Synology makes beta DSM 7.0 available and will release final version in 2021

Synology will release a public beta of DSM 7.0 this week. The final release of the DiskStation Manager free update will follow in 2021, but the company does not say exactly when.

Synology reports that the public beta version will be available for download from Tuesday, December 8. The company does not report how long the beta period will last. The release introduction should follow sometime in 2021. Users could already test DSM 7.0, but that was a preview version. The beta version is closer to what the final version will be like. Synology announced version 7.0 of DSM in 2018 and the software was planned to be released in the first half of 2019. After several postponements, that will be sometime in 2021.

The software offers many improvements over the current version of DiskStation Manager. Synology promises that the workflow for storage functions is simplified. For example, DSM will clone the old disk on disk replacement without damaging the storage pool, if a new disk is placed in a spare slot. There will also be an automatic repair function. There is also an SSD Cache Advisor and the company promises faster RAID 6 performance, faster write back speeds from an SSD cache and support for volumes up to 1PB for archive tasks..

With Synology Secure SignIn, there will be a mobile app that allows system administrators to secure accounts and approve logins, whether or not via two-factor authentication. Furthermore, version 7.0 of DSM brings support for FIDO2, so that authentication methods such as USB keys, Windows Hello and macOS Touch ID can be used. The software also marks the start of Hybrid Share, which should allow users to expand their local storage with online storage.