Storage for Virtualization

The storage platform that just works: with the performance, scalability, and integration you’re looking for, built-in data protection functionality, and the ability to consolidate virtualized workloads and file services – all at a one-time hardware cost.

Feature
Technical Specifications

A straightforward system to replace your aging SAN

The TCO of deploying a storage system shouldn’t be difficult to predict. Synology’s business-grade systems come with a full suite of data protection features and up to 5 years of warranty by default. You can focus on making the most out of your storage instead of worrying about the next maintenance contracts or license fees.

Choose the right storage option to power your virtualized workloads. Both support 10/25/40GbE* interfaces to boost network bandwidth.

All-flash FS series

Deliver the highest IOPS and lowest latency required for running databases and analytics.

Hybrid storage

Leverage SSD cache to provide an optimal balance between performance and storage capacity. *To support 25/40GbE network interface, please check the compatibility list for the supported network interface card.

When the time comes for business expansion or storage consolidation, easily scale up the memory or storage capacity (to up to 180 drives) on the fly without interrupting existing services.

Seamless integration into virtualization environments

Certified by VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V, Citrix XenServer, and OpenStack Cinder, the platform supports both iSCSI and NFS protocols, and integrates with VMware VAAI and Microsoft ODX, ensuring deployment flexibility and facilitating storage operations in a virtualized environment.

VMware / vSphere

Microsoft / Hyper-V

Citrix / XenServer

OpenStack

VMware / vSphere

VAAI for iSCSI

Full Copy
Block Zeroing
Hardware-assisted Locking
Thin Provisioning
Space Reclamation

VAAI for NAS

Full Clone
Extended Statistics
Reserve Space

Microsoft / Hyper-V

Microsoft ODX

(Offload Data Transfer)

Citrix / XenServer

iSCSI Storage Repository

OpenStack

OpenStack Block Storage

(Cinder)

VAAI Benefits

Faster VM performance is achieved by offloading cycles from ESXi to the storage array.
More effective utilization of storage arrays delivered by virtual machines with VAAI support.
Better flexibility in deploying and migrating VMs. Higher storage performance and efficiency with VMFS-5 file system.
Smoother access and management with load balancing automation in Storage vMotion.

Windows ODX integration

By leveraging ODX, the speed for data manipulation increases dramatically. Since the data transfer is offloaded, the CPU usage of the host server and the network bandwidth utilization shrink to minimum values, which allows the server to handle more important tasks. Compatibility

Enhanced manageability for VMware/Windows

With the plugins and packages Synology has developed for VMware and Windows, administrators are capable of managing their virtual environments efficiently.

VMware/Windows

Synology Snapshot Manager

Install Synology Snapshot Manager for VMware or Windows to create application-consistent snapshots in DSM.

VMware

Support for VMware Site Recovery Manager

VMware Site Recovery Manager allows users to enable disaster recovery directly via VMware vCenter Server, simplifying complicated configurations and optimizing the process.

Windows

Synology SMI-S Provider for SCVMM

The optimization with Microsoft's System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) allows an IT administrator to manage multiple Synology NAS servers as storage nodes via SCVMM's centralized user interface.

Built-in data protection

All Synology’s storage systems include comprehensive data protection features to safeguard your virtual environment from disasters – each designed for different RPO/RTO requirements; all of them license-free.

	Snapshot Replication	Hyper Backup	Synology High Availability
RPO	Minutes	Hours	Instant
RTO	Seconds	Hours	Seconds
Protection Level	Shared Folder / LUN	File / Shared Folder / LUN	Whole System
Destination	Synology NAS	Synology NAS External devices	Synology NAS
Failover to replica	V (Manual)	— (Requires restoring from the replica first)	V (Automatic)
Transfer differential data only	V	V	V
Encryption	V	V	—
Compression	—	V	—
Versioning	V	—	—
Use cases	For most use cases that require faster backup/restore time or resume services quickly from a replica. Suitable for users who wish to keep versions but still minimize the performance impact.	For archiving cold data with higher data efficiency. Suitable for users who don't require fast backup/restoration or those who wish to backup to public clouds or third party devices.	For mission-critical services that require automatic failover without human intervention and real-time synchronization to minimize any potential data loss.

