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Unifi Protect Unraid NAS Backup Share Not Working

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I am at a loss here. I created a share in Unraid. I can access the share with the username and password given from my computer with no issues. I typed the same IP address, username, and password in Protect and I keep getting Failed to connect to server.

Has anyone been successful connect Protect to Unraid for backup? I see a bunch of stuff around Synology but not much around Unraid.

To add, the username and password have no special characters or uppercase, everything is lowercase.

  • Community Expert

Connecting Unifi Protect to an Unraid SMB share for backup can be tricky due to differences in how Unifi Protect and Unraid handle SMB configurations. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you troubleshoot and establish the connection:

 

Verify SMB Share Configuration in Unraid

 

Check Share Settings:

Go to Shares in the Unraid web GUI.

Select the share you created for Unifi Protect backups.

 

Ensure the following:

Export: Set to Yes (SMB)

Security: Set to Public, Secure, or Private:

For testing, start with Public to rule out permission issues.

If using Secure or Private, ensure the correct user permissions are set.

 

Verify SMB Service:

Go to Settings > SMB and confirm that the SMB service is enabled and running.

Optional: Enable SMBv1 compatibility if Unifi Protect requires it (some older firmware may).

Create a Dedicated User:

Create a dedicated Unraid user for Unifi Protect:

Go to Users in Unraid.

Add a user (e.g., unifiprotect) with a simple, lowercase password.

 

Test the Share from Another Machine:

From a Windows or macOS device, connect to the share using the same credentials you configured in Unifi Protect:

\\<Unraid-IP>\ShareName

Confirm read/write access.

 

#if you cant do this then you need to fix permission...
cd /path
touch file.txt
echo hi >> file.txt
cat file.txt
rm file.txt

#fix permissins:
cd /path
chmod 777 -R *
chown nobody:nogroup

 

2. Configure Unifi Protect Backup

Access Unifi Protect Settings:

In the Unifi Protect web interface, go to Settings > Backup > Backup to Network Storage.

Enter the Share Details:

 

3. Troubleshooting Failed Connections

a. Check Unifi Protect Logs:

If the test fails, check the Protect logs for detailed error messages. This can help identify issues like authentication or path format problems.

b. Enable Extended SMB Logging on Unraid:

Go to Settings > SMB > SMB Extras and add the following:

 

[global]
log level = 3

 

This will enable detailed logging for SMB access attempts. Check /var/log/samba/log.smbd for errors.

 

c. DNS or Network Issues:

Ensure the Unifi Protect device can resolve the Unraid server's IP or hostname.

Test using both IP address and hostname for the share path.

 

d. SMB Protocol Mismatch:

Unifi Protect may require specific SMB versions. To enforce compatibility:

Go to Settings > SMB > SMB Extras in Unraid.

[global]
server min protocol = SMB2
server max protocol = SMB3

 

Restart the SMB service.

e. Permissions Issue:

If using Secure or Private share security, ensure the Unraid user has read/write access to the share.

 

4. Advanced Workarounds

(I wouild write my own smb conf...) try nfs?
 

If the direct connection fails after troubleshooting:

NFS Share:

Unifi Protect supports NFS in some cases. Export the share using NFS:

In Unraid, go to Shares > Your Share > NFS Security Settings.

Enable NFS export.
 

nfs://<Unraid-IP>/mnt/user/<ShareName>

Manually Mount on Protect Device:

SSH into the Unifi Protect device and test the SMB connection manually

smbclient -U <username> //<Unraid-IP>/<ShareName>

 

5. Verify Backup Process

After establishing the connection:

Ensure backups are being created in the Unraid share.

Check file permissions and available space in the share.

  • 10 months later...

I just attempted this because I've had a neighbour dispute and I wanted to dump the last week of footage from 2 cameras to my unraid NAS for long term storage

It just kept creating .partial files over and over like it was stuck in a loop

[global]
server min protocol = SMB2
server max protocol = SMB3

This seems to have done the trick now.
The export on unifi is very slow, takes about 5-10 minutes for each 1 hour chunk to "Prepare" but I haven't had a failed .partial since I made that change so just letting it churn through

I know this is digging up an old thread, but thank you ☺️

  • 4 months later...
On 11/19/2024 at 11:56 AM, bmartino1 said:

my own

Sorry for digging up old thread. Anyone manage to link unifi protect to unraid share drive?

