

HTH

Regards
- StephenB
  Guru - Experienced User
  Oct 21, 2019
  The Mac does have built-in read support for NTFS, so I agree that is the best format for the backups.
  
  There are some third party packages that can add write support (Paragon being one).
  - Sandshark
    Sensei - Experienced User
    Oct 21, 2019
    If your desire is to restore the NAS from the backup, then EXT4 would be best. But if you may need to get a file directly from the drive to the Windows or Mac system, then NTFS.