NAS Compares Synology NAS and Teamviewer Beta Guide

New TeamViewer Application App for Synology NAS Test

TeamViewer is a remarkably well known and well-established tool for those that are looking to access a PC, Mac, portable device or really any supported computer system remotely. Remote access and remote control of computer hardware is not a new thing and has in fact been around for several decades since the very early days of the internet. However, early versions of remote PC access were at a command line level and by no means user-friendly. Programs such as TeamViewer have changed this, providing users with a remarkably easy graphical user interface and simple two-stage login to access machines anywhere in the world.

When it comes to accessing data from anywhere in the world, Synology NAS is another big, big brand favourite. Therefore, it should not come as a huge surprise that many users requested the ability to connect these two popular platforms for ease and convenience, for greater control of their technology and storage network. Although originally available as a third-party unofficial plug-in, the official TeamViewer application for Synology NAS is now in beta and can be downloaded in the official Synology app store under betas

In order to understand why TeamViewer for Synology NAS is such a good idea, you have to make sure that it suits your needs. For a start, this is not about using the NAS to access your TeamViewer client list (at the moment, anyway). This is the other way around, giving you the ability to add a Synology NAS to your existing list of connected PC, Mac, mobile and other computer systems that are associated with your TeamViewer acount. For reasons of convenience, it is quite appealing for many of you to be able to flick between multiple remote locations as well as perform scheduled updates and repairs from afar on your devices and a NAS server can sometimes be problematic to access in areas of complex firewalls and increased security.

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[akahan]

Anyone else got the Teamviewer Beta working on a DS216play? For me, it installs fine, but can't fetch an ID and password; those fields remain blank.

 

[Telos]

In order to understand why TeamViewer for Synology NAS is such a good idea...

Maybe I'm dense but I don't see how Teamviewer (TV) is superior to a VPN connection to the NAS or even an SSL/DDNS connection. To me, Teamviewer on Synology NAS is little more than a novelty.

Some elaboration contrasting TV with VPN/DDNS would be enlightening.

 

[akahan]

I can try. My use case might be a little unusual. I use the NAS as a VPN client, such that ALL its outbound communications go out to a VPN server. To the best of my knowledge, the NAS cannot simultaneously run its own VPN server and function as a VPN client. And, with it running as a VPN client, I can't connect to it over the WAN, unless I'm willing to use Quickconnect. So TV would enable me to connect to the NAS even as the NAS is connected to the internet exclusively as a VPN client.

 

[tb123]

I believe the setting “enable multiple gateways” allows both VPN client functionality AND the ability to connect from remote locations using DDNS etc (and perhaps VPN too?)

 

[akahan]

You can set all the multiple gateways you want, but unless the VPN service you're using will forward ports to you, it's not going to help. If I'm connected as a VPN client to a VPN service, they have any number of customers sharing their egress address. They have no way to tell, when an incoming unsolicited packet comes in, which of their customers' IP addresses/machines to forward it to. And, in my case, I'm ensuring (through the router's firewall) that ALL outbound connections go through the VPN server, so my Diskstation can't send or receive packets otherwise.

 

[tb123]

Outbound connection
VPN client > PIA VPN

Inbound Connection
Remote Client > DDNS > Port Forward > VPN Server

Having said that, I’ve read the NAS wont let you run both server and client at the same time, but people have successfully run the server on the box, and the client in a DDSM.

 

[akahan]

And that would work for most, but. It in my particular situation, as I previously explained.

 

[tb123]

I’m not sure I understand -
You don’t need the VPN server to forward any ports to you. You connect directly to your network and the Synology NAS completely bypassing the outbound VPN connection, sort of coming in the side door if you will. You dont come back into the NAS on the outbound VPN connection.

 

[akahan]

The NAS is prohibited from using the non-VPN connection by the router’s firewall. Which is how I want it. It’s not a problem for me; it’s the way I want it. But it means that the only way to connect to the NAS from outside the LAN is Quickconnect or TeamViewer.

 

[akahan]

OH, and I should also mention - YES, using a DDSM would certainly work; but unfortunately this is for a DS216play, and that model doesn't have the ability to run Docker. :-(