DSM 7.1 includes two complementary monitoring features: widgets for quick desktop overviews and Resource Monitor for detailed real-time performance tracking.
Widgets show live data panels directly on the desktop without opening a full app, while Resource Monitor provides deeper charts for CPU, memory, disk, and network.
Quick Answer
Click the Widgets icon in the top-right bar to open the widget panel and add monitors from the plus menu. Open Resource Monitor from the main menu for detailed stats.
Opening the Widget Panel
After the initial storage pool setup, DSM displays two default widgets in the bottom-right corner of the desktop automatically without any extra configuration needed.
If the panel is not visible, click the Widgets icon (the grid icon) in the top-right quick access bar to toggle the widget panel on or off as needed.
Adding and Removing Widgets
Click the plus icon at the top of the widget panel to open a dropdown showing all available widgets installed on your Synology NAS device.
Click any widget to add it to the panel immediately. The widget appears without requiring a page reload or any additional configuration steps inside DSM.
Default Widgets in DSM 7.1
DSM 7.1 ships with seven built-in widgets: System Health, Resource Monitor, Storage, Connected Users, Scheduled Tasks, Recent Logs, and a Network widget.
System Health shows a status indicator for drives and system integrity. Storage displays current volume capacity usage at a quick glance from the desktop.
Pinning the Widget Panel
Click the pin icon at the top of the widget bar to keep the panel anchored permanently on the desktop across all DSM sessions without having to toggle it manually.
To pin a single widget to the quick access bar at the top of the screen, click the leftmost icon at the top edge of that specific individual widget tile.
Resource Monitor in DSM 7.1
Resource Monitor is a built-in DSM application that shows real-time performance statistics for your Synology NAS across CPU, memory, network, and disk tabs.
It is also available as a compact widget on the desktop that shows a live graph summary without needing to open the full Resource Monitor application window.
Opening Resource Monitor
Click the main menu button in the top-left of the DSM desktop, find Resource Monitor in the application launcher, and click it to open the full interface.
You can also right-click Resource Monitor in the main menu and choose Add to Desktop to pin it as a shortcut icon for faster access in future sessions.
CPU and Memory Tab
The first tab shows a rolling CPU usage graph and a per-core breakdown of current processor utilization, updated in real time as packages run on the NAS.
Below the CPU graph, memory usage appears as a combined bar and line chart showing total installed RAM, used memory, and cached memory amounts in real time.
CPU spikes often indicate a running task such as video transcoding, a backup job, or an antivirus scan is consuming processing resources in the background.
Network Tab
The Network tab shows live upload and download throughput per active network interface, updated every few seconds as data moves to and from the NAS.
Use this tab to verify that your NAS is transferring data at expected speeds during an active file copy, sync job, or scheduled backup operation.
Disk Utilization Tab
The Disk tab shows read and write speeds per physical drive alongside a rolling I/O activity graph. High utilization during a RAID rebuild is completely normal.
Sustained high disk I/O outside of any scheduled tasks may signal a hardware issue or a runaway package performing unexpected read and write operations.
Process List
At the bottom of Resource Monitor, a real-time list shows every running process with its PID, CPU percentage, and current memory consumption for easy review.
Sort by any column header to find the top resource consumer. Select a process and click End Process to terminate a stuck task without restarting the NAS.