UPDATE (not 100% verified): 16/4/21 - There are some indications that we might get another update in the next few months, but there are also news (again unofficial) that Syno might push for a summer 2021 final realease (from Syno support chat). Still to be verified.
UPDATE: 27/12/2020 - DSM 7 will NOT be coming to DS1821+ model but it will be supported in the full release

Yesterday was an exciting day for Synology. We have got our first DSM 7 public beta after three months of public preview and over 2,5y since the initial announcement of DSM 7.

I have been running the public preview version since day one and have had no problems at all. The NAS was stable and running fine with no major problems (apart from the volume degradation at one point, but that was just the old drive dying), so today I have updated to DSM 7 41222 version (public beta).

Let's see how that went!

In case you have missed my latest articles on DSM 7 overall have a look here, and if you want to get on board with the latest public beta you can download it here.

NOTE: Understand that this is still a beta. Nothing in DSM 7 is still final and it's subject to change or complete remap in the end. In some cases, some features might be completely removed!

Head to DSM 7 public beta site here: https://prerelease.synology.com/en-global/download/dsm70_beta and download the version for your model.

Here are the highlights for this 41222 version:

Before Update

  1. DSM 7.0 can only be updated from DSM 6.2.
  2. Reserve extra time to complete DSM 7.0 update. The DSM update takes 10 to 20 minutes, while package update may take more than an hour. The actual time depends on the computing power of your model, the number of media indexing files, and the number of packages installed.
  3. The official version of Active Insight, Synology Photos, and Secure SignIn mobile applications are available in app stores. To avoid possible compatibility issues, users who installed these applications during DSM 7.0 Preview program should update them after the DSM update.

DSM

  1. USB devices (Wi-Fi dongle, Bluetooth dongle, 3G/4G dongle, USB DAC/speaker, and DTV dongle) are no longer supported. If your Synology NAS is currently connected via a wireless dongle, it will be disconnected after the update.
  2. Creating SSD caches on block-level LUNs is no longer supported. Existing SSD cache for block LUNs will function normally after the update.
  3. DDSM is incompatible with DSM 7.0. To continue using DDSM, you should retain the current DSM version. To update to DSM 7.0, please delete DDSM first.
  4. To provide comprehensive TLS support and ensure compatibility, the TLS/SSL profile level in Modern compatibility will automatically change to Intermediate Compatibility after the update.
  5. EZ-Internet is merged with Router Configuration in Control Panel. To set up port forwarding, go to Control Panel > External Access > Router Configuration.
  6. Python3 is merged into DSM as a built-in service. The original Python3 package will be unavailable in Package Center and you can remove it manually.
  7. The following DDNS providers are removed from the service provider list at Control Panel > External Access > DDNS:
    CloudNS, DNO-O-Matic, DNSEXIT, Dynamic DO!.jp, Joker.com, RU-CENTER, TwoDNS.de, Variomedia, Zoneedit.com
  8. The updated QuickConnect connection is secured with an SSL certificate, and your QuickConnect domain will be passed to Let's Encrypt for certificate application purpose. Please refer to the Privacy Statement for more details.
  9. Video conversion to FLV and MPEG-4 Part 2 formats on the following models is no longer supported.
  • 20-series: DS120j
  • 19-series: DS119j
  • 16-series: DS216se
  • 15-series: DS215j, DS115, DS115j
  • 14-series: RS814, RS214, DS414, DS414slim, DS414j, DS214+, DS214, DS214se, DS114
  • 13-series: DS213j
  1. NT4 domains are no longer supported. Current NT4 domains will be unavailable after the update.

