Synology DSM 7.0 – How Well Does It Run?

Last updated on 20 Jul 2021 📧 Subscribe
Contents hide
1 How Well Does Synology DSM 7.0 Run on Different NAS Drives
2 How DSM 7.0 was Tested for Each Synology NAS
3 Synology DSM 7.0 on the DS120j – Should You Upgrade?
4 Synology DSM 7.0 on the DS220j – Should You Upgrade?
5 Synology DSM 7.0 on the DS220+ – Should You Upgrade?
6 Synology DSM 7.0 on the DS920+ – Should You Upgrade?
7 Synology DSM 7.0 on the DS1621+ & DS1821+ – Should You Upgrade?
8 Choosing A Synology NAS – Need More Help?
9 Need Advice on Data Storage from an Expert?

How Well Does Synology DSM 7.0 Run on Different NAS Drives

It’s been a long road and we’ve waited close to 3 years since its initial reveal, but the release of the DSM 7 RC, the latest generation of Synology software and services, is here and Synology users new and old are getting ready to upgrade to significantly improved software platform. Unlike previous firmware updates that predominantly focused on improvements in stability, tweaks to security and adding features to existing services, this new Synology firmware update is genuinely massive by comparison (a tad like moving from Windows 8 to Windows 10). Of course, even though the software will be near enough the same for all Synology users, the extent to which it will perform, the applications available and how well DSM 7.0 runs on your NAS will depend a great deal on the NAS system you own and it’s hardware. One look at the download section from Synology reveals that the software is available across most NAS servers, big and small, released in the last 6 or 7 years, which is quite impressive given that even the lowly DS115j support it. So today I am selecting many of the latest and most popular NAS solutions from Synology and testing the extent to which they use DSM 7. From 1-bay dual-core ARM to Quad-Core 8-bay Ryzen, there is a huge degree of options to go through, so let’s get started.

How DSM 7.0 was Tested for Each Synology NAS

In order to make sure that each NAS was tested with a fair degree of comparison, each NAS tested below is using the same version of DSM 7.0 (Version: 7.0-41882). Additionally, each system used the exact same test files and were distributed throughout the system indexes identically. The following parameters for tests were measured:

  • The speed with which the user’s login was verified and access to the DSM 7 GUI was granted
  • How responsive the desktop GUI was and how quickly the system allows access & configuration via the control panel
  • How quick and responsive file management in file station was conducted
  • The performance and responsiveness of photo media in Synology photos
  • The indexing and playback speed of Synology Audio Station media
  • The playback and responsiveness of videos in the Synology Video Station Player (plus transcoding where supported)
  • Access and responsiveness of two live camera feeds in Synology Surveillance Station
  • Performance and Responsiveness from the NAS in DSM 7.0 when most/all of the above services and actions are conducted simultaneously

So, as you see, a fairly standard range of software and services to measure how different NAS systems from Synology handle and operate DSM 7. As tempting as it might be too to measure DSM using virtualisation or ISCSI benchmarks, the range of different capacity NAS, CPU choices and network connectivity in all these systems make any comparison between them largely incomparable. I consider the above services an acceptable benchmark for most home and prosumer users who want to take advantage of the DSM 7.0 and are curious about whether to upgrade or not. Let’s get started.

Synology DSM 7.0 on the DS120j – Should You Upgrade?

The Synology DS120j is a remarkably modest NAS system in size, capacity and internal hardware. This is precisely why it really surprised me when I saw that it too would feature a DSM 7.0 upgrade.

 CPU Model Marvell Armada 3700 88F3720
CPU Quantity 1
CPU Architecture 64-bit
CPU Frequency 2-core 800 MHz
Hardware Encryption Engine YES
System Memory 512 MB DDR3L non-ECC

It performed surprisingly well and below you can find the video detailing how well it performed:

Synology DSM 7.0 on the DS220j – Should You Upgrade?

By far the most popular cost-effective entry in the Synology desktop portfolio is the DS220j 2 bay NAS box. Arriving with the popular Realtek CPU, but just 512MB of DDR4 memory, it is a fairly low powered server drive and despite the clear need for Synology to look after this popular tier of affordable solutions, even here I am surprised that it supports DSM 7.0 – but in a good way. 

