Setup Synology Drive Server And Synology Drive Clients For Your Own Private Cloud

[@robertcoleman7071]

Thank you for the included use cases.

[@digital_aloha]

Hi Robert, You're welcome!

[@nikt7585]

9 minutes that save endless and cumbersome readings. Now I know what to do. You are the MVP! Send this link to Synology so they understand how to explain and sell their stuff

[@digital_aloha]

@user-my5cu7oy5i Haha!! Thank you for the compliment on the video and I'm happy it provided you the info you needed to get your setup working properly!!

[@onumavirga]

After a couple of hours of exhausting trying to connect to the synology drive client i found this excellent explanation. Thanks you so much!!!

[@digital_aloha]

Hi Onuma, You're welcome!! I'm happy to hear that the video helped you with your Synology Drive client setup.

[@HaithemAbdul]

Your video helped me make Synology drive connect after I wasted all day trying. Thanks so much! 🔥👍

[@digital_aloha]

@HaithemAbdul You're welcome!! I'm happy to hear the video helped get your Synology Drive setup and thank you for the feedback!!

[@milwaukeebrewer9264]

This appears to be great information, but I can't read a thing in the Synology interface because the text is way too tiny. In Safari for Mac, text size can be increased by hitting Command-plus.

[@digital_aloha]

Thanks for the feedback!!

[@IPEAServicios]

you are the best teacher for this type of technology. Thanks for this great well done video.

[@digital_aloha]

Hi Jose, You're welcome and thank you for the wonderful compliment!! Much appreciated!!

[@A2000160]

Thank you for this amazing tutorial in a short video.

[@digital_aloha]

You're welcome!!

[@tombouie]

Thks again, I'm trying to figure-out a Synology NAS before I get one (ex: DS423+). Synology Drive totally confused me as well as most KZbin videos. But after watching yours, now I'm much less confused ;) Synology Drive server & clients Summary: The client app (web browser, file mgr, etc) will present the same Synology Drive directory containing a Team-Folder & a My-Drive directory Team-Folder: contains ‘nas shared folders’ that a user can arbitrarily assign see/read/write/etc permissions on files to other users much like a sysadmin ‘My Drive’ in the ‘Synology Drive browser UI’, ‘Drive’ within ‘Synology file station’, & ‘Synology Drive’ within the ‘Windows OS file mgr’ all reference to your single NAS sync folder under a user’s NAS home folder that only you have permissions to (note to create the sync folder, the user must have a home folder on the NAS) Within ‘Synology Drive Admin Console’ ; the team folder contains the My Drive folder as well as others Strangely within the ‘Synology Drive browser UI’ ; the My Drive folder is on the same tier of the team folder Within Synology file station ; it’s called Drive under home Within Windows file mgr ; it’s called Synology Drive Within Mobile file mgr ; it’s called ??????#*&%^

[@digital_aloha]

@tombouie You're welcome, glad the video made Synology Drive less confusing for you 😀. I think your Synology Drive server and client summary is pretty spot on and I can see why the whole setup can be confusing after reading through it. Your last item about Synology Drive Mobile you'll find (at least on an iOS device) that My Drive and Team Folders are nicely separated as tabs/headers that you can tap to switch between the two types of drive setups. Hope this helps and hopefully you've settled in on a Synology NAS to purchase!!

[@DavidM2002]

SDS seems like a great solution to some needs but, for me, there are far too many structural changes to the way the server and users are setup. I've watched a lot of videos on the subject and this is certainly one of the better ones so thanks very much for taking the time to do this. In the end, I ended up using Syncthing which, while not perfect, adapts really well to existing systems without so many changes.

[@Barbasdomisha]

Thank you! clear and easy to follow

[@digital_aloha]

@Barbasdomisha You're welcome!! Happy to hear that the video was easy to follow!!

[@niccopernicus8966]

Thank you for this clear tutorial! Been looking for personal cloud solution.

[@digital_aloha]

Hi Nic, You’re welcome. I hope Synology Drive works out for you. Good luck!!

[@RajaSekhar347]

Thank You, very clearly explained😀

[@digital_aloha]

Hi Raja, You're welcome. I'm happy to hear that the video helped you!!

[@cyberwasp461]

Great video. Any chance of doing a tutorial on the Synology drive client mobile app?

