Synology Drive Admin Console

Synology Drive Admin Console is a package automatically installed when you download Synology Drive Server. It is designed to provide a centralized location for administrators to manage sync settings and better monitor business properties and resources stored on Synology Drive.

To sync data across different devices, designate a Synology NAS as the host server and install Synology Drive Server on it. Other computers, mobile devices, and Synology NAS devices that are to be paired with the host server are called client devices. The desktop utility, mobile app, and Synology Drive Server must be installed on the respective client devices.

Contents

• Monitoring Server Status
• Managing Client Connections
• Managing Synology Drive Admin Console Files with File Station
• Log
• User's My Drive
• Team Folder
• Managing Files in Synology Drive with Version Explorer
• Settings
• Activating Advanced Features
• Synology Office Settings
• For Advanced Users

Monitoring Server Status

The Overview page allows administrators to get a glimpse of the overall server usage, including information about connected clients, breakdown by client type, file access information, and usage trend.

Client Device Info offers information on the total number of connected clients and a breakdown by client type. This information helps administrators monitor connection status and evaluate the bandwidth usage of each connected device.

Synced Client Last Connection Time ranks the synced clients by connection time along with the syncing and pairing status of each device. Click the arrow at the upper-right corner of the Client Device Info section to jump to the Client List page and manage the clients.

Top Accessed Files by External Users allows the administrator to monitor the sharing status of files. Only publicly shared files appear in this section, allowing the administrators to take quick action if the sharing settings of confidential files were set incorrectly. The administrator can choose to rank the files within a specific period and by either preview counts, download counts, or both.

Package Usage Trend displays usage trends for three types of data — file versions, database usage, and Synology Office files.

• File Versions: File versions and files in recycle bins.
• Database: Metadata (sharing settings, labels, etc.) and logs.
• Synology Office Files: Synology Office documents, spreadsheets, slides, and their historical versions.

Managing Client Connections

Client List allows you to see a list of client devices that have been set up to sync files with your Synology NAS using Synology Drive service. You can see the clients' computer names, the device names used for service authorization, the version of the client applications, IP addresses, and syncing status between Synology NAS and the clients.

To manage client connections, do any of the following:

• Click Refresh to update the list.
• Click Unlink. In the pop-up window, click OK to end the client's connection.

To end a client connection and remotely wipe data:

1. Select a client from the list. You can also type in a device name, username, version, or IP address in the search bar at the upper-right corner of the window to find a client.
2. Click Unlink to end the client's connection.
3. While unlinking clients, you have the option to remotely wipe both synced and pinned files. Select the Wipe the synced files on this device when it comes online checkbox.
   • Once you click OK, the wiping will begin and you will see the wiping status in the Status column in the list.
   • When wiping is completed, the entry will be automatically removed from the list.
   • If the wiping process is ongoing or the client is offline, the status will appear as Wiping data... in red text.
   • If the client is offline and wiping cannot be completed, you can click Delete to manually remove the entry from the list. The client will be unlinked and remote wiping will be canceled.

Managing Synology Drive Admin Console Files with File Station

Synology Drive files are saved in your "home" folder or Team Folders that have been enabled in Synology Drive Admin Console. You can browse and download historical files via historical versions in Synology Drive and File Station.

To manage Synology Drive files:

1. Go to File Station, and then browse to "home" or shared folders.
2. Right-click on the file, and then choose Browse previous versions. Here you can see and download the previous versions of the file.

Log

Log allows you to keep track of what actions have been performed by users within a specific period. You can view all events, or select a folder from the drop-down menu to view events by folder.

To filter logs:

1. Click the arrow in the search bar at the upper-right corner.
2. In the drop-down menu, you can filter events by:
   • Keyword: Enter any keywords to search the file path by that keyword.
   • User: Enter the name of any user to find events related to the user.
   • IP Address: Enter an IP address to search for events related to that IP address.
   • Date Range: Choose from Today, Yesterday, Last week, or Last month or Customize to enter a start and end date to find logs within a specific date range.
   • Type: Select the type of event you want to view from the drop-down menu. You can also select several different types of events at once.
3. To reset your filtered log, click Reset and then Search again.

