Virtual Machine Manager

DSM Version

Virtual Machine Manager

Features

Specifications

Limitations

Affiliated Utility

Synology Guest Tool for Virtual Machine Manager

Features

Specifications

Limitations

Virtual Machine Manager

Features

  • Intuitive hypervisor software that allows your Synology NAS servers to run various operating systems on virtual machines
  • Centralized management and monitoring of multiple instances of virtual machines in a cluster of multiple Synology NAS servers
  • Virtual machine migration for effective hardware resource management
  • High availability and disaster recovery solutions for maximum service uptime
  • Supports running Virtual DSM that offers robust features and is equally powerful as DiskStation Manager (DSM)

Specifications

  • Supports various operation systems, including Windows, Linux and Virtual DSM (Refer here for the complete list of supported operating systems and here for more information on Virtual DSM license)
  • The maximum number of virtual machines varies by Synology NAS models (Refer to this article to know how many virtual machines can be run on a Synology NAS)
  • Supports a maximum of 7 Synology NAS in a cluster
  • Privilege control for each virtual machine
  • Easy sharing of and access to virtual machines via browser URLs
  • Real-time CPU, memory, and network usage monitoring
  • Supports virtual machine instant clone within seconds
  • Supports virtual machine suspension and resumption
  • Supported image types:
    • Virtual DSM: *.pat
    • ISO: *.iso
    • Disk: *.img, *.vmdk, *.vdi, *.vhd, *.vhdx, and *.qcow2
  • Supports exporting a virtual machine as an OVA file
  • Schedulable snapshots for each virtual machine
    • Maximum number of snapshots per virtual machine: 32 (255 with a VMM Pro license)
    • Maximum number of snapshots per host: 65,536
  • Supports file-system consistent snapshots (Synology Guest Tool required on the guest OS)
  • Maximum number of virtual switches: 4 (4,096 with a VMM Pro license)
  • Maximum share links per host: 2 (16 with a VMM Pro license)
  • Virtual machine specifications
    • CPU
      • Compatibility mode for live migrations when CPUs on two hosts are different
      • Hyper-V Enlightenments function for I/O performance optimization
      • QoS for CPU resource reservation
      • The maximum number of virtual CPUs varies by Synology NAS models
    • RAM
      • Minimum RAM
        • Virtual machine: 128 MB
        • Virtual DSM: 1 GB
      • The maximum number varies by Synology NAS models
    • Disk
      • Supported disk controller: IDE, SATA, VirtIO
      • Maximum number of disks per virtual machine/Virtual DSM: 8
    • Network
      • Supported network interface: virtio, e1000, rtl8139
      • Supports SR-IOV
      • Supports MAC address modification
      • Minimum vNIC per virtual machine/Virtual DSM: 1
      • Maximum vNIC per virtual machine/Virtual DSM: 8
    • Others
      • USB 2.0/3.0 passthrough (not supported on Virtual DSM)
      • Supported video card: cirrus, vga, vmvga
      • Supported boot modes: UEFI BIOS, Legacy BIOS
  • Advanced features for Virtual Machine Manager Pro:
    • Live migration relocates a virtual machine to another host without interrupting ongoing services
    • Supports High Availability for virtual machines
    • Protection plans secure virtual machines with schedulable snapshot and replication tasks
    • Supports running virtual machines on a remote host
    • Supports storage migration to a remote host
    • Refer here for more information on VMM Pro license

Limitations

  • Virtual machines can only run on Synology NAS with more than 2 GB of memory
  • Virtual machine data can only be stored on Btrfs volumes
  • Importing/Exporting virtual machines with vDisks larger than 2 TB is not supported
  • When the virtual machine firmware is UEFI, the maximum resolution is 800x600
  • Virtual DSM does not support the features below:
    • USB passthrough
    • Control Panel: External Device, Hardware & Power
    • Network functions, including wireless dongles, MTU, and LACP
  • Without a Virtual DSM license, each host can only run 1 Virtual DSM. The recommended number of Virtual DSM that can run on a host varies by models
  • Refer to this page for the list of Synology NAS models supporting Virtual Machine Manager
  • Each host in the same cluster must have a unique static IP address
  • The High Availability feature is only supported in VMM clusters consisting of more than 3 hosts
    • When the feature is enabled, virtual machines can only be moved between active and passive servers
  • Web VNC console browser requirements:
    • Chrome
    • Firefox
    • Edge
    • Internet Explorer 11
    • Safari 10 or above
  • Virtual Machine Manager 2.5.0-9432 and above versions are compatible with Synology High Availability 2.0.3-0140 or above
  • When Virtual Machine Manager is running in a Synology high-availability cluster:
    • There can only be one host in the VMM cluster
    • SR-IOV is not supported

Affiliated Utility

Synology Guest Tool for Virtual Machine Manager

Features

  • Enhances the compatibility between Windows virtual machines and Virtual Machine Manager, and boosts virtual machine performance
  • Protects data with comprehensive snapshot features

Specifications

  • System requirements
    • Windows 10
    • Windows 8.1
    • Windows 8
    • Windows 7
    • Windows Server 2016
    • Windows Server 2012 R2
    • Windows Server 2008 R2 (Windows Server 2008 only supports Synology Guest Tool 1.4.2)
  • Offers VirtIO drivers for Windows, including vDisk drivers and vNICs
  • Offers drivers that help with the communication between virtual machines and Synology NAS
  • Supports file-system consistent snapshots

Limitations

  • Windows Server 2008 virtual machines must restart after Synology Guest Agent is installed