[@digital_aloha]

@cyberwasp461 Thank you and thanks for the suggestion on doing a tutorial on the Synology Drive client mobile app. I have it in my todo list, but never got to it yet. I'll bump it up my list.

[@2big2fail47]

Thanks so much for the tutorial! Do you know if there's a way to disable the "My Drive" folder and just have Teams folders? I'd like to use the Synology as a shared project-library where all Users have access to all files on the drive but users can't have their own files that are hidden from the team. Thank you!

[@digital_aloha]

You're welcome!! Regarding your question, if you disable the "My Drive" team folder from within the Synology Drive Admin Console that should do the trick. This step should bring you to the User & Group Control Panel where, under the Advanced tab, you need to disable the "Enable user home service". Once you do that "My Drive" should not be available anymore. Hope this helps!!

[@2big2fail47]

@@digital_aloha thanks so much your help! i'll try it asap!! :)

[@digital_aloha]

@@2big2fail47 Hope al works out!!

[@2big2fail47]

just tried it and it worked perfect. thank you so much! One more question: Do you know by any chance if there's also the possibility to have the "My Drive" folder just for specific users activated. For example just for the admins? That would help me so much@@digital_aloha

[@lenhanthanhngoaingu3379]

I have watched dozens of videos and this video is the easiest to follow. Thank you so very much. Can you tell me if you have any video instructing how to add users who use devices other than the computer on which Synology Drive is installed to a Synology NAS?

[@digital_aloha]

You're welcome!! Glad you found this video helpful. I don't have any videos on connecting devices other than computers to Synology Drive, but that is a wonderful idea for a video. What devices are you using? I'm mainly an iOS user so my focus would likely be geared toward Apple devices.

[@lenhanthanhngoaingu3379]

@@digital_aloha I would be very grateful if you could make a video instructing how to create user accounts and sync devices such as IOS/Android smart phones/tablets as well as desktops and laptops to a synology NAS. Please bear in your mind that your videos are for non-expert users. Thank you very much in advance.

[@digital_aloha]

Hi Le, I'll look into creating videos on how to connect iOS devices to Synology Drive and will create Android videos if/when I get an Android device. Thanks for your suggestion!!

[@juliociamarra]

Thank you for this video. Can you help me understand why Synology Drive is indexing my NAS. Does it need a separate index vs the Universal Index? Thank you

[@zinmyozmo]

Thanks for sharing this very useful video. Q: How can multiple users be configured to utilize Synology Drive Server/Client remotely over the Internet (not via a LAN)? Thank you!

[@digital_aloha]

@zinmyozmo You're welcome!! Glad the video was helpful. Regarding your question, you should be able to add more local users and use QuickConnect to have the users remotely connect to Synology Drive Server on your Synology NAS. Both of those topics were covered in the video so have a look at those sections once again. Hope this helps? And good luck to you in your setup!!

[@pietrogazzera5733]

Well done!

[@digital_aloha]

Thank you!!

[@g.o.9513]

Is it possible to stream data from NAS to Mac via the Mac Finder Server?

[@digital_aloha]

Yeah, for sure. Once you connect to Synology Drive you can open up any audio/video files you have stored on your NAS like files that are stored on your local hard drive.

[@Cocophant]

Is it possible to use a shared folder on one device as a shared folder and on another as a normal network drive in windows file explorer? I need the data on my laptop to be accessable without a Internet connection. Therefore I would like the data on the local hard drive in the shared folder. On my desktop on the other hand I am never disconected from my network so I would want to access the files via network drive in the file explorer and edit the files directly on the nas. This way the data doesn't use any space locally on my desktop. I don't want to use any webclient.

[@fulopalmos3162]

Excellent tutorial! Is there a way to set up multiple backup tasks? - I would like to backup multiple folders from different drives to my recently purchased Synology and after creating one task for my Photos a folder on my PC, I can't see a button to create another task for my other important folders I want to backup.

[@ronq]

Hi i'm having a issue syncing my synology drive client keep on showing Remote folder is disabled or is non-existent may i know how to resolve this?

[@huzzyz]

Could you share how to enable synology drive with multiple clients and tailscale?

[@digital_aloha]

Hi Huzaifa, Thanks for your request on setting up Synology Drive with Tailscale!! I'll look into that setup more closely and will put try to create a video with that specific setup in the near future.

