QNAP · Egypt
Storage is easy. Getting the data back is the job.
QNAP NAS as shared storage and as a backup target, specified, deployed, hardened and monitored, with restores tested rather than assumed.
Where QNAP fits
Backup target
On-site repository for server and endpoint backup, sized to your retention policy and paired with an off-site or cloud copy.
Shared storage
Departmental file storage with proper permissions, quotas and snapshot protection.
Surveillance storage
Retention for camera estates, sized against channel count, resolution and how long the footage actually has to be kept.
How we deploy it
Sized against retentionCapacity calculated from your real retention requirement and growth rate, not from the largest number in the budget.
Snapshots and immutabilityConfigured so a ransomware event on a server cannot quietly delete the only copy of the backups.
Hardened, not defaultDefault accounts removed, admin interfaces off the open internet, firmware kept current. A NAS reachable from the internet on factory settings is a breach waiting for a date.
Restores testedA backup that has never been restored is a hypothesis. We test it and we tell you the result.
What we actually configure on a QNAP
A NAS is the easiest thing in the estate to buy and the easiest to get wrong. The two failures we are called in for are always the same: a unit reachable from the internet on close to factory settings, and a RAID choice that cannot survive the rebuild it will eventually have to do. Both are decisions made in the first hour of the deployment.
Capacity, RAID and the rebuild nobody plans for
RAID chosen for the drive sizeWith today’s high-capacity drives, a single-parity rebuild takes days and stresses every remaining disk in the array, which is precisely when a second one fails. For anything large we specify double parity or mirroring, and we explain the usable-capacity cost before you sign for it.
Hot spare and drive sourcingA spare in the chassis so a rebuild starts immediately, and drives from more than one batch so they do not reach end of life together.
Usable versus rawCapacity quoted after parity, formatting and the free space snapshots need. Sizing from the number on the box is how a NAS is full within a year.
Sized against real retentionCapacity calculated from your actual retention requirement and measured growth rate. For surveillance, from channel count, resolution, frame rate and how long footage genuinely has to be kept, not from the largest number the budget allowed.
Cache and tiering, only where it helpsSSD caching benefits some workloads and does nothing for sequential backup writes. We will tell you when it is not worth buying.
Snapshots and immutability
Snapshot schedule and retentionFrequent enough to be useful and retained long enough to cover a slow-burning problem, the file corrupted three weeks ago that nobody noticed until month end.
Locked and immutable snapshotsRetention enforced so a snapshot cannot be deleted before it expires, even by an administrator account. This is what makes the difference during a ransomware event, when the attacker deliberately goes looking for the copies.
Snapshot replication to a second unitSnapshots replicated off the primary NAS, so the protection survives the loss of the box itself.
Snapshots are not the backupThey live on the same storage as the data. They cover deletion and corruption. They do not cover fire, theft, or the array failing.
Hardening, the part that decides whether you make the news
Not exposed to the internetNo port forwarding to the admin interface, UPnP disabled, and remote access through a VPN or a controlled gateway instead. The large-scale QNAP ransomware campaigns of recent years worked almost entirely against internet-facing units. This single decision is the whole control.
Default accounts removedThe built-in administrator account disabled, named accounts instead, and management moved off the default ports.
Two-step verification and access rulesMFA on administrative logins, connection restrictions by network, and automatic blocking after failed attempts.
Firmware and applications kept currentA patch rhythm for the operating system and for the installed apps. Most QNAP compromises exploited vulnerabilities that had already been patched, the units that fell were the ones nobody updated.
Unused services switched offLegacy SMB versions, unused protocols and the apps installed by default and never used, all removed. Every service left running is an entry point somebody has to keep watching.
Access, permissions and integration
Domain joinedActive Directory or LDAP integration so permissions follow the user’s existing account and a leaver loses access everywhere at once, rather than a local user list that nobody maintains.
Permissions designed, then documentedGroup-based access with a structure that matches the business, quotas per department, and no shares left open to everyone because it was quicker on the day.
Backup repository roleWhere the NAS is a backup target, it is configured as a proper repository with its own credentials. Separate from the domain, so compromising the directory does not hand over the backups.
Second copy designed alongside itReplication to a second site or to cloud object storage, so the on-site copy is never the only copy. We build this with Veeam where that fits.
Keeping it alive
| Control | What it prevents |
|---|---|
| SMART and disk health monitoring, alerting to us | A failed drive sitting unnoticed for weeks until the second one goes and the array is gone. |
| Capacity trending | A full volume stopping the backup jobs silently, usually discovered during the restore you needed. |
| UPS integration and graceful shutdown | Filesystem damage from an abrupt power loss. In Egypt this is not a theoretical risk. |
| Scheduled restore tests | Discovering that the repository has been writing unusable data for months. A backup that has never been restored is a hypothesis. |
| Documented build and recovery steps | An unrecoverable configuration when the unit itself has to be replaced. |
A NAS on its own is not a backup strategy. If the only copy of your data sits in the same building as the servers, a fire, a flood or a determined attacker takes both.
We will design the second copy alongside it, using Veeam and cloud storage where that fits.
Tell us what you need to keep and for how long
That determines the capacity, the retention and the second copy. We will size it and tell you what it costs to run.
Book the free assessment02 35375791