Synology NAS as a Linux Repository?

So it turns out that it’s possible to use a Synology NAS as a “native Linux repository” within Veeam. Usually, the Synology NAS would just be configured as a CIFS (SMB) target or better yet accessed via iSCSI attached to a managed server.

Now, this is good to know as CIFS repositories do not have agents that are installed on the storage to help manage data moving. Due to being unable to properly use CPU/RAM to help on-storage operations (Reverse incremental/transforms/merge operations) CIFS is generally regarded as the slower of the three options. By adding a Linux server as a backup repository, the target Data Mover Service is installed on this Linux server which should improve the performance versus a CIFS backup repository.

Now I wouldn’t recommend running this just yet in a production environment. I’ve read that users have reported success only for the next DSM update to break the repository.

If you are keen to try it out, there are a couple of requirements;
1. The Synology NAS must have Perl installed
3. The root password should not contain certain symbols (such as space)
4. The Synology needs to be x86/Intel, if its ARM then you are out of luck…
5. Should have at least 2GB of RAM, 4GB or more is recommended

For step by steps instructions check out Jim Millard’s blog post here http://blog.millard.org/2014/11/use-synology-as-veeam-b-linux-repository.html

You should see better speeds when using the Synology NAS configured as a Linux repository compared to a CIFS as backup data being transferred over the network connection will now be compressed and repository maintenance tasks are performed from inside the Synology NAS instead of being transported back to the managed server.

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