[@darrenjackson2880]

On demand synchronisation is now available, so two way sync can be used without taking space on your devices - unless the file is used / downloaded. Space can subsequently be recovered using Synology Drive to clear up cached files.

[@digital_aloha]

Hi Darren, Thanks for the info!! I know on-demand sync was available for Windows for some time and in beta on MacOS for a few months. It looks like it is released now as of version 3.2 of the client software... Awesome!! Gonna give it a try!!

[@MBimmer]

This is THE video to watch. thank you for creating this video. Q: When a user opens a document while another user is already editing the same document, is there something "file is opened for editing, open a read only"? the idea is to keep one document with the latest info instead of creating two versions that could mismatch or lack some info. I remember this was the default behaviour "file is opened for editing, open a read only" on old NAS Netgear back in the days, but i am new Synology user so would like some advice. Thank you in advance.

[@digital_aloha]

Hi M-Bimmer, You're welcome and thanks for your comment on the video (I'm happy to hear that you really like it)!! Regarding your question, if you are using Synology Office along with Synology Drive you'll have collaborative editing available so you shouldn't have conflicts. I have a video that covers this if you are interested -> kzbin.info/www/bejne/lZTamYegrsSIarc. If you aren't using Synology Office you may, from time to time, get a conflict with the same file being edited at the same time. Synology handles this pretty well and here is a Synology webpage that covers how this is handled -> kb.synology.com/en-global/DSM/tutorial/Synology_Drive_file_conflict_resolution. Hope this helps? And best of luck in your setup!!

[@cjyoung1825]

I only want to sync a specific folder and it's subfolders within a shared folder using the Team Folder. Is this possible? The folder is 6 levels deep from the root of the shared folder. Do I have to create a new shared folder and move the target folder in it? Really don't want to do this if not necessary. Am I missing how to do this?

[@vhoangson]

hi DA, what if I want to using Synology Drive Clients from my office with NAS server at home without VPN connect ? I have tried and can't connect to NAS with my ddns address. Synology Drive Clients using different port, not from DSM port. I not sure this port is secure for data transfer.

[@UTubeSuhail]

Could you walk though the On-demand option for the file sync? Specifically, I was wondering if my drive on my computer is far less in space than the one on the NAS drive. Would this work similar to Dropbox's Smart Sync?

[@digital_aloha]

Hi Suhail, I'll look into your request. I haven't done much with On-demand Sync and use the approach I talked about in this video because I'm 90% a MacOS user and On-demand Sync wasn't an available option when I last checked, but I know Synology was looking to make it available for MacOS at some point. Are you a Windows or MacOS user?

[@UTubeSuhail]

@@digital_aloha Thank you I am Mac user and from what I understand its available on both Windows and Mac platforms

[@digital_aloha]

Thanks Suhail, Look for a video on Synology Drive On-demand Sync sometime in the new year.

[@UTubeSuhail]

@@digital_aloha Thank you! I think the feature is coming to Mac in DSM 7.1 so I was wrong. The on-demand feature is currently only available for Windows.

[@digital_aloha]

@@UTubeSuhail Thanks for letting me know!! I'll keep an eye on the DSM 7.1 update.

[@cecilgittens3113]

I am trying to setup a sync folder on my laptop but I am getting a error message "An error occurred (error code -3)

[@jmazariegos1]

In your 2nd "web client" use case, how do you prevent the video files from being synced to your devices with the Drive client installed?

[@digital_aloha]

Hi Josue, For the example in the video I didn't setup the Synology Drive client with the Videos folder so I wouldn't have to worry about the videos syncing to my MacBook. I only setup the Synology Drive client with the My Drive folder that I did want to sync. If you want your Synology Drive client not to sync file to your computer automatically you could use On-Demand sync which I covered in this video -> kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z6CTlaF_nsdmgq8. This only works on Windows though so that is why I used the setup I mentioned in the video because I'm mainly a MacOS user. Hope this information helps and good luck with your setup!!

[@loua695]

Very good tutorial. My use case is mostly with Excell files. When I click on my spreadsheet from IOS it opens in a non-editable Excell view. Is it possible to tell Synology Drive to open file in Excell? Spreadsheet opens from Excell app ok.

