🔍 Read the full analysis: Our AI Fleet And The 6-Bay NAS We Chose To Support It on ThorstenMeyerAI.com
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TL;DR
Thorsten Meyer says his AI and publishing operation bought a UGREEN NASync DXP6800 Pro after duplicate iCloud backup files nearly filled a database server. The NAS has been delivered but is not connected or configured; the proposed backup layout and safeguards remain untested.
Thorsten Meyer says his AI and publishing operation has bought a six-bay UGREEN NASync DXP6800 Pro after duplicate files in an iCloud-synced backup folder left a database server with just 2% free disk space. The NAS has been delivered and equipped with four hard drives and an NVMe SSD, but it is not yet on the network, so its planned backup system has not been tested.
Meyer describes a small fleet of Macs: one runs the publishing system’s main Postgres database, another serves local AI models, and others handle content workflows and tests. On October 6, he measured about 2.6 TB in use on the main desk machine, 744 GB on the database server, and 3.2 TB on the model server. He estimates current backup needs at 6 to 8 TB.
The immediate trigger came on September 17, when two machines placed database dumps with the same filename in an iCloud folder. Meyer says the service retained repeated conflict copies; 29 copies contributed to the database server reaching 2% free space. On October 29, a nightly cleanup job also timed out while trying to remove old dumps. The backup job’s file copy was intact, he wrote, but managing the accumulated copies had failed.
The purchased setup includes four Seagate IronWolf Pro 16 TB drives and one NVMe SSD. Meyer plans to use the hard drives in RAID 6, which he estimates would provide about 32 TB of usable capacity and tolerate the failure of two drives. The SSD would hold containers and test databases in a separate pool. These are plans, not operational results: neither of the two acceptance tests has run.
Infographic 01 · The box
Six bays, two fast slots, two 10GbE ports
What UGREEN lists for the NASync DXP6800 Pro, and how we plan to fill it.
How we fill it
Delivered and equipped; the setup is our plan (1 Nov 2026)
Bays 1–4: Seagate IronWolf Pro 16 TB, RAID 6, Btrfs → ≈ 32 TB usable, any two drives may fail. Bays 5–6: free for growth. M.2 slot 1: the NVMe SSD (ordered: Samsung 990 Pro 1 TB) as its own fast pool. Slot 2: free. Six 16 TB drives in RAID 6 would give ≈ 64 TB.
What else UGREEN lists
From the product page, not measured by us
- Separate 128 GB SSD for the operating system, UGOS
- RAID: JBOD, Basic, 0, 1, 5, 6, 10
- 1× PCIe x4 · 2× Thunderbolt 4 · 8K HDMI · SD card reader
- Power: 43.07 W drives in use · 24.91 W drives in hibernation
- Stated maximum: 208 TB with 32 TB drives · 3-year warranty
Why six bays: with RAID 6, two drives always hold parity. In four bays that leaves half the raw space usable; with all six bays filled it becomes two thirds.
Sources: UGREEN DXP6800 Pro product page, checked 1 Nov 2026; Seagate IronWolf Pro data sheet DS2129.4; our setup plan, 6 Oct 2026.
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A Local Copy for Faster Recovery
The purchase addresses both backup reliability and recovery time for a small operation that depends on a database server. A local NAS could provide a separate on-site copy and, if configured successfully, allow large restores over the local network rather than relying on a cloud transfer. Meyer says the database Mac has also experienced recurring kernel panics since August; a NAS would not prevent those crashes, but could provide a faster route to recovery.
The account also highlights a basic distinction: sync is not the same as backup. A sync service can replicate deletions or unwanted changes along with legitimate files. Meyer says UGREEN’s help center describes the same behavior for its Cloud Drives app in two-way sync. The intended design adds snapshots and an encrypted offsite copy, rather than treating a synchronized folder as the sole backup.
The decision has a trade-off. The NAS and drives are a substantial hardware purchase and add a system that must be configured, monitored and tested. Meyer says he chose six bays over a cheaper four-bay model because the extra capacity could allow expansion without replacing existing drives. Whether that flexibility justifies the cost will depend on actual use; no long-term performance or reliability results are available.
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Why the Four-Bay Option Lost
Meyer says his office setup consists of several Macs rather than a data center, and that much of the model server’s storage is made up of AI model files that can be downloaded again. The stated backup requirement is therefore smaller than the fleet’s total storage footprint. He presents the problem as the reliability of the backup route, not simply a shortage of capacity.
According to UGREEN’s specifications cited by Meyer, the DXP6800 Pro has six SATA bays, two M.2 slots, two 10GbE ports and an Intel Core i5-1235U processor. Its 8 GB of DDR5 memory can be expanded to 64 GB, the company says. Meyer’s stated reason for choosing it over a four-bay model was room to add drives later. With six 16 TB drives in RAID 6, he estimates roughly 64 TB usable, subject to the usual capacity differences between advertised and formatted storage.
His proposed protection plan has three parts: separate non-admin accounts and quotas for each Mac, daily snapshots that those accounts cannot access or delete, and an encrypted offsite copy using restic to Backblaze B2 with Object Lock. The plan also keeps heavy disk activity to 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., avoids placing live database change logs on spinning disks, and excludes internet-facing remote access and a UGREEN cloud mirror as the offsite backup. Meyer says he bought the equipment himself; UGREEN did not supply or sponsor it, and the article has no affiliate links.
“That was the day I stopped treating a sync service as a backup.”
— Thorsten Meyer, ThorstenMeyerAI.com
Deployment Tests Still Pending
The NAS is not yet on the network, and Meyer says the proposed configuration has not been set up. The two acceptance tests—whether Time Machine works with a non-admin account and whether snapshots remain protected from that account—are still outstanding. Until they pass, the planned layout cannot be treated as a functioning backup system.
It is also unknown how quickly the NAS will restore the database, whether the hard drives will sleep as intended during office hours, or how well the system will perform under the fleet’s workloads. Meyer’s capacity figures and hardware specifications are cited from his measurements and manufacturer materials; they are not independent tests. He says this is not a product review or long-term test, and no operational results are reported as of November 1.
Acceptance Tests Before Rollout
Meyer says the first step is to connect and configure the NAS, then run the two acceptance tests. If either fails, he plans to return the hardware. If both pass, the stated plan is to configure the Mac accounts, quotas and snapshots, then set up the encrypted Backblaze B2 copy with Object Lock. He says he will publish results after the system is running; no rollout date is specified.
Key Questions
What problem prompted the NAS purchase?
Meyer says duplicate iCloud conflict copies of database dumps helped leave a server with 2% free disk space. A later cleanup job also timed out while removing old copies.
Is the NAS already backing up the AI fleet?
No. As of November 1, 2026, it had been delivered and equipped but was not on the network or configured. The acceptance tests had not been run.
How much storage is planned for backups?
The plan uses four 16 TB drives in RAID 6, which Meyer estimates would provide about 32 TB usable. He says the current backup need is about 6 to 8 TB.
Why choose six bays instead of four?
Meyer says the extra bays provide room to expand without replacing the existing drives. He estimates six 16 TB drives in RAID 6 would provide about 64 TB usable, but that configuration is not installed.
What happens if the tests fail?
Meyer says the NAS will be returned if either test fails. The tests are whether Time Machine works with a non-admin account and whether snapshots remain inaccessible to that account.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
