Short answer: NAS drive installation in Dubai starts from around AED 2,500 for a 2-bay Synology or QNAP unit with drives, set up with RAID protection and automatic backup. A 4-bay business NAS with larger drives is typically AED 5,000–12,000, and rack-mount NAS for bigger offices is quoted per project. Smart Tech Dubai configures the RAID, user accounts, remote access and backup and hands it over ready to use.
Key takeaways
- 2-bay home / small-office NAS (with drives, installed): from AED 2,500
- 4-bay business NAS: AED 5,000–12,000 depending on drive size
- Rack NAS / high-capacity: quoted per project
- Drives are the variable cost — NAS-rated drives (WD Red, Seagate IronWolf) from ~AED 350 (4TB) to ~AED 1,200 (16TB)
- RAID protects against a drive failure — RAID 1 for 2-bay, RAID 5/6 for 4-bay and up
- A NAS gives you private cloud access with no monthly cloud fees
- Common uses: shared files, PC/Mac backup, CCTV storage, Time Machine, media libraries
What is a NAS and who needs one?
A NAS (Network Attached Storage) is a small always-on box with 2–8 hard drives that sits on your network. Everyone in the home or office reads and writes to it, it backs itself up, and you can reach your files from your phone or laptop anywhere — your own private cloud.
Typical Dubai use cases:
- A design, media or architecture studio sharing large project files
- An office replacing a messy "shared folder on someone's PC"
- A home consolidating photos, videos and documents with a proper backup
- CCTV footage archive beyond what the NVR holds
- A backup target for servers and workstations
What's included in an installed price?
- The NAS unit sized to your needs (2, 4 or more bays)
- NAS-rated drives, configured in a RAID array
- RAID setup — RAID 1 (2 drives mirrored), RAID 5 (one drive of redundancy), RAID 6 (two)
- Shared folders and user accounts with permissions
- Remote access — secure app access from phone and laptop
- Backup jobs — the NAS backing up to an external drive or the cloud (the 3-2-1 rule)
- Handover and a short training session
Worked example: a 12-person office in Business Bay
- 4-bay Synology NAS, 4 × 8TB IronWolf drives in RAID 5 (~24TB usable)
- Department shared folders with per-team permissions
- Every staff PC set to back up to the NAS nightly
- The NAS itself backing up critical folders to Synology C2 cloud
- Secure remote access for staff working from home
- Handover with an admin guide
Indicative total: AED 7,500–9,000 including drives and setup.
Synology vs QNAP — which to choose?
- Synology — the easier operating system, excellent backup and photo apps, very reliable, the default recommendation for most homes and offices.
- QNAP — more hardware power at the price, better for heavy media work, virtualisation and 10GbE, and often better value on higher-bay models.
We fit both as authorised resellers and match the model to how you'll actually use it.
NAS for CCTV storage
A NAS is a good long-term archive for CCTV. The NVR keeps 30–90 days locally; the NAS holds a longer history and survives if the recorder is stolen. We configure the cameras or NVR to stream a copy to the NAS and set retention automatically. See our CCTV installation and NAS solutions pages.
Common mistakes
- RAID is not a backup. RAID keeps you running if a drive dies; it does not protect against deletion, ransomware, theft or fire. You still need a separate backup copy.
- Desktop drives in a NAS. They aren't built for 24/7 vibration and will fail early. Use NAS-rated drives.
- Buying a 2-bay and outgrowing it in a year. If you have any doubt, start with a 4-bay and half-fill it.
- Exposing it to the internet unsafely. Remote access should be through the vendor's secure relay or a VPN, not a port forward with the default admin account.
- No monitoring. A NAS will email you when a drive is failing — only if someone set that up and checks it.
How to get a quote
- Free assessment — how much data now, how fast it's growing, who needs access, and what you're backing up
- Fixed quote — the unit, the drives, the RAID level and the backup plan
- Install, configure and hand over — usually done in a few hours, with training
Call or WhatsApp +971 55 408 2018 for a free NAS assessment anywhere in Dubai.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a NAS cost in Dubai?
A 2-bay home or small-office NAS with drives and setup starts from around AED 2,500. A 4-bay business NAS is typically AED 5,000–12,000 depending on drive capacity. Rack-mount and high-capacity systems are quoted per project.
Is a NAS better than cloud storage like Dropbox or Google Drive?
For large amounts of data it usually works out cheaper because you own the hardware and pay no monthly per-terabyte fee, and files are fast on the local network. Many businesses use both — a NAS on site and a cloud copy for off-site backup.
Can a NAS store my CCTV footage?
Yes. It's a common setup — the NVR keeps recent footage locally and the NAS holds a longer archive, so history survives even if the recorder is removed.
What happens if a drive fails?
With RAID, the NAS keeps working on the remaining drives. You replace the failed drive and the array rebuilds automatically. This is why RAID 5 or 6 is used on 4-bay and larger units.
Do you set up backups as well?
Yes. We configure the NAS to back up to an external drive and/or the cloud, and set staff PCs and any servers to back up to the NAS — a full 3-2-1 backup, not just storage.
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