Active Backup for Business provides centralized backup management for supported physical servers, computers, file servers, and virtual machines.

• Supports backup for Windows and Linux physical servers, Windows and Mac computers, rsync and SMB file servers, and VMware vSphere and Microsoft Hyper-V virtual machines.
• Supports entire-device restoration, instant restore, and file/folder-level recovery.
• Uses Changed Block Tracking (CBT), Resilient Change Tracking (RCT), and global deduplication to improve backup and storage efficiency.
• Integrates with Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) to replicate production environments on Synology NAS and reduce service downtime. VMM is supported only as a restore destination.
• Allows administrators to customize backup schedules and retention policies.
• Supports up to 10 concurrent file server backups in Active Backup for Business 2.2.0 or above.
• Supports up to 50 concurrent backups for personal computers, physical servers, and virtual machines in Active Backup for Business 2.2.0 or above:
  • Less than 8 GB of RAM: 10 concurrent backups
  • 8 GB to 31 GB of RAM: 30 concurrent backups
  • 32 GB of RAM or more: 50 concurrent backups

• Allows users with DSM administrator permissions or delegated package permissions to use Active Backup for Business.
• Provides monitoring, scheduled reports, detailed logs, and task history for backup status, storage usage, historical data transmission, canceled tasks, backup failures, restoration migration, and device restoration.
• Allows PC, Mac, physical server, and virtual machine workloads to be centrally managed through ActiveProtect Manager after the Synology NAS joins an ActiveProtect site (Active Backup for Business 3.0.0 or above is required).

• Supports compression or encryption at the backup destination only in Active Backup for Business 2.2.0 or above.
• Instant restore to Microsoft Hyper-V or Virtual Machine Manager is not supported on the following models when compression or encryption is enabled at the backup destination:
  • FS3017
  • RS3617xs
  • DS1817+
  • DS1517+
  • RS818RP+
  • RS818+
  • RS1219+
• The following models cannot join an ActiveProtect site:
  • DS416play
  • DS418play

Active Backup for Business supports agent-based backup for Windows PCs and Mac computers.

• Supports the following Windows versions:
  • Windows 11 (all editions)
  • Windows 10 Creators Update (all editions)
  • Windows 10 (all editions)
  • Windows 8.1 (all editions)
  • Windows 7 SP1 (all editions)
• Supports the NTFS file system.
• Supports entire-device, system-volume, and customized-volume backup.
• Supports entire-device, file/folder-level, and volume-based restoration.
• Uses image-based backup to protect data and system configurations.
• Uses agent-based backup to back up and restore changed blocks between snapshots.
• Uses Microsoft VSS-based Changed Block Tracking to perform incremental backups.
• Supports event-triggered backups when:
  • The device screen is locked
  • A user signs out
  • The device starts up
• Allows users to configure backup windows by specifying when backups can and cannot run.
• Supports adding the following arguments to the .msi installer for mass deployment of Synology Active Backup for Business Agent:
  • NAS IP address
  • Username
  • Password
  • Active Backup for Business icon creation

Limitations

• Volumes larger than 64 TB cannot be backed up. Learn more
• The backup destination must use the Btrfs file system.
• Supports backing up external hard drives only. Other external devices, including floppy drives, thumb drives, and flash card readers, are not supported.
• Personal computers with 4Kn disks cannot be backed up.
• Windows Storage Spaces cannot be restored.
• Only simple volumes on dynamic disks can be backed up.

• Supports the following macOS versions:
  • macOS Tahoe 26
  • macOS Sequoia 15
  • macOS Sonoma 14
  • macOS Ventura 13
  • macOS Monterey 12
  • macOS Big Sur 11
  • macOS Catalina 10.15.7
• Supports the APFS file system.
• Supports entire-device, system-volume, and customized-volume backup.
• Supports file/folder-level restoration through Recovery Portal only.
• Uses agent-based backup to back up and restore changed blocks between snapshots.
• Uses Apple Software Restore and Changed Block Tracking to perform incremental backups.
• Allows users to configure backup windows by specifying when backups can and cannot run.

Limitations

• The backup destination must use the Btrfs file system.
• User-created encrypted disks cannot be backed up.
• Full Disk Access must be enabled for backup and restoration.
• Supports backing up APFS-formatted external hard drives only. Other external devices, including floppy drives, thumb drives, and flash card readers, are not supported.
• Performs a full backup once every 20 backups to free storage after backup versions are rotated.
• Devices booted from external devices are not supported.
• Macs with M1 processors require macOS 11.3.1 or above.
• Apple RAID and Fusion Drive are not supported.
• Kernel extensions cannot be enabled when booting from an external hard drive.