Snapshot Replication

RTO	Seconds
Protection Level	Shared Folder / LUN
Destination	Synology NAS
Failover to replica	V (Manual)
Transfer differential data only	V
Encryption	V
Compression	—
Versioning	V
Use cases	For most use cases that require faster backup/restore time or resume services quickly from a replica. Suitable for users who wish to keep versions but still minimize the performance impact.

Hyper Backup

RTO	Hours
Protection Level	File / Shared Folder / LUN
Destination	Synology NAS External devices
Failover to replica	— (Requires restoring from the replica first)
Transfer differential data only	V
Encryption	V
Compression	V
Versioning	—
Use cases	For archiving cold data with higher data efficiency. Suitable for users who don't require fast backup/restoration or those who wish to backup to public clouds or third party devices.

Synology High Availability

RTO	Seconds
Protection Level	Whole System
Destination	Synology NAS
Failover to replica	V (Automatic)
Transfer differential data only	V
Encryption	—
Compression	—
Versioning	—
Use cases	For mission-critical services that require automatic failover without human intervention and real-time synchronization to minimize any potential data loss.

More advanced features

Fast clone

Create near-instantaneous virtual copies of iSCSI LUNs or vDisks on NFS with a simple click.

NFS v4.1 support

Access an NFS server via multiple network connections at the same time and enable higher bandwidth and auto-failover.

Thin provisioning support

Enable IT admins to maximize storage utilization and lower their TCO.

Consolidate your NAS and SAN infrastructure

For remote offices/branch offices that need both a file server and an iSCSI/NFS storage for virtualized workloads, Synology allows them to create NAS and SAN environments on one system, greatly simplifying management and reducing footprints for IT admins.

Find the best storage option for your needs

All-flash storage

FS6400

240,000 4K random write IOPS, scalable up to 72 SSDs.

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FS3400

Over 137,000 4K random write IOPS, scalable up to 72 SSDs.

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Hybrid storage

SA3400

Native 2U with 12 bays scalable up to 180 drives, with 2 x 10GBASE-T & 2 x PCIe 3.0 x8.

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RS4017xs+

Native 3U with 16 bays scalable up to 40 drives, with 2 x 10GBASE-T & 2 x PCIe 3.0 x8.

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Customer stories

See how these organizations achieved more with Synology.

The storage array has been proven to be more than capable of going toe-to-toe with what would be classed as an enterprise-class all flash array for a fraction of the cost.

FlashStation FS2017 is the ideal storage solution for operating load-critical VMs. As a high-availability cluster with a 5-year warranty and free Synology Replacement Service, the price-performance ratio in this storage dimension is perfect.

With the FS2017 and the RX2417sas expansion unit, we were able to optimize the work efficiencies of over 8,000 employees in all our branch offices.

The storage array has been proven to be more than capable of going toe-to-toe with what would be classed as an enterprise-class all flash array for a fraction of the cost.

Learn more

Learn more

With the FS2017 and the RX2417sas expansion unit, we were able to optimize the work efficiencies of over 8,000 employees in all our branch offices.

Learn more

Certification

VMware vSphere 6 with VAAI
Windows Server 2012
Windows Server 2012 R2
Windows Server 2016
Citrix Ready
OpenStack

iSCSI LUN Snapshot and Clone

Supports instant snapshot and restoration
Each LUN supports up to 256 snapshots
Scheduled LUN snapshots
LUN snapshot can be cloned and mounted as a regular LUN
Restore LUN from snapshot
Each LUN can perform one snapshot or clone task at the same time
Up to eight concurrent LUN snapshot/clone tasks
iSCSI LUN Snapshot and Clone are available on specific models only. Please see this product comparison page to learn more
Synology Snapshot Manager is available on VMware vSphere 5.1 or later, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2, and Windows Server 2016 for taking application consistent snapshot
Support up to 256 iSCSI targets*
Support up to 512 iSCSI LUNs*
On VMware vSphere, Synology Snapshot Manager supports up to 3 maximum concurrent snapshot tasks
Storage Replication Adapter for VMware Site Recovery Manager

