How do I choose the right method for migrating data between Synology NAS (for DSM 6.0 and later)?

Purpose

In certain situations, you may wish to move your system and data from an old Synology NAS to a new one. This process is called "migration". Depending on your Synology product or individual setup, Synology provides three methods to perform migration:¹

This article explains the differences between the three methods and their respective limitations to help you choose the most suitable method. In this article, the following terms will be used:

Source Synology NAS device: The original Synology NAS from which data is moved.
Destination Synology NAS device: The Synology NAS to which data is moved.

Notes:

Environment

All three migration methods mentioned in this article require Web Assistant (or the latest Synology Assistant version) and DSM 6.0 or above. If you are using an older version of DSM, refer to this article instead.
Not all Synology NAS models support the same features. Therefore, we recommend migrating to a Synology NAS with better hardware specifications to ensure that all packages and services will work properly after migration. (Refer to the product datasheet of your destination NAS for DSM specifications) You will not be able to use the following services if they're not supported by the destination NAS:
- Btrfs file system support on volumes
- iSCSI LUN/virtualization support
- SSD cache/TRIM support
- HFS+ read/write support on external drives
- Packages that are designed for specific Synology NAS
The migration methods mentioned in this article allow you to keep most of your data. However, we strongly recommend backing up the following data before starting:

Item	Backup Method
Shared folders and selected packages	Download Hyper Backup from Package Center. Launch Hyper Backup and click the Create icon > Data backup task. Follow the wizard instructions to perform backup.
System configurations	Go to Control Panel > Update & Restore > Configuration Backup and click Back up Now to back up the following configurations: User and Group Workgroup, Domain, and LDAP File sharing services (i.e., SMB, AFP, NFS, and FTP) Network Backup Others (i.e., Shared Folder, User Home, Password Settings, Password Expiration, SNMP, and Task Scheduler)
License keys	Licensed packages may have different migration policies. Please visit our license page for more details.
Photo Station Blog posts (Applicable only to DSM 6.2 and earlier)	Launch Photo Station > Settings > Blog > Backup, click Start.

Contents

Choosing the right migration method for you
Migration method comparison tables
HDD migration limitations

Resolution

Choosing the right migration method for you

Deciding on the right migration method is crucial. Follow the below decision tree to determine which migration method is most suitable. Then, continue on to Migration method comparison tables to make sure it is the best choice for you.

Migration method comparison tables

The tables below compare these three methods. Additional details are provided in the individual articles. Please make sure you fully understand the limitations of each migration method before you begin.

General Specifications

	HDD migration	Migration Assistant	Hyper Backup
Description	Manually take out the drives from the source NAS and insert them into the destination NAS	Migrating by cloning the system configurations, packages, and data from the source NAS to the destination NAS	Migrating by backing up data via Hyper Backup on the source NAS and restoring them using Hyper Backup on the destination NAS
Usage scenario	If the source NAS is broken¹ If you wish to continue using the same drives When you wish to migrate the drives despite the model limitations²	If you wish to use new drives as well as a destination NAS	If you wish to use a new file system on the destination NAS If the other two methods are not suitable
Advantages	Simple Short downtime Saves money by using old drives Comprehensive system and data migration	Services are still available during migration Very short downtime	Safer Optional data and settings migration Allows for changing file system
Disadvantages	Model limitations (see below) HDD/SSD compatibility limitations (see below) Storage pool and volume settings cannot be changed	Model limitations (refer to this article). If the models of your source and destination NAS are not supported, use Hyper Backup instead DSM version limitations	Some package settings cannot be migrated Long migration time Takes longer and requires twice the size of the backup data

