Remote access ReadyNAS 214

[Modulok]

I have the feeling Netgear is kidding me. Got ReadyNAS 214 with OS6.
Trying to get Remote access working. Tried several Apps, nothing worked. Netgear has several articles online where they give you the feeling All is easy. Then Tried ReadyCLOUd on Android, login was Not possible. Then I found an article saying they simply Switched off the Feature of Remote access completely this year. Are you kidding me?!? What is the meaning of the whole nas then? That I can only use it when i am at home?! Poah, what a disgrace. Can anyone help here please? Is Remote access possible via Browser or sth? This cant be True.

[Sandshark]

Yes, Netgear turned off the ReadyCloud server, disabling the ability to use it.

I assume you bought the NAS used and did not do your homework to see that Netgear considers all ReadyNAS "end of life" and verify all the previously advertised features are still available.  They aren't.  No surveillance, no remote access, all apps are outdated, and even installing those requires extra effort.  I see eBay listings all the time that use a standard listing that includes those items.  If that's the case with you, you can try and see if you can get a case for "not as advertised" approved.  I'd be interested in seeing what happens.

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@Modulok wrote:
What is the meaning of the whole nas then? That I can only use it when i am at home?! 

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That is the primary purpose of a NAS -- local storage.  While Netgear tried to position the ReadyNAS as "home cloud storage", there is no such thing.  If it's in your home, it's not "cloud storage".

There are several methods to still access your NAS remotely, some more capable than ReadyCloud but none as easy to set up.  There are plenty of message chains in the forum about them.  FTP can be configured for external access and a VPN can also give you access.  My preferred method (which I have always used, never having used ReadyCloud over the many years I've owned a ReadyNAS) is ZeroTier (see ZeroTier-as-a-ReadyCloud-replacement ).  A VPN created in your router is another method.  Installing ZeroTier (or any app) on the ReadyNAS has become more difficult now that Debian 8, upon which the OS is based, has been archived by the Debian security group.  (See How-I-got-apt-update-and-install-to-work-with-Debian-Jessie).

[nayakchirag]

@Sandshark 

i have 2 individual Netgear RN214

and i already installed Zerotier on both Devices. and its working perfectly fine.

i can connect with my ReadyNAS 214 with Zerotier in Browser.

now. my question is how do i data backup with zerotier.

Or Schedule backup which i attached below.

Please enlighten me.

[StephenB]

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@nayakchirag wrote:

i have 2 individual Netgear RN214

and i already installed Zerotier on both Devices. and its working perfectly fine.

i can connect with my ReadyNAS 214 with Zerotier in Browser.

now. my question is how do i data backup with zerotier.

Or Schedule backup which i attached below.

Please enlighten me.

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I am assuming you want to do a NAS->NAS backup.  The main thing is to use the remote NAS ZeroTier IP address for the backup host. 

There are several options on the choice of backup protocol and settings.  It'd be best if you read through the KB articles and the software manual.  

• https://www.downloads.netgear.com/files/GDC/READYNAS-100/READYNAS_OS_6_SM_EN.pdf
• https://kb.netgear.com/29788/ReadyNAS-Backup-FAQ

But to get you started, here is what I do myself:

My aim is to be able to immediately switch to the backup NAS if something goes wrong with the primary NAS. I set up one backup job for each share (and set up the same shares on the backup NAS as I have on the primary one).  My backup jobs are running on the destination NAS (which I call a "pull" backup).  This allows me to put the destination NAS on a power schedule.  The protocol I use is rsync, and this is set up to give me a mirror of what is on the primary NAS share.  I also set up custom snapshots on the destination NAS to give me some retention (so I can roll back if I accidentally delete something).  

I believe @Sandshark's approach is different, I'll leave it to him to share what he does. Both our approaches work (and there are other options also).

Here are screenshots of my backup job settings for one of my shares:

And here are my snapshot settings for the destination share (from the shares page):

Obviously you can set up longer (or shorter) snapshot retention as desired.  

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[Sandshark]

My mail backup scheme is actually rather similar, except that I back up to two smaller NAS, not one of similar size.  I do back one share up with ReadyDR instead of rsync because it contains Veracrypt volumes and all the other backup methods will back up the entire container file even though only one small change has been made inside it.  I have a secondary backup to an off-site NAS using ZeroTier, but it's only my most crucial stuff.

If you are asking about backing up your PC to the NAS, that is much better accomplished using backup software on the computer that first makes a shadow copy, insuring files in use are also backed up.  Just use the NAS (local or ZeroTier address) as the target.  There are a lot of choices, including free ones.  @StephenB and I both use Acronis True Image for that, but started doing so when you could still purchase a lifetime license, not just the subscription now offered.  Since the 2020 version, they also changed from their old .tib format to .tibx, which is very inefficient to copy to a backup NAS because it concatenates incremental backups to the main one and, as with my Veracrypt files, the NAS will back up the whole file, not just the delta.  If you choose to go with Acronis and that bothers you (it did me, my snaphsot usage was getting very high on the backup NAS), your choices are to manually configure to use the old .tib format (as I have done and you can Google how to accomplish) or to use ReadyDR to back up your backups.

Even the built-in Windows backup is better than nothing, but I do not like that you cannot control when it does full or incremental backups, how long it retains backups, etc.

[nayakchirag]

Thank You So Much @StephenB  & @Sandshark 

May God Bless You...

it works flawlessly.