[@digital_aloha]

Hi Lou, Glad you liked the tutorial!! Regarding your question on Excel, have a look at this forum post which I think will get you what you want to accomplish - community.synology.com/enu/forum/1/post/132274. I walked through the steps with Word and it seems to do the trick for me, but there are a bunch of steps to take to get it in an editable format. Hope this helps! Good luck!!

[@Ppetelski]

Hi, Could You show also how to sync folder from Synology Photos with Synology Drive? When I am clicking change folder in app i cannot see /home/Photos only /home/Drive

[@NazrulIslam-gu7gp]

I can not create a new folder in synology drive from my iPhone and iTab. (Given Error message: synology drive server is not installed on your synology NAS. go to package center on your NAS to install it or contact the system administrator)

[@digital_aloha]

I haven't experienced the issue you are having so I don't have advice to give, especially if you are connected properly to Synology Drive. There are others that seem to be experiencing the same issue you are. Do a search online to see if someone found a fix. Good luck!!

[@carlos_mann]

When you say it won't take up space on your devices at the end. Does that mean it saves the file, folder (media / data), as a temporary file, similar to the way I can save media for "offline" playback?

[@digital_aloha]

@carlos_mann Actually no... In my comparison between two-way sync (where files on the NAS are also synced to your computer) and the web client (where the web client displays the files that are available on the NAS) I was saying that with the web client I would download what I need which limits the amount of space that could be taken up as compared to two-way sync. Hope that makes sense? Another option, which would allow for offline playback, is using on-demand sync which I cover in these videos -> kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z6CTlaF_nsdmgq8 (Windows) and kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z6CTlaF_nsdmgq8 (MacOS).

[@carlos_mann]

@@digital_aloha yes that was clear 👌 And alright thanks for the other video ill check it out

[@digital_aloha]

@@carlos_mann You're welcome!!

[@tombouie]

Thks

[@digital_aloha]

@tombouie, You're welcome!!

[@AuthenTech]

Noob mistake I made, hope this helps someone out there. I learned that username to login is the "Name" created, NOT the email address connected to the name.

[@digital_aloha]

Hi Ben, Thanks for pointing out the "Name" username tip... Much appreciated!!

[@dusmantasethi8010]

How can multiple users use 1 file at a time

[@tomsanchez8033]

Hey buddy... on my case seems that the drive client does not work on my windows 10.... Do you know if there is an workaround on this?

[@digital_aloha]

Hi Tom, In the past I've found that upgrading the Synology Drive client in Windows 10 may do the trick. Synology also has a KB article that may help you -> kb.synology.com/en-ca/DSM/tutorial/Drive_Client_connection_issue. Good luck!!

[@tomsanchez8033]

@@digital_aloha I don't know how but while you reply I got it installed... I installed 2 versions behind the new one that I found at the downloads, then try to install the new one by doing a repair and then it worked... As windows 10 is getting upgraded to win 11 there might be some updates of win 10 that has conflicts.. it's my guess do not second what I am saying... Somehow it works and somehow I am very pleased with my DS220+ purchase!

[@digital_aloha]

Hi Tom, Glad you got everything working and happy to hear that you are pleased with your DS220+.

[@ezequielp30]

Synology Drive Client v. 3.4.0 15724 Can't sync desktop.ini My Synology Drive Client has stoped syncing the files beacuse it can't sync desktop.ini. I have excluded desktop.ini and *.ini in Synology Drive client and in Synology Drive admincenter. But it still try to sync desktop.ini. There is not help with this error. need help!!

[@polynomes1830]

hi , i installed synology drive client in my PCs today and everything is ok but i have some subfolders are empty but they are not empty in the server nas can you tell me what i have to do to solve this issue please is this issue appear because i have 3 TB data? thank you for helping , waiting ur answer

[@digital_aloha]

Hi Poly Nomes, Not exactly sure why you wouldn't see files within the subfolders, but what I would do is logon to the Synology Drive web client as an administrator, bring up the folders/subfolders in question and confirm that I can see the files. If you can, then it is likely a permissions issue that needs to be resolved. I have a video on permissions that may help you with this -> kzbin.info/www/bejne/iIfMZ6huaNeVj5Y. Hopefully that does the trick? And good luck in figuring things out!!

