Synology Assistant

Synology Assistant is an easy tool to manage Synology NAS(s) in local area network (LAN), especially when you have multiple machines working within LAN. With Synology Assistant, you can install DSM, share printers, set up WOL and upload photos.

View the help file by topic:


Basic Control

By minimizing Synology Assistant to the system tray, the process will be performed in the background, and it provides a quick menu for operations listed below:

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Management

In the Management tab, you can perform the operations below:

Search Synology NAS(s) in LAN

Connect to a Synology NAS

In Synology Assistant, you can connect to your Synology NAS by the following ways:

When the Synology NAS is successfully connected, your default browser will take you to the Synology DiskStation Manager login page.

Map Drive

You can map a shared folder as a network drive and access it as an internal drive on your local computer.

Set Up WOL

You can set up WOL to wake up your Synology NAS remotely.

  1. Select a Synology NAS from the server list and click Set Up WOL.
  2. Follow the Setup Wizard to complete the setup.
  3. Refer to WOL section for more information.

Install DSM

If your Synology NAS has not been installed with Synology DiskStation Manager (DSM), it will be labeled as Not Installed or Configuration Lost under the Status column of the server list. To install DSM on it by Synology Assistant, please follow the steps below:

  1. On the Management tab, double-click a Synology NAS labeled as Not Installed or Configuration Lost under the Status column of the server list.
  2. Follow the Setup Wizard to initialize the setup process. If the selected Synology NAS has more than 1 bay, and its status is Not Installed, you can also check Create a Synology Hybrid RAID (SHR) volume after installation to create a SHR volume after DSM installation. SHR is an intelligent volume type that optimizes volume size when combining hard disks of varying sizes.

You will be taken to the Installation dialog once the installation begins. The left section shows the server name and installation progress. The right section shows the detail of the installation process. Click Close to return to the Management tab.

Cancel Installation

Cancel the installation for the servers that have completed the installation or have encountered errors during the installation by clicking Cancel.

Recovery System

If the Synology DiskStation Manager (DSM) version recorded on your Synology NAS is older than the version on your newly installed hard disk(s), the server will be marked as Recoverable under the Status column of the server list. It may happen when you are trying to migrate your original hard disk(s) from one Synology NAS to another. Follow the steps below to recover the system:

  1. In the Management tab, double-click a Synology NAS labeled as Recoverable under the Status column of the server list.
  2. You will be taken to the System Recovery dialog once the recovery begins.
  3. Follow the wizard to complete the system recovery.

Perform System Migration

If you want to replace an old Synology NAS with a new one, you can remove the hard drives from the old Synology NAS, install them onto the new one, and then use Synology Assistant to find your new Synology NAS (with the Migratable status) and migrate system configurations stored on the hard drives. When the migration process is complete, most configurations on the old Synology NAS can be recovered on the new one.

Check Synology NAS Status

The table below details the status indications of Synology NAS in Synology Assistant. You may want to refer to the list when performing various operations.

Status Indication Table

Status Status Indication
Booting System is booting.
Checking quota System is checking hard disk quota.
Checking file system ([number] minutes remaining) System is checking file system. The process will be finished in the displayed minutes.
Configuration error Error occurred during configuration. Double-click the sever to reapply the settings.
Connection failed Network configuration error.
Configuration lost Error occurred during configuration. Double-click the Synology NAS to reinstall the DSM.
Getting connection status System is detecting connection status.
N/A WOL is set up but the current condition is unknown.*
Not installed System is not installed yet.
Off-line System is off-line.
Performing Memory Test (x%) Memory test progress is currently x%.
Ready System is installed and ready to use.
Recoverable System is recoverable.
Migratable System configurations on the hard drives can be migrated to this Synology NAS.
Starting services System is starting services.
Upgrading Synology NAS is upgrading its DSM.
Check progress Synology NAS is being installed/configured. Press to check progress.

Note:

Refer to WOL section for more information.

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WOL

You can turn on a server remotely by setting up its WOL(Wake on LAN) function.

