The easiest way to configure the Synology DS620Slim network is by using the built-in Disk Station Manager (DSM). From the same GUI also the ability to verify the setup of the single network cards and even the option to enable Link Aggregation mode. Very handy feature as the Link Aggregation covers for network fault tolerance and load balancing. More on a dedicated article.
In this instance both network cards will be configured in teaming mode with a simple setup acting as fault tolerant with an active/passive scenario. This is serving the configuration when using the VMware Round Robin for the datastore configuration. In particular each NAS on the homelab has two dedicated nic cards and connected to separate network switches for redundancy.
Another important feature is the ability to use Network VLANs. In this guide default VLANs are used. As the homelab configuration is growing the NAS will sit on separate VLANs. From the DSM gui is possible to add one VLAN only. This is also known as Access VLAN. In reality by editing a configuration file using the DSM Terminal console it is possible to specify multiple VLANs and configure the Trunk VLAN where multiple VLANIDs are allowed on the same physical port. This option has been removed from the newer DSM versions and is still achievable through editing of network configuration files using a Terminal. More on this in a dedicated article.
Setup Synology DS620Slim network
From the DSM GUI (Disk Station Manager) > Control Panel > Network section the main tabs to setup the Synology DS620Slim network. In the General tab the important option to set the hostname or netbios server name. The recommendation is to have a proper DNS (A) Record along with its Pointer (PTR). Another important option is the ability to set multiple DNS Servers along with ARP response behavior from same network card. Last but not least in the Advanced Settings also the option to work with multiple Gateways. Also a Web Proxy configuration to get on the Internet.
In the network Interface tab this is were it shows the network card configurations along with the ability to create additional layer3 configurations like PPoE (Point-to-Point protocol over Ethernet) and IPv6 Tunneling. From this section also the option to create VPN connections and even manage the Service order when multiple protocols are configured. For example IPv4 (default) and IPv6 together.
When selecting a network card and then edit it shows the fields to enter the network addresses for IP, Subnet Mask, Gateway, and more. Should this NAS serve environments with Jumbo Frames the Synology DS620Slim supports this configuration too.
When selecting multiple network cards the DSM GUI offers the ability to configure the Link Aggregation mode. With this mode it supports:
- Adaptive Load Balancing
- IEEE 802.3ad Dynamic Link Aggregation
- Balance XOR
- Active/Standby
More info on these in detailed articles. For the time being the recommended configuration is to use the Active/Standby which provides fault tolerance when connecting the Synology NAS to separate network switches.
At this point it is a matter to select the physical network cards participating to the Link Aggregation mode.
Next is to specify the IP address desired. The suggestion is to go with a static address rather than a dynamic one through DHCP requests. All is required is IP, Subnet Mask, Gateway and Primary DNS addresses.
Next is to accept the message and apply the new settings for the bond interface.
The Traffic Control and Static Routes tabs can now be used to create the desired firewall rules based on Applications, Ports and bandwidth throttling.
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