Choosing a Mac mini or Windows box for Tailscale home access
An older Synology DS418 NAS has limited resources and weak , so it may not be the best place to run duties. The two replacement options are an M2 Mac mini with 8GB of memory and a 256GB SSD, or a Windows 11 machine with an AMD , 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD.
The goal is to move Tailscale to a stronger machine so to the home network and the works better. The main remote uses are Synology apps such as DSAudio, DSDrive, and Photos, including photo transfers.
Moving Tailscale off the NAS could reduce load on the NAS and improve as an exit node. The practical tradeoff is that the Mac mini is used every day, while the Windows machine has been powered off for months.
Key points
- The Synology DS418 is the current Tailscale host, but its limited is a concern.
- The possible new hosts are an M2 Mac mini with 8GB memory or a stronger Windows 11 machine.
- The main use is to Synology apps and photo transfers.
- The Windows machine has better specs, but it has been left powered off for months.
- Moving Tailscale away from the NAS could improve exit node and reduce NAS load.