It's obvious that support will be ending soon for the 4 series of readynas products, just like it did for the 3 series of products (end of life)
However this shouldn't mean the end, if Netgear care about their customers, or products even, they should supply an attentive platform for the end of life product line, or at least allow customers to install another operating system, this doesn't have to be the end and my product (readynas 422) still has plenty of life left.
False this won't help me install another operating system, the boot menu that you talk of is only for readynas os, it can't be used with anything else, which is why I made this post.
Netgear need to supply a firmware which will allow us to boot in to something other than readynas os, unless your a command line wizard. You aren't going to be able to help me.
When a product Gos end of life, updates stop, support stops, this device will be vulnerable to attack. I and many other owners of the 4 series of hardware will need to install another operating system in order to keep up with an online world. These devices are meant to be on a network 24/7 online.
The current services that were included with these machines was nothing to the likes of Synology, I paid a premium for this product and from what I've seen, it had hardly anything done to it, Netgear isn't updating it enough and they aren't being competitive, the least they can do is open the system up. That includes making use of all the buttons and screens on the front on the device. That includes allowing me to install a 3ed party operating system. I did not buy this machine for it to become e waste.
Im sure their development team would love to work with you on supporting current and new devices. TrueNas is a spin off from freenas, the operating system is open source and could easily be made to work with your current product line.
It would be nice to see at least some effort in something to do with your readynas line, hardly any of the customer requests for features have been made a reality, supporting a 3ed party open source product like TrueNas would show you haven't forgotten about us readynas owners, I see routers getting more support than us, what with your original Netgear router os which then got changed to Duma OS! The same situation needs to happen here.
The current operating system for ready Nas hasn't had a ground up rebuild since series 3, series 4 has basically been running on what series 3 did. To add insult, there's been no new beta builds for months and anything that is pushed, is just patches or tiny micro changes, the debian 8.11 jessie os that has been running the show, has stayed the same build number since I got sent this device (readynas 422) the operating system is way out of date, was build in 2015 and work was stopped in 2017 because Debian gave an update (Debian 9) which was never integrated in to readynas os
It's not end of life yet and I intend to make use of it long after it is end of life. There's a case to be made here, windows gets a whole rework every half a year, Netgear take 10 years from what I've seen.
I also made this same request months again which can be found here :
Why do you think support has ended for the 300 series or the 400 series will soon suffer that fate? I'm not sure what Netgear would do if you bought a new, old-stock 300 series and wanted new unit support, but they will honor any existing warranty and have paid support available. You can get paid support all the way back to the NV, if you are the original purchaser. And no OS has been put forward that doesn't support the 300 series or even has limitations on it (as they have had to do on the 100 series due to memory size) except for them simply running slower due to the slower processor. And we still have some Netgear support on this forum.
Netgear has been silent on how much of the slow-down we have seen in OS development is a result of the pandemic and how much, if any, is a change in direction. Some have reported support personnel saying the ReadyNAS is going to be dropped, but that has not come from any official source. They are usually tight-lipped about their development cycle, but it would surely help matters if they would break stride in this case and let the users know what is going on. Folks who want to update to a newer NAS aren't going to wait for stock to return to the shelves when there is so much uncertainty, they are going to switch brands.
As for Netgear supporting running a generic OS on their devices, I expect you are going to be disappointed. When they killed the Stora line, and the server that made them function, they provided no alternative. Only the work of an outside group got around that limitation. Likewise, they dropped the ReadyData line with no official alternative, though they did release one last OS update that ended the need for Netgear "certified" drives. And while the ReadyData can run ReadyNASOS 6, they made no provisions for users to do so -- you just have to be "in the know".
I don't think support has ended for the 300 series, "readynas 312" I know it has, with the big red end of life, for the software and the product, means no more updates to the operating system. Which means your ready Nas device is left vulnerable to attack, now more than ever we are seeing online data stolen and Plex servers being used as "bot nets" the web server "apache" still being used, when it been out of development and updates for years, not to mention again the os it's self. When you dig the numbers up, they tell the truth. I've seen them, I never used phone support or chat, I'm an advanced user, the only time I need help is when it's proprietary. Which is why I'm requesting the thing is unlocked, phone manufacturers do it so I don't see why Netgear can't.
This product is in the business sector, being quiet means one thing to business folk, admission of an abandoned project, I don't see them responding. The pandemic has caused more people to be in front of their computers, not the opposite, development teams can talk remotely now. You literally have no excuse for them. Again tight lipped normally means one thing, the project is finished, or according to NETGEAR it is! You'd be something to think otherwise.
With all this negative, feedback from customers, people who look are definitely going to jump ship, it's a shame no one official can defend the readynas team, admission of guilt ?
The funny thing is they are running an generic OS's, made by an open source company, my problem is that it isn't being kept up to date. The sad thing is Netgear don't even have to do anything to keep it up to date, but that option has been disabled.
Whether they give phone and device replacement support is of no relevants to the discussion, if they aren't giving software updates it's pretty much worthless in today's age and world. and I for one am tired of seeing so much e-waste, I have a perfectly working bit of hardware here that is let down by the lack of software support. We are talking ones and zeros here.
