Network Drive Suggestions for Small Office w/ Remote Work

JuryWheel on 13/08/2025 - 11:16

HI All

Bit of a weird one, but the small business i work at are looking to improve our remote work flexibility (im sure many have done the same!) and i have a few q's for some computer/networking specialists.

Currently we have a Synology Nas in the office that stores the vast majority of our work files (mix of word, excel, autocad dwg, pdfs etc) that we can access when in the office due to all the computers being on the same network.

When away from the office, we can use the Synology Quick website via a browser to access the files, but it is very slow and clunky and requires you to download/upload files as you go.

We want a simple cost effective way of accessing the files whilst away and had assumed the two best methods would either be setting up the current system to be accessible remotely (assume using a vpn connection?) so its like im in the office and all the folders are still accessed through windows explorer OR putting everything on the cloud on something like Onedrive/Sharepoint/Dropbox etc. The only thing we would want to avoid is a system that requires you to download the .dwg file locally first before opening, and then uploading it back up once finished with it/changes have been made. A place i worked at previously changed to this system (used to have network drives that you accessed via a vpn, and switched everything over to sharepoint during covid).

Thanks for your help - im sure this is a simple thing, but we're a bit computer slowwww

Computing NAS

Comments

  • JuryWheel on 13/08/2025 - 11:33

    Has anyone used Tailscale on their synology?

    • jdt999 on 13/08/2025 - 11:38

      Tailscale is fantastic on the Synology, and sounds like it would be perfect for you. Synology QuickConnect isn't great security-wise as it makes your NAS partially exposed to bad actors on the internet.

      • JuryWheel on 13/08/2025 - 13:19

        Ive got Tailscale up and running and and seems to be working well so far from my home laptop atm. Any issues/benefits on going with another method….?

        • jdt999 on 13/08/2025 - 14:05

          No that I can think of. Tailscale works well overall, and as you've discovered it's easy to set up. For mobile users, I tend to set them up to access file shares using the Tailscale IP, even when they are local to the server, and let Tailscale running all the time. They don't see any difference if they are local to the office or not.

  • Jimothy Wongingtons on 13/08/2025 - 11:39
    +2

    I use jump rdp for work to remote into my work pc that can access the work server. There is obviously still security concerns you’ll need to assess.

    • Jimothy Wongingtons on 13/08/2025 - 12:03
      +1

      I will say if you’re dealing with people unfamiliar with computers, Google Remote Desktop is a very seamless option to test the waters, I just found there was way more lag with it compared to Jump. Both are free.

  • geekcohen on 13/08/2025 - 11:48

    VPN into the office? That is what I set up and did for our staff during COVID. VPN into the office and then it would have the network drive mapped accordingly.

    You ideally need like a MSP or someone technical to help with any hardware required. Also helps with security so you can disable the Quick Website Access for Synology.

  • Ozbar Gain on 13/08/2025 - 12:21
    +2

    If people are going to access the network using their work computers, VPN is best. It places you right in the office so all the mapped drives will just continue to work.

    If people are going to use their own devices to log into their work PC's like a remote desktop thing then VPN + Remote Desktop is most secure. Failing that you can look at Jump or Google Remote Desktop.

    I prefer option one if they are taking their laptops home to work on

    • JuryWheel on 13/08/2025 - 13:30

      Definitely wanting option 1.

  • jv on 13/08/2025 - 12:21
    -2

    QNAP

    • JuryWheel on 13/08/2025 - 13:31

      Is there a major benefit over Synology?

      • jv on 13/08/2025 - 14:08
        -1

        The user interface…

  • ytthr on 13/08/2025 - 12:35
    +1

    Open VPN on the synology could be an option.

    • JuryWheel on 13/08/2025 - 13:30

      How does this compare to something like Tailscale?

  • jk82 on 13/08/2025 - 12:42

    I saw a post the other day where someone had set up Nextcloud on their home network. I have no idea what it's like or how much it costs on a business license but I was having a look at their product specs on the website and it looks pretty impressive. Could be worth looking into. It's like OneDrive or iCloud but you host it all yourself - but it has the integrations with iOS / Android / Windows etc.

    • Talaii on 13/08/2025 - 13:18
      +1

      As someone who has nextcloud set up on my home network - and loves it - I'm not sure I'd recommend this for a business unless you have someone with the skills to maintain it. It's great, but it's a complicated piece of software, and keeping it all up-to-date and secure can take some work, and even small amounts of downtime in a business context can end up costing you a lot of lost work. If you've got an IT guy who can do that - great! If not, a VPN-based solution is probably a better option.

  • BOGOF on 13/08/2025 - 13:19

    Thought about moving entirely to M365?

  • JuryWheel on 13/08/2025 - 13:20
    +1

    Sorry, I should have mentioned that ideally we would upgrade anyone who is aiming to be able to work from home to a laptop that they would use both at home AND whilst in the office, so things like google remote desktop isnt what we are after (we actually use that sometimes atm).

  • miicah on 13/08/2025 - 16:53
    +1

    I always thought that there was massive issues with autocad files and remote networks?

    I think for the rest of it, I would be moving to 365. Can you afford someone to look after your new VPN setup, troubleshoot people offsite, do backups etc?

    • JuryWheel on 13/08/2025 - 16:59

      Depends on the size - ours are generally small, 2d files so have worked without issue on the current nas.

  • MelbEng on 13/08/2025 - 20:10

    If you haven't already, this video explains your options:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2ck1g3_k3o&t=25s

    • JuryWheel on 13/08/2025 - 20:49

      Thanks for the tip!

  • Bob Svargis on 14/08/2025 - 07:19

    Sharepoint and OneDrive. Setup a document library, no VPN required. You can set it up to sync on each pc so the files are local and it'll take care of file versioning and synching.

    Good for non tech users.

  • topherboi on 14/08/2025 - 07:23

    The only reasonable option here is to move to a cloud-based storage/collaboration solution (M365/Google Workspace).

    More reliable, user-friendly, etc.

  • HulioChavez on 14/08/2025 - 08:21

    Honestly… I would be looking into something more like TwinGate or Netscope. This allows you to setup policies and profiles very easily for you users. Tailscale is good for the home lab but if you are a business and you value your data and reputation, you would go a more business focused solution. Twingate will allow you to setup an account with limited users and deploy a connector for free so you can test it out, it's what i use on my home lab and it works exceptionally well, It is only $5 per user per month so very reasonable .

    TLDR: Tailscale good for home lab - Twingate (or any other zero trust solution) good for business.

  • daft009 on 16/08/2025 - 19:01

    Similar situation at our office. We have setup a VPN on our router

    • JuryWheel on 16/08/2025 - 23:28

      Any idea what program you use on the laptops when connecting to the VPN outside of the office?

      • daft009 on 17/08/2025 - 06:21

        My Asus router running the office can run OpenVPN, wireguard servers on board.

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