To export logs:

1. Click the All Events drop-down menu and select a shared folder from which you would like to export logs. Click Export and the logs will be exported as a CSV file.¹
2. Exported logs are organized into several categories and actions. Refer to the following tables for a description of the logs.

Data categories included in exported log files:

Action types in exported logs and the corresponding parameters:

Setting Log Delete Rules

To set log delete rules:

1. Go to Log > Settings.
2. Select the following options:
   • Number of logs is greater than: The server will delete logs once the number of logs exceeds this number.
   • Log time is older than: The server will delete logs once the logs exceed this age.
3. Click Delete All Logs if you want to delete all logs.
4. Click Apply to save your settings.

User's My Drive

Administrators can enable/disable users' My Drive on Synology Drive by enabling/disabling home service.

To enable user's home service and My Drive:

1. Go to Control Panel > User & Group > Advanced.
2. Select Enable user home service.

Team Folder

Administrators are able to enable or disable syncing specific Team Folders on Synology Drive. If a Team Folder is enabled for syncing, a user with read and write permissions to this folder can sync regular files as well as Synology Office files contained within.

To enable the Team Folder sync feature:

1. Go to Team Folder.
2. Select the Team Folder you want to enable and click Enable.
3. Enter a value between 1 and 32 in the Maximum Versions field.
4. Select a Rotation Policy.
5. Select Rotate versions regularly and choose a time frame for the regular rotation policy.
6. Click OK to save your settings.

Managing Historical Versions of Team Folders

Synology Drive Admin Console saves historical versions of each modified file, excluding Synology Office files.

1. Go to Team Folder.
2. Select the Team Folder for which you want to edit historical versions, click Settings, and click Versioning.
3. Enter a value between 1 and 32 in the Maximum Versions field.
4. Select a Rotation Policy.
5. Select Rotate versions regularly and choose a time frame for the regular rotation policy.
6. Click OK to save your settings.

Managing the Security of Team Folders

In Synology Drive Admin Console, administrators can restrict non-admin users' ability to download files via the user interface as well as enable watermarking to prevent data leaks.

Restrict Downloads

Enabling Restrict file downloading for specific folders will restrict non-admin users in the following ways:

• Unable to download files from these folders.
• Unable to copy or move files to other folders that allow file downloads.
• Unable to create two-way file sync with these folders.
• Can only create one-way upload with folders that restrict downloads, but downloading is not allowed.

To restrict the downloading of files:

1. Go to Team Folder.
2. Select My Drive or the Team Folder for which you want to enable restrict download.
3. Click Settings > Security.
4. Select Restrict file downloading.
5. Click OK.

Watermarking

When watermarking is enabled, users with different permission levels have different previewing, editing, and downloading capabilities.

• All users will see the watermark when they preview the file, regardless of user role.
• Users with Read/Write permissions have the ability to:
  • Make changes to watermarked files.
  • Download the original file and make changes.
• Users with Read Only permissions have the ability to:
  • Download a watermarked version of the file.

The tables below detail how different actions are handled for different user roles. Note that Synology Drive user permission overrides Windows ACL user permission at the file level.

To add watermarks to files:

1. Go to Team Folder.
2. Select My Drive or the Team Folder for which you want to enable watermarking.
3. Click Settings > Security.
4. Select Enable watermark.
5. Customize the Text, Font color, Angle, and Transparency options. Decide whether to repeat the watermark and preview your watermark settings.
6. Click OK.

Managing Files in Synology Drive with Version Explorer

Version Explorer allows administrators to view and manage previous versions of modified or deleted files in synced folders. Administrators can view the history of data by selecting a specific date and time, allowing the restoration of data to a specific point in time.

To manage the historical versions of all the files in Synology Drive:

Version Explorer in Synology Drive Admin Console enables administrators to trace back to previous versions of files and folders under users' My Drive and Team Folder on Synology Drive.

