Daily, there are questions regarding how to select a DSM platform, version and loader, usually after something has been tried that isn't working. This table and decision point example should help navigate the options and current state of the loaders. While situations rapidly change, it should be correct as of the listed date. 6.x Loaders and Platforms as of 11-Aug-2020 | Loader | DSM Platform | DSM Version | Kernel | Boot Method | /dev/dri supported | NVMe cache supported | RAIDF1 supported | Minimum CPU Architecture | Max CPU Threads | Notes | | 1.04b | DS918+ | 6.2 to 6.2.3 | 4.4.x | EFI or Legacy BIOS | Yes | Yes | No | Haswell * | 8 | 6.2.0 and 6.2.3 ok, 6.2.1 and 6.2.2 are
not recommended for new installs ** | | 1.03b | DS3617xs | 6.2 to 6.2.3 | 3.10.x | Legacy BIOS only | No | No | Yes | any x86-64 | 16 | 6.2.0 and 6.2.3 ok, 6.2.1 and 6.2.2 are
not recommended for new installs ** | | 1.03b | DS3615xs | 6.2 to 6.2.3 | 3.10.x | Legacy BIOS only | No | No | Yes | any x86-64 | 8 | 6.2.0 and 6.2.3 ok, 6.2.1 and 6.2.2 are
not recommended for new installs ** | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1.02b | DS916+ | 6.0.3 to 6.1.7 | 3.10.x | EFI or Legacy BIOS or MBR (Genesys) | Yes | No | No | any x86-64 | 8 | | | 1.02b | DS3617xs | 6.0.3 to 6.1.6 | 3.10.x | EFI or Legacy BIOS or MBR (Genesys) | No | No | Yes | any x86-64 | 16 | 6.1.7 fails with kernel panic on ESXi | | 1.02b | DS3615xs | 6.0.3 to 6.1.7 | 3.10.x | EFI or Legacy BIOS or MBR (Genesys) | No | No | Yes | any x86-64 | 8 | best compatibility on 6.1.x | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1.01 | DS916+ or DS3615xs or DS3617xs | 6.0 to 6.0.2 | 3.10.x | EFI or Legacy BIOS or MBR (Genesys) | No | No | | any x86-64 | | obsolete |
* AMD Piledriver is suspected to be the minimum chip architecture to support the DS918+ DSM platform, but this is unverified. ** 6.2.1 and 6.2.2 have a unique kernel signature that causes problems with most kernel driver modules, including those included with Jun's loader CURRENT LOADER/PLATFORM RECOMMENDATIONS/SAMPLE DECISION POINTS: 1. DEFAULT install DS918+ 6.2.3 - also if hardware transcoding or NVMe cache support is desired, or if your system only support UEFI boot - Prerequisite: Haswell (or equivalent) or newer CPU
- Configuration: baremetal loader 1.04b, platform DS918+ version 6.2.3
- Compatibility troubleshooting options: extra.lzma or ESXi
2. ALTERNATE install DS3617xs 6.2.3 - if RAIDF1 or 16-thread support is desired, or your CPU is too old for DS918+ - Prerequisite: boot mode (for USB key) set to Legacy Boot/CSM in BIOS
- Configuration: baremetal loader 1.03b, platform DS3617xs version 6.2.3
- Compatibility troubleshooting options: extra.lzma, DS3615xs platform, or ESXi
3. ESXi (or other virtualization platform) virtual machine install - if hardware is unsupported by DSM but works with ESXi - Use case examples: virtualize unsupported NIC, virtualize SAS disk or NVMe SSD and access in DSM as SATA, or do not want to use Synology VMM for VMs
- Prerequisite: ESXi hardware compatibility
- Configuration: loader/platform/version from options #1 or #2
- Preferred disk configurations: passthrough SATA controller (and all connected disks), and/or individual RDM/RAW disks attach to the DSM VM
4. FALLBACK install DS3615xs 6.1.7 - if you can't get anything else to work - Prerequisite: none
- Configuration: baremetal loader 1.02b, platform DS3615xs version 6.1.7
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