NAS Backups¶

Slide supports file-level backups of SMB shares from NAS devices (Synology, QNAP, etc.) and Windows or Linux file servers directly to a Slide Box. NAS backups use the same scheduling, retention, replication, and alerting as image-based agent backups, giving you a single pane of glass for all of your backup data.

How It Works¶

Unlike image-based agent backups, which install a Slide Agent on the protected system and capture a full disk image via VSS, NAS backups connect to a shared folder over SMB and copy files incrementally. No software is installed on the NAS device.

Here's a high-level overview of the process:

You provide the UNC path (e.g. \\nas01\backups) and optional SMB credentials in the Slide Console.
Slide Box connects to the SMB share and verifies connectivity.
On each scheduled backup, Slide Box mounts the share, syncs all files incrementally (only changed files are transferred), and takes a snapshot.
Snapshots are replicated to the Slide Cloud via the same pipeline used for image-based backups.
You can browse and download files from any snapshot using file restore.

Supported Platforms¶

NAS backups support any device or server that exposes an SMB file share (SMBv3). CIFS and Samba are both SMB-compatible — CIFS is an older dialect of SMB, and Samba is the open-source implementation used by Linux and many NAS devices. If your share is accessible via a UNC path (e.g. \\server\share), it will work with Slide.

Platform	Supported
Synology NAS
QNAP NAS
Windows file servers
Linux file servers (Samba)
Other SMB/CIFS-compatible devices

Note

NFS, iSCSI, WebDAV, and SSHFS shares are not supported. Only SMB-compatible shares (including CIFS and Samba) can be backed up.

Requirements¶

The NAS or file server must be reachable from the Slide Box on the local network.
SMBv3 must be enabled on the share.
If the share requires authentication, you'll need valid SMB credentials (username and password).
Guest/anonymous access is supported for shares that allow it.

To start backing up a NAS share, navigate to the Protected Systems page in the Slide Console and click the Protect dropdown, then select NAS Share.

In the dialog that appears, fill in the following fields:

Slide Box: Select the Slide Box that will perform the backups.
Display Name: A friendly name for this NAS share (e.g. "Accounting Files" or "NAS01 - Backups").
UNC Path: The network path to the SMB share, in \\server\share format (e.g. \\nas01\backups or \\192.168.1.100\backups).
SMB Username: The username to authenticate with the share. Leave blank for guest/anonymous access.
SMB Password: The password for the SMB account. Leave blank for guest/anonymous access.
Timezone: The timezone used for backup scheduling. Defaults to your browser's timezone.

When you click Protect NAS Share, Slide will test the SMB connection before creating the NAS agent. If the connection test fails (e.g. incorrect credentials or the share is unreachable), you'll see an error message and can correct the settings.

Once created, the NAS share appears in your Protected Systems list with a folder icon and is always shown as connected (green indicator), since there is no agent software running on the NAS device.

File Restores¶

You can browse and download files from any NAS backup snapshot using the file restore feature in the Slide Console. File restores for NAS backups work the same as they do for image-based backups — select a snapshot, browse the file tree, and download what you need.

Note

NAS file restores are read-only. You can browse and download files, but you cannot push files back to the NAS share. If you need to restore files to the original location, download them and copy them back manually.

Image Exports¶

You can export the disk image backing a NAS snapshot using the image export feature. Image exports produce a downloadable disk image file (VHD, VHDX, VMDK, QCOW2, or Raw) containing all backed-up files with their original NTFS permissions intact. This is useful when you need to preserve file permissions or mount the full backup in a hypervisor or other environment.

See Image Export for details on supported formats and export options.

Settings¶

NAS share settings are available in the Settings tab of the protected system slideout, the same as image-based agents. The following settings are available:

Display Name & Comments¶

Change the display name shown in the Protected Systems list, and add optional comments for your team.

NAS Credentials¶

Update the UNC path, SMB username, or SMB password for the NAS share. When you save updated credentials, Slide will test the connection before applying the changes.

Backup Schedule¶

Configure when backups run. The same options are available as for image-based agents:

Backup Interval: Every 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 3 hours, or 6 hours (default: every hour).
Time Window: The hours during which backups should run (default: 9am–6pm).
Days of the Week: Which days backups should run (default: every day).
Timezone: The timezone used for scheduling.

See Schedule Backups for more details.

Snapshot Retention¶

NAS snapshots follow the same retention policies as image-based agent snapshots. You can choose between Balanced, Comprehensive, and Lean retention policies with a configurable max snapshot age.

See Snapshot Retention for full details on each policy.

Cloud Retention¶

Cloud retention is determined by your service plan and is displayed as read-only, the same as for image-based agents.

Alert Settings¶

Configure which alerts are enabled for this NAS share. See Alerts below for the types of alerts available.

File Search¶

Enable or disable file indexing for NAS snapshots. When enabled, you can search across all backed-up files by name. See File Search for details.

Delete Protected System¶

Deleting a NAS protected system removes all backup data from the Slide Box and the Slide Cloud, including all snapshots and settings. Cloud deletion is delayed by 30 days, the same as image-based agents.

Warning

Deleting a NAS protected system is irreversible. All backup data associated with this share will be permanently removed.

Alerts¶

NAS shares support the following alerts:

Backup Failed: Triggered when a NAS backup fails (e.g. the share is unreachable, credentials are invalid, or there is insufficient storage).
Scheduled backup did not run as planned: Triggered when a scheduled backup did not occur as expected.

Info

NAS shares do not trigger "Agent Not Checking In" alerts, since there is no agent software running on the NAS device.

See Alerting for more information on configuring alert notifications.

FAQ¶

Can I back up NFS, iSCSI, or other non-SMB shares?¶

No. Only SMB-compatible shares (including CIFS and Samba) are supported at this time.

NAS file restores are read-only. You can browse and download files from any snapshot, but you cannot push files back to the share. If you need to restore files to the original location, download them and copy them back manually.

Are file permissions preserved during file restore?¶

NTFS ACLs are captured during backup and can be restored via image exports, but downloading files via file restore does not restore their original permissions.

No. The entire share is backed up on each run. To back up a subset of files, create separate shares on the NAS.

Shares up to 16 TB are supported due to how backup data is stored on the Slide Box. Shares larger than 16 TB cannot be backed up at this time.

The Slide Box is not designed as a NAS device and cannot be used as one for day-to-day storage. That said, it can back up a NAS share — including shares used for Time Machine (Mac backup) data.

In a disaster scenario, the Slide Box can temporarily act as a NAS to maintain business continuity, but this is intended only for the duration of the disaster or disaster recovery testing — not as a permanent solution.