Synology DS220+ NAS - Initial Thoughts

Like most people that have a homelab setup, I have played with various approaches to network storage.  I have tried things like TrueNAS, a SMB share on my Rasperry Pi 4 and even using the network sharing feature of my GL-iNet router but I also have been looking at consumer NAS devices like Synology.

So why buy a product and not build my own?  I view my home network as supporting two goals: First I have my homelab goals, which has things my Proxmox setup and other stuff that I mess with just for fun.  Second I have the production goals, stuff like family entertainment devices and other things that just need to work.  So I wanted to get a NAS, but I wanted something that worked without constant tinkering so that I could support both production and homelab goals.

I did look at various vendors, but settled on Synology because the software seemed mature compared to other offerings.  Since the NAS would be sort of a starter for learning, I decided to get a 2-bay device and started to look at the various options/models.  Here are some of the variants I looked at:

• The "j" series like the current DS223j, but I decided not to go that route because those have low RAM and seem to be underpowered.
• The non-plus models like the current "DS223" that are better than the "j" series but seem to be lacking some features of the plus model.
• The plus models like the current "DS224+" and "DS225+" that seem to the best of the 2 bay options.

I decided to go with an older plus model, and actually found a really good deal on a DS220+.

Setting up the NAS was pretty simple, and I was up and running very quicky.  After just two days of use, I wanted to share my initial thoughts and some key features/aspects that I have configured.

• Setup SMB shares.  I would say this is the primary use case for any NAS, so it was a given that I would setup/use this first.  It works as expected, which is good.
• Configure "home" drive for users.  The NAS can support multiple users, and creates a "home" drive for user to store their own files/photos.  It was easy to setup, and will likely make future use by family members even easier.
• Setup two internal drives using Synology Hybrid RAID (SHR)-1 raid.
• You can actually setup SHR-1 with a single drive (no redundancy) and then add another drive for redundancy (basically equivalent to RAID 1, mirroring) which is what I did in my initial setup.
• One thing to keep in mind, the storage will be limited by the smaller drive so (as an example) if you have a 1TB and 3TB drive then the usable space is only 1TB.
• Setup two external USB drives.  I have a USB 3 dock that allows you to dock two drives (either 2.5" or 3.5") which is a pretty nice way to connect external storage.
• Setup QuickConnect ID.  Basically this is an easy to access your NAS from an external network.  I know most homelab/power users will consider other options (Tailscale or their own VPN setup) but this approach allows an easy option to get up and running and works with various mobile apps.
• Setup Cloud Sync.  I created a specific folder on my Google Drive and OneDrive, and have that folder sync to my NAS so I have an easy way to determine which files I want on my NAS but also mirrored on my cloud storage.  This approach was mainly for testing, 
• Setup "Log Center" to view logs, pretty simple but you can also have other devices send their logs to your NAS which is neat.
• Setup "Synology Drive" basically think something like a Google Drive or OneDrive client for accessing your files.
• Setup "Synology Photos", which is something like Google Photos backup but doesn't seem to have as many features.  It does support some AI features like determining faces which is neat, but I need to keep testing/using the app to better understand the features.
• Setup "USB Copy".
• As a test, I setup some tasks to mirror certain folders to external USB drives and it seems to work fine.
• While I didn't use the feature, the NAS has a hardware "Copy" button on the front.  The idea is that you can insert a USB drive, then hit "copy" to save a copy of everything on the drive to the NAS.  While I don't know if I have a use case for this, it would be an interesting way to keep copies of files from something like a digital camera.
• Setup "Hyper Backup" to testing backing up my NAS information to one of the external USB drives.

Bottom line: I am glad that I decided to grab a Synology DS220+ NAS, and just based on my initial testing I think it will support my goals and still allow for some tinkering.

Synology Page: https://www.synology.com/
Synology Hybrid RAID (SHR) info: https://kb.synology.com/en-us/DSM/tutorial/What_is_Synology_Hybrid_RAID_SHR

Bambu Lab A1 Mini 3D Printer - My Thoughts

For Christmas, I got a Bambu Lab A1 Mini 3D printer.  I am not going to focus on a full product review ( there are plenty online ) or unboxing notes, I am just going to focus on my experience with it so far.

I have had the A1 mini for just over 2 weeks now, and it has been amazing.  I'll share a list of (almost) everything I have printed so far at the end of this article, but high level there are 3 sources I have used:

1) In the Bambu Handy (mobile) app you can browse a huge collection of prints from their MakerWorld ( https://makerworld.com/ ) site.  Just browse what they have or search for certain keywords, and chances are you can find something to print that you will like.

2) If you can't find what you need on MakerWorld, it is possible that someone else already designed what you need and posted it in another location.  You can do a google search and often come up with the files you need.  You can import those files into Bambu Studio (desktop app) to make it work, but might need to do some tweaking on settings.  I would get familiar with printing items using method #1 first before you start down this path.

