Use Synology NAS as content server

This page is related to Content pull and Web server.

Introduction

The HMP is able to automatically retrieve content from a web server, which is useful for large setups involving a centralized content server or whenever is not possible to push content directly on the player (for instance, due to firewall / NAT usage).

To facilitate the content deployment for such setups, Elementi M and Elementi X offer the possibility to publish the content directly on a server through the Publish Location feature. This feature is not available for Elementi S.

The tutorial below explains how to configure a Synology NAS device as content server for HMP devices, how to publish content from Elementi (M or X) on the NAS, and how to configure the HMP devices to retrieve and display that content.

Tutorial

• Difficulty: Easy.
• Total duration: 20-30 minutes.
• Requirements:
  • A Synology NAS device.
  • Elementi M or Elementi X, version 3.0.0 or later. (The latest version is recommended.)
  • One or more HMP devices using firmware 3.0.0 or later. (The latest version is recommended.)
  • A project to be used as content.

Set up the Synology NAS device

Synology DS115j NAS

1. Install the Synology NAS device according to the quick installation guide.
   • For this tutorial, the DS115j model has been used. The device firmware was updated to DSM 5.1-5022 Update 1 (the latest version at the time of writing).
2. Once connected to the network, access its default web interface and set it up using the automatic wizard.
   • At this point, the device name was set to "synology-nas".
3. Once done, reopen the web interface and sign in with your newly created user.
   • If you have changed the name of the device (default: diskstation), make sure to change that in your browser address as well.
4. If the firmware is newer (DSM 6 or later), you need to manually install the WebDAV package - it should be under Utilities.

Configure the Synology NAS device

Create shared folder

1. Click on "Control Panel" icon to open Control Panel window.
2. Click on "Shared Folder" button under "File Sharing" section.
   1. Click on "Create" button and enter the details of a new shared folder (e.g., "projects") where you will save the projects for the HMP devices.
   2. Optionally, hide sub-folders and files from users without permissions.
   3. Click on "OK" button to create the shared folder.
   4. Set read / write permissions for your user. Click on "OK" button to apply them.
      
3. Click on "File Services" menu.
   

   Enable WebDAV
   • The "Windows file service" is normally enabled by default, but you might need to specify a different workgroup (the one used by your computer). You can also enable other file services, like FTP, but that's not within the purpose of this tutorial.
4. Click on the "WevDAV" tab if present (DSM 5), otherwise open it from the main menu (DSM 6 or later).
5. Enable WebDAV (change the default port if necessary).
   • You can also enable the WebDAV HTTPS connection if a more secured connection is preferred.
     
6. Click on "User" menu.
   

   Create user

   

   Set user permissions
   1. Click on "Create" button.
   2. Enter the details of the user (e.g., "hmp") that will be used by the HMP devices to connect to the NAS. Click on "Next" button.
   3. Leave the new user into the "users" group. Click on "Next" button.
   4. Give read / write access rights to the user on the "projects" shared folder. Click on "Next" button.
   5. There's no need to change anything else, so click "Next" until the last page and there click on "Apply" button.
      
7. Click on "File Station" icon to open the "File Station" window.
   

   File Station, create folder
   1. Select "projects".
   2. Click on "Create" button and select "Create folder".
   3. Enter the folder name (e.g., "MyProject").
   4. Click on "OK" button.
   5. If needed, you can create in the same manner other folders (e.g., "MyProject2", "MyProject3" etc.) to host other projects.
      

Publish content on NAS

Publish Location for Synology

1. Open Elementi and prepare the content to be published on the NAS.
   • For instance, you can use one of the sample projects included within Elementi or create a new project (this tutorial might also come in handy).
2. Open Elementi Devices view and create a new Publish Location with the following details:
   • Protocol - select "HTTP".
   • Hostname - enter the name of your Synology NAS device (e.g., "synology-nas").
   • Path: - enter the path to the your project (e.g., "/projects/MyProject").
   • Security - enable it and enter the user (e.g., "hmp") and its password.
3. Publish the content onto the newly created Publish Location (e.g., "MyProject@synology-nas").

