Remote Editing Setup
Editor01 · Synology DS923

Tailscale & Sync Setup Guide

Everything you need to bring your editing NAS online at your location and confirm it’s mirroring with the home office — automatically, in real time. No technical background needed; just follow the steps in order.

Sync: Automatic · two-way Connection: Tailscale (private) Setup time: ~15 minutes

What this NAS does

This NAS holds your Current Projects folder and keeps it mirrored — automatically, in real time — with the home-office NAS over a private, encrypted link called Tailscale. When the office drops in a file, it lands on your NAS within seconds. When you save an edit, it travels back the same way. You never press “sync” — it runs by itself in the background, 24/7. This guide simply powers it up and confirms the connection is alive after the move.

How the mirror works
Home Office
Archives NAS
office → editor Tailscale editor → office
Editor’s Site
Editor01 NAS
Two-way mirror• ~10–15s to land• Encrypted & direct
Your setup · start to finish
Plug in
Open DSM
Tailscale
Sync test
Editing
STEP 01 / 07Physical setup

Plug it in

  1. Place the NAS somewhere cool and ventilated
    Hard surface, not carpet. Keep the rear vents clear — it runs continuously.
  2. Connect the network cable
    Run a LAN (Ethernet) cable from your router to the NAS network port. Wired is required — Wi-Fi isn’t reliable enough for syncing video.
  3. Connect power and switch it on
    Press the front power button. It takes 3–5 minutes to boot — wait until the front light is steady (not blinking).
Leave the drives alone The internal drives are already configured and in the correct slots. Don’t remove or rearrange them.
STEP 02 / 07The control panel

Open the NAS dashboard

  1. On a computer on the same network, open a browser
    You’ll log into the NAS’s own dashboard, called DSM.
  2. Find the NAS and open it
    Go to finds.synology.com — it locates the NAS and gives you a link. (Or type its local IP from your router, followed by :5001.)
  3. Log in
    Use the username and password the office gave you separately. Credentials are never printed in this guide, for security.
STEP 03 / 07The private link to the office

Confirm Tailscale is connected

  1. Open the Tailscale app inside DSM
    DSM Main Menu (top-left grid) → Tailscale. It’s already installed — you’re just checking it.
  2. Read the status
    “Connected” with an IP starting 100. → you’re done. ✓
    “Log in” / “Not connected” → see the next step.
  3. Only if logged out: reconnect it
    Click Log in, then send the link it shows to the office — they approve it from their account (the network is theirs). The status then flips to Connected.
Usually it’s automatic The NAS remembers its connection and rejoins Tailscale on its own at boot — even in a new city. You normally only need to look, not do. Step 3 is just the backup plan.
Do you need your own Tailscale account? For editing on-site — no. You reach the NAS over your local network, like any shared drive; Tailscale only links the NAS to the office and is already signed in. You’d only need your own account to reach this NAS from another location — full steps are in the Configuration Reference at the end.
STEP 04 / 07Prove it works

Confirm the sync is alive

  1. Ask the office to run a quick test
    Have them drop a small test file into the shared Current Projects folder.
  2. Watch it appear on your end
    Open File Station in DSM (or your mapped drive) → the file should show in Current Projects within about 10–15 seconds.
  3. Test the other direction
    Create a small file on your side; confirm with the office it appeared on theirs. Both directions working = the mirror is live.
STEP 05 / 07Everyday editing

Working with it day to day

Where your projects liveThe Current Projects share on this NAS. Edit straight from it, or copy a project to a fast local drive and copy it back when done.
How saving worksAnything saved into the synced folder travels to the office automatically — no upload button.
Final Cut render & cache filesNot synced on purpose — they’re huge and rebuild themselves. Final Cut regenerates them locally when you open a project. Your media, project files, and edits all sync fully.
Keep it onLeave the NAS powered and on the network. If it’s off, syncing pauses — then catches up automatically when it’s back.
STEP 06 / 07Keep the sync healthy

Do & Don’t

✓ Please do

  • Keep it powered on and wired to the router.
  • Work inside the Current Projects folder.
  • Tell the office right away if a file isn’t appearing.
  • Shut down from DSM if you ever need to move it.