I’m currently able to connect to the NAS IP and select the share folder but the storage status shows 0b.

  • Community Expert
6 hours ago, Enjawd said:

Sorry for digging up old thread. Anyone manage to link unifi protect to unraid share drive?

I’m currently able to connect to the NAS IP and select the share folder but the storage status shows 0b.

Depends on what you're trying to do now with it.

Like explained in the above post...

Unify United system and unified protect requires smb2 protocol

On unraid you have to turn off the array, go to settings SMB and add these lines to the SMB extra..

[global]

server min protocol = SMB2

server max protocol = SMB3

This seems to have done the trick now....

Is noted above...

With this, your UniFi NVR device and your cameras can point to the network share on unraid so where samba and copy the data off and into the share.

Otherwise you install a VM. You install Debian

And you install UniFi protect and the UniFi console in a VM.

And using Debbie and samba connection you connect to your your virtual iofs and/SMB tonu raid And use the UniFi console and even if I protect on that VM...

with the release of unfi OS for a VM I would recemd runing a debain VM and ther unfi stack there any more...

ITAdOn IT Solutions
No image preview

Ubiquiti introduces UniFi OS Server for self-hosting

Ubiquiti has just launched the UniFi OS Server in Early Access, enabling users to self-host the full UniFi network stack on their own hardware.

And data here

GitHub
No image preview

GitHub - lemker/unifi-os-server: Run UniFi OS Server in D...

Run UniFi OS Server in Docker or Kubernetes. Contribute to lemker/unifi-os-server development by creating an account on GitHub.

11 hours ago, bmartino1 said:

Depends on what you're trying to do now with it.

Like explained in the above post...

Unify United system and unified protect requires smb2 protocol

On unraid you have to turn off the array, go to settings SMB and add these lines to the SMB extra..

[global]

server min protocol = SMB2

server max protocol = SMB3

This seems to have done the trick now....

Is noted above...

With this, your UniFi NVR device and your cameras can point to the network share on unraid so where samba and copy the data off and into the share.

Otherwise you install a VM. You install Debian

And you install UniFi protect and the UniFi console in a VM.

And using Debbie and samba connection you connect to your your virtual iofs and/SMB tonu raid And use the UniFi console and even if I protect on that VM...

with the release of unfi OS for a VM I would recemd runing a debain VM and ther unfi stack there any more...

ITAdOn IT Solutions
No image preview

Ubiquiti introduces UniFi OS Server for self-hosting

Ubiquiti has just launched the UniFi OS Server in Early Access, enabling users to self-host the full UniFi network stack on their own hardware.

And data here

GitHub
No image preview

GitHub - lemker/unifi-os-server: Run UniFi OS Server in D...

Run UniFi OS Server in Docker or Kubernetes. Contribute to lemker/unifi-os-server development by creating an account on GitHub.

Hi hi!

Thanks for your reply.

I've added this line in unraid setting (see screenshot)

Uploading Attachment...

For Unifi protect, see attach screenshot, seems like it can connect to unraid and select share folder but it just reflect as 0 b

Uploading Attachment...

So im not sure what is wrong.

Screenshot 2026-03-12 at 11.27.50.png

Screenshot 2026-03-12 at 11.24.31.png

  • Community Expert

your pictures broke up let me retest and re go over an example setup. To be clear You shouldn't need to replace samba!

I replace unraid samba for my own.
as seen here:

idealy you will need to seutp a unfi protect share:

{D281F774-E734-4B81-B90D-445D4E487247}.png

in my case I'm also using zfs
zfs create data/unifi-protect

as I'm using my own smb extra and not using unraid shares:
example share data:

[samba]
        create mask = 0775
        force create mode = 0777
        force directory mode = 0777
        force group = root
        force user = root
        guest ok = Yes
        map hidden = Yes
        map system = Yes
        path = /host/samba
        read only = No
        fruit:encoding = native

So, I will make a new share with my own custom settings. that can be saved with the global smb2 info under the smb extra options...