3) All else fails, you might have to do your own design.  There are plenty of tools out there that you can use to make 3D designs and create the files you will need.  This is definitely an advanced level of the 3D printing process, but likely something you will sooner or later want to get into.

For me, I have printed from all 3 categories.  One thing I have really enjoyed is printing items that my family members could find useful and/or want.

A few main tips I want to share for new people:

• Watch videos and read online for starter tips.
• Join a group on Reddit/Facebook (or both) to start seeing common issues / tips.
• Pay attention to print times and how much material will be used.
• Keep your plate clean, it seems to help avoid issues based on everything I have read.
• Take a look at my upgrades (list below) for ideas on possible improvements.
• Keep an eye on your print jobs (especially the first few layers) and the filament to make sure it didn't get loose where it could get tangled, I had two failures because of filament getting tangled and now I pay attention to that issue.
• When feeding the filament, it might get "stuck" in the tube and not feed.  I know it sounds odd, but pushing with some pressure will make a "click" noise and allow the filament to feed.  I saw this tip somewhere, and it helped me figure out feed issues.

Here is a full list of items I have printed broken out by category:

Upgrades for the A1 Mini ( Link to collection )

• Bambu Scraper Grip - The printer came with a blade for a scraper but you had to print and build the handle, I recommend doing this as one of your first prints.
• Universal Filament Clip v3 - This is a simple and useful way to clip the filament to the spool.
• PTFE / Cable Clips - This helps keep your cables tidy.
• A1 mini lube helper - I haven't used this but saw it on another video as a useful print.
• Poop bucket - Yes I know it sounds odd, but the A1 mini has print waste (which the community calls poop) and you need a way to catch it to avoid a mess.  This little removable bucket makes it easy to dump, and could remove the bucket and put a larger catch under it.  There are many different solutions/designs but I liked this one the most.
• Wyze Cam mount - I had a spare Wyze V2 cam to monitor my print jobs.  I know the printer has a built-in camera, but many people have suggested using an external one.
• Filament tangle prevention - I actually had one or two issues related to the filament getting tangles, and this item should help prevent that.

Other random items from MakerWorld ( Link to collection )

• Boat Model 010 - A little wind-up motor kit, the motor came with the printer and I printed the boat parts
• Wireless Mouse 002 - A kit my wife got me with the 3D printer, it comes with the internal components for a wireless mouse and you print the shell.  I actually use the mouse daily now.
• Pixel Watch Charging Stand - Nifty little stand for my Pixel Watch 2
• Phone Charge Port Dust and Lint Cleaner - Simple print, I didn't really need it but why not!
• Articulate Hate Snake (Traffic Cone) - Neat design my kiddo wanted printed
• Dragon Smoke Bookmark - Neat design for my wife.  This was a bit trickier since I had to load it in Bambu Studio to add a pause so I could swap filament since it was two color.
• Mayor Snake - The traffic cone was nice and all, but the mayor had a huge top hat.
• Wood-carved puppy - Kiddo request
• Sink Hole Cover - I had a hole in the kitchen sink that was unused, now it is covered.
• Headset Holder - Nice spot to hang my headset on my desk.
• Great Dane Low Poly model - Just a cool Great Dane design.
• Lightweight stands for graded cards - This was too small for my Beckett slab but still nice.
• Beckett Graded TCG Slab holder - Perfect size for my Beckett slab (thicker than PSA slabs from what I can tell)
• DSI XL Replacement Stylus - This was a waste, only because the person who asked for it told me the wrong Nintendo DS model!

Other random items not from MakerWorld

• Circuit Playground Express (CPX) Mount - A neat little mount for the CPX board
• 3DS XL Stylus - I couldn't find a design for the 3DS on MakerWorld, but I found it on another site and then added it to MakerWorld ( https://makerworld.com/en/models/981153 ).

My own design

• Small box - This was part of a tutorial for doing your own designs using Autodesk Fusion
• Toy plug - The first design I did 100% myself.  I took measurements, designed it in Autodesk Fusion and printed it out.  Worked great!  I posted it on MakerWorld just because I felt it was cool that I did my own design ( https://makerworld.com/en/models/971736 ).

Bottom line: If you are looking for a 3D printer, the Bambu Lab A1 mini is a great product.  It has limitations on item size, but you have to start somewhere.

Homelab - XCP-ng

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have started to play around with things tied to the idea of "homelab" setups.  I am not going to go into detail on what equipment I have, you can check out my other post here ( https://bigboystoys13.blogspot.com/2024/08/my-homelab-equipment.html ) for more information.

One of the cool things about the HP Envy desktop computer that I am using is that you can easily "hide" certain drives via the BIOS.  This makes it to do testing where you want to ensure certain drives can't be impacted.  I decided to setup XCP-ng on my machine, while keeping the Windows OS and Proxmox available.  My earlier post has details on my Proxmox setup.

Here is my approach (my HP Envy has 5 internal drives right now):

• For Windows, I have a 256GB SSD and 1TB HDD.
• For Proxmox, I have a 3TB HDD.
• For XCP-ng, I have 256GB SSD.

