Cannot connect to Synology NAS probably a problem with 'root'.

I am setting up Acrosync for a trial.

I've not been able connect to my Synology NAS.  I'm using Synology DSM 6.0.  I've been horsing around with the settings for sometime and I'm not aware of any that are incorrect. I think the problem may be this instruction from the Acrosync support page:

"To connect, enter username root and the root password, enter / as the remote directory, then click the remote browsing button to choose a directory to sync."

Apparently,  DSM 6.0 has eliminated the 'root' login.  Please see this post:

https://www.santsys.com/s2blog/synology-dsm-6-0-no-more-root/

I've tried logging in as 'admin' and under my own username.  (I'm part of the administrative group.)

That has not worked.

Please let me know how to proceed.

Thank you.

Comments

  • what error message when you tried to log in as 'admin'?

    It worked for me.

    Inside Control Panel, there is an application called Privileges, where you can set permissions for rsync.  Not sure if that helps.
     
  • When you log in as 'admin', leave the remote directory empty, and the remote browsing dialog will start from the home directory.

    If you enter / as the remote directory, it will try to browse the root directory which gives an error: module is write only.
  • AFAIK the permissions are OK.

    Logging in as admin with the remote directory empty yields two directories:
    1. 'sieve' which itself contains a temporary directory and a file called roundcube.sieve, and
    2. 'www' which contains an assortment of web site files that I was playing with a year or more ago and have not touched since.

    Putting '/' in the remote directory yields: "Error: module is write only"

    I can navigate to the needed directory with ssh using putty.exe

    That's all there is to report, I'm afraid.
  • You've logged in.  That is the home directory for 'admin'.

    See this FAQ on the support page:

    THE REMOTE BROWSING DIALOG SHOWS NO DIRECTORIES. WHAT SHOULD I DO?

    By default Acrosync lists the home directory under the ssh mode. So if you don't have any file on your home directory you will see an empty list. There are a few options:

    • Enter / as the remote directory before clicking the remote browsing button. This instructs the remote browsing dialog to start from the root directory.
    • Create a symbolic link under your home directory pointing to the remote directory that you wish to sync with.
    • Uncheck the Over SSH option to connect in the rsync mode. If rsync is configured properly you should see the directory of interest


  • I'm not sure what all this means:

    login as: admin
    admin@192.168.0.19's password:
    admin@DiskStation:~$ pwd
    /var/services/homes/admin
    admin@DiskStation:~$ ls -l
    total 4
    drwxrwxrwx 2 admin users 4096 Oct 13  2015 www
    admin@DiskStation:~$ dir
    total 20
    drwxrwxrwx 4 admin users 4096 Oct 13  2015 .
    drwxrwxrwx 8 root  root  4096 May 12  2015 ..
    drwxrwxrwx 5 admin users 4096 May  4 20:12 .Maildir
    drwxrwxrwx 2 admin users 4096 Oct 13  2015 www
    admin@DiskStation:~$

    ...but as you can see, when you login as 'admin' the working directory is not '/' but rather, "/var/services/homes/admin".  I tried to create a symbolic link from '/var/services/homes/admin' to '/volume1', but it failed for reason of permissions.  DSM is tightly wrapped, and I am a user, not a developer.  I'm sure there is a reason why Synology points its login to a directory  3 levels below 'var,' but I couldn't change it with "ln -s" and I'm afraid to start forcing things.

    I've tried the three solutions in the last post, but I have not met with success.

    Sorry, it just does not appear that this solution will work for me.  Thank you for you time.
  • You're almost there.  Just run this command under /var/services/homes/admin:

    ln -s /volume1

    You will then be able to see a new volume1 directory in the remote browsing dialog.

    Or even better:

    ln -s / slash

    This will allow you to browse to any directory.
  • Neither "ln -s /volume1" nor " ln -s /" worked.

    However, resetting the root password did.  To do so:

    1. log in to Synology NAS using putty.exe
    2. run "sudo synouser --setpw root [PASSWORD]" no quotes; two dashes before setpw; [PASSWORD] is replaced with the password used for the admin account.
    3. then, in Acrosync, enter username root and the root password, enter / as the remote directory, then click the remote browsing button to choose a directory to sync

    I successfully chose a directory after following this process.  However, I still could not use the program.

    The local directory I chose was C:/Users.  When I click the start button, Acrosync returns:

    "Directory Error"
    "Failed to create 'C:/Users/.acrosync' as a directory."


    I have tried running Acrosync normally and by selecting 'run as adminstrator.'  Both returned this error.  I also disabled my anti-virus software.  The error persisted.


  • I tried and got the same error when I ran Acrosync normally.  But it did work when I ran it as administrator.  Please make sure that before you run it as administrator, close the running Acrosync instance first, otherwise, you're just activating the existing instance that do not have the elevated privileges.
  • That was it.  I had two instances running.
  • The reason symbolic links do not work for DSM 6.0 is that Synology runs their own modified version of rsync which do not work on directories that are symbolic links.  So the solution is to either set the root password or connect without ssh.
  • Hi everyone,

    I just installed the Acrosync trial to push data to a Synology NAS running DSM 6.2.2 update 4.

    When I try to specify the remote directory I receive the same
    ERROR: module is write only error that others have run into here. Based on the suggestions in this thread, I'm running Acrosync as admin (closing the existing instance first).

    When I uncheck Over SSH in Acrosync I can see the folders in the root but I can't specify folders within any of those.  When I try I receive this error: Failed to establish the connection: account system disabled.

    I believe user permissions are set properly for Rsync access in DSM.

    Any suggestions for troubleshooting this?  I'm new to the world of both Synology and Rsync.
  • @FrostyOfTheNorth, please follow the instructions in david12's post to reset the root password on DSM and then connect via ssh using 'root' as the username.  This 'module is write only' error is exactly what you get when you don't set it up this way.
  • Does anyone have luck with this? I seem to be going around in circles.

    I have reset the test Synology NAS I am using, refreshing the admin password.

    I have then used putty to access the NAS and change the root password using:

    sudo synouser --setpw root PASSWORD as per the instructions above.

    When I try to start the upload or try to browse the Remote Directory as per the instructions, using the root username/password I get "Invalid username or password: Authentication failed".

    If I try to access the same with the admin username/password instead of root the error message is ERROR: module is write only.



    the password change command to use is  synouser --setpw admin yourpassword

    When I use it I get the "We trust you have received the usual lecture from the local System
    Administrator. It usually boils down to these three things:

    #1) Respect the privacy of others.
    #2) Think before you type.
    #3) With great power comes great responsibility"

    Hardware: Synology DS214se and Windows Server 2016
     
  • Here are the steps:

    1. Log in to the NAS as admin using putty
    2. Run 'sudo -i'; this requires the admin password
    3. Run 'synouser --setpw root PASSWORD'; PASSWORD is your new root password
    4. Now you should be able to log in to the NAS as root using putty
  • edited April 2020
    Hi,

    Tested on Synology DSM 6.2.2 with Acrosync 1.7


    In Synology:
    1. Created admin (username) as part of administrator group for login (Acrosync). Assigned username to shared folder.
    2. Change SSH port (newport) to anything besides port 22.
    3. Putty to Synology with newport and login using username.
    4. Set the symlink sudo mount --bind /volume1/homes/admin/Drive /volume1/shared folder.
    In Acrosync:
    1. Leave blank and click on the icon (remote directory). You should be able to see the /homes/username folder.
    2. Under Advanced Options, change port (newport) and enable Over SSH.
    Hardware: Synology FS1018 and Windows Server 2012 R2
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