× NETGEAR will be terminating ReadyCLOUD service by July 1st, 2023. For more details click here.
Orbi WiFi 7 RBE973
Reply

Re: ReadyDATA OS 1.2.2 | VirtualBox Image #notsupported

chirpa
Luminary

ReadyDATA OS 1.3.0 | VirtualBox Image #notsupported

Back in March, NETGEAR uploaded ReadyDATAOS 1.2.1 to their FTP site. The usual ZIP file release just has the changelog and .IMG file. But this time, the ZIP file also included an .ODM file, meant for factory use. With the .ODM file, it is possible to make a Virtual Machine disk out of the box that is ready to go; versus the .IMG file which is missing needed boot sector setup. Looking at the .IMG its not hard to build a boot image from that either, just more of a pain with Solaris file systems; we can post those steps later. Seen at least one person 'dd' their USB flash from inside the RD5200 chassis and get this running too. Using the 'binwalk' utility shows the image structure, making it easy to replicate. We then updated the VM to 1.2.2-T1 beta firmware that was also posted to the FTP site.

edit [05/24/13]: Updated with v1.3.0 release.





Since ReadyDATA uses vNICs off the main Ethernet NIC, VirtualBox can't properly translate packets from the unknown MAC addresses, at least on wireless MacBookPro's. Until we find a workaround to handle that, you have to use the VM in NAT mode, versus Bridge mode that the ReadyNASOS VMs work in. NAT mode gives out 10.0.2.15 IP to the first interface, so we setup Port Forwarding on the Network tab in the Virtual Machine setup to forward localhost:4443 to 10.0.2.15:443 in the VM, so we can easily access the Dashboard (same can be done with SSH). I will update this post when we finally get Bridged mode working properly.

Without a volume created on the first boot, the OS runs in a ramdisk. No settings will be saved until you create a new volume and reboot. Then the OS will be placed on the 'data' disks, and you can have fun!

Here is the original ZIP file they made public on their anonymous FTP site: ReadyDATAOS-V1.2.1.zip (162MB)
Here is a ready to boot VirtualBox appliance: ReadyDATAOS-1.3.0.ova (82MB)

If you take the OVA and boot it, you can navigate to https://localhost:4443/ and access the Dashboard. Default login for HTTPS is admin/password. SSH and console would be root/password.
Message 1 of 8
chirpa
Luminary

Re: ReadyDATA OS 1.2.2 | VirtualBox Image #notsupported

Of interest, if you fake the DMI values to emulate a real RD5200, the system will have errors finding boot flash and such. Leaving it as VirtualBox platform, there are already functions in the firmware to handle that. Same goes for ReadyNAS 312/516/etc systems, kernel panic on boot.

Example on how to override DMI values in the virtual BIOS, in a VM's .vbox file...
      <ExtraDataItem name="VBoxInternal/Devices/pcbios/0/Config/DmiBIOSReleaseDate" value="11/02/2012"/>
<ExtraDataItem name="VBoxInternal/Devices/pcbios/0/Config/DmiBIOSVendor" value="NETGEAR"/>
<ExtraDataItem name="VBoxInternal/Devices/pcbios/0/Config/DmiBIOSVersion" value="ReadyNAS-312 V1.0"/>
<ExtraDataItem name="VBoxInternal/Devices/pcbios/0/Config/DmiSystemProduct" value="ReadyNAS 312"/>
<ExtraDataItem name="VBoxInternal/Devices/pcbios/0/Config/DmiSystemSerial" value="3C212B0H00000"/>
<ExtraDataItem name="VBoxInternal/Devices/pcbios/0/Config/DmiSystemVendor" value="NETGEAR"/>
Message 2 of 8
chirpa
Luminary

Re: ReadyDATA OS 1.2.2 | VirtualBox Image #notsupported

The newly announced RD516 appears to be the same as the RN516 (predecessor to Pro Pioneer, Pro 6, Ultra 6 Plus). Using the AMIDELNX utility, you can likely rewrite the DMI values and 'convert' from one platform to another.

Doing this would be something like a dmi.txt:
[System]
Product = ReadyDATA 5200
SKUNum = RD5200
Then running 'amidelnx dmi.txt' to update the BIOS DMI values. Haven't test it yet, who wants to donate a box? 😉
Message 3 of 8
bajorgensen
Aspirant

Re: ReadyDATA OS 1.2.2 | VirtualBox Image #notsupported

How about using the DMI utility to emulate VirtualBox on a Ultra? *nudge* *nudge* *wink*
Message 4 of 8
chirpa
Luminary

Re: ReadyDATA OS 1.2.2 | VirtualBox Image #notsupported

Wouldn't work. It would then look for the VirtualBox device paths, and fail to boot on the Ultra hardware.
Message 5 of 8
chirpa
Luminary

Re: ReadyDATA OS 1.3.0 | VirtualBox Image #notsupported

Updated with v1.3.0 firmware.

First boot seems to take longer for the HTTP service to start up. If https doesn't load, give it another minute or two...

System no longer outputs to VGA console. It does however work to serial port. I used a raw pipe device to /tmp/readydata.pipe, and interacted with that via the socat command.
Message 6 of 8
aschild
Aspirant

Re: ReadyDATA OS 1.3.0 | VirtualBox Image #notsupported

Just a small hint for accessing the box from your network.
Just add a second NIC in the virtual box and set it to use network bridge.

The VM will then activate this interface and retrieve a IP address via DHCP.
So you can now use this IP to access the user interface and also other functionality of the system.
Message 7 of 8
flexyz
Aspirant

Re: ReadyDATA OS 1.3.0 | VirtualBox Image #notsupported

Hi All,

Anyone got the newest release to work on virtualbox or even vmware ESX?

Thanks
Message 8 of 8
Top Contributors
Discussion stats
  • 7 replies
  • 5285 views
  • 0 kudos
  • 4 in conversation
Announcements