Storage Management

Supports instant snapshot and restoration
Each LUN supports up to 256 snapshots
Scheduled LUN snapshots
LUN snapshot can be cloned and mounted as a regular LUN
Restore LUN from snapshot
Each LUN can perform one snapshot or clone task at the same time
Up to eight concurrent LUN snapshot/clone tasks
iSCSI LUN Snapshot and Clone are available on specific models only. Please see this product comparison page to learn more
Synology Snapshot Manager is available on VMware vSphere 5.1 or later, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2, and Windows Server 2016 for taking application consistent snapshot
Support up to 256 iSCSI targets*
Support up to 512 iSCSI LUNs*
On VMware vSphere, Synology Snapshot Manager supports up to 3 maximum concurrent snapshot tasks
Storage Replication Adapter for VMware Site Recovery Manager

Snapshot

Local snapshots of shared folders on Btrfs file system and advanced file LUNs
Schedule snapshot and customize retention rules
Remove or lock versions
Browse and restore snapshots in the #snapshot folder in all file services or File Station
View snapshot data in the Previous Versions tab in the Properties dialogue on Windows PC.
Support up to 1,024 snapshots per shared folder*
Support up to 256 snapshots per iSCSI LUN*

Replication

Replicate data to another destination by taking and sending snapshots to local or another server. The maximum number of replication tasks is determined by different modules of Synology NAS. For more information, please go to Synology's official website
Schedule replication and customize retention rules
Send the initial replication copy via the Internet or storage devices
Replicate data to multiple destination servers from the same source server
Statistics of transferred size and sync duration are recorded and displayed as a report
Overview topology of data replication
Supports port forwarding by customizing address and port of a replication task
Encrypt replication transmission
iSCSI LUN replication can be managed via Synology Snapshot Replication or VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager. (Installing Synology SRA on VMware Site Recovery Manager servers is required.)
Pause/resume replication transmission to optimize bandwidth

Recovery

Restore to a previous version via various methods including common protocols, File Station, and Windows File Explorer.
Perform a failover on shared folders or iSCSI LUNs and make the replicas on the destination server writable when the source server is not healthy
Perform a re-protect action to sync data on the two servers again after performing a failover
Perform a test failover to make a clone and run all necessary tests in the event of disaster
Perform a force failover when the source server is healthy

High Availability Manager

Form a high-availability cluster with two identical Synology NAS servers in order to maximize service uptime
Automatic unexpected failover on CIFS/iSCSI/FTP/AFP/NFS service failure; power outage; storage space crash; data network disconnection
Supports Quorum Server to effectively minimize the occurrence of split-brain
VLAN support
After creating a cluster with Synology High Availability, the max number of volumes and block-level iSCSI LUNs altogether will be limited to 64
View recent system information, iSCSI Target connection history and file difference in each shared folder when a split-brain error occurs
Comprehensive management interface and easy-to-follow troubleshooting

Note

High Availability does not support DHCP Server, MailPlus Server, Peta Space and Virtual Machine Manager

Hyper Backup

Backs up folders, packages, and DSM configurations in deduplicated image format
Retains up to 65,535 versions
Supports cross-version deduplication, renamed and copied file deduplication, and data compression
Version control:
- Regular or Smart Recycle rotation ready
- Version lock prevents a specific version from automatic rotation
Supported destinations:
- Local shared folders and external storage devices
- Shared folders and external storage devices on a remote server
- Public cloud destinations including Amazon S3, S3-compatible storage, Microsoft Azure (Global and China), HiDrive, IBM SoftLayer, RackSpace, and other OpenStack Swift compatible servers and Synology C2 Backup
Offers granular recovery
- Allows single file restoration
- Allows data recovery on Windows and Ubuntu using Hyper Backup Explorer
Backup repositories are portable:
- Export the initial backup version to an external storage device and deliver the external storage device to the destination for data uploading
- Reuse a backup repository by relinking
Enable client-side encryption to ensure data confidentiality at the backup destination
- Data and file name encryption with AES256-CBC
- Key ring encryption with RSA2048
Supports transmission encryption
Back up encrypted shared folders
Customize your own retention policies

Hyper Backup Vault

Avails itself to be the backup destination of other Synology NAS servers running Hyper Backup
Offers an overview of storage consumption of the vault
Launch Hyper Backup Explorer for browsing
Offers backup log per task

LUN Backup

Back up iSCSI LUNs to a local volume or another Synology NAS
Maximum number of concurrent LUN backup tasks: 1
Schedule backup tasks

Notes:

Please note that the figures marked in asterisks are derived from the Synology lab by using high-performance client computers with optimized network settings, and could vary in different environments.