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How to boot a Debian Live environment with active SSH on a ReadyNAS with no display or console
During my research for my project on installing OMV on an Intel-based ReadyNAS without the need for a console connection, I discovered GRML, which can serve as a Debian Live boot with SSH access on amd64 machines, including many ReadyNAS (legacy and newer) -- so no console connection needed. This may be helpful for anyone with a really messed up OS or boot flash but no easy way to mount the drives outside the NAS to do a recovery or for those looking to install a different OS. It only takes a couple very simple mods to make it work. I'm going to assume here that you are using a Windows machine to prep the USB. If you have Linux, how to create the USB is covered on the GRML web site and you can figure out how to make the mods. If you are using a Mac -- sorry, I don't speak Mac. You start by downloading the GRML ISO from grml.org Next, use RUFUS to create a bootable USB from that ISO. Use ISO mode to do so when prompted, not dd mode. The USB has to meet the same requirements as a ReadyNAS recovery USB: USB2 and <=32MB. As with a recovery USB, the legacy machines can be picky. Smaller and older is usually best. There are two simple changes you have to make: At top level on the USB drive, create a zero-length file named NTGR_USBBOOT_INFO.txt. Right-click in the USB top-level window and select "New> Text Document", then re-name it. In the \boot\grub folder, edit grml-full-amd64_default.cfg adding the ssh option at the end of the fourth line as shown below. Note that this must be all on one line. You should use an editor that can save a Linux-compatible file (LF instead of CRLF as EoL) such as Notepad++. linux /boot/grmlfullamd64/vmlinuz apm=power-off boot=live live-media-path=/live/grml-full-amd64/ bootid=grmlfullamd64202604 "${loopback}" ${kernelopts} nomce ssh=password This turns on SSH and sets the root and grml users' SSH passwords to password (or you can choose your own). Now you just insert it in the front USB port and boot. Depending on your unit and BIOS version, you may need to hold the backup button while it boots. It's loading via USB2, so give it a couple minutes and then SSH in. It should have the same IP address as it did running the native software unless it hasn't been booted in a very long time. If that's the case or the address you thought it had doesn't work, use device name grml or search the network. I did this on an OS6 sandbox system where I scanned and mounted the MDADM RAIDs (mdadm --assemble --scan) and then mounted the BTRFS file system for /data (which was actually data-0, as reported by the MDADM scan). If you have an expanded system, so also have a data-1, data-2, etc., you should only mount data-0. BTRFS will see and link the others in. Of course, if your main partition isn't /data, use the name you set. I believe it also supports LVM, so can work with OS 4.2.x systems, but I haven't done so. It may even work with OS4.1.x (SPARC) drives in an Intel unit -- I think it should. I also did a dd backup of the boot flash in case USB recovery doesn't work for some reason while I mess with alternate OSes. If you plan to put it on the same USB drive as the GRML boot, you have to re-mount the USB drive as read/write. I leave that for the student to research. Sorry, non-Intel-based ReadyNAS users. GRML only supports amd64 and arm6, not arm5 that the ReadyNAS use and definitely no SPARC. If you really want to try this on a 32-bit Intel unit like an NVX, there are old releases that support that, but I've not tried them.
