Hello,
I am completely lost in here knowing what / how I need to install Home assistant on my Synology NAS …
Is it correct I need to install Virtual Machine Manager ? I think this is the package to have a virtual machine in my NAS right ?
Then I need to install home assistant under it, but here I can find different packages like :
?? I guess this depends on the platform I install it on … so which one to be sued for Synology NAS ?
Many thanks !
Personally I use HA as VM on ESXi, but for DR test I restored it from Active Backup to Virtual Machine Manager on Synology NAS and it worked flowlesly. So I’d assume that VMware image should be the one… But that was not fresh install, just restore fo backup, so I’m not sure if it was somehow manipulated by Active Backup. Anyhow VMM is the right route, comparing to docker, as it allows to passthrough USB devices to VM withour messing with DSM by installation of uncertified drivers.
Thanks a lot … can someone please confirm … Virtual machine Manager to be installed on NAS then VMWare image or … ?
Many thanks !!
Not to muddy things, but you can also use Docker to run HA instead of a full VM. You may find it easier, but running it in Docker can limit access to the USB ports on the NAS. If you need to use the USB ports in HA, a VM might be a better choice.
It depends on what model Synology NAS you have. Only the “plus” series NAS’ have the ability to run VMM. I installed the HAOS VMware .ova file two years ago when I did my HA install, IIRC.
On a side note, you probably can’t even run the Core Docker on a non-plus NAS. I bricked a “j” series NAS trying to force the Synology Docker package to install on a NAS where it was not supported.
Coincidentally, I posted this in another forum today which you might find useful:
Comment on point 2. : i run HA on DSM7.2 inside VM on DS920+ and i use BT usb dongle (as BLE receiver for xiaomi temp/humi sensors). After syno reboot dongle is automatically re-added to HA, so no need for manual add each time you reboot nas. I think that this automation was added in dsm7.
But, interesting… i have UPS connected to nas via usb,too, and that one i DO have to remove/reattach usb from ups after each reboot, otherwise nas won’t see it and reports “no ups device found”.
I did read that VM can be “forced” to run on non-plus series, but i think it would require some googling to see if it’s in fact doable and safe. In any case however having SSD cache on nas huuugely improves speed at which HA is running, and especially restarts. And i mean huuuugely, like…10 times faster…
My HA reboots in under 2 minutes, and i have tons of stuff inside.
Reserving CPU threads (settings in VM under CPU) also helps at speed improving. And select all possible cores. I have all 4 cores selected and 2 threads reserved for HA.
My UPS is connected to the Synology via USB, but configured using the Synology NUT package and not HA. I then have HA’s NUT integration link to the Synology’s NUT.
Regarding the non-plus and VMM, AFAIK the big product differentiator in the “plus” series is that it uses an Intel x86 CPU whereas the other models do not and therefore can’t run Intel x86 VMs…