Replication

This page allows system administrators to manage replications. You can create, edit, and delete replication tasks. You can also run/stop the syncing and view the information of your replication tasks.

Shared Folder

To create a replication task for a shared folder:

1. Go to the Shared Folder tab.
2. Click Create.
3. You will see the Create Replication Task wizard. Follow the steps of the wizard to create a shared folder replication.

To delete a shared folder replication:

1. Select the shared folder replication task you wish to delete.
   Note: You can press and hold Ctrl or Shift to select multiple items.
2. Click Action > Delete.
3. You will see a confirmation message. Click Delete to confirm the deletion.

To edit a shared folder replication:

1. Select the shared folder replication task you wish to edit.
   Note: You can press and hold Ctrl or Shift to select multiple items.
2. Click Action > Edit.
3. You will see a window containing the following tabs:
   • Partner Server
   • Schedule
   • Advanced
4. In the Partner Server tab, you can edit the partner server information, including the hostname, username, and password. Click Advanced Settings and you will see a window containing the following tabs:
   • Partner Server: If you have customized port forwarding rules, you can modify the ports that this server uses to connect to the partner server.
   • Source Server: If you have customized port forwarding rules, you can modify the IP and ports that the partner server uses to connect to this server.
     Note: You can leave the IP in Source Server blank to automatically detect the available IP to be connected by the partner server.
5. In the Schedule tab, you can configure the following options:
   • Replication schedule: Tick the Enable replication schedule checkbox, and set up the time and frequency of the task.
   • Timeout notification setting for the scheduled sync: You will be notified when the time of scheduled sync exceeds the waiting time.

     Note:

     • If you set the waiting time as 0, the system will not send any timeout notifications.
6. In the Advanced tab, you can configure the following options:
   • Enable transfer encryption: Tick this checkbox to enable the encrypted transfer between different servers.
     Note: This option is configurable for remote replication tasks only.
   • Use the time in the GMT +0 time zone to name the snapshots: You can tick or untick this checkbox to set snapshot naming policy.
     • When you tick this checkbox, snapshots will be named after the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) upon being taken. If your shared folders are accessed by users in different time zones, or if your replication tasks are run across different time zones, we recommend using this option to avoid misleading time information in snapshot names.
     • When you untick this checkbox, snapshots will be named after local time upon being taken. You can set the date and time of your Synology NAS in Control Panel > Regional Options.
7. Click OK to apply the new settings.

To view information on a shared folder replication:

1. Select the shared folder replication task you wish to view.
2. Click Info.
3. You will see a window containing the following information:
   • Status of this replication.
   • Statistics of this replication.
   • Topology of this replication.

To run the syncing of a shared folder replication:

1. Select the shared folder replication you wish to sync.
   Note: You can press and hold Ctrl or Shift to select multiple items.
2. Click Action > Sync.
3. Enter the description of the snapshot to be taken.
4. Click OK to confirm the action.

To stop the syncing of a shared folder replication:

1. Select the syncing share folder replication you wish to stop.
   Note: You can press and hold Ctrl or Shift to select multiple items.
2. Click Action > Stop.
3. You will see a confirmation message. Click Stop to confirm the action.

To export the initial copy from a replication task for a shared folder:

1. Select the shared folder replication task of which you wish to export the initial copy.
   Note: You can press and hold Ctrl or Shift to select multiple items.
2. Click Action > Export.
3. Select the destination to which to export the initial copy.

To import the initial copy to a replication task for a shared folder:

1. Select the shared folder replication task for which you wish to import the initial copy.
   Note: You can press and hold Ctrl or Shift to select multiple items.
2. Click Action > Import.
3. Select the source from which to import the initial copy.

LUN

For the best user experience, it is recommended to install the same version of Snapshot Replication on your source server and destination server.

To create a replication task for a LUN:

1. Go to the LUN tab.
2. Click Create.
3. You will see the Create Replication Task wizard. Choose the way you wish to manage your replication task from the following:
   • Synology Snapshot Replication
   • VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager
4. Follow the steps of the wizard to create a LUN replication.
   Note: If the destination server is a dual-controller model, you can click on the Advanced Settings button on the Specify the replication destination server in the wizard, and tick Enter additional information for a dual-controller model to enter another controller's information.

To delete a LUN replication:

1. Select the LUN replication task you wish to delete.
   Note: You can press and hold Ctrl or Shift to select multiple items.
2. Click Action > Delete.
3. You will see a confirmation message. Click Delete to confirm the action.

