Synology Rolls Out Virtual Machine Support On Select NAS Units

Good news, Synology fans, Virtual Machine Manager is out of beta and available to all Synology owners running supported models.  While the list is thin, owners of SMB and “Plus” models will more than likely be in luck. A complete list is outlined below.

You might be asking yourself, what good does this do and why should I care?  While the answer could be, ‘if you have to ask’, you won’t find a use, but the real reason this is important is because hypervisors can be downright expensive.  While there are absolutely wonderful free options, like VirtualBox, ESXi, and Proxmox, each solution comes with its own learning curve and all but VirtualBox requires its own dedicated bare metal.

With Virtual Machine Manager, owners of select models of Synology’s DiskStations can add additional value to their NAS units by running VMs on the NAS itself, using CPU and RAM resources that would otherwise go to waste.  As my uncle Rico continues to tell me, “You might as well do something while you’re doing nothing” and now, that applies to your Synology NAS.

One another note, Synology is running a contest, giving away a prize every day between today and Christmas.  Those interested in entering can do so daily here.

• 18 series: DS3018xs, DS918+, DS718+, DS218+
• 17 series: FS3017, FS2017, RS3617xs, RS3617RPxs, RS4017xs+, RS3617xs+, RS18017xs+, DS3617xs, DS1817+, DS1517+
• 16 series: RS2416RP+, RS2416+, RS18016xs+, DS916+
• 15 series: RS815RP+, RS815+, RC18015xs+, DS3615xs, DS2415+, DS1815+, DS1515+
• 14 series: RS3614xs, RS3614RPxs, RS3614xs+
• 13 series: RS3413xs+, RS10613xs+
• 12 series: RS3412xs, RS3412RPxs, DS3612xs
• 11 series: RS3411xs, RS3411RPxs, DS3611xs

In an upcoming review of the DS718+, we’ll take a look at the virtualization capabilities and see if it’s all seamless and easily managed. While not everyone will need a VM, it does mean that if you are not fond of Synology’s plugin selection, or wish you had more control over the environment, there is nothing stopping you from spinning up a Linux distro and creating your own webserver, and learn how to maintain it remotely using hardware you already have. Although, we might just try installing PFSense, since the DS718+ has dual Ethernet at its disposal – we’ll have to get back to you on this.