 CPU Model Realtek RTD1296
CPU Quantity 1
CPU Architecture 64-bit
CPU Frequency 4-core 1.4 GHz
Hardware Encryption Engine YES
System Memory 512 MB DDR4 non-ECC

Indeed, Synology themselves do highlight that DSM 7.0 operates at its best when using at least 1GB of memory to ensure that all of the system services operate to the best of their ability, which is double that of the default memory in the DS220j. Nevertheless, despite a few limitations in Synology Photos and the system slowing down a pinch when simultaneously using surveillance cameras, it performed surprisingly well and you can find out more below in the video.

Synology DSM 7.0 on the DS220+ – Should You Upgrade?

For many users, the Synology DS220+ is the entrance point for those who are looking at multimedia use or who were looking to migrate away from Cloud services like Google Drive, Google Photos and Dropbox, in favour of their own private cloud that is still rather capable. The DS220+ is also the most affordable solution in the brand’s current modern releases to feature an Intel Celeron processor and DSM 7.0 is definitely able to take advantage of this.

 CPU Model Intel Celeron J4025
CPU Quantity 1
CPU Architecture 64-bit
CPU Frequency 2-core 2.0 (base) / 2.9 (burst) GHz
Hardware Encryption Engine (AES-NI) YES
System Memory 2 GB DDR4 non-ECC
Total Memory Slots 1
Maximum Memory Capacity 6 GB (2 GB + 4 GB)

Although there are numerous individual apps and services built into Synology DSM 7 that are available on pretty much any NAS, there are several more SMB (Small-Medium Business) products on the platform that require an x86 64-bit processor minimum. Services and features such as Virtualisation and more enterprise level backups from Active Backup Suite immediately become available at this tier of Synology NAS hardware. Unsurprisingly, DSM 7 ran well on the DS220+, multitasking beautifully even with the default 2GB memory. Likewise, the Synology Photos application performed very well, even when it was live recording from two IP cameras in surveillance, transcoding a 1080p video file, playing back an audio file and duplicating 50GB of data – all at the same time. For more information on how the DS220+ performed with DSM 7, watch the video below.

Synology DSM 7.0 on the DS920+ – Should You Upgrade?

The Synology DS920+ 4 bay NAS system is BY FAR the most popular desktop NAS in the brand’s portfolio. This NAS is also considered the last genuinely prosumer grade solution in the portfolio, before things get a little bit more business and enterprise at the higher tiers. The system hardware on offer in the DS920+ give you access to the entire range of Synology software and services available in DSM 7.0 that you find in all other NAS systems in this article so far, but also so provides additional information, settings and functionality in the storage manager. 

 CPU Model Intel Celeron J4125
CPU Quantity 1
CPU Architecture 64-bit
CPU Frequency 4-core 2.0 (base) / 2.7 (burst) GHz
Hardware Encryption Engine (AES-NI) YES
System Memory 4 GB DDR4 non-ECC
Total Memory Slots 1
Maximum Memory Capacity 8 GB (4 GB + 4 GB)

DSM 7 alongside general improvements in access time and responsiveness of the system compared with DSM 6.2, also makes vast improvements in caching in a number of ways. From the general intelligent memory utilisation of the system and in the case of the DS920+, its 4GB of memory and how DSM 7.0 takes advantage of the NVMe slots. DSM 7 should run perfectly on a Synology DS920+ and in our comparison testing, this was well established with the system performing all tasks incredibly quickly and simultaneously with little to no aggressive increase in hardware resource consumption. As before, I recommend you check out the video below for more information on just how the DS920+ performed with DSM 7.0:

Synology DSM 7.0 on the DS1621+ & DS1821+ – Should You Upgrade?

