If you own a Network Attached Storage (NAS) device, you already understand its value in securely storing and sharing your data. However, simply having a NAS is not enough; regular maintenance is crucial to ensure its optimal performance, security, and longevity.
Perform these five maintenance tasks regularly (quarterly) to keep your NAS reliable and extend its life.
- Visually inspect the unit regularly, look at the exterior to make sure the vents are not clogged with dust, and check for any red lights which could indicate a disk failure (one failed disk will not necessarily cause a NAS to fail but if a second disk fails you could lose all your data).
- Log into your NAS and check for app updates
- Check for firmware updates (different to app updates)
- Setup a backup to an external disk, most NAS’s will have a USB port which can be used to connect an external disk. Of course it’s not enough to just perform backups; you must also verify that they are successful and restorable
- Check notifications/logs to ensure anything really important can be addressed before it becomes a major issue. Perhaps even setup email alert notifications to ensure you are notified of anything important happening on your NAS.
As always if you are not sure about any of these steps we can help by performing regular preventative maintenance updates. The service will take about 1 hour at a cost of $132 (remote), or $198 (onsite).
