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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 somethi...
Thank 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
WhoCaresRnx wrote:
Sorry for the late reply but my original account (@WhoCares_) is blocked again due to the dreaded "IP comparison error". Anyway:
If it happens on every network connection, then it might be security software on the PC that is doing something to mask the IP address. Zscaler does that on my work laptop (fortunately I can disable it). I've also seen it on airport wifi and some other wifi networks, not sure what the cause is on them.
- I tried with 6 different computers on three different operating systems as well as with my iPhone and the iPad. Same result. I was told it has something to do with some flags for extended rights attached to my original account that trigger some extra checks including my ip address. But since I don't have a static IP there's not much I can do about that. With this new account I don't have any problem on any of the devices I tested so I'm pretty sure the problem is not on my side 😉
-Stefan
WhoCaresRnx wrote:
I was told it has something to do with some flags for extended rights attached to my original account that trigger some extra checks.Yes. That's also my scenario.
WhoCaresRnx wrote:
But since I don't have a static IP there's not much I can do about that.I don't have a static IP either, and it generally works for me anyway. So that is not what they are checking (fwiw, I don't know of any way to tell if an IP address is static). I am thinking they are detecting use of a proxy.
Did you try using the iphone on your mobile data network (wifi not connected)?
Many thanks for this info WhoCares.
After a quick scan: There are sources for additional kernel modules included:
- amifldrv
- cryptodev
- nv6lcd
- sx8635
- ufsd
- vpd
I don't know yet what the display device for the RN420 is called but it looks like at least VPD is covered. Its only for ufsd that bin files are included.
For the rest it's a massive amount of patches, not just for the kernel, applied to the original sources so at least that saves a manual diff.
There's "drivers-0001-add-ReadyNAS-LCD-driver.patch" and "drivers-0003-add-sx8635-touchpad-driver.patch" so it's looking promising so far.
Forage No problem. As for te kernel modules: I know that some of them were there, some weren't last time I checked. Maybe they are all included now. That said it will still be a problem to make those work on newer kernels and that's especially true for ARM models.
What's also missing is the setup for the build environment, again especially for ARM. Anyway, if there's anything else you need or want to know, feel free to ask. I'll answer to the best of my knowledge. Either here or by email (info@rnxtras.com still works 😉). I also uploaded all of the packages I backported from newer Debian systems to GitHub: https://github.com/orgs/rdynsxtrs/repositories
-Stefan
You even included your unreleased wireguard backport, how very nice of you 😉
After some more digging:
- The Hitachi HD44780 LCD has been upstreamed already as of 4.12 so the display should work
- This does not appear to be the case for the front keys (Semtech sx8635 I assume, for the RN420 as well), so with the Netgear specifics in patch and module files it's less ideal.
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