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Forum Discussion
Dewdman42
Apr 18, 2023Virtuoso
Leave ReadyNAS, possible replacements?
Given that Netgear appears to be abandoning this product line, and given that even WhoCares is giving up on it, I am going to consider alternative solutions to replace my aging 524X. I hope to hear...
eton
Apr 19, 2023Luminary
ReadyNAS is a basically compact PC. You can run whatever you like on it. The trick is to reach the video output and config BIOS to boot from an external device (often an USB stick). Or via serial, telnet, reach the internal flash, etc.
What you choose depends on your needs and how powerful your machine is.
The most popular choices for a replacement OS are:
- OpenMediaVault
- unRAID
- TrueNAS
- Xpenology
- Standard Debian
RN524 looks like a good candidate for a new OS:
https://www.netgear.com/support/product/rn524x#docs
tony359
Jul 12, 2023Apprentice
Hi,
I'd like to test an alternative OS following some severe issues my Pro6 is having with OS6. Likely a HW fault but I want to explore the "OS bug" path.
My NAS has an intel 6600 and 8GB of RAM. I only use the NAS as file storage. I also run iDrive and I see it's not available for anything but the main brands. It's available for linux though? But I can find an alternative, that's not a deal breaker.
I am thinking of openmediavault - I looked into TrueNAS and it's got silly HW requirements.
Would anybody recommend anything else for my NAS? Would openmediavault support RAID expansion so I don't have to reset my whole RAID if and when I add or upgrade a drive?
Any indication on how to install using the internal USB storage? I can use an external one but if I could re-use the internal one, that would be great.
I do have VGA output if necessary.
Thank you!
- SandsharkJul 12, 2023Sensei - Experienced User
I think OpenMediaVault is a good choice. That it's also Debian based gives you a leg up on the learning curve. I think it also supports BTRFS (it's been a while since I looked at it). I'll likely switch to it if I abandon ReadyNAS OS. Doing the switch on our existing hardware is a lot easier for those of us with ReadyNAS that have, or can have installed, a monitor port.
- tony359Jul 12, 2023Apprentice
Thank you. I ordered a small but fast (given it's USB 2.0!) USB stick to use as a boot device.
I'll install, test and report back 🙂
Do you think iDrive - which has a Linux version available - could be installed?
- SandsharkJul 13, 2023Sensei - Experienced User
iDrive just uses Pearl scripts, not compiled executables, it ought to be able to be used on any Linux system.
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