root@OMV:/host# ls

Dockers/ PBS/ PVE/ TimeMachine/ Users/ samba/ unifi-protect/

root@OMV:/host#

and since I'm overiding unraids config:

root@OMV:/boot/config# ls

Basic.key domain.cfg go machine-id plugins/ random-seed share.cfg ssh/

default/ drift go~ modprobe.d/ plugins-error/ savedpcidata.json shares/ ssl/

disk.cfg editor.cfg hosts network.cfg plugins-removed/ secrets.tdb smb-override.conf super.dat

docker.cfg forcesync ident.cfg passwd pools/ shadow smbpasswd wireguard/

root@OMV:/boot/config# nano smb-override.conf

if using the user script to make your own share for all... I would add my own custom share setting...

*this is the same samba I'm running and shared in the user scripts forum post above...

You shouldn't have to replace samba and you can't use unraids share setting for the share for the same item... instead you can add this to the smb extra and use that to make a custom share for unifi

example:
{F6A57EF5-FA02-4EEA-A51F-4076FF73A927}.png

confirm with

root@OMV:~# testparm

so now I have a share called unifi from my unraid system...

Since your seeing a connect but no data... you may need to fix / set permissions...

root@OMV:/host# chmod 777 -R unifi-protect/

root@OMV:/host# chown nobody:users -R unifi-protect/

You should now see a unifi share in unraid:

{C1B39B4F-7A1F-4F1F-B441-3ED303111BBE}.png

Now on unifi:

in unifi protect go to settings:

{7C688822-AFE8-48BD-8F5B-0005A0D121D0}.png

I first go to add account

then select nas:

{9F9953B8-AC8D-44C6-9B85-76BC58C1C11D}.png

and fill in data:

{B849FA76-BA2D-4537-80B2-99BF1733F44C}.png

*Connect with a made unraid user.. made in the users tab in web ui:

{775858BB-D51A-4D9B-9338-0A40B9556065}.png

choose the share:

{F5E70BED-46A8-4933-8A46-5FC9AB5D94DE}.png

with that the nas folder is linked:

{D24D9248-352F-4A3D-9A58-D564EB6E0E55}.png

then enable Continuous Archiving and add the cameras you want data saved to protect:

{254FDDDC-48E3-4DB1-989D-44A041D2DD3F}.png

select dection....

click apply

0b is normal to see...

{CAB291BF-C0E8-4CC0-BAFF-B46D4DBA653D}.png

as the Continuous Archiving kicks in once the unifi device hits its limit on space / quota..

see
https://community.ui.com/questions/UniFi-Protect-with-external-NAS/c6f24e56-f650-4bf6-818b-0323aa927257?reply=2

and

https://community.ui.com/questions/Archiving-ALL-Detections-to-NAS/74fb9819-d8d3-42af-a0c8-b3410f725c86

so I think your confused as you seem to have the share setup corectly... abd are corecty connected and unifi when it hits the camera space and detection at next run will save when unifi storage quota is hit and it will move/save the data on the nas before erasing...

I'm not aware of any other issue and this has been the sucessful setup betweeen other unfi setups i've done int eh past with unraid..

othewise i just finsihed adding unfi server os where you can run unifi protect via docker on unraid and have protect conect and save data on unraid via docker volume pathing...

{12ECFA1F-B3E9-4ED0-99DA-672555834F0B}.png

Edited by bmartino1
data - typo

  • Community Expert

you can test archive by foring a archive...

go to playback and select a detection..

{C3E4FCAF-04CB-46F1-9040-460B0969788C}.png

and with the selection hit archive to nas ip / unraid...

{8DFC7F28-C2A7-4EAA-9614-1734B87CEF70}.png

{AFE45036-33C2-468B-AE0E-91BE4FF8ECAE}.pngit...

thats it you will then see the detection on the unraid nas...

so the 0 bytes is noraml .. and current detections need archived and new should auto once quot/retention is hit.

{05A00123-6525-4D23-9AA8-4203A4E3F0D4}.png

takes a while for it to report and update data... if you manualy sent detections...

Edited by bmartino1

Silly question, does this only works with Unifi cameras? or Onvif camera works as well? Cause I notice based on screenshot, seems like we need to select with camera with detection.

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