How to back up your QNAP NAS with Sync WebDAV

Sync WebDAV for Linux can be used with Hybrid Backup Sync (HBS 3) on a QNAP NAS.

With this setup, the Sync WebDAV server runs directly on the QNAP NAS. HBS 3 connects to Sync WebDAV locally, while Sync WebDAV handles the connection to your Sync account and preserves end-to-end encryption.

You can use this configuration to:

  • Back up your QNAP NAS to Sync for an off-site cloud backup.
  • Copy files from your Sync account to your QNAP NAS for a local backup.

Before you begin, you'll need:

  • A QNAP NAS with HBS 3 (Hybrid Backup Sync) installed.
  • SSH access to the NAS.
  • A Sync account with WebDAV Early Access enabled.  Join the early access program.

Installing the Sync WebDAV server on your QNAP NAS

  1. Enable SSH access
    In QTS or QuTS hero, open Control Panel → Network & File Services → Telnet / SSH and enable Allow SSH connection. Click Apply.
    QNAP restricts SSH access to administrator accounts.
  2. SSH to your QNAP NAS
    From a computer on the same network, open Terminal and connect to your NAS:
    ssh admin_username@nas_ip_address
    (You can find your NAS IP address Control Panel → Network & Virtual Switch → Interfaces)
  3. Install and run Sync WebDAV on the NAS
    Follow these step-by-step instructions

The goal is to install Sync WebDAV directly on the NAS and run it in --headless mode. While testing, keep your Terminal window open. Once everything is working, run Sync WebDAV in --daemon mode so it continues running in the background and you can close Terminal and disable SSH.

Connecting HBS 3 to Sync

First, create a WebDAV storage space in HBS 3.

  1. Open HBS 3.
  2. Go to Storage Spaces.
  3. Click Create.
  4. Select WebDAV.
  5. Enter:
    Name: Sync
    Server URL: http://127.0.0.1:4918/
    User ID: Your Sync email address
    Password: Your Sync password
    Leave proxy and SSL certificate options disabled.
  6. Click Create.

HBS 3 should now be able to access your Sync files through the locally running Sync WebDAV server.

Backing up your QNAP NAS to Sync

To create a traditional QNAP backup:

  1. Open HBS 3 → Backup & Restore.
  2. Click Back Up Now → New backup job.
  3. Select the folders on your QNAP NAS that you want to back up.
  4. Select your Sync WebDAV storage space as the destination.
  5. Choose the destination folder in Sync.
  6. Configure your backup schedule and other backup rules.
  7. Review the job and click Create.

You can then run the backup immediately or allow HBS 3 to run it automatically according to your schedule.

Backup vs. one-way sync

HBS 3 backup jobs use QNAP's backup system and are intended to be restored through HBS. If you would rather have the files copied to Sync as regular files and folders, create a One-way Sync Job instead:

  1. Navigate to HBS 3 → Sync → Sync Now → One-way Sync Job
  2. Select your QNAP NAS as the source and the Sync WebDAV storage space as the destination.

Backing up your Sync files to the QNAP NAS

HBS 3 can also pull files from Sync onto your NAS using an Active Sync job.

  1. Make sure Sync WebDAV is running.
  2. Open HBS 3 → Sync.
  3. Click Sync Now → Active Sync Job.
  4. Select your Sync WebDAV storage space.
  5. Select the Sync folder you want to copy.
  6. Select a local QNAP folder as the destination.
  7. Choose the appropriate sync policy and schedule.
  8. Review the job and click Create.

An Active Sync job copies data from the remote storage space to the local NAS.

Restoring a QNAP backup

For backups created using an HBS 3 backup job:

  1. Make sure Sync WebDAV is running.
  2. Open HBS 3 → Backup & Restore.
  3. Locate the backup job.
  4. Create or run a restore job.
  5. Select the files and folders you want to restore.
  6. Choose the destination on your QNAP NAS and start the restore.

HBS 3 backup data is designed to be restored through HBS 3. QNAP also provides the QuDedup Extract Tool for extracting HBS backup data on supported desktop operating systems.

After restarting your QNAP NAS

If scheduled backups stop working after rebooting the NAS, make sure Sync WebDAV is running.

Troubleshooting

HBS 3 cannot connect to Sync

Confirm that Sync WebDAV is running: sync-webdav --headless --daemon and confirm that your HBS 3 WebDAV storage space uses: http://127.0.0.1:4918/

sync-webdav: command not found

Reconnect your SSH session after installing Sync WebDAV.

If necessary, add the installation directory to your PATH: export PATH="$HOME/.sync-webdav/bin:$PATH

Then restart Sync WebDAV:

Backups stopped after reboot

Confirm that the Sync WebDAV server restarted successfully. HBS 3 cannot reach your Sync account unless the local WebDAV server is running.

Security notes

  • Do not expose port 4918 to the Internet.
  • Keep Sync WebDAV listening on `localhost` / `127.0.0.1`.
  • Restrict QNAP SSH access to trusted devices and networks.
  • Disable SSH when you no longer need remote shell access.
  • Enable 2FA on your Sync account.
  • Test your restore process before relying on the backup for critical data.
     
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