Synology introduced the AMD embedded Ryzen processor to their range of SMB solutions in late 2020 and despite the development cycle of DSM 7.0 taking several years prior to this, it is completely supported on these newer gen CPU devices. The V1500B processor is found on the DS1621+ and DS1821+, among many others in the last year or so and given the business class services and and office collaboration tools included in DSM 7.0, its performance on these new small-medium business class servers is remarkably important for Synology’s continued growth into pre-existing SaaS integrated environments (whether to replace or exist in parallel as bare-metal)

 CPU Model AMD Ryzen V1500B
CPU Quantity 1
CPU Architecture 64-bit
CPU Frequency 4-core 2.2 GHz
Hardware Encryption Engine (AES-NI) YES
System Memory 4 GB DDR4 ECC SODIMM
Memory Module Pre-installed 4 GB (4 GB x 1)
Total Memory Slots 2
Maximum Memory Capacity 32 GB (16 GB x 2)

Although only the 6 bay NAS was tested in the video below, it shares a near identical hardware architecture to the 8-bay desktop alternative and several rackmount Ryzen powered rackstation solutions. This was the best example of DSM 7 that I tested in the videos and it was easily the least resource impacted NAS of all. Although CPU utilisation spiked briefly during video playback, this was largely due to the non-embedded graphics CPU of this system than anything to do with a DSM7. Below is the video of how how this NAS handled DSM 7.

 

Choosing A Synology NAS – Need More Help?

So, there you – DSM 7.0 is currently in Release Candidate with a full and stable release coming VERY soon. Stay tuned for more extensive content on Synology DSM 7.0 when the full official release lands and if you need any further assistance on whether to upgrade, or if you still need help choosing the NAS solution for your needs, use the NASCompares free advice section below. It is completely free, is not a subscription service and is manned by real humans (two humans actually, me and Eddie). We promise impartial advice, recommendations based on your hardware and budget, and although it might take an extra day or two to answer your question, we will get back to you.

Learn More About Multiple Backup Strategies on your Synology NAS in the Guide Below:

📧 SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER 🔔


    🔒 Join Inner Circle

    Get an alert every time something gets added to this specific article!


    Want to follow specific category? 📧 Subscribe

    This description contains links to Amazon. These links will take you to some of the products mentioned in today's content. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Visit the NASCompares Deal Finder to find the best place to buy this device in your region, based on Service, Support and Reputation - Just Search for your NAS Drive in the Box Below

    Need Advice on Data Storage from an Expert?

    Finally, for free advice about your setup, just leave a message in the comments below here at NASCompares.com and we will get back to you. Need Help? Where possible (and where appropriate) please provide as much information about your requirements, as then I can arrange the best answer and solution to your needs. Do not worry about your e-mail address being required, it will NOT be used in a mailing list and will NOT be used in any way other than to respond to your enquiry.

      By clicking SEND you accept this Privacy Policy
      Question will be added on Q&A forum. You will receive an email from us when someone replies to it.
      🔒Private Fast Track Message (1-24Hours)

      TRY CHAT Terms and Conditions
      If you like this service, please consider supporting us. We use affiliate links on the blog allowing NAScompares information and advice service to be free of charge to you.Anything you purchase on the day you click on our links will generate a small commission which isused to run the website. Here is a link for Amazon and B&H.You can also get me a ☕ Ko-fi or old school Paypal. Thanks!To find out more about how to support this advice service check HEREIf you need to fix or configure a NAS, check Fiver Have you thought about helping others with your knowledge? Find Instructions Here  
       
      Or support us by using our affiliate links on Amazon UK and Amazon US
          
       
      Alternatively, why not ask me on the ASK NASCompares forum, by clicking the button below. This is a community hub that serves as a place that I can answer your question, chew the fat, share new release information and even get corrections posted. I will always get around to answering ALL queries, but as a one-man operation, I cannot promise speed! So by sharing your query in the ASK NASCompares section below, you can get a better range of solutions and suggestions, alongside my own.

      ☕ WE LOVE COFFEE ☕
        This description contains links to Amazon. These links will take you to some of the products mentioned in today’s video. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases

       

       

       

       

      locked content ko-fi subscribe

      DISCUSS with others your opinion about this subject.
      ASK questions to NAS community
      SHARE more details what you have found on this subject
      CONTRIBUTE with your own article or review. Click HERE
      IMPROVE this niche ecosystem, let us know what to change/fix on this site
      EARN KO-FI Share your knowledge with others and get paid for it! Click HERE

      ASK YOUR QUESTIONS HERE!

