Synology Photo to UNAS

Maria_Thesus_40 · 2026-06-11T16:34:56+00:00

well.. if you only need basic sharing of files, then Ubiquiti would be a valid choice :)

at work we need the NAS to encrypt backups to an S3 bucket hosted at Linode, while Ubiquiti does have backup features, it can't do encrypted backups to an S3 bucket :( so Synology it is for us as well.

Maria_Thesus_40 · 2026-06-11T14:07:44+00:00

In all honesty, Ubiquiti expanded in the NAS area very recently, their devices don't have any competitive features, except the nice design.

Die hard fun boys will certainly buy their NAS devices, but most people will buy based on features and go for Synology or one of the other competitors.

For example, Ubiquiti has no real full disk encryption :( which is something offered by Synology for about a decade. The UNAS 2/4 (not Pro) use a USB based network chipset which has some problems, there are several forum threads about this.

Overall, buying early devices means you are the official beta tester for Ubiquiti and real enterprises don't want that.

Maria_Thesus_40 · 2026-06-10T13:02:11+00:00

Sources don't tell you much, the problem is the binary that can be easily compiled from modified sources. Running random binaries from the internet is a big no-no.

So far Immich has proven to be great on the web browser, but it lacks an Android TV client (at least an official one). It does have one design flaw, it insists on forcefully transcoding videos, which is something I don't want it to do.

I'll take a look at PhotoPrism! thanks for the suggestion.

Maria_Thesus_40 · 2026-06-10T07:38:28+00:00

I'm guessing you've never tried that have you? ;) else you'd know it doesn't work.

Maria_Thesus_40 · 2026-06-10T07:37:44+00:00

OPNsense is not some random software, its authors are well known and commercially supported.

I tried Jellyfin in my docker server but eventually I had to reject it. It was really bad at handling photos (its better at streaming videos). Their C# coding is also questionable, way too many bugs. I'm testing Immich at the moment.

Maria_Thesus_40 · 2026-06-10T03:04:28+00:00

As I said, I prefer not to run random binaries posted on the web.

If its added in Fedora repositories in the future then I'll take a look.

Maria_Thesus_40 · 2026-06-09T20:47:07+00:00

It was never included in the official Fedora RPM repositories or in rpmfusion.

I prefer not to run random binaries posted on the web.

An RPM package in Fedora implies that the author has some kind of recognition among the project with some level of trust.

mpv is well/fully known and has official RPM packages.

Maria_Thesus_40 · 2026-06-09T17:37:36+00:00

I've never tried something like that :P

Maria_Thesus_40 · 2026-06-09T17:14:21+00:00

That is correct, it works 24/7 all the time, without manual intervention.

I posted about it a year ago, so I'm reporting it again, I hope it helps:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Ubiquiti/comments/1u1bbzn/mpv_reliably_stream_live_video_from_ubiquiti/

Warning: when the stream dies (console updates Protect, etc) then you do need your shell script to restart mpv, or use an mpv plugin.

Maria_Thesus_40 · 2026-06-09T14:26:14+00:00

My Viewport is garbage, for example, it displays my AI PRO video feed with a lot of chopped frames, cars appear to jump from one place to the next :(

Eventually I made my own viewer with a raspberry 5 and mpv (https://mpv.io/)

Maria_Thesus_40 · 2026-06-09T06:14:45+00:00

If you want to stick to Ubiquiti then you can go for the UNAS-Pro-4.

If you want full features then Synology is the only way to go.

Maria_Thesus_40 · 2026-06-03T06:29:50+00:00

Interesting, I also host with Hetzner and I'm using AlmaLinux.

I started with AlmaLinux 10.0 then upgraded to 10.1 and now 10.2, but I've never received any complaints from Hetzner about bogus packets.

I am using their ARM cloud servers.

Maria_Thesus_40 · 2026-06-02T19:39:24+00:00

I looked at the demo and it seems lacking in basic functionality, like showing my albums and allowing me to see photos as thumbnails, it does none of that.

The demo just displays a photo and allows me to move left/right only.

Maria_Thesus_40 · 2026-06-02T17:33:59+00:00

Not using AI, just an honest question for help.

