Ensuring Data Consistency with Synology Multi-Site Synchronization
Synology Multi-Site Synchronization for Environments with Multiple Locations
One of the hardest things to do in modern IT environments is to keep data consistent across many offices, branches, and remote teams. When companies use hybrid work models and infrastructure that is spread out over a wide area, file access delays, version conflicts, and fragmented storage quickly become operational risks.
Synology solves this problem with Multi-Site Synchronization, a flexible system that lets businesses keep their data in sync across different locations while still having full control over their infrastructure, access, and security.
What is the Synology Multi-Site Sync?
Multi-Site Synchronization is a feature of Synology NAS platforms that lets data be synced between several Synology systems that are in different places. Depending on network conditions and operational needs, synchronization can happen in real time or on a set schedule.
The main goal is to make sure that teams in different places always have the most recent files, while also making backups and reducing the need for manual file transfers.
Synology lets businesses build private or hybrid cloud designs that keep data closer to users while still keeping control of it all in one place. This is better than just using public cloud storage.
The main parts of multi-site synchronization
There are a number of parts that work together to make sure reliable synchronization:
- Sync for Shared Folders
This is the basic way that Synology systems copy shared folders between them. It can do one-way or two-way replication, depending on what you need. - Server for Synology Drive
Drive Server adds the ability to handle file versions, work together, and handle conflicts. It is very important in environments with more than one user where edits happen at the same time. - Connections that are encrypted
All data transfers can be encrypted while they are being sent, which keeps them private over WAN links or networks that aren’t trusted.
These parts work together to make synchronization possible without adding extra licensing problems or dependencies on outside sources.
How Multi-Site Syncing Works
Synology uses both file-level and block-level methods to make synchronization work better.
During the first sync, the entire data set that was chosen is sent to the destination NAS. Once this baseline is set, incremental synchronization makes sure that only changed files or blocks are sent, which cuts down on bandwidth use by a lot.
When you use bi-directional synchronization, changes made at one site are sent to all systems that are connected. This is especially helpful for teams that work together across offices, as long as there are clear rules for how to handle conflicts.
Deployment Scenarios for Organizations with Multiple Locations
Synology has different synchronization architectures that work with different business models.
Syncing multiple sites in a hybrid cloud
With Synology Hybrid Share and Synology C2, businesses can sync data between sites and use cloud storage to make it more flexible and available. This model works well for global teams that need to access the system all the time with little on-premises growth.
Complete Synchronization on the Premises
For places where data must stay in one place or follow strict rules, data can be synced directly between several Synology NAS systems without using the cloud.
Syncing Cloud Services
You can also set up Synology systems to sync with public cloud services in one-way or two-way modes. This lets you back up, archive, or work together.
Streaming and Synchronization at the Endpoint
Files can be streamed or selectively synced to user devices on demand. This saves space on local storage and bandwidth on the network.
Overview of Configuration
Setting up Shared Folder Sync or Synology Drive on all NAS devices that will be used, choosing source and destination folders, and setting up schedules or real-time sync rules are all part of a normal deployment.
You can use bandwidth controls to stop synchronization from slowing down production traffic. Tools for monitoring show you the status of sync, errors, and performance trends.
Managing users and controlling access
Strong identity and access management is needed for deployments across multiple sites. Synology works with Active Directory and LDAP, which lets you manage users and groups from one place using Access Control Lists.
The Drive Admin Console lets administrators set detailed permissions, enforce storage limits, keep an eye on user activity, and set sharing rules. These controls are very important to stop changes that aren’t allowed and to lower the number of conflicts that happen when syncing.
Advanced Features and Best Practices
Some advanced features are automatic conflict resolution, file versioning for recovery, selective synchronization of folders or file types, and compression to make WAN work better.
Using reliable network links, limiting write access when possible, regularly checking the health of synchronization, and carefully planning bidirectional sync paths to avoid circular conflicts are all good ways to do things.
About the Epis Technology
Epis Technology helps businesses set up and design multi-site Synology environments that are safe and can grow. Epis Technology offers Synology consulting, big storage solutions, backups for Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, fully managed PC backups, and planning for business continuity. Epis Technology makes sure that distributed teams stay productive while data stays consistent, safe, and compliant by making sure that Synology Multi-Site Synchronization works with real-world network conditions, access policies, and backup plans.