      102 thoughts on “Synology DSM 7.0 – How Well Does It Run?”

      1. This video is fake. I can not even log in my 220J NAS, synology scam us with J and 7…. dsm system, Do not buy any J synology , or if just use less than 7 system. DSM 6 works fine.
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

        Reply

      5. Is it possible to use this as a remote backup device for my NAS? I’m okay with it having only 1 drive since it would be use for only backups. I want to put it at a friends house and have my NAS backup to it remotely.
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

        Reply

      7. For music that you could play, No Copyright Sound (or is it Songs?) or NCS shouldn’t give you any trouble with YouTube. Along the same lines, The Blender foundation or someone releases “movies” under similar license terms. Big Buck Bunny is a pretty good example of that.
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

        Reply

      8. I am thinking about getting a DS220+ for a dedicated home security system. I would have 3-4 4K cameras. I would upgrade the memory to 6 GB since I have a spare 4 GB. Would the DS220+ be sufficient for this task? I already have a DS-918+ for other NAS tasks.
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

        Reply

      10. I’m about to buy my first NAS, this very one, ds220+, not even for myself, it’s actually for my dad and man!… Amazon feedbacks are exilarating! The amount of people putting you off buying because of their shitty 1 to 2 stars conplains about noise, can’t navigate the OS, or straight out malfunction from factory is enormous for a product and brand that I’m convinced it’s really good. One thing though, a customer did complain about his unit becomming unusable after DSM 7 upgrade and since those 2 gigs of RAM sound really tiny for 2021 I did worry for a moment there and many are complaining also about Synology support being slow and useless. Can anyone confirm?
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

        Reply

      12. My DS200j was updated to DSM 7 and it sucks. Transfer speed dropped from 110ΜΒ/s to 10MB/s and it is soooo slow. I updated based on this video and now my NAS is useless…
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

        Reply

      14. So I am really confused here. I use my 220j almost entirely for streaming videos. If that is the only thing it is doing is DSM 7.0 a mistake or not? Experiences SEEM to go both ways but no opinions from people that have updated to 7.0 are straight in whether it is ok.
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

        Reply

      17. I was planning on setting up a NAS early 2022 and had chosen the 920+ but I’m hoping there’s an upgraded replacement but can’t seem to find any reliable product news. Can anyone point me in the right direction?
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

        Reply

      18. After updating my ds220j to 7 its so slow , could be due to photos indexing?
        should I backup my phone photos again or move photos ( that already been backed up by ds file app ) to the folder that used by photos app?
        Thanks
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

        Reply

      25. Good review thanks! If the DS120J can run DSM 7.0 that means my DS218J should be able to even better, with its 1.3GHz CPU vs 900MHz. I presume a DS218J with DSM 7.0 still can’t use BTRFS though?
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

        Reply

      27. No one talks about the fact that facial recognition is removed on those J devices.
        It was there on moments.
        Synology photos is not such a big upgrade compared to moments.

        I have seen many reviews but no one seems to mention facial recognition
        WHY?
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

        Reply

      29. I’ve been waiting for this video!
        Do you know if DSM 7 affects the transfer speed over the 10G network? I now on the old DSM get up to 8.9 Gbs and was wondering if the new DSM would speed it up any?
        Also if adding additional drives is any faster? For example going from 6 to 8 drives, will it take days again or hours as promised in their marketing videos?
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

        Reply

      32. Please help me: Tried loading DSM 7 on my DS920+ currently on ver. DSM 6.2 to just test use it on VMM. While trying to load the correct file: “DSM_DS920+_41890.pat” I got this error message: An error occurred while creating the (DSM) image. [DS920Plus – VM storage 1] The installation file is incompatible (?!) Please make sure you have selected the correct file to upload.
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

        Reply

      39. Your my main YouTuber I watch about Synology NAS. I am new to using them. I have purchased a DS918+ upgrade to 8gb of ram and two 512gb of NVMe Samsung evo in read only cashe. I also have 4 iron wolf 10tb drives. I mainly use this as a Plex server. Would upgrading to DSM 7.0 be a good idea with this device? Just looking for some pro advice. Thanks.
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

