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WebDAV vs SFTP vs FTPS for Synology NAS — what I actually use after 18 months

#cloud #networking #software

After 18 months running a DS920+ as my primary file server, I tried all three: WebDAV, SFTP, FTPS. Here's the honest tradeoffs.

WebDAV — what I picked

Pros:

  • Mount as a Windows drive letter (E:) — drag/drop, no separate client
  • macOS Finder mounts WebDAV natively
  • Lightroom/Photoshop/Premiere all see it as a local folder

Cons:

  • Plain HTTP without TLS — credentials sniffable on LAN. Use HTTPS only.
  • macOS Finder's WebDAV client has a 60-second timeout bug on large copies. Workaround: use Cyberduck.
  • Windows Explorer's WebDAV client is poor. Solved with ScsDriver ($5.50 lifetime, 7-day trial) which uses a kernel-level WebDAV driver.

Setup on Synology (DSM 7):

  1. Web Station → enable WebDAV
  2. DSM settings: WebDAV server port 5005/5006 (HTTPS)
  3. Folder permissions per user
  4. Reverse proxy via Cloudflare Tunnel

SFTP — when to reach for it

Use SFTP when:

  • Bulk transfers > 10GB (rsync over SFTP supports resume)
  • Cron jobs / Git over SSH
  • Linux server-to-server file moves
  • Skip SFTP if you need Finder/Explorer integration

What I actually run

/volume1/photos (50K photos, Lightroom catalog) over WebDAV via ScsDriver:

  • macOS: WebDAV in Finder → /Volumes/Photos
  • Windows: WebDAV via ScsDriver → E:\ drive
  • iPad: native Files app
  • iPhone: Synology Photos mobile app

/volume1/docker/ over SSH:

  • Edit in VS Code via Remote-SSH plugin
  • vim/jq/cat over SSH for quick edits

Latency reality check

Across continents (~150ms RTT), WebDAV via ScsDriver handles 4K video edits (200MB clips) with occasional 100-300ms stalls.

Decision tree

Need Protocol Why
Mount as drive letter on Windows WebDAV via ScsDriver no Explorer WebDAV bug
Finder integration on macOS WebDAV native
Bulk backup (5+ GB) SFTP rsync resume
Cron / Git SFTP tooling prefers SSH
Legacy system integration FTPS required by old code

Costs

Synology NAS (DS920+ used): ~$400
WD Red 4TB × 2: ~$300
ScsDriver: $5.50 lifetime (no monthly, no subscription)
Total first year: $705 — vs $36/yr for 200GB iCloud × decades.

Final takeaway

For browsing/editing your Synology from Windows/Mac, WebDAV with a real driver beats SFTP. For server automation, SFTP beats WebDAV. They're complements.

Questions? Happy to compare notes on tunnel/Cloudflare/SMB setups.

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