Set Up WOL within LAN

Before setting up WOL on Synology Assistant, please make sure you have ticked the Enable Wake on LAN checkbox in DSM. This is under Control Panel > Power.

  1. On the Management tab, select a Synology NAS from the server list and click Set Up WOL. The pop-up box will display the network type and the MAC address of the Synology NAS.
  2. Tick the Wake up the server checkbox to turn on the Synology NAS immediately after WOL setup.
  3. Click OK to complete the setup.
  4. The server’s WOL status will change to “WOL” on the Management tab.

Note:

  1. Not all Synology NASs support WOL function. Refer to the WOL Status Table and Synology Website for more information.
  2. You can also right-click a Synology NAS and choose WOL > Set Up.
  3. You can set up WOL for multiple servers by pressing “Shift” or “Ctrl”. The system will skip the dialog box and add all selected servers onto WOL list immediately.

Wake Up a Server

  1. Under the Management tab, right-click the server you want to turn on from the server list, and then choose WOL > Wake Up.
  2. The server’s WOL Status will change to “Progress X%”, indicating the wake up progress.

When WOL is complete, the WOL status will change to “WOL”. Refer to the WOL Status Table for more information.

WOL Status Table

WOL Status Status Indication
WOL 1. WOL is set up.
2. Server is turned on.
-- 1. WOL is not set up.
2. Server does not support WOL function.
Progress X% Server is turning on. Wake up progress is X%.
Off Server is turned off.
N/A WOL is set up but the current condition is unknown.

Remove WOL function for a Server

  1. On the Management tab, right-click the server you want to remove its WOL function from the server list, and then choose WOL > Remove.
  2. The WOL status of the server will change to “--”.

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Printer Device

In Synology Assistant, Printer Device provides central management of printers attached to your Synology NAS. Both basic and multifunctional printers are supported. To share a printer connected to Synology NAS in LAN by Synology Assistant, please follow the instructions below:

Add Printer

  1. Attach the printer to your Synology NAS.
  2. Set up printer mode in DSM. To do so, please go to Main Menu > Control Panel > External Devices. Here you will see the attached printer shown in the External Devices tab.
  3. Select the printer and click USB Printer Manager button and choose Set Up Printer to select the operation mode for your printer. Please choose Network Printer mode if you use print function only. Choose Network MFP* if you want to use print/scan/fax functions.
  4. Now you can come back to Synology Assistant to set up for sharing the printer. Please go to Printer Device tab. Click Add and follow Setup Wizard to add printer to your computer. For the first time adding the printer, please have your printer driver ready for installation.

Attach/Release the printer

When printing and sending fax, you can perform the operations without manually attaching the printer in Synology Assistant. However, when you want to use scanner or receive fax on a multifunction printer, you have to attach the printer for your sole use to prevent the jobs from being interrupted by other users.

When a printer is manually attached in Synology Assistant, it means others users who share the same printer in LAN cannot access the device. So please do remember to release the printer when you finish your job.

You can attach/release the printer by the following ways:

  1. In Synology Assistant, go to Printer Device tab.
  2. Select the printer you want to attach and click Attach. Synology Assistant will start to connect the printer. The status column will show the operation state.
  3. When a printer is attached, you will see the button Attach has become Release. You can click it to release the attached printer.

Note:

Remove Printer

  1. Select the printer you want to remove in the list.
  2. Click Remove to delete the printer from the list.

Edit Printer Info

When Synology Assistant cannot automatically catch the IP of your printer, you can manually set up the IP here.

  1. Select the printer you want to edit in the list.
  2. Click Edit and input the correct IP of your printer.

Note:

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Preferences

You can click the Preferences button (with the gear icon) to set up the following settings.

Note:

  1. It might take from minutes to hours for the memory test to finish, depending on the physical memory size of your server. During the test, any access to the server will be denied.
  2. Memory Test is available only on Synology NAS with DSM2.2-0914 and onward.

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