NAS - Mike Tabor

How to Replace a Failed Hard Drive in a Synology NAS

March 20, 2020 Synology

Earlier this week I received a notification from my Synology NAS that a hard drive was failing. Right now in the middle of this COVID-19 pandemic, one thing I don’t need is my NAS down and the kids and wife unable to watch any shows or movies.

Luckily for me Synology has made drive replacement a breeze. Here is how to easily and very quickly replace a failed hard drive in your Synology NAS.

Upgrade Synology DS1819+ RAM to 32GB

August 28, 2019October 26, 2020 Synology

30 Comments

Recently got my hands on a Synology DS1819+ which offers a number of great features, one of which is the ability to support 32GB memory! Giving me more than plenty of resources for all kinds of Docker containers, virtual machines, and Synology applications.

In this quick guide I’ll detail how to upgrade your Synology DS1819+ to 32GB of RAM.

Items needed:

Philips screwdriver
Kingston KSM24SED8 RAM Modules
Crucial 32GB kit (some users have reported issues with this brand)

Install a Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate on a Synology NAS

February 28, 2018September 10, 2018 Synology

23 Comments

A while ago I wrote an guide on how to install a SSL from Namecheap onto your Synology. Soon after Let’s Encrypt support was added to Synology, I started getting requests for a guide.

The benefits of Let’s Encrypt certificates are that they are automated, short lifetimes (90 days) and that they are completely FREE!

Below is a quick guide on how to install Let’s Encrypt SSL on a Synology NAS!

How to create a virtual machine on a Synology NAS

June 25, 2017 Synology

25 Comments

A common request I’ve seen among Synology NAS owners, is the ability to run virtual machines directly from their NAS. Recently Synology released a beta version of their new Virtual Machine Manager package that allows users to do exactly that.

Below I’ll detail how to install, configure, and create a Windows 10 virtual machine on my Synology DS1815+.

Before getting started, your Synology NAS not only needs to be compatible but also needs to meet a couple requirements:

Have at least one Btrfs volume
4GB or more memory (now might be a great time to check out my Upgrade Synology DS1815+ to 16GB RAM post)
Running DSM 6.1.1 or better.

You’ll also want to have a couple ISO images downloaded and ready; Windows 10, Synology Guest Tools, and Windows Virtio Drivers.

With that, lets get started!

Running Ubiquiti UniFi controller in Docker on Synology NAS

September 13, 2016December 31, 2018 Synology

43 Comments

Recently I posted how to run the Ubiquiti UniFi Controller in the cloud using services like Linode, Vultr, or DigitalOcean. However, a few people has asked if I could post instructions on how to run the UniFi controller in Docker, similar how I have CrashPlan running in Docker.

For the steps below I’ll be using my Synology DS1815+ NAS which is compatible to run Docker. If you’re unsure if your model support docker or not you can check here.

First look at NAKIVO Backup and Replication v6.1

August 15, 2016November 30, 2017 Tools

0 Comments

Earlier this month NAKIVO released version 6.1 of their Backup and Replication application which only adds to their popular 6.0 version adding features like Microsoft Exchange instant object recovery and log truncation as well as other features. As part of the VMware vExpert program NAKIVO has given me a NFR license to try NAKIVO Backup and Replication v6.1 in my home lab and I want to share my initial thoughts about this new version that I’ve had running for the last couple weeks.

How to upgrade Synology DS1815+ to 16GB RAM

February 16, 2016March 3, 2016 Synology

50 Comments

Just last week I replaced my Synology DS412+ to with a Synology DS1815+, which has twice the drive bays with the addition of supporting two expansion units, a much more powerful CPU, and 2GB RAM out of the box.

I’ve seen some people mention with very mixed results that both the Synology DS1515+ and Synology DS1815+ can be upgraded to 16GB of RAM, the biggest issue seems to be around what memory modules to use. So I figured I’d document how I upgraded my DS1815+ to 16GB RAM and what memory I used with success.

Synology DS415+ NAS Review

November 17, 2015November 19, 2015 Synology

3 Comments

For the past week I was given the chance to ~~abuse~~ use and review the Synology DS415+ NAS, a NAS which is aimed at small businesses or home users that need extra horsepower (such as a VMware home lab).

The Synology DS415+ is the replacement for the Synology DS412+, in fact by looking at the two units you really can’t tell them apart aside from the model number printed on the lower left corner of the hard drive cover plate. The real differences between the Synology DS412+ and Synology DS415+ isn’t on the outside but what’s inside.

Read More “Synology DS415+ NAS Review”

Synology DSM 5.2-5644 fixes several vulnerabilities and improves stability

October 30, 2015February 1, 2016 Synology

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Synology has released DSM 5.2-5644 which upgrades PHP to version 5.5.30 that patches several vulnerabilities found in the older version of PHP. In addition DSM 5.2-5644 also improves stability across many different functions such as Btrfs file system, FTP connections, NTP service. DSM 5.2-5644 also takes care of the issue where a DSM critical patch could not be manually uploaded when the system was in a Hybrid HA cluster.

Synology DSM 5.2-5592 Update 4

September 8, 2015October 15, 2015 Synology

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The new DSM 5.2-5592 Update 4 fixes several security vulnerabilities as well as the false-positive that the Antivirus was reporting in /usr/syno/bin/zip. In addition this update also fixes the issue where DSM cannot be updated after system recovery on certain models