🔍 Read the full analysis: How Our 6-Bay UGREEN NASync DXP6800 Pro Will Support AI on ThorstenMeyerAI.com
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TL;DR
ThorstenMeyerAI.com says it bought a six-bay UGREEN NASync DXP6800 Pro after duplicate cloud-sync files nearly filled its database server. The NAS has been delivered with four hard drives and an NVMe SSD, but it is not yet connected or configured; the planned AI and backup uses remain untested.
ThorstenMeyerAI.com has bought a six-bay UGREEN NASync DXP6800 Pro to support local backups and planned AI and publishing workloads after duplicate files in an iCloud sync folder left a database server with 2% free disk space. The NAS has been delivered with four 16 TB hard drives and an NVMe SSD, but the site says it is not yet connected or configured, so its planned uses and safeguards have not been tested.
Thorsten Meyer, writing on November 1, said two machines had uploaded database dumps with the same filename to an iCloud folder. The service produced 29 conflict copies, which contributed to the server running low on space on September 17. A separate backup-management timeout on October 29 affected cleanup of old dump copies, according to the account. Meyer says the backup data itself was intact; the difficulty was managing the synced copies.
The planned storage layout uses four Seagate IronWolf Pro 16 TB drives in RAID 6, which Meyer estimates would provide about 32 TB of usable capacity and tolerate the failure of two drives. A separate NVMe SSD pool is intended for containers and test databases. The NAS has six SATA bays, leaving two unused; filling all six with 16 TB drives in the same RAID configuration would provide about 64 TB usable, according to the article’s calculation.
Meyer says the NAS was bought with personal funds, without UGREEN sponsorship or a review sample. The article describes the setup as a plan, not a completed deployment or product review. The site reports its current storage needs as roughly 6 to 8 TB for backups, based on its own measurements of several Macs used for a publishing database, local AI models and content workflows.
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.
Powered by Thorsten Meyer AI
Local Storage for AI Operations
The purchase reflects a practical issue for small AI and publishing operations: storage reliability can affect the systems that run models and databases, even when the total data volume is modest. Meyer says the main database server has experienced recurring kernel panics since August, including an incident that caused about two hours and 15 minutes of downtime. A NAS cannot prevent a computer crash, but a local copy could make restoration faster than retrieving hundreds of gigabytes over an internet connection.
The proposed design also separates different needs. Large backups would go to spinning hard drives, while the SSD pool is planned for containers and test databases. The site says heavy disk activity would be scheduled overnight to reduce office noise. These are intended operating choices, not verified performance results; the NAS has not yet run on the network.
The plan matters to readers weighing local storage against cloud services because it treats the NAS as one layer rather than a replacement for offsite copies. Meyer proposes combining local backups with snapshots and an encrypted offsite copy. That approach is intended to limit the effect of accidental deletion, sync errors or device failure, although its effectiveness depends on the planned controls working as intended.
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From Sync Errors to NAS Purchase
The immediate trigger was an iCloud folder used to hold database dumps. Meyer says that on September 17, conflicting filenames led to repeated copies and left the database server nearly full. On October 29, a scheduled job also timed out while trying to delete older copies during a period of heavy iCloud activity. The incidents led Meyer to stop treating a synchronization service as a complete backup system.
The operation consists of several Macs, including one running a Postgres database, another serving local AI models, and others used for content pipelines and testing. In measurements taken October 6, Meyer reports about 2.6 TB on the main desk machine, 744 GB on the database server and 3.2 TB on the model server. Some model files can be downloaded again, so the stated backup requirement is lower than the fleet’s total stored data.
Meyer chose the six-bay DXP6800 Pro over a cheaper four-bay model, citing room to add drives without replacing the existing ones. The source lists UGREEN specifications including an Intel Core i5-1235U processor, two 10GbE ports, two M.2 slots and 8 GB of DDR5 memory expandable to 64 GB. Those are manufacturer specifications; the article does not report independent tests of the unit.
“That was the day I stopped treating a sync service as a backup.”
— Thorsten Meyer, ThorstenMeyerAI.com
Deployment Tests Still Pending
The NAS is not on the network, and its two acceptance tests have not been run. Those tests are meant to check whether Macs can back up through non-admin accounts and whether snapshots remain inaccessible to those accounts. Until they pass, the planned arrangement cannot be treated as operational or as protection against data loss.
The site has not reported real-world transfer speeds, noise levels, power use, restore times or performance when running containers and databases. It also remains unclear whether the proposed RAID layout and backup schedule will work as intended after setup. Meyer says the current backups remain on local Time Machine disks and in an iCloud copy of the nightly database dump.
The proposed offsite layer is an encrypted restic copy to Backblaze B2 with Object Lock against deletion. That, too, is a plan rather than a tested result. The article says the system will not expose remote access to the internet, give AI agents administrator credentials or use UGREEN’s cloud mirror as its offsite backup. Whether those choices meet the operation’s recovery needs will depend on testing and ongoing maintenance.
Acceptance Tests Before Rollout
Meyer says setup will begin with the two acceptance tests: Time Machine backups using a non-admin account and snapshots that the account cannot see or delete. If either test fails, the NAS will be returned. If both pass, the stated plan is to configure the RAID 6 storage pool, create the separate SSD pool and add the offsite backup layer.
The site says it will report results after the NAS is running. That follow-up should establish whether the device speeds up restores, keeps the planned accounts and snapshots separate, and supports the intended AI and publishing workflows. Until then, the confirmed development is the purchase and delivery of the hardware, not a proven change to the operation’s backup reliability.
Key Questions
What happened with the iCloud backups?
Meyer says two machines uploaded database dumps with the same filename to one iCloud folder. The resulting 29 conflict copies helped leave the database server with 2% free space on September 17. A later cleanup job timed out while trying to remove older copies.
Is the UGREEN NAS already backing up the Macs?
No. The NAS has been delivered and equipped, but it is not yet connected or configured. The existing backups still use Time Machine disks on two Macs and an iCloud copy of the nightly database dump.
How much storage is planned?
The initial plan is four 16 TB hard drives in RAID 6, estimated by the site at about 32 TB usable capacity. Two drive bays would remain free, and a separate NVMe SSD is planned for containers and test databases.
What will the NAS do for AI work?
The plan is to use the NAS for local backups and to move test databases and containers off a work laptop. The source does not say that AI models will be moved onto the NAS, and it reports no performance tests or completed setup.
What happens if the acceptance tests fail?
Meyer says the NAS will be returned if either of the two planned tests fails. The tests cover Time Machine backups through a non-admin account and snapshots that the account cannot access or delete.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
