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NinjaOne Backup — NAS Setup & Best Practices for DTC Sites

Audience: T2 Use when: Setting up NinjaOne backup at a new site, auditing an existing site's NAS configuration, or troubleshooting recurring NAS-related backup errors.

This page documents the DTC-standard NAS configuration for NinjaOne backup and the most common configuration mistakes.

DTC Standard NAS Configuration for NinjaOne Backup

Setting Value
NAS make Synology (primary) or QNAP
Share name backups
Subfolder ninjaone
Full UNC path \\NAS-HOSTNAME\backups\ninjaone
Service account dtcbackup
Account type Local NAS user (not domain account, not NAS admin)
Permissions Read/Write on backups share and ninjaone subfolder only
NAS recycle bin Disabled on the backups share
HDD hibernation Disabled or set to 30+ minutes
RAID RAID 1 (mirroring) at minimum

Synology DSM — Step-by-Step Setup

1. Create the dtcbackup user: Control Panel → User & Group → Create

  • Username: dtcbackup
  • Password: generate strong password per DTC credential standard — store in IT Glue
  • Do NOT assign to administrators group
  • Deny access to all applications

2. Create/verify the backups share: Control Panel → Shared Folder → Create (if not present)

  • Name: backups
  • Enable recycle bin: No — must be unchecked

3. Set permissions on the backups share: Control Panel → Shared Folder → backups → Edit → Permissions

  • dtcbackup: Read/Write
  • Administrators: Read/Write
  • Everyone or guest: No access

4. Create the ninjaone subfolder: File Station → backups → New Folder → ninjaone Permissions inherit from share — dtcbackup should have R/W automatically.

5. Disable HDD hibernation: Control Panel → Hardware & Power → HDD Hibernation → disable

6. Verify SMBv2/v3 is enabled: Control Panel → File Services → SMB → ensure SMB2 and SMB3 are enabled

QNAP QTS — Step-by-Step Setup

1. Create the dtcbackup user: Control Panel → Privilege → Users → Create

  • Username: dtcbackup, strong password stored in IT Glue
  • Not administrator

2. Create/verify the backups shared folder: Shared Folders → Create → Name: backups

  • Recycle Bin: Disabled

3. Set permissions: Shared Folders → backups → Edit → Shared Folder Permissions

  • dtcbackup: Read/Write
  • Admin: Read/Write

4. Create the ninjaone subfolder: File Station → backups → Create Folder → ninjaone

5. Disable HDD standby: Control Panel → Power → Hard Disk Standby → Disable

Configuring the Storage Location in NinjaOne

After the NAS is set up:

  1. NinjaOne → Administration → Organizations → [client org] → Backup → Storage Locations → + Add
  2. Path: \\NAS-HOSTNAME\backups\ninjaone
  3. Credentials: dtcbackup username and the password from IT Glue
  4. Save
  5. Set as the org/location default, or assign per-device — see below

Overriding the Storage Location on a Specific Device

Use this when a device must back up to a NAS other than its location/org default — e.g. a server at a site that has its own local NAS while the rest of the org points elsewhere, or a site with multiple NAS paths.

  1. Confirm the target storage location already exists at org level (see the section above). The device-level dropdown only lists locations already defined for the org.
  2. NinjaOne → open the device dashboard → Settings tab → Apps.
  3. On the NinjaOne Backup tile, click Edit.
  4. Under Network storage, select the desired location from the dropdown (e.g. QNAP Columbia).
  5. Click Update.

The Network storage field will then show an Overridden badge on both the edit dialog and the Apps summary. To revert to the inherited org/location default, hover the Overridden label and click Revert.

Note: This is a per-device override — it does not live in the backup plan. The backup plan controls schedule, retention, and destination type (Local/Cloud/Hybrid); the Network storage field controls which NAS the local leg writes to. This is the setting to use whenever a location has multiple NAS paths or a device's correct NAS differs from the default.

Most Common NAS Configuration Mistakes

Mistake Impact Fix
NAS recycle bin enabled on backup share Error 344/345 — old revisions fill up recycle bin Disable recycle bin on backups share
Using NAS admin account instead of dtcbackup Security risk; password rotations cause Error 315 Create and use dtcbackup dedicated account
HDD hibernation enabled Error 319 / Error 121 — NAS times out on job start Disable HDD hibernation
dtcbackup account has admin rights on NAS Security risk — over-privileged backup account Remove from admin group, grant share-only permissions
ninjaone subfolder doesn't exist Error 312 Create the subfolder
UNC path uses IP instead of hostname Works but breaks if IP changes Use hostname with DHCP reservation
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