Forum Discussion

Aspirant

Aug 20, 2022

Solved

ReadyNAS RN214 "No IP Address" message

This sounds like the same issue seen in these two unresolved threads: https://community.netgear.com/t5/Using-your-ReadyNAS-in-Business/No-IP-Address-Readynas-214/td-p/2185847 https://community.net...

stevenvi
Aug 23, 2022
Is RAIDar seeing the NAS?
I didn't try using RAIDar because I've always had trouble trying to get Java to work properly in macOS. And I wouldn't expect a piece of software to be able to see something connected to the router which the router cannot.

The "connect cable after boot completes" solution didn't seem to work for me either. So it seems this device is, at the moment, unusable.

But I have solved the problem of getting access to my data ReadyNAS uses standard off-the-shelf Linux Software RAID -- at least it did with the RAID-5 configuration I was using. So with a desktop computer that has adequate SATA ports, you can easily access your data. What follows is a bit technical, and if you don't have experience with Linux you'll want to find someone who does to help you as I'm just going to gloss over a lot of the finer details here.

What I did:
Connected all four hard drives from the NAS to an old retired desktop computer
Booted with a Knoppix boot thumb drive that I already had sitting around
At boot, everything will be auto-detected. This model of ReadyNAS had three RAID partitions:
/dev/md0
/dev/md1
/dev/md127
md127 is where your data is. I mounted it read-only to verify that everything was working well, then I proceeded to set up this machine as my new NAS. So I:
Removed all hard drives and connected a spare drive as the new main drive.
This isn't required, but I didn't want to make any mistakes and accidentally clobber one of my data drives. Technically I could have used one of the other partitions for the OS, similar to how the ReadyNAS was doing it, but again, I didn't want to risk making a mistake. The data was worth more than the spare drive to me.
Installed a fresh copy of Debian
Set up SSH for remote access
Installed mdadm to work with the RAID
Disabled auto-suspend
Re-attached data drives (when powered down)
Verified I can mount the RAID as expected
Added the RAID to /etc/fstab to auto-mount on boot
Installed and configured Samba so I can access my data as network shares
I haven't yet investigated a solution for notifications on disk errors, but that should be possible to configure as well. I wasn't running any apps on my ReadyNAS, so I didn't have anything to migrate over for those, though you can install a Plex server on this new device as well if you like.

StephenB

Guru - Experienced User

Aug 20, 2022

stevenvi wrote:

Since both had active DHCP leases in the router, I assume they were both functioning earlier in the day.

Did you normally have both NICs connected? If so, were you using bonding/link aggregration?

stevenvi wrote:

Are there any diagnostic steps or additional knowledge I'm missing here?

Instead of the dummy disk, I suggest powering down and removing the disks. Then power up diskless and see if you get an IP address. Label the disks by slot as you remove them.

stevenvi

Aspirant

Aug 20, 2022

StephenB wrote:
Did you normally have both NICs connected? If so, were you using bonding/link aggregration?

They were both normally connected, yes. As for bonding/link aggregation, I do not recall. I would use both addresses on the LAN to be able to have two SMB connections open simultaneously in Windows. Does that imply they were not bonded?

StephenB wrote:
Instead of the dummy disk, I suggest powering down and removing the disks. Then power up diskless and see if you get an IP address. Label the disks by slot as you remove them.

Yep, I tried this. It still does the same thing. "No IP Address". Only difference is that rather than showing the name I gave the NAS, it shows (I believe) the last 3 octets in the primary NIC's MAC.

(Edited for formatting.)

Sandshark
Sensei - Experienced User
Aug 20, 2022
Unfortunately, this appears to be a too common problem with the 214. I purchased (very cheap) one in that condition :for parts" but also to see what's going on, though I had my suspicion. The issue, as I originally suspected, is the +3.3VSB, which powers the NIC and power on/off circuit. When you turn it off, you get to that "do_exit+4d8" because it was supposed to shut down before it got there. Since 3.3VSB stays on, even when the NAS (including the fan) is "off", I suspect that the root cause is something getting too hot when the unit (including the fan) is off and ultimately being permanently damaged. That you were using both NIC ports may or may not have aggravated that.

