🔍 Read the full analysis: Building An AI Fleet Storage Setup With The UGREEN NASync DXP6800 Pro on ThorstenMeyerAI.com
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TL;DR
Thorsten Meyer says his operation bought a UGREEN NASync DXP6800 Pro after duplicate iCloud backup files nearly filled a database server. The NAS has been equipped with four 16 TB hard drives and an NVMe SSD, but it is not yet connected or configured; the planned backup design still has to pass two acceptance tests.
Thorsten Meyer’s AI and publishing operation has bought a six-bay UGREEN NASync DXP6800 Pro after duplicate files created by an iCloud sync workflow left a database server with just 2% free disk space. As of November 1, the NAS has four 16 TB hard drives and one NVMe SSD installed, but it is not yet connected or configured, and the proposed backup setup has not been tested.
Meyer says the storage purchase followed an incident on September 17, when two machines uploaded database dumps with the same filename to one iCloud folder. The service produced 29 conflict copies, according to his account, nearly filling the server that runs the operation’s main database. On October 29, a nightly backup job also failed while trying to delete old copies during an iCloud timeout. Meyer says the backup itself was intact, but managing the copies had stalled.
The purchased hardware is equipped with four Seagate IronWolf Pro 16 TB drives and one NVMe SSD. The planned configuration puts the hard drives in RAID 6, which Meyer estimates would provide about 32 TB of usable capacity and tolerate the failure of two drives. The SSD is intended for a separate pool for containers and test databases. These are planned settings, not results from a completed installation.
Meyer says the NAS is a personal purchase and that UGREEN did not provide the hardware, sponsor the article or review it before publication. He describes the piece as a setup plan, not a product review or long-term test. The existing backups remain on local Time Machine disks on two Macs, with a nightly database dump also copied to iCloud.
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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Replacing Sync With Layered Backups
The incident highlights the difference between file synchronization and recoverable backups. Sync can copy deletions or duplicate files along with legitimate changes. A network-attached storage device could provide a local destination for backups and faster restores than downloading large archives from cloud storage, but it would not by itself protect data from every failure.
Meyer’s proposed plan combines separate user accounts and storage quotas for each Mac with daily snapshots that those accounts cannot access or delete. He also plans an encrypted offsite copy using restic and Backblaze B2 Object Lock. If implemented as described, those layers would address different risks: accidental changes, local equipment problems and damage to or loss of the NAS. Their effectiveness has not yet been demonstrated.
The hardware choice also reflects a capacity trade-off. Meyer says the operation currently needs about 6 to 8 TB of backup space, while four 16 TB drives in the planned RAID 6 arrangement would provide roughly 32 TB usable. He chose six bays over a cheaper four-bay option to leave room to expand; filling all six bays with 16 TB drives would yield about 64 TB under the same RAID level, according to his estimate.
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The Fleet’s Storage Problems
The operation consists of several Macs: one runs a main Postgres database, another serves local AI models, and others handle publishing workflows and tests. Meyer’s measurements from October 6 put storage use at about 2.6 TB on the main desk machine, 744 GB on the database server, and 3.2 TB on the model server. He says the database itself was about 293 GB and that much of the model storage could be downloaded again.
Separate from the iCloud incidents, Meyer reports recurring kernel panics on the database Mac since August, at their worst about once every five days. He says an August 8 crash caused 2¼ hours of database downtime. A NAS would not prevent such a crash, but a local copy could, in principle, reduce the time needed to restore data. Meyer also says test databases had grown to about 30 GB in a virtual disk on his laptop, adding storage use and fan activity to his work machine.
Meyer cites the 3-2-1 backup rule—three copies, on two types of media, with one kept offsite—and says the NAS is intended to add a local storage medium. UGREEN’s help center also warns that its Cloud Drives app’s two-way sync carries deletions from one side to the other, according to Meyer’s account of its guidance.
“That was the day I stopped treating a sync service as a backup.”
— Thorsten Meyer, describing the September 17 storage incident
Setup and Safeguards Remain Untested
The NAS has not been connected to the network, so no backup or restore results are available. Meyer says two tests must come first: whether Time Machine works with a non-admin account, and whether snapshots remain inaccessible to that account. He has said the device will be returned if either test fails.
Other details are also prospective. The RAID 6 layout, account quotas, snapshot schedule and encrypted Backblaze B2 copy have not been implemented. It is not yet known how long restores will take, whether the planned controls will prevent users or automated tools from deleting protected copies, or how the storage arrangement will perform in daily use. Meyer says no AI agent will receive administrator credentials and that the NAS will not be exposed to internet-based remote access.
Acceptance Tests Before Rollout
Meyer says the next step is to connect the NAS and run the two acceptance tests: Time Machine backups through a non-admin account and verification that the account cannot see or delete protected snapshots. If the tests pass, he plans to configure the storage pools and backup layers, with disk-heavy work scheduled between 20:00 and 06:00 so the drives can sleep during the workday.
The proposed setup also excludes a live database change log on spinning drives and does not treat a UGREEN cloud mirror as the offsite backup. Meyer says he will report back with results once the NAS is running. Until then, the purchase is confirmed, but the planned configuration’s reliability and practical benefits remain unverified.
Key Questions
Is the UGREEN NAS already backing up the Macs?
No. As of November 1, 2026, the NAS has been delivered and equipped with drives, but Meyer says it is not connected to the network or set up. Existing backups still use local Time Machine disks and an iCloud copy of the nightly database dump.
What storage layout is planned?
Meyer plans to put four 16 TB hard drives in RAID 6, for an estimated 32 TB usable, and use the NVMe SSD as a separate pool for containers and test databases. This configuration has not yet been installed or tested.
Why did the operation buy a six-bay model?
Meyer says the extra bays provide room to expand without replacing existing drives. He estimates that six 16 TB drives in RAID 6 would provide about 64 TB usable, compared with about 32 TB from the planned four-drive arrangement.
What tests must the NAS pass?
The first tests are whether Time Machine works with a non-admin account and whether snapshots remain protected from that account. Meyer says the NAS will be returned if either test fails.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
