FR: Add support for Synology RT2600 series routers and SRM platform

What are you trying to do?

Attempting to install Tailscale on a Synology RT2600 series wireless router. Applied models include RT2600ax, RT2600ac, and MR2200ac.

How should we solve this?

Release a Tailscale package for Synology RT2600 series in the Package Center. The Synology Router Manager (SRM) platform is closely related to Synology DiskStation Manager (DSM). Tailscale is already available for DSM through the Synology Package Center. It may be possible to provide Tailscale for SRM with minor modifications.

What is the impact of not solving this?

Ability to utilize Synology Router as a subnet router and/or exit node in a SOHO environment.

Anything else?

No response

To set expectations, we're unlikely to work on this ourselves. But if you want to try and can get it working, we'd probably accept the change to the SPK builder code in https://github.com/tailscale/tailscale-synology

Previous work on investigating this was done in issue #2219 as well.

@agottardo could you help raising some awareness on this one? Is it still planned?

I'm looking for Tailscale on SRM as well. I'm running a Synology SRM mesh network with RT2600ac main router and 2 MR2200ac mesh nodes.

I'm looking for Tailscale on SRM as well. I'm running a Synology SRM mesh network with RT2600ac main router and 2 MR2200ac mesh nodes.

I am running tailscale quite reliably by doing the following:

Fetch the arm binary from https://pkgs.tailscale.com/stable/#static (i am running https://pkgs.tailscale.com/stable/tailscale_1.76.6_arm.tgz)

Unzip the tgz on a machine and scp tailscale and tailscaled to /sbin on your RT2600ac

Launch the daemon with /usr/bin/nohup /sbin/tailscaled & and login as usual.

If you want the daemon to start at boot add the file /etc/rc.local and add:

/etc # cat rc.local
#!/bin/sh

/usr/bin/nohup /sbin/tailscaled &
/etc #

@slyoldfox Thank you!

Followed your instructions and managed to install it on RT2600ac.

@slyoldfox Amazing... last resort for me if Synology won't make it happen given how easy it looks to be

I got this working too, with a few hiccups due to my local configuration. Thanks for the instructions.

I did notice one issue: via the web UI, in Control Panel... System: the SRM version status will, after a long pause, claim to have checked and determined that it is up to date. The entries in System Database (DoH server, IP Geolocation, Threat Intelligence) all get a "Connection failed. Please check your internet connection" status much more quickly. I'm uncertain whether that started as a result of installing/configuring Tailscale or if this issue pre-dates that.

I wonder if the SRM equivalents of the adjustments to be made on DSM are necessary, notably the TUN device and firewall rule.

I did add the firewall rule to no effect. I did not (yet) attempt to "create the /dev/net/tun device and give the tailscaled binary permission to use it." lest that be too DSM specific. The code checks for DSM version and refuses to run elsewhere. It does, however, seem reasonably Linux generic.

... or thought I had. 36 hours later and we note that our solar panels stopped reporting status 16 hours ago. Connecting my phone to the IOT wireless network from the Synology router that they use and I get 0s on both upload and download speeds. I sudo tailscale down but that doesn't change things. So I sudo mv /etc/rc.local ~ so the router forgets about tailscale{d}, reboot the RT6600ax, login to the SRM UI and those databases are now up to date. I check speeds on the IOT network from my phone and get normal up/downloads. I check the solar panel app and it has reconnected and is reporting everything normal.

It seems there is more to configuring SRM to play nicely with Tailscale than I'd hoped. If you have wireless networks besides the primary one on your Synology router they're going to need some adjustment too, or some tweaks of Tailscale's configuration to account for them. I'd try creating the TUN device as the DSM7 instructions note but am leery of blundering my way through this while tight deadlines loom.

@slyoldfox any thoughts regarding the issues of @JonathanDoughty because I would like to avoid breaking stuff when I install it; @slyoldfox any additional configuration you made or did it all work out-of-the-box ?

@gjrtimmer yes, I did make some config change on the tailscale node of the synology. I'm not exactly sure what the command was, but it was related to DNS (which might be the issue @JonathanDoughty was seeing).

My Synology router has the DNS package and I rely on it for internal resolving.

In tailscale under https://login.tailscale.com/admin/dns I have 192.168.1.1 (for example) in Global nameservers.

And I think I brought the router node up with tailscale up --accept-dns=false because that mangles your /etc/resolv.conf on your router which is not what I wanted.

