Install Synology’s DSM 7.0 Beta as a Virtual Machine!

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  • Post last modified:November 2, 2022
  • Post category:Synology
  • Reading time:7 mins read

Today we are going to look at the best way to beta test Synology’s DSM 7.0 by installing it as a Virtual Machine.

It’s known that installing a beta operating system on a production server is never a good idea. However, installing it virtually (vDSM) on your production server is a great way to test it! I use vDSM to test various things for my NAS and this is a great example.

1. Install Instructions

1. You must ensure that your NAS can run DSM virtually. For an updated list of NAS models that support Virtual Machine Manager, check this link.

2. Install Synology’s DSM virtually. This tutorial has all the steps required to install DSM virtually. If you only want to install DSM 7.0, follow the instructions in the link and substitute DSM 7.0 for DSM 6.2.3. If you’d like to test both, DSM 6.2.3 and DSM 7.0, install DSM 6.2.3 first, then follow these instructions.

3. Download the DSM 7.0 Virtual DSM Image.

4. Power off your Virtual DSM Instance and take a snapshot of it. Open Virtual Machine Manager, select your vDSM instance, select Action, then Take a Snapshot. Select OK when the next screen appears to take the snapshot. This allows you to rollback to DSM 6.2.3 if you’d like at a later point! Keep in mind that this cannot be done on bare-metal DSM. Snapshots only work on Virtual Machines in Virtual Machine Manager.

DSM 7.0 beta virtual machine

5. Open vDSM and CONFIRM YOU ARE USING THE VIRTUAL DSM IP ADDRESS. I suggest opening the vDSM instance and then closing out of your production NAS instance, so you don’t accidentally try and upgrade the wrong system.

6. Select Control Panel, Update & Restore, Manual DSM Update and then find the Virtual DSM update package you downloaded.

7. Read through the terms of service, select the checkbox if you agree, and then select Next.

DSM 7.0 beta virtual - page to agree to the dsm update settings

8. If you would like to proceed with installing the DSM 7.0 Beta, select Yes.

DSM 7.0 beta virtual - installation time totals

9. DSM will now update.

DSM 7.0 beta virtual dsm install

10. If you navigate to the IP address of vDSM after a few minutes, you will see that the update is being applied.

DSM 7.0 beta virtual install progress

11. DSM 7.0 is now installed! Login to proceed.

DSM 7.0 beta virtual dsm login

12. You will be brought through a few screens that ask you if you’d like to configure certain settings.

synology dsm 7.0 install

13. Open the Package Center and join the beta for as many applications as you’d like!

synology dsm 7 package center

2. Roll Back to DSM 6.2.3

Since we took a snapshot before we installed DSM 7.0, it’s super easy to roll back to DSM 6.2.3 if you’d like.

1. Shut down the vDSM instance.

2. In Virtual Machine Manager, select Action, then Snapshot List.

virtual machine rollback via snapshot

3. On the snapshot we created, select Action, then Restore to this snapshot.

snapshot restoring

4. Select OK if you’d like to restore from this snapshot.

confirmation of snapshot restore

5. Enter your password, select the checkbox, and then Submit. DSM will now restore to DSM 6.2.3. When you power it back on, you’ll be on DSM 6.2.3 again! NOTE: Anything you did on DSM 7.0 will be removed permanently. A snapshot will automatically be created of the system in its current state, but you must be aware that DSM 7.0 will now be reverted back to DSM 6.2.3 at the point of the initial snapshot.

dsm password confirmation

3. Conclusion – DSM 7.0 Beta Virtual Machine

I’m biased, but I view this as the best way to test DSM 7.0. It gives you an easy way to roll back to DSM 6.2.3 if you’d like, with the opportunity to test DSM 7.0 in a sandbox environment.

As always, thank you for reading, and if you have any questions, please leave them in the comments!

Please share if this helped you!

Frank

IT professional and creator of WunderTech. Passionate about NAS, Docker, virtualization, firewalls, self-hosted apps, and an avid home lab enthusiast.
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This Post Has 5 Comments

  1. SGM

    Thanks for this info. Good stuff. I can create a DSM VM using 6.2.4 but when upgrading in the VM to 7 “The mode of the update is incompatible with the system modem”. And idea?

    1. WunderTech

      That is weird – did you download the right upgrade package from Synology’s Download center for your version of DSM 6.2? I know there are different packages based on what version you’re currently on.

  2. YD

    I’m getting the exact same problem going from DSM 6.2.4-25556 to DSM_DS920+_41890.pat (Status before I started was ‘Your DSM version is up to date’).

  3. Yann

    I messaged Synology Support about this, and their reply was that you can’t use the normal update file, you have you use the Virtual DSM update file instead.

    So you article is sending us to the wrong place. The link should be this one: https://www.synology.com/en-global/support/download/VirtualDSM#system. It’s obvious now that I know 🙂

    1. WunderTech

      Yes, sorry about that! The vDSM images are in the “Other” section, when they probably shouldn’t be.

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