How do I mount network drives for Synology Directory Server's users?
Last updated:Feb 4, 2021
How do I mount network drives for Synology Directory Server's users?
Purpose
This article guides you through mounting network drives for Synology Directory Server's users.
Notes:
- Synology Directory Server is the updated version of Active Directory Server, not LDAP Server (formerly named Directory Server).
Resolution
Before you start
- Join a Windows PC to the domain (see chapter 4 of Synology Directory Server Administrator's Guide).
- Download and install RSAT (Windows Remote Server Administration Tools) on a domain-joined computer (see this article).
Mount a network drive for a single domain user
- Go to DSM Control Panel > Shared Folder to create a shared folder. Please note that shared folders for a single user and for all users should not be the same.
- Right-click the created shared folder and click Edit.
- At the Permissions tab, select Domain users.
- Tick the Custom checkbox, and the Permission Editor window will be displayed.
- Select a target from the User or group drop-down menu, and set Apply to and Permission by following the settings in the table below. The image below is an example of how to set permissions for a user-defined group named "Owner".
User or group Apply to Permission User-defined group (e.g., "Owner") Tick Child folders, Child files, and All descendants. Tick Administration, Read, and Write for full control. Domain Admins Select All. Tick Administration, Read, and Write for full control. Domain Users Select All. Tick Read for full read permissions and only Create folders/Append data under Write. 
- After setting up the shared folder, go to Synology Directory Server > Users & Computers.
- Right-click the specified user account and click Edit.
- Switch to the Profile tab1 and click Connect under the Home Directory section.
- Assign a drive letter for the network drive.
- Enter the path of the shared folder (or a folder under the shared folder) you want to mount as a network drive.
\\IP address of NAS\(shared) folder name - Click OK to save the settings.
- Sign in to the domain-joined Windows PC with this domain user account. You will see the mounted drive on the computer.
Mount network drives for all domain users
- Follow steps 1 - 5 in the first section. Make sure you have created a shared folder and granted sufficient permissions to all domain users on the domain controller.
- Sign in to a domain-joined Windows PC as a domain administrator.
- Go to Windows Control Panel > System and Security > Administrative Tools > Group Policy Management.
- Go to Forest: domain name > Domains > Domain name > Default Domain Policy.
- At the Settings tab, right-click to open the context menu, and click Edit.
- In the console tree, go to User Configuration > Preferences > Windows Settings > Drive Maps. Right-click in the right-hand pane and click New > Mapped Drive.
- Configure the following settings2 and click OK:
- Action: Select Create from the drop-down menu.
- Location: Enter the location of the network drive, e.g., "\\192.168.1.1\SynoRock".
- Drive Letter: Under this section, click Use and choose a drive letter.
- After the configuration, you will see the network drive mounted on this computer when you sign in via any domain user account.
Notes:
- The Local path option at the Profile tab is the path to a Windows local folder. Make sure this path has already been created on the computer you assigned. Otherwise, your settings will not be valid.
- It is not necessary to enter a User name and Password under the Connect as (optional) section because Windows will attempt to mount the network drive for your account when the settings are completed. When a domain user signs in, Windows will automatically mount the network drive for that user's account.
- To make network drives work properly, please ensure that the destination of network drives exists and that users have access permissions.
- If domain users have already signed in to the assigned Windows PC before a drive is mounted, they will need to sign in again to access the mounted drive.