Kernel headers for ReadyNAS OS 6.4 RN104

[VincentNguyenQu]

Good morning,

Apologies if this has been posted twice, I received an error when posting, and yet I can't seem to find it

I am attempting to build driver modules for DVB-T USB devices, using this link:

http://www.linuxtv.org/wiki/index.php/How_to_Obtain,_Build_and_Install_V4L-DVB_Device_Drivers 

To do so I need to install the kernel headers. I used the traditionnal Debian command: apt-get install linux-headers-$(uname -r) 

which on 6.4 will attempt to install linux-headers-4.1.7.armada.1

Unfortunately it fails (no package name found)

I found here a link to download what I assume is the full kernel source:

http://kb.netgear.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2649/~/gpl-open-source-code-for-programmers

I entered the linux kernel directory for armada, and ran the make headers_install command, which seems to complete fine

However, it does not seem to create the /lib/modules/4.1.7.armada.1/build folder, with the required files for DVB modules compilation to succeed.

So am I missing something ?

Ideally, it would be better if I could find directly the kernel headers

Alternatively I can try to compile the kernel directly with DVB support, but that's a little bit extreme...

Thanks and regards

[IcyK · Accepted solution]

I cannot answer your question about the kernel headers, but I think you have to recompile the kernel anyway as the Netgear kernel does not support DVB (at least until 6.3.5).

Also, I think you'll have to use the Netgear variant of the kernel source (copy the correct Netgear kernel config), not the Debian variant (because of kernel symbols, as I understand, but maybe that changed in 6.4.0 too).

I made a little recepe here for using HDHomerun (last post, 2015-07-22😞 https://community.netgear.com/t5/Using-your-ReadyNAS/Q-compiling-kernel-modules-on-OS6-dvb-hdhomerun...

This is confirmed to work on 6.3.3 and on 6.3.5.

I've read rumours that the boot code/process changed in 6.4.0 so I don't know whether the process to replace the kernel is still the same. And I have no intention to downgrade from 6.3.5 to 6.4.0.

Be sure to read and understand the warnings in the post: if it goes wrong, your NAS probably will not boot again, ever.

[IcyK · Accepted solution]

I cannot answer your question about the kernel headers, but I think you have to recompile the kernel anyway as the Netgear kernel does not support DVB (at least until 6.3.5).

Also, I think you'll have to use the Netgear variant of the kernel source (copy the correct Netgear kernel config), not the Debian variant (because of kernel symbols, as I understand, but maybe that changed in 6.4.0 too).

I made a little recepe here for using HDHomerun (last post, 2015-07-22😞 https://community.netgear.com/t5/Using-your-ReadyNAS/Q-compiling-kernel-modules-on-OS6-dvb-hdhomerun...

This is confirmed to work on 6.3.3 and on 6.3.5.

I've read rumours that the boot code/process changed in 6.4.0 so I don't know whether the process to replace the kernel is still the same. And I have no intention to downgrade from 6.3.5 to 6.4.0.

Be sure to read and understand the warnings in the post: if it goes wrong, your NAS probably will not boot again, ever.

[IcyK]

Just wanted to emphazise: the link in the precious post concerns a x86 system. For other systems, you probably need a Netgear kernel config file from a different arch.

[VincentNguyenQu]

Many thanks for these details

I find it quite amazing that Netgear did not built in DVB support in the kernel. Synology has it as far as I can tell (well at least compiling and installing tvheadend on a synology is a no brainer).

What I find also surprising is that DVBLogic claims for support of Netgear RN10x, with various USB sticks. And I would have assumed this would require DVB support in the kernel... Now that might be the reason why it does not work in the first place though 🙂

That said, is there a recovery procedure in case the NAS is bricked ? If not, the risk is kind of high so I'll probably simply setup a Raspberry Pi as a TVHeadend (among other things) server. Granted it's not as integrated, and it's kind of a shame, but at least there is a huge community support, and it works out of the box

[IcyK]

I have no experience with a recovery procedure. A USB recovery might do the trick, but I am not gonna bet on that as I never tried it with a corrupted flash.

The thing is, Readynas relies on the built-in flash to boot, using syslinux. If that's corrupt, the system hangs. There is no BIOS setting (except maybe on the 6 bay devices) to circumvent the internal flash.*

The risks are in my personal opinion not extremely high, as long as you are careful and double / triple check every step that involves the internal flash. Especially after changing the boot menu, and expecially NOT booting the self-brewed kernel by default in the first couple of hours.

But everyone has to make his own risk calculation on this 😉

(I tried at first with an Ultra 2 I bought as a used device, specifically to 'play' with).

(*) Actually, there is a way to circumvent: when you have a RS232/TTL connection and live linux system on a usb stick, you can boot that using the backup button during boot time. Connect to the live linux environment (using for instance PUTTY over COM), mount the internal flash and you probably can fix some stuff.

I have once installed 'native' wheezy like this. If you go that direction, be careful NOT to wipe the VPS file (?) that's in the flash as it contains the device characteristics (at least in the Ultra devices; that file is needed for OS4, I don't know whether OS6 depends on it, nor whether it is still there in the new device line).

In any case, being careful from the beginning saves you a lot of time and frustration afterwards 😉