After you order, we create a DSM account for you on one of our Synologys. That’s your storageDRIVE — your own login with a fixed quota on a large Synology at one of our German locations. Here’s what you’ll see when you log in for the first time.
What you receive after ordering
We review every order manually. Typically within 24 hours of payment we send you an email with:
- Server address (something like
https://drive.xaweho.de) - Username (you can pick it when ordering, otherwise we derive it from your email address)
- Initial password (randomly generated, you must change it on first login)
- Notes on the next step
One plan is exactly one user account — all your devices use the same login. If several people need their own logins, each person orders their own plan. Or take a look at Nextcloud Hosting: unlimited users, shared storage.
First login in the browser
- Open the server address in your browser.
- The DSM login screen appears — enter your username and initial password.
- On first login, DSM asks for a new password. At least 10 characters, with upper/lower case, a number and a special character — we’ve set strict password rules in the server config.
After the password change you land on the DSM desktop.
What you see on the DSM desktop
DSM is Synology’s web operating system — it feels like a desktop in your browser. Along the top:
- Main menu button on the left: shows all available apps
- Search icon: quick file and app search
- Notification bell: status, shared files, notes
- Avatar top right: account settings, logout
In the middle you see icons for the most important apps. We’ve pre-configured these to be visible for you:
- File Station
- Synology Drive
- Synology Photos
More (Note Station, Cloud Sync, Text Editor, PDF Viewer) are available in the main menu.
What you don’t see as an end customer
We run the Synology as server admins and take care of:
- Disks and RAID
- DSM updates
- App updates
- Backup of the entire Synology
- Snapshots (you see the restore function, but not the snapshot configuration)
You have a regular user account, no admin rights. That gets you every end-customer feature, but not the server configuration.
That’s deliberate — a multi-tenant setup: you share the machine with other customers, each with their own account and separated storage.
SSH access?
Not possible, by design. Synology DSM doesn’t separate multi-tenant users cleanly at the shell level — that would be a security problem. Instead there’s:
- SFTP for scripts and CLI file transfer
- FTPS for legacy tools
- WebDAV for browser/file-manager mounts
More in SFTP access and FTPS access.
Security recommendations right after first login
1. Enable 2FA
In the avatar menu top right → Personal → Account → 2-Factor Authentication. Pair it with an authenticator app (Google Authenticator, Authy, 1Password, Bitwarden). Important to know: 2FA protects the web login and the Synology apps — FTPS, SFTP and WebDAV keep running on the account password. More in 2FA in DSM.
2. Check your email address
Avatar → Personal → Account → email address. So DSM can notify you about security events.
Frequently asked questions
Which DSM version do I have? We run current DSM (7.x). For big major updates we announce maintenance windows.
Can I change my username later? Open a ticket with us. It’s doable on our side, but it means: all external sharing links you’ve created become invalid.
What happens if I forget the new password? Reset via the DSM login screen → “Forgot password” → email address → reset email. If that doesn’t work: open a ticket with us.
Can I see other customers on the Synology? No. Multi-tenant separation makes sure users can’t see each other or access anyone else’s files.
Does DSM work in a phone browser? Yes, but it’s clumsy. For mobile use: the dedicated apps (Synology Drive, Synology Photos) — see Synology Drive Mobile.
How many devices can log in at the same time? As many as you like. Browser on the notebook, Drive client on the Mac, Photos app on the iPhone — all in parallel with the same account.
What’s next
Account and quota — how your storageDRIVE storage works
One plan, one user account, a fixed quota: what counts toward the quota, what happens when it's full, and how upgrades work.
File Station — the file manager in your browser
The classic file manager in DSM. Upload, download, creating folders, ZIP creation, previews, sharing links.
Mounting storageDRIVE as a drive (SMB)
How to connect your storageDRIVE via SMB as a drive — in the Mac Finder, Windows Explorer and as a mount on Linux. Step by step, including auto-mount and Time Machine.
Using Synology Drive in the browser
Synology Drive is the modern sync hub in DSM. Browser view with version history, Office editing, sharing — and the link to all Drive clients.