Synology Launches DSM 7.2 NAS Operating System

License-free immutable storage and backup makes its way to DSM 7.2 with WriteOnce shared folders and Immutable Snapshots. 

Leveraging write once read many (WORM) technology, these features allow organizations to safeguard their data from malicious attacks, tampering, and accidental deletions by creating an unalterable copy of their data. This capability is crucial for industries such as healthcare, finance, and government, which must comply with strict data retention policies.

Fast full-volume encryption
Full-Volume Encryption encrypts data at rest, including shared folders, LUNs, and package data. This feature ensures data privacy and security in the event of a security breach or theft, as data stored within is rendered unreadable without the decryption key. Additionally, KMIP is supported to simplify and centralize key management.

Full-Volume Encryption provides an up to 48% writing performance boost when compared with applying Shared Folder Encryption to all eligible data stored on a volume. Between the two modes, users now have efficient options to protect specific data or entire file systems against unauthorized access.

Increased performance and efficiency
DSM 7.2 adds support for M.2 NVMe SSD storage volumes on more systems, allowing for more flexible use of built-in M.2 NVMe slots. SSD deduplication sees improvements with the implementation of inline zero-block removal, providing up to 25% faster deduplication times by reducing the amount of data that needs to be stored.

Meanwhile, the implementation of full-system backups in Hyper Backup provide a bare-metal backup option to the cloud, USB devices, and other destinations. Using block-level storage technology, initial full system backups are twice as fast.

More secure and convenient access controls
Adaptive multi-factor authentication makes its way to Synology systems, providing a seamless approach to security by assessing various contextual factors such as device, location, time of day, and user behavior to determine whether additional verification is needed.

Security measures are further enhanced with the implementation of Auto Block for connections through SMB and QuickConnect. Auto Block provides protection against brute force attacks by blocking IP addresses with repeated failed login attempts. QuickConnect can globally ban IP addresses, bolstering overall security against potential threats.

Better management
Active Insight now includes storage capacity forecasting. This new feature helps IT administrators and MSPs anticipate future storage needs by providing insights into their current storage utilization and predicting future capacity requirements.

In addition, DSM system notifications see improvements with more flexible notification settings and added support for Microsoft Teams and LINE notifications.

Ecosystem-wide improvements
DSM 7.2 also includes several major enhancements to applications and services, including:

Hybrid Share: Global File Locking

Container Manager (formerly Docker): Docker Compose

SSO Server: OIDC and SAML protocol support

SSO Client: SAML and CAS protocol support