Hyper Backup supports backups of your Synology NAS to local shared folders, external storage devices attached to your Synology NAS (i.e., USB), remote Synology NAS, file servers, and cloud services. This article demonstrates how to create a multi-version backup copy to your local shared folders and external devices.

Your Synology NAS is running DSM 6.0 or above. Hyper Backup is not supported on older versions of DSM.

Create a backup task

1. Sign in to DSM and download the Hyper Backup package from the Package Center if you haven't already.
2. Open Hyper Backup.
3. Click the + icon on the upper-left corner, and select Folders and Packages. Click Next.
4. Select Local Shared Folder or USB as your backup destination. Click Next.
   
5. Select a backup version type:
   • Multiple versions:
     - Your data will be saved as .hbk files to minimize storage usage when backing up a new version each time Hyper Backup performs the task.
     - Data encryption and compression are available.
   • Single version:
     - Your data will be saved in the original formats and folder structure. This allows you to easily retrieve and view files on different devices.
     - The older backup data will be overwritten as the system will only keep the latest version of your files.
     - Data encryption and compression are not available.
6. Select Create backup task and choose a local shared folder or an external storage device attached to your Synology NAS. You can also change the name of the Directory, under which you can find your backed up data.
• If the backup destination you selected is an encrypted shared folder, please make sure it is mounted. Otherwise, it won't be displayed in the shared folder list.
  
7. Select any source folder(s) to back up the contained data.
• Encrypted shared folders must remain mounted during the backup process.
• In cases where the source and destination are in the same volume, the system will mark the source folders with orange exclamation marks.
  
8. Select the application(s) you would like to back up.
9. Specify the backup settings below as suitable:
• Task: Name the backup task.
• Enable task notification: You will be notified of the task status via email, SMS, or push service.
• Compress backup data: Compress backup data to reduce the usage of the destination storage. More backup time is required when this option is enabled.
• Enable backup schedule: Schedule when the system should automatically perform the backup task.
• Enable integrity check: Schedule an automatic integrity check, which examines stored data and detects corruption, to run at a specific time to ensure data reliability. Index check is enabled by default, while you may set a limit on the time spent on data check.
• Enable client-side encryption: Protect your backup data from unwanted access at the destination by using a password. The password used for encryption here will be required for restoring the data backed up in this task. Thus, losing this password will result in permanent data loss.
  
10. Select Enable backup rotation to set up the rotation scheme:
• From the earliest versions: The earliest existing backup versions will be deleted once the specified Max number of kept versions is exceeded.
• Smart Recycle: The system will retain every backup version until the specified number of versions is exceeded. When rotation is triggered, the system will first rotate the versions that do not meet any of the conditions; if all of the existing versions meet the conditions below, the system will rotate the earliest version:
  • Hourly versions from the past 24 hours: The system keeps the earliest version created each hour.
  • Daily versions from the past 1 day to 1 month: The system keeps the earliest version created each day.
  • Weekly versions older than 1 month: The system keeps the earliest version created each week.
• Max number of kept versions: Set a limit for retained backup versions.
• Timeline: Display the possible result of backup retention according to your backup schedule and rotation scheme.
  
11. Click Apply to complete the setup.
12. To perform the backup task immediately, follow the Backup Wizard's instructions and click Yes.

Modify task settings

The system will display a green check icon on the interface if your backup task is successful. You can always modify your backup settings by clicking the Settings button located at the lower right-hand corner of the page.