Help with DSM Help

[Telos]

I'm puzzled. Each time I invoke the "?" (Help) feature in Control Panel, it hangs for a bit and then tells me...

Which is quite obviously wrong since I have concurrent upload/download activity happening.

I briefly disabled the firewall and that had no effect.

Any ideas here? This has to be something basic/simple.... doesn't it?

 

[jeyare]

checked, it works for me
but never used before

 

[fredbert]

works for me too.

You haven't got some other web filtering?

 

[Telos]

OK... but did y'all confirm you are using online mode? Any ideas on why this is happening?

 

[fredbert]

Yup. Options -> Source -> ✔ Online

 

[jeyare]

Follow @fredbert help, how to find it - yes

 

[Telos]

Well I'm screwed here... cause some of the installed packages don't seem to have offline help. For example... I tried to bring up USB Copy help and I have no offline source... and online isn't available

... and my backup NAS has the same issue. My router DNS uses Google DNS... so that should not be an issue.

 

[WST16]

Did you try restarting?

 

[fredbert]

Well that sounds incredibly odd. Using your example, here's the URL to the website's info on USB Copy

https://www.synology.com/en-global/knowledgebase/DSM/help/USBCopy/usbcopy_general

and here is the URL that my DSM links to for it's online view

https://www.synology.com/cgi/knowledgebase/findHelpFile/dsm/USBCopy/2.0/enu/6.2-24922/synology_apollolake_218+/100/usbcopy_general.html

Some more examples...
Docker (I'm on v18.09.0-0506)
https://www.synology.com/en-global/knowledgebase/DSM/help/Docker/docker_desc
https://www.synology.com/cgi/knowledgebase/findHelpFile/dsm/Docker/18.09/enu/6.2-24922/synology_apollolake_218+/100/docker_desc.html

Synology Drive Server (v2.0.1.-11061)
https://www.synology.com/en-global/knowledgebase/DSM/help/SynologyDrive/drive_desc
https://www.synology.com/cgi/knowledgebase/findHelpFile/dsm/SynologyDrive/2.0/enu/6.2-24922/synology_apollolake_218+/100/drive_desc.html

 

[Telos]

Did you try restarting?

Yes. No effect.

and here is the URL that my DSM links to for it's online view

Thanks. My local browser has no issue loading those links... so my router seems vindicated. Really odd that the NAS have this issue (even with no DSM firewall active).

I filed a support ticket.

 

[fredbert]

If you SSH onto the NAS can you use curl to download the URLs?

 

[Telos]

If you SSH onto the NAS can you use curl to download the URLs?

That worked. I opened the file in a notepad and all the text seemed to be there (usbcopy_general.html).

What does this suggest?

 

[fredbert]

Well network settings on the NAS are working. It could suggest that the built in help base URL is broken. It uses DSM and platform info to define the lookup, so...?

 

[WST16]

If you SSH onto the NAS can you use curl to download the URLs?

Well network settings on the NAS are working.

That was clever

 

[fredbert]

That was clever

Going the get a badge made up with that now :p

 

[Telos]

Well... Synology checked out my NAS and had no issue getting the online help to appear when they logged in with QuickConnect.

I'm still perplexed... this suggests my modem/ISP? (Weirdly though I can get these links via SSH (NAS + curl) and through my laptop browser)... Notably, both my NAS have this issue (only DSM is common to them).

I tried connecting from my laptop using the QuickConnect link, and still online help was unavailable.

My router is using Google DNS, as is the NAS. I could try changing both to OpenDNS, but I doubt that will have an effect. I could also set up an outbound VPN connection from the NAS, and see if results change.

This is odd. Not only am I stuck with offline help, but several installed packages do not install offline help files, so I am left with the browser to access "help".

 

[fredbert]

You have a RT1900ac IIRC ... does this also have the same problem?

Other things:
Use a different DSM account.
Try from a new administrator account.
Web browser language or DSM and DSM account language selection issue when accessing the online help?
Different web browser.


I'm trying to think how DSM portal is working.

1. Test the online help is accessible by creating the URL based on DSM collected info about the hardware etc
2. If it works then the help window presents the index to the left and a frame to the URL for the specific online help. [I right-clicked to get my browser to open that frame source in a new tab]
3. It's the browser that gets the actual page but DSM thinks it can't access it.
4. Would suggest DSM hasn't formed the right baseline URL . Central to this URL is language, DSM version, DSM hardware.
5. Synology support use their own account to login and the help works? Maybe your account has some corruption?

What do we know:

• NAS from SSH can access the online help URLs
  • NAS's DNS is working to resolve correctly
  • NAS's MAC address and IP are not blocked from accessing the right URLs
  • Your Internet IP is not blocked from accessing the right URLs
• Web browser on laptop can access the online help URLs
  • PC's DNS is working to resolve correctly
  • PC's MAC address and IP are not blocked from accessing the right URLs

 

[Telos]

Other things:
Use a different DSM account.
Try from a new administrator account.
Web browser language or DSM and DSM account language selection issue when accessing the online help?
Different web browser.

Thank you. 🍪🍪🍪

Did all those things and it turned out to be a dynamic browser extension (Privacy Badger) which learned some wrong things. I'm half-embarrassed that I overlooked such a basic issue. Aging is not for woosies.

 

[fredbert]

Excellent!!

These things may not be massively important but they’re so frustrating when you know it must be solvable but can’t work out how.