My setup is unusual. Ten NAS units, three sites, twelve years of volumes. Each holds different media: 4K movies on NAS-1, FLAC audio on NAS-2, RAW photos on NAS-3, project archives on NAS-4, and so on.
For years I synced between them. Stop syncing. Mount them all.
What changed
I used to copy files between NASes — let me tell you, this never works:
- Copy a 500 GB project from NAS-1 to NAS-4 for backup
- A few months later, change something on NAS-1, forget which is the truth
- Disk fills up because I have two copies
- Disaster: which copy do I trust?
Now I mount every NAS as its own drive letter. Files live where they live. No sync, no duplication, no confusion.
The mount table
S:\movies → NAS-1 (Synology DS920+)
T:lac → NAS-2 (QNAP TS-453D)
U:
aw-photos → NAS-3 (custom TrueNAS)
V:\work-data → NAS-4 (WD My Cloud)
W:rchive-2020 → NAS-5 (Buffalo TeraStation)
X:rchive-2021 → NAS-6
Y:rchive-2022 → NAS-7
Z:rchive-2023 → NAS-8
M:\media-old → NAS-9 (old 2018 QNAP)
N:\cold → NAS-10 (offsite backup, tunneled home)
Each is mounted with ScsDriver. Each WebDAV URL points to a different NAS. From Windows' perspective, it's ten drive letters.
Tool comparison
For ten mounts, the tool has to be rock solid. Some tools can't handle more than 3-4 mounts:
| Tool | Max stable mounts | Price | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windows built-in WebClient | 1-2 (each subsequent mounts breaks the previous) | Free | ❌ Broken at 3 |
| NetDrive | 4 (license-locked) | $99/yr | ❌ Need to buy 3 licenses |
| RaiDrive | 8 (pro plan) | $69.99/yr | ⚠️ Premium plan needed |
| Cyberduck | Unlimited (one connection at a time) | Free | ⚠️ Manual mount each |
| ScsDriver | Unlimited (multiple concurrent sessions) | $9.99/yr | ✅ All 10 stable |
I tested each for a week. ScsDriver is the only one that handles 10 concurrent mounts without issue.
Performance
Drives are accessed in parallel (different apps open different drives). ScsDriver handles 10 concurrent connections:
| Drive | Read (MB/s) | Latency (ms) |
|---|---|---|
| S:\ | 110 | 5 |
| T:\ | 95 | 8 |
| U:\ | 100 | 6 |
| W:\ | 88 | 12 (older hardware) |
| N:\ (tunneled) | 45 | 38 (over WireGuard) |
All 10 at once? No problem. Plex reads from S:, Lightroom reads from U:, Backblaze sync reads from V:, all simultaneously.
Why ScsDriver specifically
Three things made me pick ScsDriver:
- Unlimited concurrent mounts — no license tier for 10 mounts. Other tools either limit you or want more money.
- Kernel-level driver — no WebClient middleware. WebClient falls apart at 3+ mounts (the WinHTTP service queues all requests on a single connection).
- 24/7 stability — I've had all 10 mounted continuously. Zero disconnects after 30 days. RaiDrive and Cyberduck both dropped drives 4-6 within the first week.
Cold storage via NuLink
NAS-10 is at my mom's house, 80 km away. WireGuard tunnel back to my main site:
[S:] ─┐
[T:] ─┤ ScsDriver
[U:] ─┤ │
[V:] ─┘ │
[N:] ─── WireGuard ─── NAS-10
Reading N:\ is slow (38ms latency over the tunnel) but it's only accessed for cold backups, so the latency doesn't matter.
Cost
- 10 NASes: existing, no recurring
- ScsDriver: $9.99/yr (single license, all 10 mounts)
- WireGuard tunnel: free (Linux router, fiber)
- Power: ~$200/yr (10 NASes, low-power units)
Total new cost: $9.99/yr. Cheap.
What I'd change
10 is too many. I should consolidate down to 3:
- NAS-A: hot media (movies, audio, photos)
- NAS-B: work data (projects, archives)
- NAS-C: cold backup (offsite via tunnel)
But until I migrate, ScsDriver keeps the current setup running.
Reference
- ScsDriver: https://drive.scsoi.com/ (7-day trial, $9.99/yr)
- WireGuard: https://www.wireguard.com/
If you have multiple NASes, stop syncing, start mounting. One drive letter per NAS. Files live where they live.
Top comments (0)