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Synology Level 2 – Engineering

This course moves beyond first-time Synology administration and into the engineering decisions behind reliable file services, network design, identity integration and service delivery. It is aimed at administrators who are already comfortable with DSM basics and now need to design, configure and troubleshoot more capable Synology platforms.


The focus is on practical service engineering: SMB, AFP, FTP, SFTP and NFS, advanced permissions, storage pools, volumes and SSD cache, more complex networking with bonding and VLANs, DNS and LDAP integration, and collaboration and replication services such as Synology Drive and ShareSync, plus RADIUS awareness for authentication workflows.

Synology

Course purpose

Build practical Synology engineering capability so learners can design and support file-sharing services, configure more advanced networking and access models, make better storage decisions, and integrate Synology platforms more effectively with directory, DNS and remote office workflows.

Duration

  • 1 day for experienced DSM administrators
  • 2 days if you want deeper labs, service testing and design discussion

Target audience

  • Synology administrators responsible for service configuration
  • infrastructure engineers supporting storage and identity services
  • MSP and field engineers deploying business Synology platforms
  • support teams troubleshooting file access and synchronisation issues
  • technical staff who already know DSM basics but need deeper operational understanding

Prerequisites

Ideally learners will have:

  • completion of Synology Level 1 or equivalent experience
  • confidence with DSM navigation and basic administration
  • basic understanding of IP networking and file-sharing concepts
  • working knowledge of users, groups, shared folders and standard permissions

The course assumes the learner can already perform basic Synology setup tasks.

Learning outcomes

  • explain the role and trade-offs of SMB, AFP, FTP, SFTP, rsync and NFS services on Synology
  • configure advanced networking concepts such as bonding and VLANs at a practical level
  • apply more advanced permissions and export logic for mixed client environments
  • understand how storage pools, volumes and SSD cache influence capacity and performance decisions
  • integrate or reason about DNS and LDAP services in a Synology environment
  • design and troubleshoot Drive and ShareSync use cases for collaboration and branch sync
  • explain where RADIUS fits in authentication workflows
  • make more structured engineering decisions around access, identity, networking and storage layout

Detailed module structure

Unit 1: Engineering view of Synology services

Topics:

  • review of DSM from an engineering rather than beginner perspective
  • storage, identity, network and application layers on a Synology platform
  • how multiple services interact on the same appliance
  • capacity, performance and operational boundaries of a NAS appliance
Engineering framing: Synology is not just a box for files; it is a service platform where storage, access, identity and networking decisions all interact.

Unit 2: File services in practice

Topics:

  • SMB service fundamentals and common Windows interoperability expectations
  • AFP awareness, legacy Apple environments and when it still appears
  • FTP and SFTP service models and associated risk considerations
  • rsync awareness for replication and transfer workflows
  • matching protocol choice to client type and business need
  • service exposure, security and support implications

Unit 3: NFS exports and Unix-style access models

Topics:

  • what NFS is and where it fits
  • NFS export thinking and host-based access
  • read-only vs read-write export design
  • UID/GID and client identity awareness at a high level
  • mixed SMB and NFS environments
  • common failure causes with permissions and client mapping

Unit 4: Advanced permissions and access control

Topics:

  • user, group and share-level access interaction
  • deny precedence and unexpected permission outcomes
  • mixed protocol access complications
  • application privilege vs file permission distinction
  • designing access around departments, roles and services
  • troubleshooting complex access problems methodically
Key point: many access issues are design issues rather than single-setting mistakes, especially when multiple protocols and services are involved.

Unit 5: Advanced networking with bonding and VLANs

Topics:

  • link aggregation and bonding concepts
  • availability vs throughput expectations
  • switch-side coordination and design awareness
  • VLAN tagging and service separation
  • placing storage, management and replication traffic sensibly
  • common networking failure modes caused by poor design changes

Unit 6: Storage pools, volumes and expansion strategy

Topics:

  • revisiting storage pools and volumes from an engineering perspective
  • capacity planning for mixed workloads
  • performance considerations for file services and applications
  • expansion planning and operational impact
  • understanding what changes are simple and what changes are disruptive
  • failure and rebuild awareness

Unit 7: SSD cache and performance thinking

Topics:

  • what SSD cache is and what it is not
  • read cache vs read-write awareness at a high level
  • workload suitability and expectations
  • where cache can help and where it will not solve architectural problems
  • operational considerations around failure, monitoring and sizing
Important message: SSD cache is an optimisation tool, not a substitute for correct storage design, suitable disks or sensible workload placement.

Unit 8: DNS and LDAP integration

Topics:

  • DNS role in service discovery and reliable access
  • hostname planning and naming consistency
  • LDAP concepts at a practical level
  • central identity and directory-driven access models
  • why identity and name resolution problems often appear as file access issues
  • design awareness for integration with wider infrastructure

Unit 9: Synology Drive engineering concepts

Topics:

  • what Synology Drive provides compared with basic file shares
  • desktop and browser access models
  • versioning and collaboration awareness
  • capacity and performance considerations
  • mapping Drive into broader access and protection design

Unit 10: ShareSync and multi-site data movement

Topics:

  • what ShareSync solves
  • branch and remote office use cases
  • directionality and conflict awareness
  • bandwidth, latency and scheduling considerations
  • how sync differs from backup
  • operational risk if sync design is misunderstood

Unit 11: RADIUS and authentication services

Topics:

  • what RADIUS is
  • centralised authentication use cases
  • where RADIUS may fit around Wi-Fi, VPN or access workflows
  • credentials, policies and service expectations at a high level
  • understanding where Synology fits and where it does not

Unit 12: Troubleshooting and engineering good practice

Topics:

  • troubleshooting by layer: network, identity, protocol, permission, storage, application
  • using logs, service state and client symptoms together
  • testing one change at a time
  • documenting exports, shares, identity integrations and sync paths
  • knowing when a problem is architectural rather than operational

Labs

  • compare SMB, FTP, SFTP and NFS service choices for different client requirements
  • review and correct an NFS export or complex permission scenario
  • design a bonding and VLAN layout for management, user access and replication traffic
  • analyse a storage pool and SSD cache proposal for a mixed workload NAS
  • review a DNS or LDAP integration scenario and identify likely failure points
  • plan a Synology Drive deployment for shared team files
  • compare ShareSync and backup for a branch-office requirement

Assessment

Engineering scenario

  • select the right file service for a client and workload mix
  • explain a suitable network and VLAN design
  • justify storage pool, volume and cache choices
  • identify the likely cause of an access or sync problem and describe the next safe action

Engineering knowledge check

Explain how a Synology platform should be engineered for reliable file access, controlled permissions, sensible storage design, directory-aware identity, and multi-site file services using Drive or ShareSync.

Stronger Synology engineering - Better file service design - Safer identity and storage decisions

Built for administrators who need to move beyond DSM basics into practical service engineering and support

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