To edit a LUN replication:

1. Select the LUN replication task you wish to edit.
   Note: You can press and hold Ctrl or Shift to select multiple items.
2. Click Action > Edit.
3. You will see a window containing the following tabs:
   • Partner Server
   • Schedule
   • Advanced
4. In the Partner Server tab, you can edit the partner server information, including the hostname, username, and password. Click Advanced Settings to further edit your LUN replication task:
   • Partner Server tab: If you have customized port forwarding rules, you can modify the ports that this server uses to connect to the partner server.
   • Source Server tab: If you have customized port forwarding rules, you can modify the IP and ports that the partner server uses to connect to this server.
     Note: You can leave the IP in Source Server blank to automatically detect the available IP to be connected by the partner server.
   • Enter additional information for a dual-controller model button: If the server is a dual-controller model, you can enter another controller's information here.
5. In the Schedule tab, you can configure the following options:
   • Replication schedule: Tick the Enable replication schedule checkbox, and set up the time and frequency of the task.
   • Timeout notification setting for the scheduled sync: You will be notified when the time of scheduled sync exceeds the waiting time.

     Note:

     • If you set the waiting time as 0, the system will not send any timeout notifications.
6. In the Advanced tab, you can configure the following options:
   • Enable transfer encryption: Tick this checkbox to enable the encrypted transfer between different servers.
   • Enable application-consistent snapshots: You can tick/untick this checkbox to enable/disable application-consistent snapshots.
7. Click OK to apply the new settings.

To view information on a LUN replication:

1. Select the LUN replication task you wish to view.
2. Click Info.
3. You will see a window containing the following information:
   • Status of this replication.
   • Statistics of this replication.
   • Topology of this replication.

To run the syncing of a LUN replication:

1. Select the LUN replication task you wish to sync.
   Note: You can press and hold Ctrl or Shift to select multiple items.
2. Click Action > Sync.
3. Enter the description of the snapshot to be taken.
4. Click OK to confirm the action.

To stop the syncing of a LUN replication:

1. Select the syncing LUN replication task you wish to stop.
   Note: You can press and hold Ctrl or Shift to select multiple items.
2. Click Action > Stop.
3. You will see a confirmation message. Click Stop to confirm the action.

To export the initial copy from a replication task for a LUN:

1. Select the LUN replication task of which you wish to export the initial copy.
   Note: You can press and hold Ctrl or Shift to select multiple items.
2. Click Action > Export.
3. Select the destination to which to export the initial copy.

To import the initial copy to a replication task for a LUN:

1. Select the LUN replication task for which you wish to import the initial copy.
   Note: You can press and hold Ctrl or Shift to select multiple items.
2. Click Action > Import.
3. Select the source from which to import the initial copy.

One-to-many/Extended Replication

You can create multiple replications for a shared folder/LUN to multiple destinations, forming a one-to-many scheme. You can also create an extended replication for a replicated shared folder/LUN, forming an extended scheme.

Retention Policy

This option provides an ideal solution to help you specify the maximum amounts of snapshot versions to save your volume space, but you may need to retain your snapshots for longer periods of time. There are a few things to note about Retention Policy:

• Synology employs the GFS, or Grandfather-Father-Son retention policy. You can configure the maximum amounts of snapshot versions to be retained for the following time ranges respectively: hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly.
• One snapshot can meet several retention rules at the same time. For example, one snapshot can meet the daily, weekly, and monthly rules.
• The earliest snapshots will be retained if you take many snapshots within a certain period. For example, if you set a 10 weekly snapshots retention rule, and your snapshot schedule is set to take 1 snapshot a day, Snapshot Replication will retain the earliest snapshot of each week for the past 10 weeks.
• If you have not taken snapshots for a certain period, the system will retain the most recent snapshots. For example, if the daily snapshot rule is set as 15 and there were not any snapshots taken in the past 30 days, the system will retain the snapshots taken 30 to 45 days ago.
• All snapshot versions within one hour since the taking of newest snapshot will be kept by default, for your convenience to find and restore from recent snapshot versions. You can also lock a snapshot to prevent it from automatic removal by your retention rules.

Example 1:
If you want to keep daily snapshots for the past 3 months, weekly snapshots for the past 4 to 6 months, and monthly snapshots for the past 7 to 9 months, you need to input 0 for hourly snapshots, 90 for daily snapshots, 24 for weekly snapshots, 9 for monthly snapshots, and 0 for yearly snapshots.

Example 2:
If you want to keep hourly snapshots for the past 2 days, daily snapshots for the past week, weekly snapshots for the past month, and monthly snapshots for the past year, you need to input 48 for hourly snapshots, 7 for daily snapshots, 4 for weekly snapshots, 12 for monthly snapshots, and 0 for yearly snapshots.