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Forum Discussion
Make ReadyNAS OS 6 open source
Now that Netgear has completely abandoned the ReadyNAS for quite some time already, would it be possible to make ReadyNAS OS 6 completely open source? It would allow us to replace the OS with something that's being maintained and keep the system completely functional.
11 Replies
Hello Forage ,
And welcome to the NETGEAR Community! đ
Could you please explain the issue you are facing and please tell me what kind of support you expect from Netgear?
If possible please share screenshot of the issue you are facing for better understanding.
Have a lovely day,
Anisha A
Netgear TeamThank you for your reply AnishaA.
At this stage I'm only investigating the options, so no specific issue yet, except for a way to connect a screen.
I've got a RN422 as my main NAS, with a Duo v2 as off-site backup of the former.
Upstreaming efforts for the Duo v2 have been made and it should allow me to install stock Debian.
Similar efforts for the RN422 are nowhere to be found though. Which gives me no indication what to expect from a stock Debian on this system. Especially for things like the screen and front buttons.
What I'm mainly interested in from Netgear:
1. Documentation
2. Kernel patches used
In terms of documentation, at least concerning the RN422:
- How does one connect to the NAS in some form of debug mode.
- Is there some form of BIOS and how can one access it, to change boot order/medium for example.
There's the boot menu, but that's not enough to actually perform debugging with.
In terms of kernel patches, I'm talking about making the original Linux source available on Github or similar, including the created/applied patches, to be able to reproduce a Debian build of at least the same version used in ReadyNAS OS today. This would allow porting the changes to a more recent version for those that haven't been upstreamed yet.
Sorry for the late reply but my original account (@WhoCares_) is blocked again due to the dreaded "IP comparison error". Anyway:
As for the RedyNAS OS you'll find the sources here: https://www.downloads.netgear.com/files/GPL/ReadyNASOS_V6.10.9_WW_src.zip
For the other systems with 4.x and 5.x firmware just look here: https://kb.netgear.com/2649/NETGEAR-Open-Source-Code-for-Programmers-GPL and scroll down until you get to the ReadyNAS entries.
That said the archives contain just that: the sources and the changes made by NTGR. To build correct/complete Debian packages you'll also need the original archives, mostly from some older Debian distribution or sometimes Ubuntu ones.
What's not included are the parts that NTGR considers IP like some of the kernel drivers (for VPD and some of the LCDs I think) and of course none of the special daemons like "raidard" and stuff.
Long story short: the GPL archive provided by NTGR will give you exactly that: the GPL code they updated/modified for use with the ReadyNAS. What it will NOT give you is the code that also needs to be modified for upgraded versions of the base OS and also not the drivers for the special hardware in the boxes.
So what you'd like to see is the whole code for what makes up the proprietary parts of ReadyNAS OS open-sourced. Well, mee too but I don't see that happen. Unfortunately.
-Stefan
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