Packages

  1. Synology Moments and Photo Station will be upgraded to and merged as Synology Photos. If you would like to use Synology Photos on your mobile devices, please install the iOS/Android app. See this page for more details.
  2. Cloud Station Server and Cloud Station ShareSync will be upgraded to and merged with Synology Drive Server. If you are using any Cloud Station Suite applications (Cloud Station Server, Cloud Station Drive, Cloud Station Backup, Cloud Station ShareSync, or DS cloud), you must switch to their counterparts in the Synology Drive Suite to ensure compatibility. See this page for more details.
  3. Central Management System no longer supports managing Synology NAS with DSM version earlier than DSM 6.2. Please update all managed servers to DSM 6.2 or above first. Managed servers that are unable to update to DSM 6.2 should be disjoined from Central Management System before the update.
  4. MariaDB 5 is incompatible with DSM 7.0. To update to DSM 7.0, please install MariaDB 10, migrate the database, and uninstall MariaDB 5 in Package Center first.
  5. If you cannot find certain Synology approved third-party packages in Package Center, check out this article for the latest status of the packages. For other third-party packages, please contact their developers for more information.
  6. The following packages are no longer supported:
    Cloud Station Server (replaced by Synology Drive Server), Cloud Station ShareSync (replaced by Synology Drive Server), Discourse, DokuWiki, Drupal, Drupal8, DVBLink, GitLab, GLPI, Java7, Java8, LimeSurvey, Logitech® Media Server, LXQt, Magento, Magento2, MantisBT, Moments (replaced by Synology Photos), Mono, Moodle, Node.js 0.10, Node.js 0.12, Node.js v4, Node.js v6, Node.js v8, Odoo 8, OpenERP 6.1, OpenERP 7.0, OrangeHRM, Orthanc, osCommerce, osTicket, PHP PEAR, Photo Station (replaced by Synology Photos), phpBB, Piwik, Podcast Generator, PrestaShop, PrestaShop1.7, Redmine, Ruby, Spree, SugarCRM, SVN, Synology File Manager, Tomcat6, Tomcat7, TVMosaic, Webalizer

Limitations

  1. When you click Notifications > Show All on your desktop right after the update, you will only be able to see the 20 most recent notifications. However, this won't occur for future notifications.
  2. In Central Management System, if the CMS host runs DSM 6.2 (or earlier) but the managed servers run DSM 7.0, the CMS host cannot manage package updates for the managed servers.

What’s New

  1. Storage
  • A new revision of Storage Manager:
  • Added visuals of Synology NAS models with their drive slots, expansion units, and built-in M.2 slots to help users view drive status.
  • Enhanced usability with a clearer display of the relationship between storage pools, volumes, and SSD caches.
  • Enhanced the setup process of Hot Spare and Data Scrubbing.
  • Added a feature to guide users through configuring newly inserted drives.
  • New features of storage pools, volumes, and drives:
  • Supports performing different tasks on different storage pools simultaneously.
  • Supports updating the firmware for Synology drives.
  • Enhanced the access performance of RAID 6 by 80% on Broadwellnk (FS1018, SA3400, RS1619xs+, DS3018xs) and Grantley (FS3017) CPUs.
  • Enhanced the access performance of degraded RAID 6 by 70%.
  • Added display of the storage usage of each category item on Btrfs volumes.
  • Added a new Fast Repair mechanism to reduce the time needed for RAID repair based on storage usage and thus reduce the time of RAID degradation.
  • Added the ability to replace a drive in a healthy storage pool with an unused one without interrupting services or causing storage pool degradation.
  • Added the ability to automatically replace “Critical” or “Failing” drives in protected storage pools with Hot Spare.
  • Added the Auto Repair feature to automatically run a RAID repair when a malfunctioned drive is replaced with a healthy one in the same drive slot.
  • Added the ability to eject a storage pool on an expansion unit to ensure the safe removal of drives without interrupting system services.
  • Added the ability to mount storage pools from drives that are inserted after the device has been powered on without interrupting system services.
  • Added support for Western Digital® Device Analytics™ (WDDA) health analytics service for compatible WD Purple™, Red™, and Red™ Pro drives.
  • New features of SSD Cache:
  • Added the ability to create and remove SSD caches without interrupting system services.
  • Added the new SSD Cache Advisor to monitor I/O accesses and provide more accurate capacity recommendations.
  • Added the ability to pin all Btrfs metadata to SSD caches to enhance the performance of accessing small files and shorten the response time when accessing files regularly.
  • Added the ability to activate automatic protection on SSD read-write caches with multi-drive fault tolerance.
  • Added support for the quick write-back mechanism, delivering a 30% faster synchronization from SSD caches to HDDs when automatic protection is activated.

2.   Resource Monitor

  • Revamped the display of recorded performance metrics with a finer granularity of data points and the ability to focus on certain time points.
  • Enhanced monitoring transparency of system services by separating larger, unrelated processes.
  • Added the ability to manage currently accessed files and their connected users to better handle locked files.

3.   File System/File Services

  • Supports enabling/disabling file compression for shared folders created on DSM 7.0.
  • Enhanced file compression ratio and added display for the current ratio for each shared folder.
  • Added support for cross-protocol locking between SMB and AFP.
  • Supports accessing encrypted shared folders via NFS.
  • Enhanced Btrfs performance and lowered I/O latency.
  • Modularized the SMB file service into a package.
  • Allows users to enable/disable SMB transfer logs for permission changes, providing more flexible transfer logs.
  • Enhanced the encryption performance by up to 10% on certain models with the x86 platform.