Will this also work on the RT6600ax? Has someone tested this already? If so could you please share a step-by-step.

TIA

@slyoldfox which firmware version of SRM are you running on you 2600 router? I was able to move the files in sbin only by first using /tmp. SCP doesn't work on my firmware. Was also not able to get nohup to work because there isn't a home diurectory. tried to point it to /tmp but it still failed. Any chance you have time to make a step by step tutorial? Did you use admin user or another SRM user?

@Luncheon3462 (nice name XD) I'm on SRM 1.3.10-9346 update 12 on RT 2600ac

It worked but the router sends me a warning that I got some malware (due to the binary existing there)

It would be much better to have a Tailscale package in the app store. But that might require some integration work on Synology's part.

The best way to achieve this is probably to give a lot of very poor ratings (1/5) on Amazon product pages. With a message explaining that in 2025 it is unacceptable for a router to be unable to handle either WireGuard or Tailscale. Not to mention their recent hardware compatibility policy, or the fact that there is still no model having WiFi 7 and/or a 10GbE port.

Needless to say that my next routers or NAS will definitely not be made by Synology.

I couldn’t agree more. Synology is following Apple’s playbook of corporate greed, and it’s time we hold them accountable. Their recent decisions are not just disappointing—they’re outright unacceptable for a company that claims to prioritize its customers.

@slyoldfox which firmware version of SRM are you running on you 2600 router? I was able to move the files in sbin only by first using /tmp. SCP doesn't work on my firmware. Was also not able to get nohup to work because there isn't a home diurectory. tried to point it to /tmp but it still failed. Any chance you have time to make a step by step tutorial? Did you use admin user or another SRM user?

I am on a 1.2.* firmware, scp'ed into the rt2600 with root@ and moved the files in /sbin.

@slyoldfox Thank you. I'm on 1.3.* and scp is not an option. Do you know if it was removed from 1.2->1.3? Or did you install it yourself?

How were you able to create a home directory for nohup output?

@slyoldfox Thank you. I'm on 1.3.* and scp is not an option. Do you know if it was removed from 1.2->1.3? Or did you install it yourself?

How were you able to create a home directory for nohup output?

I'm on 1.3.1-9346 update 12 (with update 13 offered but not installed) I installed it just fine like @slyoldfox did

Simply enable ssh and ssh'ed into the IP copied tailscale into /sbin

I'm looking for Tailscale on SRM as well. I'm running a Synology SRM mesh network with RT2600ac main router and 2 MR2200ac mesh nodes.

I am running tailscale quite reliably by doing the following:

Fetch the arm binary from https://pkgs.tailscale.com/stable/#static (i am running https://pkgs.tailscale.com/stable/tailscale_1.76.6_arm.tgz)

Unzip the tgz on a machine and scp tailscale and tailscaled to /sbin on your RT2600ac

Launch the daemon with /usr/bin/nohup /sbin/tailscaled & and login as usual.

If you want the daemon to start at boot add the file /etc/rc.local and add:

/etc # cat rc.local
#!/bin/sh

/usr/bin/nohup /sbin/tailscaled &
/etc #

this worked!

I'm looking for Tailscale on SRM as well. I'm running a Synology SRM mesh network with RT2600ac main router and 2 MR2200ac mesh nodes.

I am running tailscale quite reliably by doing the following: Fetch the arm binary from https://pkgs.tailscale.com/stable/#static (i am running https://pkgs.tailscale.com/stable/tailscale_1.76.6_arm.tgz) Unzip the tgz on a machine and scp tailscale and tailscaled to /sbin on your RT2600ac Launch the daemon with /usr/bin/nohup /sbin/tailscaled & and login as usual. If you want the daemon to start at boot add the file /etc/rc.local and add:

/etc # cat rc.local
#!/bin/sh

/usr/bin/nohup /sbin/tailscaled &
/etc #

this worked!

I've been doing exactly that too but of course SRM complains about malware during its checks... baffles me they can't just add this in. CLEARLY it works

I’m reluctant to plug a competing product in a Synology issue ticket. If you want Tailscale support in a router out of the box, consider a GL.iNet. The Flint 3 is the closest equivalent to the RT2600 series. I bought a Brume 2 for the use case that led me to open this issue.

The instructions @slyoldfox provided to sideload the ARM binary do work. However, it’s clear that new add-on packages for the router line are not a priority for Synology. This ticket likely won't be fixed.