Which External HDD File Systems to use for Hyper Backup with my DS918+, but have it still be accessible to my Mac?

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jiwel
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Joined: 01 Nov 2022, 17:38

Which External HDD File Systems to use for Hyper Backup with my DS918+, but have it still be accessible to my Mac?

Post by jiwel »

Hi all -

I am hoping to use your help to decide on which file system that I should format my external hard drive (WD My Book 4TB) to be used as a backup for my DS918+ via Hyper Backup. I am also fully aware of the consequences of using an external drive as backup and its vulnerability to bit rot, but this is just one of three copies that I will have in my 3-2-1 setup just in case the drive fails.

One key requirement for this file system is that it must readable in my Mac via Hyper Backup explorer.

Based on what I've read so far, I came up with some options:

Option 1 - EXT4

I'll mount my External Drive in DSM and format it to EXT4

Based on people's experiences, EXT4 seems like a reliable option to go with since it's a Linux format that works well with Synology

The downside: It requires a third-party program (extFS by Paragon) to mount the drive in my Mac and read the files via Hyper Backup explorer

Option 2 - HFS+

Apparently, I can read/write HFS+ with my DS918+, but I haven't read any people experiences in using this file system format for Hyper Backup (Maybe someone can confirm?)

It has journaled enabled and from what I've read, journaling must turnt off for use. I know in Mac you cannot disable journaling in the Disk Utility, but you can use a command line to disable journaling (which I prefer not to do since I'm not well versed in that area and afraid of bricking my external hard drive)

Option 3 - exFAT

But from what I've read that it's limited 16GB file size so I'm thinking this will won't work in my case since the backup file (*.hbk) will exceed that limit

The downside: this requires a exFAT package purchase in DSM for the external drive with exFAT to be accessible.

So, out of the three options, I think EXT4 is the best option for reliability and secure backup for my NAS. But I do like the convenience (if it can work) of HFS+ to use a Hyper Backup.

What are your thoughts? I appreciate any help. Thanks!
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