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Forum Discussion
Anybody tried building firmware from Netgear GPL source?
I set up the exact configuration Netgear specifies in the README.build. The build completes normally and I can boot Orbi with the image built. Things look operational except wireless will not enable. This feels like a missing or misconfigured driver. Before I dig into this, I thought I would see if anyone has gone down this road before.
https://kb.netgear.com/2649/NETGEAR-Open-Source-Code-for-Programmers-GPL
I tried the GPL source for a couple different firmware version including the current. All have the same results.
Any help or thoughts?
Thanks
6 Replies
Your best to ask Voxel about this over on the SMB forum. He builds FW for Orbi 50 series. However it's only building on v2.5.2.x code. I think he might have ran into problems on v2.6.x and beyond versions.
I went down this rabbit hole in July when V2.7.3.22 removed telnet. (When the Python script surfaced that enabled telnet, I abandoned the compile effort. And then managed to garbage my Linux system and had to reload, losing everything.) Voxel remarked that the GPL source does not include all the files necessary to compile the firmware. Voxel also gave me the idea of comparing the compiled version against an actual firmware image from Netgear:
- Download and extract an image file.
- Use a hex editor to find the string "hsqs". This is the beginning of the Squash File System holding the firmware.
- Use dd to remove everything up to that point. i.e.
dd if=<image file> skip=<characters before "hsqs"> bs=1 of=filesystem - run unsquashfs, i.e. unsquashfs filesystem
This creates the entire directory structure of the firmware image.
Compare this directory structure with the firmware that was compiled. I use WinMerge to open both directory treet side-by-side and the differences are immediately apparent.
Whereas Alice escaped from Wonderland, I was never able to get as far as you did. Kept getting compile errors, etc.
Voxel keeps all of the gpl files up-to-date, including the Linux kernel. He also adds a bunch of stuff (dropbear, nano, wireguard, etc.), changes compiler options, etc. He even replaced the Broadcom driver. Must of that is documented here:
http://www.voxel-firmware.com/Downloads/Voxel/Orbi-RBK50-Voxel-firmware/changes.log
The one thing that Voxel does not do is tinker with any of Netgear's binary files. If the goal is to track down that integer error, I have a strong suspicion that it is in a binary file and there is no way to find or correct it.
thanks. I will reach out to Voxel. Yes, NVRAM bug is in the Netgear binaries with no source. I am trying to build a stock system to work on another project.
Scott
CrimpOn wrote:I went down this rabbit hole in July when V2.7.3.22 removed telnet. (When the Python script surfaced that enabled telnet, I abandoned the compile effort. And then managed to garbage my Linux system and had to reload, losing everything.) Voxel remarked that the GPL source does not include all the files necessary to compile the firmware. Voxel also gave me the idea of comparing the compiled version against an actual firmware image from Netgear:
- Download and extract an image file.
- Use a hex editor to find the string "hsqs". This is the beginning of the Squash File System holding the firmware.
- Use dd to remove everything up to that point. i.e.
dd if=<image file> skip=<characters before "hsqs"> bs=1 of=filesystem - run unsquashfs, i.e. unsquashfs filesystem
This creates the entire directory structure of the firmware image.
Compare this directory structure with the firmware that was compiled. I use WinMerge to open both directory treet side-by-side and the differences are immediately apparent.
Whereas Alice escaped from Wonderland, I was never able to get as far as you did. Kept getting compile errors, etc.
Voxel keeps all of the gpl files up-to-date, including the Linux kernel. He also adds a bunch of stuff (dropbear, nano, wireguard, etc.), changes compiler options, etc. He even replaced the Broadcom driver. Must of that is documented here:
http://www.voxel-firmware.com/Downloads/Voxel/Orbi-RBK50-Voxel-firmware/changes.log
The one thing that Voxel does not do is tinker with any of Netgear's binary files. If the goal is to track down that integer error, I have a strong suspicion that it is in a binary file and there is no way to find or correct it.
Very clear now that you can't build a working version from the GPL source like Netgear says. Voxel confirmed that. What the heck Netgear? The page clearly says you can build a working version if you configure per the instructions. Not true!! Looks like at least the WiFi driver stuff is missing. Where can I get the missing stuff even if only binaries to plug into the build like you do with DNI stuff? I am happy to sign an NDA.
Scott