• Supports the following platforms:
  • Windows Server 2025
  • Windows Server 2022
  • Windows Server 2019
  • Windows Server 2016
  • Windows Server 2012 R2
  • Windows Server 2012
  • Windows Server 2008 R2
  • Windows 11 (all editions)
  • Windows 10 Creators Update (all editions)
  • Windows 10 (all editions)
  • Windows 8.1 (all editions)
  • Windows 7 SP1 (all editions)
• Windows physical server backup supports NTFS.
• Backup modes include entire device, system volume, and customized volume backup.
• Supports the following restoration methods:
  • Entire device restore
  • File/folder-level restore
  • Volume-based restore
  • Instant restore to VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V, or Synology Virtual Machine Manager.
• Image-based backup protects entire devices, including data and system configurations.
• Agent-based backup backs up and restores changed blocks found between snapshots.
• Microsoft VSS-based Changed Block Tracking performs incremental backups.
• Backup windows define allowed and disallowed backup times.
• MSI installer arguments can support mass deployment of Synology Active Backup for Business Agent.

Limitations

• Volumes larger than 64 TB cannot be backed up. Learn more
• The backup destination must use the Btrfs file system.
• External hard drives can be backed up, but floppy drives, thumb drives, flash card readers, and similar devices are not supported.
• On dynamic disks, only simple volumes are supported for backups.
• Physical servers with 4Kn disks cannot be backed up.
• Windows storage space cannot be restored.

• Linux physical server backup is available in Active Backup for Business 2.2.0 and above.
• Supports kernel versions between 2.6 and 6.14.
• Supports the following Linux distributions:
  • CentOS: 7.8, 7.9, 8.1, 8.5
  • RHEL: 6.10, 7.8, 7.9, 8.1, 8.4, 8.5, 8.6, 8.7, 8.8, 8.9, 8.10, 9.0, 9.1, 9.2, 9.3, 9.4, 9.5, 9.6, 9.7
  • Fedora: 38, 39, 40, 41, 42
  • Ubuntu: 16.04, 18.04, 20.04, 22.04, and 24.04
  • Debian: 10, 11, 12, 13
• Supports the following file systems:
  • ext2
  • ext3
  • ext4
  • XFS
• Supports the following device types:
  • /dev/sdx
  • /dev/hdx
  • /dev/vdx
  • /dev/nvmex
  • /dev/mdx
• Supports entire-device, system-volume, and customized-volume backup.
• Supports the following restoration methods:
  • Entire-device restoration
  • File/folder-level restoration
  • Volume-based restoration
  • Instant restore to VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V, or Synology Virtual Machine Manager
• Uses image-based backup to protect data and system configurations.
• Uses agent-based backup to back up and restore changed blocks between snapshots.
• Uses Linux snapshot driver-based Changed Block Tracking to perform incremental backups.
• Allows users to configure allowed and disallowed backup times.

Limitations

• External devices cannot be backed up.
• Physical servers using 4Kn disks cannot be backed up.
• Application-aware backup is not supported.
• MSI installer argument insertion for mass deployment of Synology Active Backup for Business Agent is not supported.

Active Backup for Business supports agentless backup for SMB and rsync file servers and SMB-based backup for supported NetApp and Nutanix file servers.

• Supports SMB1, SMB2, and SMB3.
• Supports agentless backup.
• Supports multi-versioned, mirroring, and incremental backup.
• Supports file/folder-level restoration.
• Supports backing up Windows ACL permissions.
• Uses Windows VSS to help ensure backup data consistency.
• Supports concurrent backup tasks.

Limitations

• The backup destination must use Btrfs or ext4.

• Supports rsync 3.0 or above.
• Supports agentless backup.
• Supports multi-versioned, mirroring, and incremental backup.
• Supports file/folder-level restoration.
• Supports backing up Linux POSIX ACL permissions.
• Supports the following rsync modes:
  • Module mode
  • Shell mode over SSH
  • Module mode over SSH
• Supports authentication with a password or SSH key.
• Supports block-level transfer, encryption, and bandwidth control.
• Supports concurrent backup tasks.

Limitations

• The backup destination must use Btrfs or ext4.
• WriteOnce (WORM) shared folders on Synology NAS are not supported.

• Supports ONTAP 9.11.1, 9.12.1, 9.13.1, 9.14.1, and 9.15.1.
• Backs up NetApp file servers through SMB.
• Requires the connection account to have at least read permission for backup.
• Requires the connection account to have read and write permissions for backup and restoration.

