Check Hard Drive Health on Synology NAS: Complete Guide

How to Monitor Hard Drive Health on a Synology NAS

Hard drives are the most failure-prone component in any NAS system. On a Synology NAS, proactively monitoring drive health is critical to preventing unexpected downtime, data loss, and costly recovery efforts. Fortunately, DiskStation Manager (DSM) includes powerful built-in tools that allow administrators to track disk health, identify early warning signs, and take action before failures occur.

This guide explains how to check hard drive health on a Synology NAS, which indicators matter most, and how businesses can build a proactive monitoring strategy.

Why Drive Health Monitoring Matters

Hard drives rarely fail without warning. Most issues develop gradually, with rising read errors, reallocated sectors, or temperature instability. When left unchecked, these problems can lead to:

• RAID degradation or rebuild failures

• Corrupted backups

• Reduced NAS performance

• Unexpected outages

Regular health checks help you detect these risks early and plan replacements on your own schedule.

Using Storage Manager to Check Drive Health

The primary tool for monitoring disks is Storage Manager in DSM.

Step 1: Open Storage Manager

• Log in to DSM

• Open Storage Manager

• Select HDD/SSD from the menu.

Here you’ll see a list of installed drives with basic status indicators such as Healthy, Warning, or Critical.

Step 2: Review Drive Details

Click on an individual drive to view:

• Model and firmware version

• Temperature readings

• Power-on hours

• Current health status

Consistently high temperatures or rapidly increasing power-on hours can indicate increased failure risk.

Running SMART Tests on Synology NAS

SMART (Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology) tests are essential for evaluating drive condition.

Types of SMART Tests

• Quick Test: Takes a few minutes; checks basic functionality.

• Extended Test: Takes hours; scans the entire disk surface

How to Run a SMART Test

1. Go to Storage Manager → HDD/SSD

2. Select a drive

3. Click Health Info → SMART Test.

4. Choose Quick or Extended

Extended tests should be scheduled during low-usage periods to avoid performance impact.

Understanding SMART Attributes and Warnings

Some SMART values deserve special attention:

• Reallocated Sector Count: Indicates failing sectors

• Pending Sector Count: Signals unstable disk areas

• Read Error Rate: Rising values can precede failure

DSM simplifies this by translating raw data into health warnings, making it easier for non-specialists to interpret.

Setting Up Alerts and Notifications

Monitoring only works if alerts reach the right people.

Enable Notifications

• Go to Control Panel → Notification.

• Configure email, SMS, or push alerts

• Enable storage-related warnings

This ensures you’re notified immediately if a drive enters warning or critical status.

Checking Drive Health at the RAID Level

Beyond individual disks, it’s important to monitor storage pools and volumes:

• RAID degradation warnings

• Failed or rebuilding arrays

• Parity consistency checks

Storage Manager displays RAID health alongside disk status, helping you assess overall data risk.

Synology-Focused Solution Overview

Synology designs DiskStation Manager to centralize hardware health monitoring within a single interface. Through Storage Manager, SMART integration, scheduled tests, and alerting, Synology enables both small teams and enterprises to proactively manage disk health. These tools allow administrators to replace drives before failure, maintain RAID integrity, and ensure consistent performance across growing storage environments.

Best Practices for Ongoing Drive Health Management

• Schedule extended SMART tests monthly.

• Monitor temperature trends, not just thresholds.

• Replace drives proactively at warning status.

• Keep DSM and drive firmware up to date.

• Avoid mixing drive models in critical arrays

Preventive monitoring is far less disruptive than emergency recovery.

How Epis Technology Supports Proactive Drive Monitoring

Managing drive health at scale requires more than occasional checks. Epis Technology helps organizations design monitoring strategies that align with uptime, compliance, and recovery objectives. The team assists with alert configuration, SMART testing schedules, RAID planning, and lifecycle replacement strategies for Synology NAS environments. Epis Technology also integrates drive monitoring into broader backup and disaster recovery plans, ensuring that early warnings translate into timely, controlled action rather than costly emergencies.

Checking hard drive health on a Synology NAS is not a one-time task; it’s an ongoing process that protects your data and infrastructure. By using DSM’s built-in tools, running regular SMART tests, and responding quickly to warnings, organizations can dramatically reduce the risk of unexpected failures.

With Synology’s monitoring capabilities and expert guidance from Epis Technology, businesses can move from reactive troubleshooting to proactive data protection.

About Epis Technology

Epis Technology provides enterprise IT infrastructure, Synology consulting, and data protection services. The company specializes in scalable NAS deployments, hybrid cloud integration, Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace backups, fully managed PC backups, and business continuity planning. Epis Technology helps organizations secure, optimize, and future-proof their data environments with confidence.