How to mount MyCloud to Synology for data transfer and backup

[dark_cloud]

I got a new Synology NAS DS220+ and want to connect my WD to it via LAN so I can transfer data to the DS220+. Also might want to leave them connected and use the WD as a backup drive.

What settings would I need to enable or disable on the WD to accomplish these tasks?

[Bennor]

Quick internet search turns up this how-to video. Go to the Synology File Station > Tools > Mount Remote Folder > CIFS Shared Folder (if accessing an SMB Share).

Mount Another NAS over SMB/NFS to Your Synology | 4K TUTORIAL

If you want to rsync from a My Cloud to a Synology see the following post I made from a few years ago:

Rsync to Synology Drive

Update: Using the following settings on the Synology DSM does allow me to rsync from the My Cloud (first gen single bay) to a Synlology NAS. Access the Synology DSM (I’m running DSM 6.2.3-25426 Update 2) and navigate to Control Panel > File Services > rsync. Select Enable rsync service. [Screenshot_2020-09-02 DS218Plus - Synology DiskStation] I went an extra step and made sure to use a Synology user (name) who has administrator group privileges and who has read/write access to the Share on t…

One can use the nohup command in front of the rsync command to run unattended.

[dark_cloud]

@Bennor

Quick internet search turns up this how-to video. Go to the Synology File Station > Tools > Mount Remote Folder > CIFS Shared Folder (if accessing an SMB Share).

1. So if I have the MyCloud connected to the Synology via LAN I still need to enter an IP address to mount it? Both devices are connected to a router via LAN, but was thinking it would be faster to transfer data if the MyCLoud is connected directly to the Synology. Or is that not possible?

2. Once it’s mounted, I guess I manually copy/paste the folders I want to move to the Synology?

[Bennor]

You cannot use the My Cloud USB port to make a direct connection to the Synology USB port. That leaves only the Ethernet networking port on each device.

The File Station has the option to drag and drop mounted Shares or manually select folders an files to copy or move

[dark_cloud]

@Bennor

You cannot use the My Cloud USB port to make a direct connection to the Synology USB port. That leaves only the Ethernet networking port on each device.

Yeah that was part of my question, if I connect the devices via Ethernet, the MyCloud would no longer be connected to the router since it has only one Ethernet port. So when I go to mount the Mycloud to Synology using the method noted above there won’t be an IP address for the MyCloud. Or maybe I’m misunderstanding something…

[Bennor]

If you directly connected the My Cloud’s Ethernet port to the a Synology that has two Ethernet ports then the My Cloud should default to setting it’s own IP address. But one really doesn’t gain anything by directly connecting the two together that way rather than using a gigabit capable switch/router. Don’t over think it. Just connect them to a router/switch and use the Synology File Station to mount the My Cloud and copy the files. Or enable Rsync as previously mentioned on the Synology and SSH into the My Cloud and issue an Rsync command to copy files to the Synology.

[dark_cloud]

OK, thanks.

For rsync, if I want to bring over folders such as Shared Music and Shared Pictures etc which are under the “Public” folder on MyCloud, would I have to create a command for each folder? I’m assuming if I used the “Public” folder, that folder would itself be another folder in the path on the Synology beneath the highest level folder I have set up there already. Hope that all makes sense… This language is not my forte

[Bennor]

There are various examples one can search for online on how to use Rsync to copy multiple folders or exclude files/folders and adapt those examples suit one’s needs for copy from a My Cloud. However, it may just be easier to just use the Synology File Station app for a GUI interface. Select the folders you want to copy then right click and select Copy To/Move To from the File Station app and choose the method of copy (or move).

The following rsync example modified from my post earlier should work to copy all the subfolders in the Public folder to a location (Share tempshare) on the Synology. One would adjust for the proper Synology IP address, user name/password and destination location on the Synology.

rsync -avz /DataVolume/shares/Public/ john@192.168.1.100:/volume1/tempshare

[dark_cloud]

Yeah, I thought about doing the copy/paste method just to get set up since I’m kind of shaky on the rsync process. If/when I can get rsync setup does it just continue to sync changes as they occur?

[NAS_user]

Bennor;

Suspect but I am not sure:

If you execute a copy&paste from one NAS to another using a PC; you have to keep the window open and the PC will be an integral part of the copy process. Therefore, you really want the PC attached to the network via a LAN cable (not wifi)

If you drag and drop using the Synology GUI; I would imagine that (1) the copy process would continue after the web browser page is closed, and (2) The PC Being on wifi would not make a difference.

[Bennor]

When issuing the copy or move using Synology’s File Station the copy process is generally handled by the Synology not the PC (at least it’s worked that way for me the few times in the past). If one is copying files from the My Cloud to the Synology then the copy process should proceed until completion even if one closes their PC (or closes their browser). If one wants to use rsync they can handle the issue, as I mentioned earlier in the thread, by using the nohup command in front of rsync command. After issuing nohup one can close the SSH window and rsync process continues to run on the My Cloud.

Edit to add: The lack of an on WD My Cloud device GUI file manager app is one major fault/failings (among many) with the My Cloud OS/device. The units could have been so much better if WD had included one like Synology has done for many years. Instead one has to resort to using SSH and rsync or other workarounds like mounting the My Cloud to the Synology and using Synology’s File Station to perform a NAS to NAS copy that doesn’t involve going through a computer. Haven’t looked, but there may be other Synology DSM apps to automate the copy or backing up of data to or from one NAS and the Synology so it could be run automated/scheduled.

[Bennor]

@dark_cloud

If/when I can get rsync setup does it just continue to sync changes as they occur?

If you use Synology’s File Station I think it prompts (or you can set before copy/move) if it should overwrite files at the destination.

For rsync depending on how you issue the rsync command and it’s various switches it should only copy new/changed files to the destination. There are rsync command switches that I think will allow you to mirror the data between the two locations which could result in data loss on the My Cloud if one isn’t careful.

[NAS_user]

@Bennor

Edit to add: The lack of an on WD My Cloud device GUI file manager app is one major fault/failings (among many) with the My Cloud OS/device. The units could have been so much better if WD had included one like Synology has done for many years. Instead one has to resort to using SSH and rsync or other workarounds like mounting the My Cloud to the Synology and using Synology’s File Station to perform a NAS to NAS copy that doesn’t involve going through a computer. Haven’t looked, but there may be other Synology DSM apps to automate the copy or backing up of data to or from one NAS and the Synology so it could be run automated/scheduled.

Concur.

The ability to manage NAS units via a GUI is a huge advantage for the competitor. In fact; I think WD is going the other way in terms of functionality: For example, the web apps can only access ONE nas per account.

The competitors GUI interface does make file handling across multiple NAS units (even WD nas units) much easier.