arc VS virtual-dsm

You can run Synology on "any" hardware with https://github.com/AuxXxilium/arc

Automated RedPill Loader (ARPL) https://github.com/fbelavenuto/arpl TinyCore RedPill Loader (TCRP) https://github.com/pocopico/tinycore-redpill ARC Redpill Loader for DSM https://github.com/AuxXxilium/arc

install this on USB : https://github.com/AuxXxilium/arc/releases

This here? If so, I specifically mentioned using ARPL in the title, and that's one of the two loaders that isn't working for me. :(

According to the GitHub, you want to pass in the actual device, not the mounted path. You probably should/need to unmount it in unassigned devices. https://github.com/vdsm/virtual-dsm

If you’re feeling adventurous you can run the synology dsm os in a vm (qemu/kvm in my case). You use tinycore[0] as a boot loader to bootstrap the official Synology image[1]

It can be a bit of a pain to setup but once it’s up and running you can run all synology apps, including photos and even their nvr software, backup your home pcs to it, etc. If you pass through pci sata controllers you can bypass any disk virtualization layer and let synology manage raw disks exactly like a metal install in one of their nas machines would do. You could even swap the disks into an official nas later on if you wanted. The synology apps are highly polished and worth the setup imo.

There’s also a docker image that makes it all trivial, but it’s too many layers of abstraction for my tastes[2]

0. https://github.com/pocopico/tinycore-redpill

1. https://www.wundertech.net/how-to-install-xpenology-on-proxm...

2. https://github.com/kroese/virtual-dsm

If you want to participate in development or report some issues, the source code is available at https://github.com/kroese/virtual-dsm to see.