1. In Team Folder, click Version Explorer to launch Version Explorer.
2. You can browse files from different users' My Drive folders or Team Folder at different historical points by specifying a date and time.
3. Click Change at the upper-right corner to switch viewing identity.
4. Select Show deleted files to make deleted files visible in Version Explorer.
5. Choose a file or a folder, and click any of the following buttons:
   • Browse previous versions: View, download, or restore previous versions of the chosen file.
   • Restore: Recover the file or folder to a specified time.
   • Download: Download the file or folder.
6. Click More and choose any of the following from the drop-down menu:
   • Copy to...: Recover this file or folder to the specified time, and copy the result to a selected folder.
   • Delete permanently: Delete this file from the version history. Please note that the file will be permanently removed and cannot be recovered.

Settings

Administrators can customize and fine-tune the syncing settings based on user profiles, log rotation rules, and database location on the Settings page.

Managing Package Usage

To specify the database and Synology Office files locations:

1. Go to Settings > General. Under Package Usage, select a volume from the Location drop-down menu.
2. Click Apply to save your settings.

To check database space usage:

1. Go to Settings > General. Under Package Usage, click Calculate to calculate real-time Synology Drive package usage.
2. Click Cancel to cancel the calculation.

Empty Recycle Bins

To empty the recycle bins of team folders:

• Go to Settings > General. Under Empty Recycle Bins, click Empty Now to clear all the files in the recycle bins of user's My Drive and Team Folder.

To configure a regular schedule for emptying the recycle bins of team folders:

• Go to Settings > General. Under Empty Recycle Bins, select Empty recycle bins regularly and click Settings to configure a schedule for regular emptying schedule.

Adjusting Content Indexing Option

To adjust content indexing option:

1. Go to Settings > General. Under Content Indexing, select the checkbox to enable content indexing for newly-added users' My Drive or Team Folder on Synology Drive.
2. Click Customized Indexing Settings to edit indexing folders and scope for Synology Drive files.

C2 Storage Bandwidth for Hybrid Share

You can access files in Hybrid Share folders directly from C2 Storage while connecting to Synology Drive over the Internet. Select the checkbox if you want to reduce Synology NAS network bandwidth by leveraging C2 bandwidth. Learn more about Hybrid Share and C2 Storage.

Improving System Performance

To improve system performance with unused memory:

1. Go to Settings > General. Under Performance, select the checkbox to utilize unused system memory as database cache for performance improvement.
2. Fill in the percentage you would like to reserve for other applications.

Configuring Email Notification Service

To configure email notification services, go to Settings > General. Under Email Notification Service, click Set up.

Changing Users' Display Name

To change the display name, go to Settings > General. Under Display Name, select how DSM usernames will be displayed.

Managing File Access for Non-admin Users

To save server resources and reduce load, admins can restrict non-admin users from syncing or backing up data to the Synology Drive server. To apply this restriction, go to Settings > General. Under Manage File Access for Non-admin Users, unselect Allow data syncing and backup.

Non-admin users will no longer have access to the following features:

• Synology Drive web portal: The Get desktop and mobile apps option on the web portal.
• Synology Drive Client: Create sync or back up tasks.
• Synology Drive mobile app: Create sync or back up tasks. However, non-admin users can still use the app to browse and manage existing files.
• Synology Drive ShareSync: Create sync or back up tasks.

Preserving Files Created by Deleted Users

In situations where a user account is to be deleted (e.g., when an employee leaves the company), administrators can use File Ownership Transfer to transfer all the files from their My Drive to an active user.

1. Go to Settings > General. Under File Ownership Transfer, enter the usernames from and to whom you'd like the files transferred. An autocomplete list will appear as you start typing.
2. Click Transfer Files to start the transfer.

Managing Sync Profiles

Administrators can configure different sync profiles for each user, and use this feature to further refine user privileges.

To manage detailed sync behaviors and privileges:

1. Go to Settings > User Sync Profiles and click Create.
2. In the File filter tab, name your sync profile. Make sure the selected file sizes and types are the ones you want to sync.
3. Go to the Applied User tab and select the checkbox next to the users you want to add to your sync profile.
4. Click Apply to save your settings.

Managing Sharing Permissions

To manage file sharing settings for non-admin users, go to Settings > Sharing > Sharing Settings for Non-admin Users.