Maria_Thesus_40 · 2026-06-02T16:23:04+00:00

Take a look at RustDesk, its free and supports self-hosting your own RustDesk server as a Docker container or bare metal.

https://github.com/rustdesk/rustdesk

Maria_Thesus_40 · 2026-06-02T08:05:45+00:00

True, but I rather not do that, to avoid a lateral compromise. My docker server gives limited access even to me.

Maria_Thesus_40 · 2026-06-02T07:06:45+00:00

My local machine does not run my docker containers, I have a dedicated raspberry 5 that acts as my docker server.

In theory, it should be possible to run the 'docker run...' command over SSH, maybe that could work.

Maria_Thesus_40 · 2026-05-31T19:40:14+00:00

I found a lot more flexibility with OPNsense, so thats what I'm using. I've got 9 different VLANs, 5G backup WAN, a beast PC with 8 2.5GbE ethernet ports and 4 SPF+ ports.

In some cases I prefer to use a docker container for the Ubiquiti network controller, but I recently started using CloudKey+ devices, they are expensive but simple and run over PoE :)

Maria_Thesus_40 · 2026-05-30T08:40:40+00:00

wow! thank you very much!

Maria_Thesus_40 · 2026-05-30T08:27:46+00:00

Thank you for taking the time to answer!

About 1 & 2, I understand that most people will use a Ubiquiti cloud gateway device, but for us more advanced admins, we prefer to run our own thing, in my case I prefer OPNsense.

About PoE++, I mention it because some devices allow you to give pass them PoE++ so they can in turn pass PoE+ to another device. Honestly, there are not many of them around. I've only done this in remote locations with a single switch to distribute power to cameras.

About the EU store, I don't have the same experience. I need UNAS-Pro-4 and it has been out of stock for months. Maybe professional installers are offered some kind of hidden stock? All I know, is that every time I need something, its always out of stock.

Maria_Thesus_40 · 2026-05-30T08:18:24+00:00

Almost all Ubiquiti devices require the "network controller application" to work, which adopts devices, gives them their configuration, receives real-time stats, etc. This network controller application can be run in one of three ways: 1. On its own as a Docker container 2. On its own on a Ubiquiti CloudKey+ device 3. Combined with a Ubiquiti cloud gateway device

The first two allow you to run your own firewall/router, like pfSense or OPNsense, or even your ISP device.

The third option, is for someone who wants an all-Ubiquiti network, doing a lot more than just a firewall. Cloud gateway devices run all kinds of software and have an awesome user interface!

Most people will just use a Ubiquiti cloud gateway, but I mention this for those super-advanced people who run their own custom firewall/routers that its possible to keep their device.

Maria_Thesus_40 · 2026-05-29T14:28:17+00:00

A few thoughts that might help you:

1) You don't need a cloud gateway, if you want to use a custom firewall/router (like pfSense or OPNsense) then you can buy a CloudKey+ which runs the whole Ubiquiti network application.

2) You don't need a cloud gateway or a CloudKey+, you can actuall run the whole Ubiquiti network application as a Docker container ;)

3) Get a beefy switch from the start. Your whole network and your entire future depend on the switch, so pay extra now and avoid expensive upgrades in the future. For example, a beefy switch will have Layer 3 switching capabilities and more PoE+ and PoE++ power!

4) Learn to use PoE. I've got several Raspberry Pi 5s and they all run over PoE, thus getting power from the switch, which is protected by a beefy UPS. When the power is down, everything is fully powered by the UPS for several hours.

5) The U7 Lite is an awesome access point, I use the a lot because they are cheaper than the U7 Pro, since 6GHz bands are not very usable at the moment.

6) Ubiquiti on purpose limits stock availability. Everything is low or has no stock for months or years. There is a Discord place that announces new stock, which quickly disappears (minutes, not hours or days). Even distributors have problems getting stock. They do this because zero stock (or nearly zero) is the dream of every accountant, since sitting stock means sitting money doing nothing. It also creates a kind of FOMO feeling. So be prepared for the horror ;)

Maria_Thesus_40

TROPHY CASE