4.  User Management

  • Enhanced the password policy. Passwords must exclude username and description, include both upper-case and lower-case letters as well as numerical digits. The minimum password length is 8 characters.
  • Added the ability to delegate predefined administrator roles to non-administrator user accounts and allow them to manage certain services and system settings, offering more flexible permission management.
  • Added the ability to require imported users to change their passwords after their initial DSM logins.
  • Added the ability to assign user accounts from import lists to specific groups.

5.  Domain/LDAP Integration

  • Enhanced LDAP client authentication performance by reducing the number of queries sent with a caching mechanism.
  • The following services and packages now support UPN logins: Synology Assistant, Hyper Backup, Synology Mail Server, Synology Calendar, and Shared Folder Sync.
  • Enhanced domain database synchronization performance by syncing only altered data.

6.  Security

  • Added the ability to block USB and console ports.
  • Enhanced QuickConnect connection process to strengthen security.
  • Provides only TLS 1.3 support for the Modern Compatibility option for TLS/SSL profile level.
  • Added the ability to set 2-factor authentication as mandatory for specific users or groups.

7.   User Experience

  • Enhanced user experience for DSM first-time installation and Synology Account related service setup (e.g. QuickConnect).
  • Added information and usage tips about security, notification, and other recommended settings in DSM Help.
  • Added the ability to back up DSM system configuration to a connected Synology Account.
  • Added support for application webhook integration to send system notifications to Synology Chat and other third-party applications.
  • Added severity levels to notifications for better categorization of events.
  • Enhanced user interface responsiveness to launch installed packages and services faster.
  • Enhanced login performance when connecting from external networks.
  • Enhanced user experience for package update processes by displaying the update status with package icons on the DSM desktop.
  • Supports resetting the passwords of all user accounts in the administrators group by pressing the RESET button on Synology NAS for 4 seconds.
  • Enhanced Control Panel usability by reorganizing related functionality together:
  • Added a new Synology Account tab to consolidate future services provided through Synology Account.
  • Consolidated Domain/LDAP options to be configured in a new unified wizard.
  • Consolidated QuickConnect settings into the External Access tab.
  • Consolidated User and Groups settings.
  • Consolidated Theme and Application Portal options into Login Portal tab.
  • Consolidated email notification options into Notification > Email tab.
  • Consolidated WS-Discovery into File Services > SMB.
  • Consolidated Network > DSM Settings into Login Portal > Web Services.
  • Relocated the SMB Server Signing option to File Services > SMB > Advanced Settings.
  • Moved Shared Folder Sync into the File Services tab.
  • Moved the Enforce 2-factor authentication option into the Security tab.
  • Modularized DHCP Server into a package.

Installing DSM 7 4122 beta

Like any other manual installation, DSM 7 beta is nothing different. Go to Control Panel > Update & Restore and on the DSM Update tab use the Manual DSM update button.

Start your DSM 7 beta update here

Now just follow the wizard.

Select the file you have downloaded for your NAS model
Bit of information and warnings
Point of no return once you click Yes

Update on my RS3614RPxs model was 12min including installation, reboot, and reconfiguration of all the settings and packages. Of course, that will depend on how many tasks DSM needs to do on your setup and what version you are updating from.

Upgrade process started
Going well so far
Leave your NAS to reboot as the next phase will kick in after that

As soon as your NAS has rebooted it will continue the installation and configuration process by checking your DSM packages.

Update of your DSM packages

Finally, you will be done, and logging into DSM you will notice immediately some facelift changes.

DSM 7 beta up and running!

The What is new in DSM 7.0 wizard will point you to some important new features supported by your NAS.

NOTE: some elements and features will not work on all devices (like Active Insight).
Skip or select features you want to activate (you can do it later as well)
RS3614RPxs running DSM 7 41222 version

That's it! All done. As I said before it took a bit over 10 min for all of it to complete, and with 0 problems on top of it all.

A few screens that show how the new DSM 7 beta looks like (the font and colors have been tweaked a bit from the preview version):

DSM 7 - 41222 Control Panel
DSM 7 - 41222 Application menu
DSM 7 - 41222 Desktop with several windows (Resource monitor, CMS, and Docker)

Be sure to check all the other article from the DSM 7 series for a more in-depth looks into some of new features and apps.

Let me know down in the comments below what you think about the new beta and if you will jump on in or not!