Display content on HMP350 or HMP300

The HMP can retrieve the content from Synology NAS device and display it on the screen, using Scheduled Download or Client/Server mode (only if "live" playing is required).

• Scheduled Download is strongly recommended because it is resilient to network and bandwidth problems.
• See more about the differences between these two content pull methods.

Adding credentials

Saved Passwords

In order for the HMP to be able to retrieve the content from the NAS device, you need to add the credentials on the HMP.

For that, follow these steps:

1. Open HMP Control Center > System > Saved Passwords.
2. Add http://synology-nas:5005/projects/ as Server URI, the user (e.g., "hmp") and its password.

Scheduled Download

Content - Scheduled Download

To add a Scheduled Download to the HMP, follow these steps:

1. Open HMP Control Center > Content > Scheduled Download.
2. Under "Server URI", enter http://synology-nas:5005/projects/MyProject/ ..
3. Select the type of update to be performed (Manual, Hourly, Daily)
   • In case of Daily update, select the time at which you would like the publish action to take place.
   • In case of Manual update, you need to press the reload icon to trig the update of the content manually.
4. Click on "Apply" button. Once the download is completed, the HMP will display the content retrieved from Synology NAS device.

Live content display

Live source configuration

Schedule - Live source

Serious testing & validation of the bandwidth and quality of the network should be done before using this option in a production environment. This is for advanced users only.

To configure the HMP for Live sources, follow these steps:

1. Open HMP Control Center > Content > Live Sources.
2. In the Server URI enter http://synology-nas:5005/projects/MyProject/.
3. Give the server an name (e.g. Synology)
4. Click on "Apply" button.

To use the Live source:

1. Go to the Schedule page
2. Select "Live Sources"
3. Drag and drop any the live source with the name "Synology" either in the schedule, or as default content the same way that you would schedule Playouts.

Display content on HMP200 or HMP130

The HMP can retrieve the content from Synology NAS device and display it on the screen, using Pull_Mode or Client/Server mode (only if "live" playing is required).

• Pull_Mode is strongly recommended because it is resilient to network and bandwidth problems.
• See more about the differences between these two content pull methods.

Adding credentials

Network Credentials for NAS

In order for the HMP to be able to retrieve the content from the NAS device, you need to add the credentials on the HMP.

For that, follow these steps:

1. Open HMP Control Center > Network Settings page.
2. Click on the Credentials tab.
3. Add http://synology-nas:5005/projects/ as Server URI, the user (e.g., "hmp") and its password.
4. Click on the "Apply" button.

Pull Mode configuration

Pull Mode configuration

To configure the HMP for Pull Mode, follow these steps:

1. Open HMP Control Center > Content Settings page.
2. Click on the Pull Mode tab.
3. Select "Manual settings" option and enable "Automatically upload project to the HMP[...]" option.
4. Under "Project source", enter http://synology-nas:5005/projects/MyProject/ .
5. Select the time when the HMP should start pulling the content (you check the status within uploader.log).
6. Click on "Apply" button. Once the pull action is completed, the HMP will display the content retrieved from Synology NAS device.

Client/Server Mode configuration

Serious testing & validation of the bandwidth and quality of the network should be done before using this option in a production environment. This is for advanced users only.

Client/Server mode configuration

To configure the HMP for Client/Server mode, follow these steps:

1. Open HMP Control Center > Content Settings page.
2. Click on the Content Source tab.
3. Set "Primary source" option to "Network Project".
4. In the field next to it enter http://synology-nas:5005/projects/MyProject/ .
5. Click on "Apply" button. The HMP will start displaying the content from Synology NAS device right away.

See also

• Use myDrive as content server
• Publish content on a web server via FTP
• Use box.com as content server
• Use QNAP NAS as content server