        Reply

      42. My 214+ dont wok Run DSM 7RC.lt ls all to slow backup not possible must gå l back to DSM 6.2.4 Funktion in multimedia mpg playback !!! Scary upgrade no backup!!! Speed lt up ????
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

        Reply

      51. I would think videos of how it will run on older nas’s would be more useful, Synology would be making a huge cock-up if the new os didn’t run on the lasted nas’s
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

        Reply

      54. I would love to see you test it on the processor that the ds1318+ uses. I would imagine that it might be really slow, but I’ve never had any problems with it at all and I continue to use it.
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

        Reply

      62. I know its an odd idea, but it would be interesting to see how DSM7 would run comparing the DS920+ only against the DS918+, or other comparable NAS of the same spot on the ladder, but of different versions, showing the hardware differences and how DSM7 does between them.
        Is there a difference because of the processor or other hardware differences?
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

        Reply

      65. Thank you for your video about this NAS. im for sure go upgrade it to DSM7 i need only to find a way to backup all.. im not sure if i can just upgrade and it will leave just all my Data on the HHD’s 🙂 Thanks again.. great video !!
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

        Reply

      67. I don’t like that they eliminated support for usb devices in 7.0.. it’s bad enough that they don’t support 10gb networking directly in 920 but now they don’t support it via usb either even with third party drivers… on this alone I won’t be going to 7.0. Kinda a shame
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

        Reply

      69. I gave up on Synology NAS, so I bought a Dell R720 and made that into a NAS BOX. Granted mines Twice the price of synology, but I have 16 cores, 32 treads @3.3Ghz, 192GB of 1866 Ram and 32Tb of storage with dual (redundant) power supplies.
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

        Reply

      70. @NASCompares Thank you for these videos. I find them really helpful. I was wondering if your filesystem was formatted with ext4 or BTRFS. With the DS220+ model is there a major difference between filesystem performance in Surveillence Station on DSM7?
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

        Reply

      71. After deciding not to build a TrueNAS in an old computer case, I have been following to try to id my preferred solution. My DS 920+ is scheduled to arrive tomorrow and this video is extremely timely for me.
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

        Reply

      74. I use the 920+ with 2 IronWolf 4tb nas drives for household storage and Plex. Will I stress my drives if I use it for storing my feeds for 2 wyze cams as well?
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

        Reply

      75. For a moment, I thought the DS220+ was performing better than the DS920+
        I have the DS920+ and waiting before to upgrade, but seeing this video, I’m wondering if I should not upgrade also the RAM.
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

        Reply

      79. please tell me the fastest way to get a photo library (Apple imac) of about 540gigs over to my ds2020j from a usb drive. tried photo station but has a limit of 1000 photos at at time, the ds2020j doesn’t have a copy button,
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

        Reply

      80. I finally bought a NAS (a DS220+ even!) and this will actually be my first one. Been watching some of your videos while I wait for Amazon to get the unit here (of course the drives will be here tomorrow). So it sounds like DSM 7 would be stable enough to throw on the unit tight out of the gate, then?
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

        Reply

      89. If I use my station only as a mapped network drive. Should I just keep older DSM? I’m concerned only about security.
        I’m on DS220J

        P.S. Thanks to you I’m working now with Synology equipment and it is so easy to use. Great help from you.
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

        Reply

      95. I migrated from google photos to synology photos. I experience the problem that some pictures don’t have the correct meta data. It takes the files from the upload time to synology. I made albums in google photo like year 2018 and downloaded it like that. Consequently, there were no separate json files. Can you help?
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

        Reply

      98. @NASCompares My big issue is the hibernation. After upgrade to DSM 7 RC, my disks are waking up every hour. I didn’t define any task in DSM 6.2.4 and still I am facing this hourly wake up after upgrade
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

        Reply

      102. Thanks but that is a device that Synology says support DSM7.
        What about those NASes that are not supported? Can you force DSM7 on them? How would they run it, if at all?
        What about those NASes that can run DSM7 but it needs to be installed manually (no automatic update proposed). AFAIR among them are the DS213, DS414, …
        How does DSM7 run on these? Why does Synology offers the ability to upgrade but makes it a manual-only procedure.
        Tx
        REPLY ON YOUTUBE

        Reply