Synology Active Backup Guide: Complete Setup for PCs, Servers & VMs

Active Backup for Business transforms your Synology NAS into a comprehensive backup server capable of protecting your entire infrastructure—from employee laptops to virtual machines to cloud services. Best of all, it’s completely free with no per-device licensing fees, making it an incredible value compared to commercial alternatives like Veeam or Acronis.

This guide covers complete setup for all Active Backup modules: PC backup, server backup, virtual machine backup, and cloud service backup. We’ll walk through installation, configuration, best practices, and troubleshooting.

Why Active Backup for Business?

Before diving into setup, here’s why Active Backup stands out:

• Completely free: No per-device licensing—backup unlimited PCs, servers, and VMs
• Global deduplication: Reduces storage requirements by 50-70%
• Centralized management: Single console for all backup sources
• Bare-metal recovery: Restore entire PCs from bootable media
• Instant restore: Boot backed-up PCs as VMs for quick recovery
• Agentless VM backup: No software needed inside virtual machines
• Cloud service protection: Backup Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace

Prerequisites

System Requirements

• DSM Version: DSM 7.0 or later (DSM 7.2+ recommended)
• Btrfs File System: Required for deduplication (not ext4)
• RAM: 4GB minimum, 8GB+ recommended for 10+ devices
• Storage: Sufficient capacity for all backup sources plus retention history
• Network: Gigabit minimum, 2.5GbE+ recommended for multiple simultaneous backups
• Synology Account: Free account required for activation

Supported Backup Sources

Recommended NAS Models

Storage Recommendations

Step 1: Install Active Backup for Business

1. Log into DSM as administrator
2. Open Package Center
3. Search for “Active Backup for Business”
4. Click Install
5. Select destination volume (must be Btrfs file system)
6. Sign in with your Synology Account when prompted
7. Wait for installation and activation to complete

Important: The Synology Account sign-in activates the free license but doesn’t send any backup data to Synology. All backups remain local on your NAS.

Step 2: Configure Storage Settings

1. Open Active Backup for Business
2. Navigate to Settings → Storage
3. Verify the backup destination volume
4. Enable Global deduplication (highly recommended)
5. Set storage warning thresholds (recommend 80% and 90%)
6. Click Apply

Understanding Global Deduplication

Global deduplication is the key to Active Backup’s storage efficiency. It identifies identical data blocks across ALL backup sources—not just within a single backup.

• Typical reduction: 50-70% for similar Windows PCs
• Example: 10 PCs with 500GB each might only use 2TB instead of 5TB
• Incremental efficiency: Daily backups add minimal storage after initial backup
• Cross-device savings: Windows system files deduplicated across all PCs

Storage Calculation Example

Module 1: PC Backup (Windows)

PC backup is the most common use case for Active Backup. It protects employee workstations with full system images that enable bare-metal recovery.

Deploy the Windows Backup Agent

1. In Active Backup, navigate to PC → Add Device
2. Download the Windows Agent installer
3. Copy installer to target PC (via network share, USB, or email)
4. Run installer as Administrator on the target PC
5. Enter your NAS address (IP address or hostname)
6. Enter DSM credentials (recommend creating a dedicated backup account)
7. Complete installation—PC appears in Active Backup console

Tip: For enterprise deployments, deploy the agent via Group Policy or SCCM using the silent install command: Synology Active Backup for Business Agent-x.x.x.exe /S

Create a PC Backup Task

1. Select the PC in Active Backup console
2. Click Create Task
3. Choose backup type:

• Entire Device: Full system image including all drives (recommended)
• System Volume Only: Just the Windows partition (C: drive)
• Custom Volume: Select specific drives to backup

4. Configure backup schedule (daily recommended)
5. Set retention policy
6. Enable Changed Block Tracking for faster incrementals
7. Configure bandwidth limits if needed
8. Click Done

Recommended PC Backup Settings

Backup Templates for Multiple PCs

For organizations with many PCs, create a backup template:

1. Go to PC → Template
2. Click Create
3. Configure all backup settings
4. Save the template
5. Apply template to new PCs automatically or manually

Module 2: Server Backup (Physical)

Windows Server Backup

The process mirrors PC backup with additional considerations for server workloads:

1. Install Windows Agent on the server
2. Create backup task selecting Entire Device
3. Schedule during maintenance window (e.g., 2:00 AM)
4. Enable Application-aware processing

Application-aware processing ensures consistent backups for:

• Microsoft SQL Server (transaction log truncation)
• Microsoft Exchange (mailbox consistency)
• Active Directory (domain controller state)
• SharePoint (farm consistency)
• Other VSS-aware applications

Linux Server Backup

Active Backup supports major Linux distributions:

1. Download Linux Agent from Active Backup console
2. Transfer to Linux server
3. Install the agent:

# Debian/Ubuntu sudo dpkg -i synology-active-backup-agent_x.x.x_amd64.deb # RHEL/CentOS sudo rpm -ivh synology-active-backup-agent-x.x.x.rpm

4. Configure agent: sudo abb-cli -c
5. Enter NAS address and credentials
6. Server appears in console—create backup task

Module 3: Virtual Machine Backup

Active Backup provides agentless VM backup—no software needed inside the virtual machines.

