Synology Installation

In short

To back up a Synology NAS, install the Magnus Box backup app on the NAS as a Synology package (.spk) through Package Center, then set up and run its backups from the Web Portal. The Web Portal has separate packages for DSM 6 and DSM 7, and they aren't interchangeable, so download the one that matches the NAS. On DSM 7 you also need to give the app access to the shared folders you want to back up.

Before you start

DSM version: DSM 6 or DSM 7.
CPU: x86_64, x86_32 (i686), ARMv7 or ARMv8.
A user in the Web Portal for this NAS, and its username and password. The app logs in as that user during install.

For the full list of supported systems, see Supported platforms and system requirements.

Step 1: Download the package

In the Web Portal, go to Download backup agent.
In the Synology panel, click DSM 6 or DSM 7 to match the NAS. To check the version, open Control Panel > Info Center on the NAS.

Synology panel on the Download backup agent page, with DSM 6 and DSM 7 buttons and the system requirements

Step 2: Install the package in DSM

DSM 6 only: first allow packages from any publisher. In Package Center, go to Settings > General > Trust Level, select Any publisher and click OK.

Sign in to DSM as an administrator and open Package Center.
Click Manual Install in the top right.
Upload the .spk file you downloaded. On DSM 7, accept the prompt to allow a third-party package.
Accept the license agreement.
Enter the username and password of the Web Portal user for this NAS. If the app was installed on this NAS before and its settings weren't removed, the installer finds the old login details. Leave the fields blank to reuse them, or enter new ones to replace them.
Click Apply to finish.

Once the install finishes, the NAS shows up on the user's Devices tab in the Web Portal.

Step 3 (DSM 7 only): Give the app access to your shared folders

On DSM 7, the app runs as a package-specific user named backuptool. It can only back up and restore shared folders that this user has permission to access. DSM 6 doesn't need this step.

In DSM, open Control Panel > Shared Folder.
Select a shared folder you want to back up and click Edit.
On the Permissions tab, choose System internal user from the drop-down list.
For backuptool, tick the box in the Custom column.
In the window that opens, set Apply to to All, tick all the permissions, and save.
Repeat for each shared folder you want to back up.

Step 4: Set up and run backups from the Web Portal

The app has no window on the NAS. You manage it from the Web Portal:

Go to Users, open the user, and go to the Protected Items tab.
Click Add protected item..., give it a name and choose Files and Folders.
On the Items tab, add the shared folders on the NAS that you want to back up. Add a schedule on the Schedule tab if you want one, then click Save.
To run the first backup now, click Run Backup... on the Protected Item's row. The NAS must be online.

For restores, see Restore files and folders.

Limits on DSM 7

Synology doesn't let third-party packages run as root on DSM 7, so the app has these limits:

No remote upgrade or uninstall. You can't upgrade or remove the app from the Web Portal. To upgrade, download the new DSM 7 package and install it over the old one with Manual Install. To remove it, uninstall it in Package Center.
Restores may not keep permissions and ownership. The package user can't change file ownership to another user, so check permissions on restored files.

Upgrading DSM

Old manual installs: older setups installed the app by hand into /opt on the NAS, and DSM upgrades could delete that install. If a client's NAS still has a manual install, replace it with the Package Center install above.
DSM 6 to DSM 7: the packages aren't interchangeable. After the NAS moves to DSM 7, install the DSM 7 package, then set up the shared folder permissions in Step 3.

Troubleshooting

Package Center won't install the file on DSM 6: check that Trust Level is set to Any publisher.
Wrong package: a DSM 6 package won't work on DSM 7, or the other way round. Download the one that matches the NAS.
Backups skip files or fail with access errors on DSM 7: check that backuptool has permission on every shared folder in the Protected Item (Step 3).

Still stuck? Email support@magnusbox.com with the DSM version and the NAS model.