Manage Synology NAS Access from the Cloud

Synology® is a popular provider of network attached storage (NAS) appliances. As such, IT admins often wonder how to best manage user access to Synology devices. 

Admins can manage Synology NAS user access on-prem with traditional directory services solutions, but many would prefer the convenience of being able to manage Synology NAS access from the cloud. Fortunately, next generation cloud directory services solutions are emerging to mitigate traditional IAM challenges, such as managing Synology access. 

Overview of Synology NAS

Synology is a company that specializes in network attached storage appliances. Synology NAS appliances are a popular option for on-prem data storage. They are cost effective, reliable, and can be easily integrated into most IT networks. IT organizations often leverage Synology NAS appliances to store critical applications, data, and share file access over a network. 

Synology NAS appliances offer a number of advantages when compared to cloud storage alternatives like Google® Drive, DropBox®, and Box® (to name a few). For example, Synology NAS appliances offer faster file transfers compared to shuttling large files back and forth to the cloud. On-prem NAS appliances can also help organizations comply with industry regulations that require on-prem storage and data to be highly secured. 

Managing Synology NAS Access

Synology NAS appliances are on-prem solutions that are typically integrated with the authoritative identity provider (IdP). Historically, access to NAS appliances has been managed by on-prem identity management tools like Microsoft® Active Directory® (AD) or OpenLDAP™.

However, many IT organizations are shifting away from legacy on-prem solutions such as these in favor of cloud alternatives. As IT organizations move away from their on-prem IdP, one question is how to manage Synology NAS access from the cloud. 

The good news is that a new generation of cloud identity management solution has arrived that can easily manage Synology NAS access from the cloud via Samba, called JumpCloud® Directory-as-a-Service®. With Directory-as-a-Service, you simply configure a Synology NAS to use JumpCloud’s LDAP-as-a-Service Samba integration, and JumpCloud takes care of the rest to ensure that users will be authenticated. 

It’s that easy. 

Managing Access to Everything Else

Of course, managing NAS access is only one of many IAM challenges in modern IT organizations. In addition to storage, there are also Windows®, macOS®, and Linux® systems, web and on-prem applications, infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), networks spanning multiple locations, and a lot more. 

Ideally, IT admins would be able to leverage a single IAM platform to connect users to all of their disparate resources such as these. Fortunately, this is where the JumpCloud Directory-as-a-Service platform really shines. 

JumpCloud provides a single identity that can be leveraged to connect to virtually any IT resource. IT admins can also authenticate and authorize users remotely at their convenience. Essentially, JumpCloud is designed to be the only cloud IdP required in your IT organization, although Directory-as-a-Service can also integrate with traditional directories (e.g. AD Integration) to extend their identities to a wider range of IT resources. 

Learn More About JumpCloud

Sign up for a free account to check out JumpCloud today. You will have unlimited access to the Directory-as-a-Service platform free for up to 10 users. Contact the JumpCloud team if you have any questions.