To grant file sharing:

The administrator can select Allow file sharing to grant non-admin users sharing permissions. The administrator can further define how non-admin users can share files — via internal links, by inviting DSM users or groups, or both.

To allow public sharing:

The administrator can select Allow public sharing to grant non-admin users permissions to share files with external users. With this option enabled, the administrator can grant public sharing permissions to specific users as well as enforce password or expiration date protection rules to strengthen the security level for these links.

To allow sending link via email:

The administrator can select Allow sending link via email to authorize non-admin users to share files or folders through configured email accounts.

Sharing Link Report

To audit the overall statuses of sharing links, the administrator can export a current list of sharing links. The following fields are included in the report:

• Sharing Link
• Item Name: The name of the file or folder being shared
• File Path
• Privacy: Internal or public and the type of permission
• Invitee: The names of users this link is shared with and their respective permission roles
• Password: Whether the sharing link is protected by password
• Expiration: The date and time of expiration if the link has been set with an expiration
• Last Modifier: The user who last modified the file or folder
• Modified Time: The time the file or folder was last modified

To export the sharing link report:

1. Go to Settings > Sharing > Sharing Link Report.
2. Click Export.
3. Select the format (HTML or CSV) that you want to view the report in.
4. Select a destination folder on your Synology NAS to save the exported report to.
5. Select the folders whose sharing links you want to export. You can click the arrow to narrow down your folder selection.
6. Click Export. This process may take some time depending on the amount of sharing links. It will run in the background and you will be notified via DSM desktop notification once it is complete.

Customizing Sharing Link

To force the use of HTTPS:

• Go to Settings > Sharing. Under Customize Sharing Link, select Force the use of HTTPS on generated sharing links to have all newly generated links be in HTTPS format for added security.

To enable sharing link customization:

1. Go to Settings > Sharing. Under Customize Sharing Link, select Enable sharing link customization and select available domains from the Domain drop-down menu for generating sharing links.
2. If you want to customize your own domain for the sharing links, you may select Customized from the above drop-down menu and fill in the desired domain in the Customized domain field.
3. Click Apply to save your settings.

Activating Advanced Features

Synology Drive offers advanced features for enhanced security measures and user experience.

Activate With Internet Connection

If you are signed in to a Synology NAS with Internet access, follow these steps to activate the features:

1. Go to Advanced Features and click Activate.
2. Read the Privacy Statement and select the checkbox to acknowledge it. Click Next.
3. Sign in to your Synology Account.
4. Click OK to start using the advanced features.

Activate Without Internet Connection

If you are signed in to a Synology NAS without Internet access, you'll need another device with an Internet connection to activate the features. Once you have a device ready, follow these steps:

1. Go to Advanced Features and click the link No network connection?
2. Read the description in the Offline Activation window.
3. On a device that is connected to the Internet, open a browser and enter the URL shown in the Offline Activation window.
4. Read the Privacy Statement and select the checkbox to acknowledge it. Click Next.
5. On the device, sign in to your Synology Account.
6. On the device, enter the Request ID from your computer. Click Get Activation Code.
7. On your computer in the Offline Activation window, enter the code into the Activation code field.
8. Click OK to start using the advanced features.

Synology Office Settings

Synology Office offers real-time editing collaboration with Document, Slides, Spreadsheet. After updating to Synology Office 3.4 and above, you can manage the list of font types and enable the version rotation option in Synology Drive Admin Console.

For Advanced Users

Storage space utilization:

Synology Drive Admin Console retains historical versions of every change in your Synology Drive so you can easily restore a specific file that has been damaged or deleted by accident to an older version. These historical data will need extra storage on your Synology NAS. Versions of a file are based on the file's base version. As for the following versions, only the differential data will be kept among different historical file versions.

Properties that are actually synced:

• Synology Drive Admin Console is able to completely sync seven known file properties:
  • File data
  • Mac extended attributes, such as label and colors on macOS X
  • Execution bit
  • Last modified time
  • UNIX permissions, including owners and file modes
  • Synology ACL
  • Team Folder privileges
• Clients on different OS platforms have different policies:

The default action for file conflicts:

If two users make changes to the same file simultaneously, Synology Drive Admin Console compares the last modified time of the two clients and retains the newest version.