Hello, I am looking for a good and stable solution where to store my Photos library. Since the library size is growing and growing I would like to store it outside my MacBook. I discovered that Photos rely on the file system to work fine so it's mandatory to use HFS+ formatted disks but unfortunately it's not that easy to find an home-NAS working with HFS+ fs. Do you have any solution to suggest?
Thank you.
MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2016), macOS High Sierra (10.13.4)
The Photos Library must not be on a NAS at all. Use a locally mounted drive that you plug into the Mac.
See: Move your Photos library to save space on your Mac - Apple Support
Apple doesn't recommend storing photo libraries on external storage devices like SD cards and USB flash drives, or drives that are shared on a network.
You can't store your library on a disk that's used for Time Machine backups.
You are risking data loss, if you access the Photos library over a network.
The Photos Library must not be on a NAS at all. Use a locally mounted drive that you plug into the Mac.
See: Move your Photos library to save space on your Mac - Apple Support
Apple doesn't recommend storing photo libraries on external storage devices like SD cards and USB flash drives, or drives that are shared on a network.
You can't store your library on a disk that's used for Time Machine backups.
You are risking data loss, if you access the Photos library over a network.
There is no NAS solution as the Photos library can only be on a properly formatted local hard drive connected with a fast wired connection - Where is it safe to store a Photos Library? Requirements for the external drive
LN
You can include your external drives into a Time Machine backup, yes. You just have to remove the external drives from the Time Machine exclude list.
I have never tested Time Machine with a NAS however. My macBook Pros are biking up to a Time Capsule. Some manufacturer's of NAS claim, that Time Machine is supported. But you better ask this in the System forums ( macOS High Sierra ).
Can I backup an USB disk connected to my MacBook to Time Machine on a NAS?
I don't get how to remove the exclusion of my usb disk from Time Machine preferences. The disk name is grayed out and I cannot select to click on "-".
Ok, I made it work. The external usb disk has to be formatted with hfs journaled. It's a shame that Photos can't work properly on a NAS: it's not uncommon anymore that people have one at their home.
Photos app and NAS