• Supports Nutanix Files 3.6.5.
• Backs up Nutanix file servers through SMB.
• Requires the connection account to have at least read permission for backup.
• Requires the connection account to have read and write permissions for backup and restoration.

Limitations

• Active Backup for Business Portal cannot restore file access time (atime) or modification time (mtime) to Nutanix DFS.

Active Backup for Business supports agentless backup for VMware vSphere and Microsoft Hyper-V virtual machines.

• Supports vSphere 5.0, 5.1, 5.5, 6.0, 6.5, 6.7, 7.0, 8.0, and 9.0.
• Supports the following vSphere editions:
  • Free ESXi
  • Essentials
  • Essentials Plus
  • Standard
  • Advanced
  • Enterprise
  • Enterprise Plus
• Supports all VMware virtual hardware types and versions, including VMDK disks up to 62 TB.
• Supports encrypted virtual machines available in VMware vSphere 6.5.

Limitations

• The backup destination must use the Btrfs file system.
• The following features are not supported on VMware free ESXi:
  • Pre-backup and post-backup scripts
  • Guest OS file restoration through Active Backup for Business Portal
• Fault tolerant machines available in VMware vSphere 6.0 are not supported.
• Skips the following disk types because VMware cannot take snapshots of them:
  • Raw Device Mapping disks in physical mode
  • Independent disks
  • Disks connected through an in-guest iSCSI initiator
  • Disks engaged in SCSI bus sharing
• Guest OS file-level restore is not supported on virtual machines with the UFS file system.

• Supports Hyper-V 2016, 2019, 2022, and 2025.
• Supports System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2016, 2019, and 2025.
• Supports Hyper-V failover clusters running Hyper-V 2016, 2019, and 2022.
• Supports Hyper-V Generation 1 and Generation 2 virtual machines.
• Supports VHDX disks up to 64 TB.
• Supports virtual hardware versions 5.0 through 9.0.

Limitations

• Supports only failover clusters and Hyper-V hosts managed through SCVMM.
• Requires vSphere hypervisors managed through SCVMM to be added directly as hypervisors.
• Pass-through virtual disks and guest disks connected through in-guest Fibre Channel or iSCSI are not supported and are skipped automatically.
• Pass-through virtual disks in virtual machines running Hyper-V 2016 through 2019 are not supported.
• Requires at least 512 MB of available storage on the host system volume to install the Data Mover.

• Uses image-based backup to protect entire virtual machines, including data and system configurations.
• Automatically detects and backs up new virtual machines based on clusters, hosts, folders, and tags.
• Supports agentless backup.
• Uses VMware Changed Block Tracking and Hyper-V Resilient Change Tracking to perform incremental backups.
• Allows users to configure backup windows by specifying when backups can and cannot run.
• Supports the following restoration methods:
  • Entire-device restoration
  • Guest OS file/folder-level restoration
  • Instant restore to VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V, or Synology Virtual Machine Manager
• Supports guest OS file-level restoration for:
  • Windows: NTFS and FAT32
  • Linux: NTFS, FAT32, ext3, and ext4
• Supports application-aware backup for VMware vSphere and Microsoft Hyper-V virtual machines running Windows 2003 SP1 or later.
• Excludes Nano Server from application-aware backup because it does not provide the VSS framework.
• Supports operating systems and applications supported by VMware vSphere and Microsoft Hyper-V.

Active Backup for Business supports entire-device backup for selected Synology NAS models.

• Supports entire-device backup.
• Supports entire-device and file/folder-level restoration.
• Allows users to configure backup windows by specifying when backups can and cannot run.

• External devices, including thumb drives and flash card readers, cannot be backed up.
• Encrypted volumes can be backed up only when they are unlocked.
• System recovery requires the destination Synology NAS to be the same model as the source Synology NAS or a newer model in the same product line.
• The destination Synology NAS must have at least as many drives as the source Synology NAS.
• Drives on the destination Synology NAS must be installed in the same slot positions as on the source Synology NAS.
• The destination Synology NAS must use drives of the same type and cannot contain a mix of SSDs and HDDs.

Recovery Portal allows users to search, restore, and download files and folders from supported backup versions.

• Allows users to restore individual files and folders.
• Allows users to search backup data by keyword.
• Supports batch restoration of files and folders in the same directory.
• Allows files and folders to be restored to a new device running the same operating system.
• Supports restoration from partially successful backup versions of Windows and Linux physical servers, file servers, and virtual machines.
• Supports batch download of files and folders in the same directory.
• Compresses batch-downloaded files and folders into a single file.
• Supports download from partially successful backup versions of Windows and Linux physical servers, file servers, and virtual machines.

