🗄️ Agent on Synology

If you have a Synology in your workshop, you already have somewhere to put the local agent: it's on all day and on the same network as your printers. The agent installs like any other DSM application and appears in its main menu.

This page explains how to install it, link it with your workshop, update it, move it and remove it. What the agent is and which printers it connects is covered in The local agent.

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Before you start

What you need	How to check
DSM 7 or later	In DSM, Control Panel → Info Center. It doesn't work with DSM 6.
Knowing which processor your NAS has	The same Info Center shows the CPU model. Intel or AMD are 64-bit; if it's ARM, your model's page on the Synology website tells you whether it's 64-bit or 32-bit.
Signing in to DSM with an administrator account	Only administrators can install packages and open the agent's page.
Being the owner of the workshop in BolloPrint	When you link it, only the workshops you own are listed.
The NAS and the printers being on the same network	If they're on separate networks the agent works just the same, but you'll have to add the printers by their IP.
The NAS being able to reach the internet	That's all: no ports to open and no fixed IP needed.

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1. Download the package

In BolloPrint, go to Settings → Printers → Local agent → New agent and choose Synology.

You'll see one download button for each processor type: Intel or AMD (64-bit), ARM (64-bit) and ARM (32-bit). Click the one for your NAS. A file ending in .spk downloads: that's the DSM package.

On that same screen there's nothing to create and no code to copy. The agent comes into being when you link it, in step 3.

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2. Install it in DSM

1. Sign in to DSM and open the Package Center.
2. At the top right, click Manual Install.
3. Click Browse, choose the .spk file you've just downloaded and click Next.
4. DSM warns you that the package isn't published by Synology. Accept to carry on.
5. The wizard shows you the agent page port, with 8257 already filled in. Leave it as it is unless DSM tells you it's in use; in that case, enter 8364.
6. Click Next and, on the summary, Done.

Within a minute the package shows as Running and BolloPrint Agent is added to DSM's main menu.

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3. Link it with your workshop

1. In DSM, open the main menu (the icon at the top left) and click BolloPrint Agent. It opens in a new tab.
2. The page says "This agent does not belong to any workshop yet" and shows an eight-character code, such as 6E7B-9DEF. Click Link with BolloPrint.
3. BolloPrint opens. If you aren't signed in, sign in. Choose the workshop you're adding it to.
4. BolloPrint shows you the device (your NAS's name and "Synology") and the code. Check that it's the same one shown on the agent's page and click Add to workshop.
5. You're taken back to the agent's page, which now says Linked to your workshop.

That's it. In Settings → Printers → Local agent you'll see the agent with your NAS's name and the Synology logo, Online.

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4. Give it the printers

The agent starts looking for printers on your network as soon as it's linked. What it finds appears in Printers on the local network, below the list of agents, and that's where you add them. Any that don't show up on their own, add with Add by IP.

How to do it for each brand is explained in Local network printers.

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Updating it

You almost never have to do anything: the agent updates itself. When a new version comes out, it downloads it, checks that it's ours and restarts with it.

Only if BolloPrint tells you that your agent needs a manual update do you have to update it yourself, by installing the new package over the one you have:

1. Download the new package from the same BolloPrint screen (Local agent → New agent → Synology), the one for your processor.
2. In the Package Center, Manual Install, choose the file and carry on. DSM sees that it's already installed and updates it: it doesn't ask for the port again.

The agent stays linked to the same workshop, with the same printers and their history. There's nothing to link again.

Once the package is in the Synology catalogue, the Package Center will let you know itself and you'll only need to click Update.

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Moving it to another NAS or reinstalling it

A new agent is a new agent: there's no way to "move" one. What moves are the printers, and they move with their whole history.

1. Install the package on the new NAS and link it (steps 1 to 3). It will appear as a second agent.
2. In Settings → Printers, open each printer with Edit from its ⋮ menu and switch it to the new agent in the dropdown.
3. Once the old one has no printers left, delete it from its row's ⋮ menu.

If you reinstall on the same NAS, the order is the same: first link the new one and hand it the printers, then delete the old one.

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Uninstalling it

1. In DSM, open the Package Center, go into BolloPrint Agent and click Action → Uninstall. The package and everything it stored are deleted, including its identity.
2. In BolloPrint, Settings → Printers → Local agent, delete the agent from its row's ⋮ menu.

When you delete it, the printers that were only reachable through that agent disappear from the list and stop counting towards your plan. Nothing is lost: if you add one of them again, it comes back with its number and its history.

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When something isn't working

The first thing is to check whether the package is Running in the Package Center. From its page you can also see its log: Action → View log.

What you see	What to do
The wizard says port 8257 is in use	Another application on the NAS is using it. Enter 8364 and carry on.
DSM says the package isn't compatible with your model	You've downloaded the one for a different processor. Download the right one.
Opening BolloPrint Agent asks you to sign in to DSM	Open it from the DSM menu while signed in, with an administrator account. If it keeps happening, close that tab and open it again from the menu.
The page says the agent isn't responding	The package is stopped or still starting up. In the Package Center, open BolloPrint Agent, click Action → Run and wait a few seconds.
When linking, your workshop isn't listed	Only the workshops you own are listed. Ask the owner to link it.
"This link request is not valid", or it has expired	Go back to the agent's page and click Link with BolloPrint again.
After restarting the NAS the agent takes a while to show as Online	Wait a few minutes: it starts with DSM and keeps retrying on its own until the NAS has internet.
It doesn't find any printers	Are the NAS and the printers on the same network? If not, add them by IP. If you've just switched one on, click Search now. If you have the DSM firewall turned on, allow the BolloPrint Agent ports (it appears in the list of applications when you create a rule).
The agent shows No recent signal	The NAS is switched off, has no internet or the package is stopped.

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Frequently asked questions

Do I need Docker or Container Manager? No. The package doesn't use containers. If you'd rather run the agent in a container, you can do that too: it's in Agent on Docker.

Do I have to open ports on the router? No. The agent calls out to BolloPrint, just like when you open a web page. Port 8257 is only for its page inside the NAS itself: it isn't opened to your network.

Who can open the agent's page? Only DSM administrators, from its main menu. Someone who merely shares your network can't open it.

Can I change the port later? The wizard only asks for it during installation. To change it you have to uninstall and install again, and that's a new agent (see "Moving it to another NAS or reinstalling it", above).

What if I switch off or restart the NAS? Nothing happens. The agent starts on its own with DSM and reconnects without asking you for anything.