In my previous two blog articles, I focused on Synology and monitoring key metrics such as overall system health, disk status, temperature, fan status, CPU, and memory. I also explained how to monitor disk usage in both gigabytes and percentage. Today, I'll show you how to monitor the operating system version of Synology.
Let’s start with some basics.
Synology NAS is powered by DiskStation Manager, also known as DSM. DSM is a Linux-based operating system used on Synology devices and is equipped with advanced features to help you get the most out of your Synology NAS.
Synology DSM packages
DSM is a web-based operating system that can be accessed over the network. It is lightweight and modular, and includes a variety of packages that you can install on your Synology DSM. The packages are divided into several categories, including Multimedia, File Management, Productivity, Data Protection, Virtualization, User Management, System Administration, Security, and Surveillance. You can learn more about these categories and available add-ons here: DiskStation Manager.
If you are already monitoring your Synology NAS with native PRTG sensors, you have information about the overall system health, such as hard disk status, fan status, temperature, CPU, memory usage, and disk usage. However, you don't have information about the DSM version or whether a new version is available for update. To follow security best practices, keep your operating system up-to-date.
Often, we only learn about new versions when we log in to the device, which is also the case with Synology DSM. If a new version is available today, and we log in to Synology a month later, we will be a month behind on the update.
A systematic and organized approach to monitoring is one of the best practices to keep everything under control, and monitoring the DSM version is in line with this concept. Along with other metrics it collects from your Synology NAS, PRTG can also monitor the DSM version and check if a new version is available. If so, it will change the sensor status and notify you or other IT administrators to update the DSM version.
I assume you have already enabled SNMP and added the Synology NAS as a device in your PRTG device tree. If not, please follow step 1 and step 2 of this article:
👉 Key metrics to monitor a Synology NAS using Paessler PRTG.
Then proceed with the following steps:
1. Add a new SNMP Custom sensor or SNMP Custom v2 (BETA)* sensor to your Synology NAS.
2. Change the name of the sensor to DSM Upgrade Status.
3. Enter OID 1.3.6.1.4.1.6574.1.5.4.0.
4. Click Create. The sensor is created, and you can see it shows the Up status (green), meaning Synology is already running the latest DSM version and no new version is available.
No new DSM version is available
When I navigate to Synology DSM (Control Panel > Update & Restore) and check the version, I can confirm that it is up-to-date.
Synology DSM version
When a new Synology DSM version is available, the sensor will show the Down status (red) and PRTG will send a notification to you or other IT administrators. To set this up, I recommend creating a notification:
5. Navigate to the Notification Triggers of the sensor
Notification triggers
6. Click the + symbol on the right and then click Add Change Trigger.
Add Change trigger
7. Create a change trigger rule and assign a notification template to it: When sensor changes, perform [select notification template]. In my case, I chose Ticket Notification, but you can choose one that fits your needs. Then click the blue check icon.
The notification was successfully created. Now, when a new DSM version becomes available, PRTG will notify you (based on the scanning interval) and you can log in to your Synology device and update it accordingly.
* The SNMP Custom v2 sensor is a beta version. If you can't find it when you search for it in the PRTG web interface, it means that beta sensors are not enabled in your PRTG installation. If that's the case, you can find details on how to enable them here:
👉 What are beta sensors and how can I use them?.
That is all for today – 7 simple steps in less than 5 minutes that can make part of your administration a little easier.
Are there any other metrics you would like to collect from your Synology NAS? If so, please let me know in the comments section.