Using the BIOS ability to hide certain internal (SATA) drives, I can basically hide the drives not being used.  So when I want to use XCP-ng, I hide the other drives.  While I can't easily swap between the systems (like you can a dual boot setup) it helps ensure I don't mess up one environment while using the another.

I actually tried XCP-ng first (before I decided to start making blog posts about the homelab stuff), then tried Proxmox.  While I am starting to like Proxmox, I decided to give XCP-ng another try.

Out of the box, Proxmox was easier.  You just install and can hit the server directly via a web link.  With TCP-ng you have to install a virtual machine that will act as configuration interface.  I do like that you can find a Windows client for XCP-ng, which I don't think exists for Proxmox.

Once I setup XCP-ng, I setup a VM for an Ubuntu workstation which was pretty easy to do.  After that, I made sure the host itself wasn't using the GPU card and then configured the Ubuntu host to use the GPU card.  I also configured USB passthrough for the keyboard and mouse ( https://docs.xcp-ng.org/compute/#passing-through-keyboards-and-mice has useful info ).

So think of it this way:

• I power up my computer.
• XCP-ng loads
• Ubuntu VM auto-starts
• Ubuntu loads up on the local computer

So basically I would be Ubuntu as a desktop OS, but it is running on XCP-ng which could also have other virtual systems running on it.  Unfortunately I couldn't get Ubuntu working on this setup, and I gave up on trying.  For now I am going to focus on Proxmox.

Pixel 8 Pro vs Pixel 9 Pro - My thoughts

When the Pixel 9 series details came out, I started to read up on the differences on the Pixel 8 Pro and Pixel 9 series, I didn't see enough changes to make me feel like I needed to upgrade.  Don't get me wrong, the Pixel 9 is impressive, but I wanted to be practical and try to stick with doing an upgrade on a two year cycle (my last upgrade was Pixel 6 Pro to Pixel 8 Pro).

I actually had a spare Pixel 8 Pro that I was looking to sell, and decided to trade it in for a Pixel 9 Pro.  I figured it would allow me (and a few family members) to try out the 9 Pro.  If no one liked it, then I could just sell it.  If everyone liked it, then hopefully I'll be allowed to keep it!

So to jump right into it here are the main differences I have noticed between the Pixel 8 Pro (P8P) and Pixel 9 Pro (P9P):

Screen size

The screen is smaller, going from 6.7" (P8P) to 6.3" (P9P).  However in day to day use, it really didn't matter that much.  The smaller screen wasn't an issue, and if I am doing something that really needs a big screen I have other devices.

Battery life.  

This is where I really noticed a difference.  The first week I got it, I fully charged it Wednesday night and other than putting it back on charge for like 10 minutes ( to apply an update) I didn't charge it again and the phone still had life on Friday.  I have the "AccuBattery Pro" app on both of my phones, and here are the full battery estimates (keep in mind the P9P data is just based on a few days):

Device: Pixel 8 Pro // Pixel 9 Pro

Screen on: 15h 54m // 19h 53m

Screen off: 63h 41m// 5d 13h

Combined used: 27h 42m // 42h 48m

So this is definitely an area of improvement, and this alone makes me tempted to keep using the Pixel 9 Pro as my daily driver.

Call Notes

So the Pixel 9 Pro has a "Call notes" feature.  I tested it one time, and here are some key takeaways:

• It does let the other party know the call is being recorded.
• It gives a pretty impressive summary of the call.
• It gives a full transcript with the actual call recording.

I could see this feature being very useful when you take calls, but of course some people will not like having the call recorded.

Bottom line: At first I wasn't going to upgrade but based on the great deals I ended up getting a Pixel 9 Pro XL!

Ledger on Pixel 9 Pro

I recently got a Pixel 9 Pro XL.  I tried to connect my Ledger device ( a Nano S Plus ) to my Pixel, but the screen (on the Ledger) did not turn on.  At first, I assumed that the cable wasn't fully inserted (some cases cause issues) so I removed the case, and then tried another cable.  Nothing worked, so I grabbed my Chromebook Duet to verify the Ledger actually still worked (it did).

So far my testing narrowed the issue down to my Pixel 9 Pro XL.  I actually had access to a Pixel 9 Pro (not XL), and I did a quick test to confirm that it does work on a Pixel 9 Pro.

So bottom line, Ledger (Nano S Plus) with Android 14 (as of 10/1/2024) does not work with Pixel 9 Pro XL, but does work with the Pixel 9 Pro.  It could just be my device, but I saw other people post so I plan to see if I can confirm if they are using a 9 Pro XL.

As a short term fix, if you use a USB-C hub (and connect your Ledger to the hub) it works.  Hopefully someone stumbles across this post so they save the headache of trying to figure out what is wrong.  Also I plan to try to reach Google and open up a bug report.

Update: I submitted a feature request hopefully that works.  Please use the +1 vote option if you have the same issue:

Update 2: Well the issuetracker entry was basically closed, that isn't the right place to submit for Pixel issues.

https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/370708405