[@polynomes1830]

@@digital_aloha hi , infact i see all my document in synology web ! but today i see that there are some folders and subfolders coming back in the drive synonlgy client but not all can this explan that i have to wait bcz i have 3 TB data in my Nas thank you in adavance

[@polynomes1830]

i forget to tell you that i see in above the page web of synology , one notification (Indexation still running )

[@digital_aloha]

@@polynomes1830 Interesting... Maybe you do need to wait for the Synology Drive Client to sync properly with the NAS. I'm not totally sure what the issue is. Are the files possibly syncing directly to your computer? 3TB will take a while.

[@digital_aloha]

@@polynomes1830 Indexing will make searching for files in the future quicker in your applications. If you just added the 3TB of data to your NAS it is likely the reason why you see the indexing taking place.

[@menash41]

Great video. The only thing I don't like is how synology drive/drive client handles permissions when you have multiple users. You basically have to create a separate shared folder for items you don't want certain users to be able to view. It's annoying.

[@digital_aloha]

Hi H20Ski 41, Thanks for comment and complement on this video!! Yeah, permissions are tricky and annoying and something I need to fiddle with further.

[@fedepetit]

The worst is that admin can see ALL your private files thru Version Explorer in Team Folder!. It’s absurd, despite the passwords and permissions. Completely inadmissible!

[@patrickpatricio9477]

Hi bro, this is a local network, right? I am trying to access to my NAS remotely but the download speed is really slow in Drive client, local is 115mb/s this is ok for me, but remotely is only 200kb/s, really slow, can you help me to solve this?

[@digital_aloha]

Hi Guillermo, Actually it wouldn't be a local network if you are accessing the NAS remotely via QuickConnect. If the speeds are slow you should try setting up DDNS and port forwarding as a replacement to QuickConnect. Check out my video on the topic here -> kzbin.info/www/bejne/amiulppvfsqbmqs. Good luck!!

[@waldemarsoto9091]

hello uploaded video Synology Drive Android client ????

[@digital_aloha]

Hi Waldemar, I haven't uploaded a video on setting up Synology Drive for an Android client just yet. I'll add the request to my video creation list so stay tuned and consider subscribing to my channel if you haven't yet to get notified when the video does get released.

[@MRrwmac]

Thank you but it doesn’t seem particularly simple. Sorry. I was hoping to find a way to setup a cloud for our apple family idevices such as the simple iCloud. But thank you anyway.

[@digital_aloha]

Hi MRrwmac, Thanks for your comment and I appreciate the feedback. I just rewatched the video and maybe a more appropriate title would have been "Synology Drive Setup - Step By Step", but I choose simplified because using QuickConnect for remote access to a Synology NAS simplifies things tremendously. The end result of going through the steps laid out in the video though be 1) each user having their own space, 2) shared space for a group of users of your choice and 3) access from anywhere either from a web interface or from a desktop app. If you plan to rollout your own personal cloud setup you may want to try the steps out and see if it fits your needs but, if comparing it to iCloud, there is no simpler way then that because Apple does all of the setup (shares, accounts, remote access) for you. Good luck in whatever cloud solution you decide to go with!!

[@MRrwmac]

@@digital_aloha Don’t misunderstand, you’re video is good! Since I recently acquired this Synology drive, ONE of the reasons for getting it was to hopefully kick iCloud. I’m just looking for an individual cloud NOT iCloud for our family (no company or team sharing work on a project) each individual photos, audio (and maybe iPad/iPhone backup if not to difficult. I know (from reading forum) there are many people that want an easy way to do that individual family member idevice substitute for iCloud. Perhaps, you might consider making a video to simplify the steps for making our own individual Synology cloud? Again, Thank you for your reply and the great videos you make!

[@digital_aloha]

@@MRrwmac Ahh, I understand what you are looking to do a little more now (I initially thought you were looking for a drop in replacement for iCloud). I am planning additional videos on iOS access to a Synology NAS and maybe a combination of software packages (Photos and Drive) will give you the right combination that you'll feel comfortable deploying to your family members. Hopefully you've subscribed to the channel so you'll be notified as new videos come out and thanks for the compliment on my videos!!

[@andrealattanzi2915]

From a business point of view, Synology Drive Client is useless. It doesn't allow access to all the team folders at glance as the android app, and any other cloud sync tool in the world.

[@digital_aloha]

Thanks for your perspective. I agree that Synology Drive isn't as well refined as other cloud-based services, but after the initial set up, Synology Drive works pretty well.