• Restores the following metadata for Windows:
  • Modified time (mTime)
  • Accessed time (aTime)
• Restores the following metadata for Mac:
  • Modified time (mTime)
  • Accessed time (aTime)
  • File owner
  • ACL permissions
  • Extended attributes
• Restores the following metadata for Linux:
  • Modified time (mTime)
  • Accessed time (aTime)
  • File owner
  • ACL permissions
• Restores the following metadata for virtual machines:
  • Modified time (mTime)
  • Accessed time (aTime)
  • Created time (cTime)
  • File owner (UID and GID)

• Files and folders encrypted with Windows Encrypting File System (EFS) cannot be restored or downloaded.
• Files and folders on Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2019, and Windows Server 2022 physical server or virtual machine disks with data deduplication enabled cannot be restored or downloaded.
• File-level restoration and download for Fedora 40 systems using XFS are not supported.
• Symbolic link files, such as .so files on Linux, cannot be restored or downloaded.

Active Backup for Business uses DSM and endpoint agents plus recovery utilities to perform full-system backup, endpoint backup, and bare-metal or volume-based recovery.

Install Active Backup for Business Agent (DSM) on the source Synology NAS to back up and restore the entire device, including system configurations, packages, and data.

• Supports full-system backup of system configurations, packages, and data.
• Supports file/folder-level and full-system restoration.
• Supports block-level and incremental backup.
• Uses Changed Block Tracking to improve backup and storage efficiency.
• Uses data deduplication to reduce storage usage on the remote backup destination.
• Encrypts data during backup and restoration.

Install Synology Active Backup for Business Agent on Windows PCs, Mac computers, and Windows and Linux physical servers to back up and restore these devices with Active Backup for Business.

• Windows
  • Supports the following Windows platforms on x86-64 processors:
    • Windows 11 (all editions)
    • Windows 10 Creators Update (all editions)
    • Windows 10 (all editions)
    • Windows 8.1 (all editions)
    • Windows 7 SP1 (all editions)
    • Windows Server 2025
    • Windows Server 2022
    • Windows Server 2019
    • Windows Server 2016
    • Windows Server 2012 R2
    • Windows Server 2012
    • Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
• Mac
  • Supports the following macOS versions on Intel and Apple processors:
    • macOS Tahoe 26
    • macOS Sequoia 15
    • macOS Sonoma 14
    • macOS Ventura 13
    • macOS Monterey 12
    • macOS Big Sur 11
    • macOS Catalina 10.15.7
• Linux
  • Supports Linux in Active Backup for Business 2.2.0 or above.
  • Supports Linux kernel versions between 2.6 and 6.14.
  • Supports the following Linux distributions:
    • CentOS: 7.8, 7.9, 8.1, 8.5
    • RHEL: 6.10, 7.8, 7.9, 8.1, 8.4, 8.5, 8.6, 8.7, 8.8, 8.9, 8.10, 9.0, 9.1, 9.2, 9.3, 9.4, 9.5, 9.6, 9.7
    • Fedora: 38, 39, 40, 41, 42
    • Ubuntu: 16.04, 18.04, 20.04, 22.04, and 24.04
    • Debian: 10, 11, 12, 13
  • Supports Linux models with x86-64 processors.
• Allows only users with DSM administrator permissions to sign out from the service or change the backup type.

Recovery Media Creator creates recovery media for volume-based or bare-metal restoration of Windows PCs, Mac computers, and Windows and Linux physical servers.

• Supports the following Windows platforms on x86-64 processors:
  • Windows 11 (all editions)
  • Windows 10 (all editions)
  • Windows Server 2025
  • Windows Server 2022
  • Windows Server 2019
  • Windows Server 2016
• Supports USB drives and ISO images as recovery media.
• Requires at least 2.5 GB of free space on the local system volume for temporary files.
• Requires at least 1 GB of capacity on the USB drive and on the volume used to store ISO images.
• Allows Linux recovery media to be downloaded directly from the Download Center.

Recovery Wizard performs volume-based or bare-metal restoration using created recovery media.

• Supports Windows PCs, Mac computers, and Windows and Linux physical servers.
• Supports the following macOS versions on Intel and Apple processors:
  • macOS Tahoe 26
  • macOS Sequoia 15
  • macOS Sonoma 14
  • macOS Ventura 13
  • macOS Monterey 12
  • macOS Big Sur 11
  • macOS Catalina 10.15.7
• Supports USB drives and ISO images as recovery media.