Without schematics, I was unable to determine where a repair might be made.

The one I have will occasionally acquire an IP address if you power it on with the LAN disconnected and then connect it after boot is complete. Once going, it seems to be OK till the next power cycle. So, you can try that.
StephenB
Guru - Experienced User
Aug 20, 2022
stevenvi wrote:
I would use both addresses on the LAN to be able to have two SMB connections open simultaneously in Windows. Does that imply they were not bonded?

Yes.

stevenvi wrote:

StephenB wrote:
Instead of the dummy disk, I suggest powering down and removing the disks. Then power up diskless and see if you get an IP address. Label the disks by slot as you remove them.

Yep, I tried this. It still does the same thing. "No IP Address". Only difference is that rather than showing the name I gave the NAS, it shows (I believe) the last 3 octets in the primary NIC's MAC.

It does sound like a failed NIC, although I wouldn't normally expect the link light to be lighting up in that case.

Is RAIDar seeing the NAS?
- stevenvi
  Aspirant
  Aug 23, 2022
  Is RAIDar seeing the NAS?
  I didn't try using RAIDar because I've always had trouble trying to get Java to work properly in macOS. And I wouldn't expect a piece of software to be able to see something connected to the router which the router cannot.
  
  The "connect cable after boot completes" solution didn't seem to work for me either. So it seems this device is, at the moment, unusable.
  
  But I have solved the problem of getting access to my data ReadyNAS uses standard off-the-shelf Linux Software RAID -- at least it did with the RAID-5 configuration I was using. So with a desktop computer that has adequate SATA ports, you can easily access your data. What follows is a bit technical, and if you don't have experience with Linux you'll want to find someone who does to help you as I'm just going to gloss over a lot of the finer details here.
  
  What I did:
  Connected all four hard drives from the NAS to an old retired desktop computer
  Booted with a Knoppix boot thumb drive that I already had sitting around
  At boot, everything will be auto-detected. This model of ReadyNAS had three RAID partitions:
  /dev/md0
  /dev/md1
  /dev/md127
  md127 is where your data is. I mounted it read-only to verify that everything was working well, then I proceeded to set up this machine as my new NAS. So I:
  Removed all hard drives and connected a spare drive as the new main drive.
  This isn't required, but I didn't want to make any mistakes and accidentally clobber one of my data drives. Technically I could have used one of the other partitions for the OS, similar to how the ReadyNAS was doing it, but again, I didn't want to risk making a mistake. The data was worth more than the spare drive to me.
  Installed a fresh copy of Debian
  Set up SSH for remote access
  Installed mdadm to work with the RAID
  Disabled auto-suspend
  Re-attached data drives (when powered down)
  Verified I can mount the RAID as expected
  Added the RAID to /etc/fstab to auto-mount on boot
  Installed and configured Samba so I can access my data as network shares
  I haven't yet investigated a solution for notifications on disk errors, but that should be possible to configure as well. I wasn't running any apps on my ReadyNAS, so I didn't have anything to migrate over for those, though you can install a Plex server on this new device as well if you like.
  - StephenB
    Guru - Experienced User
    Aug 23, 2022
    stevenvi wrote:
    /dev/md127
    md127 is where your data is
    
    This does depend on the history of expansion with XRAID. If you have (or ever had) unequal disk sizes, or ever expanded your volume, then there will be multiple RAID groups (other /dev/md1xx) holding your data that need to be aggregated into your data volume.
    
    In those situations you need to do a btrfs device scan before you mount /dev/md127
    
    Also, for any others that want to try this, of course you do need to make sure both mdadm and btrfs are installed on the linux system you are using..