✕ Please don’t

  • Don’t pull the power cord to switch it off.
  • Don’t delete hidden files (.stignore, .stfolder).
  • Don’t remove or swap the internal drives.
  • Don’t change Tailscale or sync settings — ask first.
STEP 07 / 07If something looks off

Quick troubleshooting

  1. Files stopped appearing
    Check DSM → Tailscale still says Connected, and your internet is up. If it dropped, restart the NAS (DSM → top-right → Restart) and recheck.
  2. Can’t reach the dashboard
    Confirm the network cable is seated and the front light is steady, then re-run finds.synology.com.
  3. Still stuck
    Don’t change settings — photograph what you see and contact the office. It’s almost always a brief connection blip that recovers on its own.
Your files are safe either way Even if the connection drops for a while, nothing is lost — the office holds a full backup copy and automatic snapshots. Sync simply resumes and catches up once the NAS is back online.
Appendix

Tailscale Configuration Reference

Only needed if the NAS lost its Tailscale connection, or if you want to reach the NAS from another location. Find your situation below.

I’m editing on-siteNothing to do here — connect to the NAS over your local network. ✓
NAS shows “Not connected / Log in”Do Part A — sign the NAS back into Tailscale.
Tailscale isn’t installed on the NASDo Part A · step 1 (install the package), then sign in.
I need to reach the NAS from elsewhereDo Part B — set up Tailscale on your own computer (office must invite you).
A

Set up Tailscale on the NAS

Install / sign the NAS into the office network
  1. Make sure the Tailscale package is installed
    DSM → Package Center → search Tailscale → Install if missing. (On this NAS it’s already installed — this is only if it ever disappears.)
  2. Open Tailscale and click “Log in”
    Main Menu → Tailscale → Log in. A web page opens with a sign-in link or code.
  3. Send that link to the office — don’t sign in yourself
    This NAS belongs to the office’s private network. They open the link and approve the device from their account. Creating a new account here would put the NAS on the wrong network and break syncing.
  4. Confirm it connected
    After approval, Tailscale shows Connected and an IP starting 100. — for this NAS, 100.66.175.82. Syncing resumes automatically.
One network, not many The NAS and the office machines all live on one Tailscale network — the office’s. Never sign the NAS into a personal account; it must stay on the office tailnet for the mirror to work.
B

Set up Tailscale on your own computer

Optional — only to reach the NAS off-site
  1. Ask the office to share the NAS with you first
    From their Tailscale admin console they’ll invite you as a user or share the Editor01 device to your email. You’ll receive an accept link. Without this, your account can’t see the NAS.
  2. Install the Tailscale app
    Go to tailscale.com/download → install for Mac or Windows → open it.
  3. Sign in with your own email
    Use the same email the invite was sent to, so the shared NAS appears for you, then accept the invite from that email.
  4. Connect to the NAS
    With Tailscale running, open https://100.66.175.82:5001 for the dashboard, or map the shared folder using that same 100.66.175.82 address. Works from anywhere with internet.
On-site is still faster When you’re on-site on the same network as the NAS, use its local address instead — far faster for moving video than going over the internet. Save the Tailscale route for when you’re away.
Office only — not for the editor

Two things to set on your side

So the editor never has to touch a setting:

  • Disable key expiry for Editor01_DS923 in the Tailscale admin console (login.tailscale.com → Machines → ⋯ → Disable key expiry). Otherwise Tailscale forces a re-login every ~180 days and the editor would have to ask you for an approval link.
  • Once it’s online at the new location, from the home archives NAS run tailscale ping 100.66.175.82 — confirm it says direct, not via DERP. If relayed, enable UPnP/NAT-PMP on both routers.
  • Only if the editor needs off-site access (Part B): share the Editor01_DS923 device to his email (Machines → ⋯ → Share) or invite him as a user. Never hand out your own login. For local-only editing, skip this entirely.