Synology makes some of the most popular NAS devices for small businesses, and their operating system, DSM (DiskStation Manager), is a large part of why. It’s a full-featured, browser-based platform that makes complex storage tasks approachable without sacrificing capability. This is the first in a series of posts covering DSM in practical depth.
Before You Start
Choose Your Drives
Synology NAS devices ship without drives; you supply your own. For a business NAS, use NAS-rated drives rather than standard desktop drives. NAS drives are designed for continuous operation, handle the vibration of a multi-drive enclosure better, and typically carry longer warranties.
Recommended options:
- Seagate IronWolf (or IronWolf Pro for higher workloads)
- Western Digital Red Plus or WD Red Pro
NOTA BENE: Since 2024/25 Synology now requires using Synology branded drives on ALL their NAS. This will be fully addressed in a future post.
Check the Synology Compatibility List (compatible.synology.com) before purchasing. Not all drives are supported on all models; the compatibility list is comprehensive and updated regularly. Using a drive not on the list isn’t guaranteed to cause problems, but Synology won’t provide support for issues that arise.
Install the Drives
Power off the NAS, insert the drives into the drive bays, and secure them according to the instructions for your model. Most Synology units use tool-less drive trays for 3.5″ drives; 2.5″ drives typically require screws.
Step 1: Connect and Power On
Connect the NAS to your network switch via ethernet (use the LAN 1 port if there are multiple), connect power, and press the power button. The startup process takes 1 to 2 minutes. The status LED will stop blinking and glow steadily when the unit is ready.
Step 2: Find and Access the NAS
On a computer on the same network, open a browser and go to find.synology.com. This uses Synology’s discovery service to locate your NAS and provides a link to its web interface. Alternatively, check your router’s DHCP client list for a device named “DiskStation” and browse to its IP address directly.
You’ll be prompted to install DSM if this is a new unit.
Step 3: Install DSM
The setup wizard will either download DSM automatically or ask you to upload the DSM installation file (available from Synology’s download centre). Follow the prompts: DSM installs in a few minutes and the NAS reboots.
After the reboot, return to find.synology.com or the NAS’s IP address to complete setup.
Step 4: Initial Configuration
The setup wizard covers:
Create an admin account. Set a strong password. This account has full administrative access to the NAS. Disable the default “admin” account after creating your named account; the default account name is well known and better not left active.
Set up QuickConnect (optional). QuickConnect is Synology’s relay service for remote access. It lets you reach the NAS from outside your network without configuring port forwarding. It’s convenient for personal use; for business environments, a VPN is the more secure approach to remote access.
Enable automatic DSM updates. Keep DSM updated; security patches are released regularly.
Step 5: Create a Storage Pool and Volume
With DSM installed and your drives in place, the next step is configuring storage. This is done via Storage Manager.
Storage Pool
A storage pool is the layer that combines your physical drives and determines the RAID configuration. Common options:
- SHR (Synology Hybrid RAID): Synology’s own RAID implementation. Optimises storage capacity across drives of different sizes and supports expanding the array by replacing drives one at a time. A good default for most home and SME deployments.
- RAID 1: Mirroring across two drives. Simple, reliable, easy to understand.
- RAID 5: Striping with parity across three or more drives. One drive can fail without data loss. Maximises usable capacity compared to RAID 1.
- RAID 6: Two-drive fault tolerance across four or more drives.
Choose your RAID level, select the drives to include, and allow the storage pool to initialise. This takes time proportional to the drive capacity; large arrays may take several hours to complete full initialisation.
Volume
A volume is created on top of the storage pool. It’s what DSM and applications see as usable storage. Create a volume and allocate all available space to it (or split it if you want separate volumes for different purposes).
Format the volume with Btrfs if your NAS model supports it. Btrfs offers data integrity checksumming, snapshots at the filesystem level, and better support for DSM’s advanced features. Use EXT4 if Btrfs is not available on your model.
Step 6: Create Shared Folders
Shared folders are the directories that users and applications access on the NAS. Create them via Control Panel > Shared Folder.
For a small business, a typical starting structure might include:
- Company (or the business name): general file storage for all staff
- Finance: restricted to accounts staff and management
- IT: for system files, scripts, and configuration backups
- Backups: for workstation backup data
Enable data checksum on each shared folder (available with Btrfs volumes) to detect and flag data corruption. Enable recycle bin so accidentally deleted files can be recovered without a full restore.
Step 7: Create User Accounts
Add user accounts for each staff member via Control Panel > User & Group. Assign each user to appropriate groups, then configure shared folder permissions at the group level rather than the individual user level; this makes permission management much easier as staff change roles.
Set a password policy under Control Panel > User & Group > Advanced: minimum length, complexity requirements, and expiration if appropriate.