🔍 Read the full analysis: A 6-Bay UGREEN NASync DXP6800 Pro For Our Growing AI Fleet 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 configured; its planned backup setup and two acceptance tests have not yet been completed.
Thorsten Meyer says his AI and publishing operation has bought a six-bay UGREEN NASync DXP6800 Pro after duplicate files created by an iCloud sync conflict left a database server with 2% free disk space on September 17. The NAS has been delivered and fitted with drives, but it is not connected to the network, so its proposed backup system has not yet been tested.
Meyer describes a small fleet of Macs used for a publishing system, a main PostgreSQL database, local AI models, content pipelines and tests. On October 6, he measured about 2.6 TB on the main desk machine, 744 GB on the database server, including a 293 GB database, and 3.2 TB on the model server. He estimates the operation currently needs to protect about 6 to 8 TB.
The immediate problem was an iCloud folder receiving database dumps with the same name from two machines. Meyer says the service generated 29 conflict copies, contributing to the server’s low free space. On October 29, he says, a nightly job also timed out while trying to remove old copies as iCloud was busy. The backup copy itself was intact, but managing the accumulated files failed.
The purchased unit is paired with four Seagate IronWolf Pro 16 TB hard drives and one NVMe SSD. Meyer’s planned arrangement uses the hard drives in RAID 6, which he estimates would provide about 32 TB of usable capacity, and the SSD as a separate pool for containers and test databases. These are setup plans, not measured results; the NAS remains offline and unconfigured as of November 1.
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 a practical gap between keeping files on working computers and storing a copy away from the office. A local NAS could make large restores faster than downloading hundreds of gigabytes over a home-office internet connection, while a separate offsite copy would still be needed if the office or NAS were damaged.
The incident also illustrates why synchronization and backup are not interchangeable. Sync tools can propagate deletions or duplicate files, while a backup system needs retention and recovery controls that preserve earlier versions. Meyer says UGREEN’s help center similarly warns that, in two-way sync, a deletion on one side is reflected on the other. His proposed design therefore separates local machine backups, snapshots and an encrypted offsite copy rather than treating a synced folder as the sole safeguard.
For the operation, recovery time matters because the database supports its publishing work. Meyer reports recurring kernel panics on the database Mac since August, at their worst roughly every five days; one crash on August 8 caused about 2¼ hours of database downtime. A NAS cannot prevent those failures, but a nearby copy could help restore data more quickly if the setup works as intended.
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From Sync Conflicts to Storage Plans
Meyer says the September 17 disk-space incident changed how he viewed the existing arrangement. The operation had relied on local Time Machine disks on two Macs and an iCloud copy of the nightly database dump. As of November 1, those remain the active backups: the new NAS has not replaced or supplemented them in production.
Meyer chose the six-bay model over a less expensive four-bay option because he wants room to add drives without replacing the existing ones. He cites UGREEN’s product specifications for six SATA bays, two M.2 slots, a 10-core Intel Core i5-1235U, two 10GbE ports and 8 GB of DDR5 memory expandable to 64 GB. Those are manufacturer specifications, not independently tested performance findings. He says six 16 TB drives in the planned RAID 6 arrangement would provide about 64 TB, subject to the actual configuration and usable capacity.
The article is a firsthand account of a purchase and intended setup, not a product review or long-term test. Meyer says he paid for the NAS, drives and SSD himself; UGREEN did not supply or sponsor the equipment, and the company had not reviewed the article. He also says the piece contains no affiliate links.
“If either fails, the NAS goes back.”
— Thorsten Meyer, describing the planned setup
The NAS Has Yet to Pass Tests
The central unknown is whether the proposed setup will work reliably in Meyer’s environment. The NAS has been delivered and equipped, but it is not yet on the network or configured. Neither acceptance test has run, and there are no reported restore times, snapshot results, noise measurements or long-term reliability data.
Meyer’s capacity figures are estimates based on the planned RAID layout. Actual usable space and performance will depend on configuration and operation; no real-world measurements from this NAS are available yet. The source article also does not report whether the offsite restic copy to Backblaze B2, with Object Lock intended to prevent deletion, has been configured or tested.
Until the tests pass and the new system is operating, the existing Time Machine disks and iCloud database-dump copy remain the active backup arrangement. The account describes one operation’s experience and purchasing decision, not evidence that the same device or configuration will suit every AI or publishing workload.
Acceptance Tests Before Rollout
Meyer says the next step is to connect and configure the NAS, then test Time Machine access using a non-admin account and verify that the account cannot see or delete the planned snapshots. He says the NAS will be returned if either test fails.
If the tests succeed, the planned safeguards are separate, quota-limited accounts for each Mac, daily snapshots kept out of those accounts’ reach, and an encrypted offsite copy sent with restic to Backblaze B2. Meyer also plans to keep live database change logs off spinning disks, withhold administrator credentials from AI agents, avoid internet-facing remote access and schedule disk-heavy work between 20:00 and 06:00.
Those measures are plans rather than completed protections. Meyer says he will report results after the NAS is running; until then, the purchase is confirmed, but its role in the operation’s backup system remains unproven.
Key Questions
Why did Meyer buy the UGREEN NAS?
He says 29 iCloud conflict copies helped leave a database server with only 2% free disk space. He wants local storage for backups and test databases, separate from the sync service that caused the file-management problem.
Is the NAS already backing up the Macs?
No. As of November 1, 2026, it has been delivered and equipped but is not connected to the network or set up. The existing Time Machine disks and iCloud database-dump copy remain in use.
How much storage does the planned setup provide?
Meyer estimates about 32 TB usable from four 16 TB drives in RAID 6. He estimates that filling all six bays with 16 TB drives in the same RAID arrangement would provide about 64 TB. These are planned-capacity estimates, not tested results.
What still has to be tested?
Meyer says he will test whether Time Machine works with a non-admin account and whether that account is unable to access or delete snapshots. He says the NAS will be returned if either test fails.
Is this a review of the DXP6800 Pro?
No. Meyer describes it as a purchase and setup plan, not a review or long-term test. He says he bought the hardware himself, UGREEN did not sponsor the article, and he will report back after the system is running.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