System-Related Specifications

	HDD migration	Migration Assistant	Hyper Backup
DSM version	After migration, the destination NAS will retain the newer DSM version between the two NAS. Make sure the destination NAS supports said DSM version before migrating³ ⁴	The DSM version on the destination NAS must be the same as or newer than the version on the source NAS. After migration, the DSM version on the destination NAS will remain unchanged	The DSM version on the destination NAS must be the same as or newer than the version on the source NAS (e.g., migrating from a DS920+ running DSM 7.0 to a DS920+ running DSM 6.2 is not allowed)
File system	The destination NAS must support the required file system. If not, the volumes cannot be mounted and data stored on the volumes cannot be accessed	Cannot be changed	Can be changed
Storage type	The settings of the storage pool and volume will remain the same	Storage Pool and RAID type can be configured based on the available drives on the destination NAS, but the file system of the volumes cannot be changed	Storage pool and volume can be reconfigured
Items migrated	Data, all packages, and most system configurations²	Data (volumes and block-level LUNs), all packages, and most system configurations	Selected data, selected packages, and system configurations supported by Configuration Backup

HDD migration limitations

Model limitations

Your source Synology NAS cannot be any of the following models:

20-series: DS420j, DS220j
19-series: RS819
18-series: DS418, DS418j, DS218, DS218play, DS118
17-series: DS1817, DS1517
16-series: DS416, DS416play
15-series: DS2015xs, DS1515, DS715, DS415play, DS215+
14-series: DS214, DS214play
13-series: DS413, DS213+
12-series: DS212+, DS112+
11-series: DS211+
10-series: DS410, DS210+, DS110+

If your source NAS is not listed above, refer to the table below to see whether your source and destination NAS are able to migrate via HDD migration. An "O" means that HDD migration works, and a "X" means that HDD migration is not recommended. (To learn how to identify the series, refer to the Model definition table)

Source/Destination model pairing

Source/Destination	J Series	Value Series	Plus Series	XS/XS+ Series	SA Series	FS Series	DVA
J Series	O	O	X	X	X	X	X
Value Series	O	O	X	X	X	X	X
Plus Series	X	X	O	O	O	X	O
XS/XS+ Series	X	X	O	O	O⁵	X	O
SA Series	X	X	X	O	O	O	X
FS Series	X	X	X	X	X	O	X
DVA	X	X	O	O	O	X	O

Model definition

Series name	Models
J Series	All models ending with j, se, or slim (e.g., DS120j, DS216se, DS419slim Exception: DS620slim belongs to Plus Series
Value Series	All models without a suffix or ending with play (e.g., DS118, DS218play)
Plus Series	All models ending with + (e.g., DS918+)
XS/XS+ Series	All models ending with xs or xs+ (e.g., DS3018xs, RS3617xs+)
SA Series	All models starting with SA (e.g., SA3200D)
FS Series	All models starting with FS (e.g., FS6400)

HDD/SSD Compatibility

The drives used in the source NAS must be compatible with the destination NAS as well. You may check the HDD/SSD compatibility here. Synology will not provide technical support if you use incompatible drives on your NAS.

SSD Cache

If you are using SSD cache on your source NAS, and any of the following applies, remove it first before migrating.¹ If none of the following applies, you can migrate the SSD cache directly.

The SSD read/write cache was built on DSM 7.0 or above but the DSM version on the destination NAS is DSM 6.2 or earlier.
The SSD read/write cache was built before DSM 5.2 but the destination Synology NAS runs on an Alpine CPU.
The destination NAS does not support SSD cache.
The destination NAS does not support the type of SSD that has been installed on the source NAS.⁶

Notes:

If your source NAS is broken and you force migrate when you are advised to remove SSD cache first, the data in the volumes will not be accessible after migration.
If the pairing of your source/destination NAS is marked "X" in the pairing table, or HDD Migration is enforced despite the model limitations, pay attention to the Status displayed in Synology Assistant or Web Assistant when you install DSM on the destination NAS. If the status is Configuration Lost, all DSM configurations and package settings will not be retained after migration, only the user data in the volumes will remain intact.
For example, you cannot migrate drives from a DS1513+ running DSM 6.2 to a DS1010+ that had previously installed DSM 5.2, because DS1010+ does not support DSM 6.2.
Always update the packages and the DSM version on the source NAS to the latest available versions.
Exception: RC18015xs+ cannot be migrated to SA3200D.
M.2 SATA and M.2 NVMe are different types of SSDs. Refer to this article for more information.

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