VMware vSphere Backup

1. Navigate to Virtual Machine → VMware vSphere
2. Click Manage Hypervisor → Add
3. Enter vCenter or ESXi host address
4. Provide credentials with backup permissions
5. Virtual machines appear in the inventory
6. Select VMs to protect and click Create Task

VMware requirements:

• vSphere 5.0 or later
• CBT (Changed Block Tracking) enabled on VMs for fast incrementals
• Account with backup privileges

Microsoft Hyper-V Backup

1. Navigate to Virtual Machine → Microsoft Hyper-V
2. Click Manage Hypervisor → Add
3. Enter Hyper-V host address
4. Provide domain admin credentials
5. Select VMs and create backup tasks

VM Backup Best Practices

• Enable CBT (VMware): Changed Block Tracking enables fast incremental backups
• Use application-consistent mode: For VMs running databases or Exchange
• Schedule during low activity: VM snapshots briefly pause I/O
• Test instant restore: Verify VMs can boot from backup
• Consider RTO requirements: Critical VMs may need more frequent backups

Module 4: Microsoft 365 Backup

Protect your organization’s cloud data—Microsoft 365 retention policies don’t replace proper backup.

Connect Microsoft 365

1. Navigate to SaaS → Microsoft 365
2. Click Create Task
3. Sign in with Microsoft 365 Global Admin account
4. Grant required API permissions (Exchange, OneDrive, SharePoint)
5. Select users, groups, or entire organization to backup
6. Configure backup schedule and retention
7. Click Apply

What’s Protected

Why Backup Microsoft 365?

Microsoft’s shared responsibility model means YOU are responsible for your data:

• Accidental deletion: Recoverable for limited time only
• Ransomware: Can encrypt OneDrive/SharePoint files
• Malicious insiders: Employees can delete data before leaving
• Compliance: Regulations may require longer retention than Microsoft provides
• Migration: Backup enables easier tenant-to-tenant migration

Recovery Options

PC Recovery Methods

Create Recovery Media

Essential for bare-metal recovery of failed PCs:

1. In Active Backup, go to PC
2. Click Create recovery media
3. Choose format: ISO file or USB drive
4. Download/create the media
5. Store safely (multiple copies recommended)
6. Test by booting a PC from the media

Pro tip: Create recovery media for both UEFI and Legacy BIOS systems if you have mixed hardware.

Instant Restore (PC as VM)

Instantly boot a backed-up PC as a virtual machine on your NAS:

1. Select the PC backup
2. Click Instant Restore
3. Configure VM settings (RAM, CPU)
4. VM boots directly from backup—no restore needed
5. Use for verification or temporary access while hardware is repaired

Performance Optimization

RAM Upgrade

Active Backup’s deduplication engine benefits significantly from additional RAM:

Network Optimization

Multiple simultaneous backups can saturate gigabit connections:

UPS Protection

Protect your backup repository from power failures and data corruption:

Monitoring and Maintenance

Dashboard Overview

The Active Backup dashboard provides at-a-glance status:

• Backup status: Success, warning, or failure for each device
• Storage usage: Total backup size and deduplication ratio
• Recent activity: Latest backup jobs and their results
• Device health: Agent connectivity status

Email Notifications

Configure email alerts for backup status:

1. Go to Settings → Notification
2. Enable email notifications
3. Configure SMTP settings
4. Select notification triggers (failure, warning, success)
5. Add recipient email addresses

Regular Testing

Backups are worthless if they don’t restore. Schedule regular restore tests:

• Monthly: File-level restore test
• Quarterly: Instant restore test (boot PC backup as VM)
• Annually: Full bare-metal recovery test on spare hardware

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

Active Backup for Business transforms your Synology NAS into a comprehensive backup solution rivaling commercial products costing thousands in licensing fees. With support for Windows PCs, physical servers, VMware/Hyper-V VMs, and Microsoft 365, it provides complete infrastructure protection—all completely free.

For best results, ensure your NAS has adequate RAM (8GB+ recommended for 10+ devices), use Btrfs file system for deduplication benefits, and consider network upgrades for larger deployments. Most importantly, create recovery media and test restores regularly—backups are only valuable if they work when you need them.

The combination of zero licensing costs, global deduplication, and enterprise features makes Active Backup for Business one of the most compelling reasons to choose Synology for your backup infrastructure.

Related Resources

• Synology Hyper Backup Guide
• Best Synology NAS for Small Business
• Synology DS923+ Review
• Synology DS224+ Review
• Synology Photos Setup Guide
• Fix Synology Slow Transfer Speeds

Last Updated: February 2026