Those ones and zeros paint a picture for me, right now signology products paint a longer lasting product than Netgear and from what I'm seeing, the way they are doing that is by leveraging what's already available, there are literally thousands of add on, on the other side, where as here we aren't even seeing a 100, I can count how many add-ons their are in the store on this readynas product, and that isn't a good thing, it's a very bad thing. I'll add most of it doesn't work, just try installing portainer out of the app store
If you the manufacturer can't supply the necessary services needed to run your product and keep it up to date, then the least you can do is hand it over to someone who can.
This isn't even about the here and now, but the future. Right now I have a safe that can open and close. All I'm asking for is the ability to change the code. So that no one else can access it, and of cause allows me to do more things with it. The potential left on the table for this hardware is ridiculous.
@SignedAdam wrote: I don't think support has ended for the 300 series, "readynas 312" I know it has, with the big red end of life, for the software and the product, means no more updates to the operating system.
Just to clarify this: Paid support is available for all OS-6 ReadyNAS, including the RN312 (and all other ReadyNAS in the RN300 series).
The RN300 series hardware is no longer in production, but support is still available and software updates are still being released - including OS-6 6.10.4, released in Dec 2020,
If Netgear were to exit the NAS business, it would be nice if they provided a path to migrate to other software (and TrueNAS would certainly be one possibility). Though as @mdgm pointed out it is possible (though perhaps difficult) to do that migration now.
Would be nice to see a fresh look for the 400 series, like what's been done with Duma OS for the nighthawk gaming routers, obviously with out the red accents.
I'd also like to see docker integration, which would open up a whole new world. docker is the reason why Synology have so many apps. Yes you can currently install docker in readynas but SSH has to be enabled and you have to understand all of the commands. Which as of now excludes people using this great service users can get else where. Synology have it integrated into the UI, I'd also like to see a update to the underlining core of the Nas operating system, I wouldn't mind losing Debian functionality if this meant I got a fresh new design along with the integration I talk about.
I urge the readynas team to look around at your competitors, even TrueNas has docker integrated
I don't care at all about a "fresh look" if it's just lipstick on a pig. While you say Netgear is "just Debian", it's not. It's core is, but they have their own additions. And that's why it takes a while for an update to that core and they have locked users out from updating it (and probably breaking a lot of their additions). I think they are way too embedded with Debian to move away from that. And having it as the core does mean those of us in the know can install many standard .deb packages, though they are becoming harder to find for Jessie.
I agree wholeheartedly about Docker. It's been in the idea exchange for a long time, but there has been no comment from Netgear since they falsely labeled the first entry as "implemented" and I opened a second one to challenge that.
Yes, developers can work from home in COVID times. But do they have the capability for remote testing on the multitude of models the update will be for? Unlike what you claim, it is expected to be for every native OS6 model, including the "end of life" ones, and those of us with converted legacy systems hope they will continue there, too. Of course, if they are fnally just unable to make one version for all machines, then that adds another level of complexity. I, for one, think they already did too little in-house testing and relied on beta testing too much to cover all bases. You see that with a quick release of a minor update with most major ones. With unpaid beta testing, you get what you pay for.
Duma OS isn't lip stick on a pig, it's still Linux and it's something Netgear could pull from, to update our Nas boxes, the intel processor with in my Nas mostly gos unutilised which is a waste, granted it's at 100% load when asking Plex to convert a DVD quality video on the go, but apart from that it sits at 1% to 4% most of the time. Even when moving large files.
Agreed the lack of docker integration really hurts me, I have poor internet here so also use lancatche dot net's docker container, when ever I need to do anything with it, my only option is command line, SSH, it's ridiculous, if I wanted to learn SSH and all these commands I wouldn't have brought the readynas, because I would of been better off building my own box, the whole point of buying this equipment was to get away from command line prompts.. and have easy one click solutions... This definitely isn't that at the moment, I even found adding an extra IP address hard, because theres literally no way to do it, with in the UI, I needed the Nas to have 1) IP for the Plex and 1) IP for the lancatch, it feels out dated and blank.
@SignedAdam wrote: Duma OS isn't lip stick on a pig,
You said you wanted it's "fresh look". That, alone, is lipstick on a pig.
In an earlier post, you stated you wanted to see this "on rhe 400 series". Well, the rest of us who don't have that series certainly don't want to see them spend their efforts on an update that's not suitable for our NAS. Because contrary to what you still seem to think is true even though you have been told differently, there has been no OS6 update that has not worked for every single native OS6 unit out there, including "end of life" models. Indead, even though they do not "officially" support it (meaning they offer no direct support), they have continued to make it compatible with 64-bit capable legacy units.
I want both a new look and a new engine, the current engine has been found to have weaknesses, having this equipment attached to a network permanently (like it's meant to) is risky.
For instance, there's a known security risk to gain root access in all Linux systems going way back, search (Ten-Year-Old Sudo Vulnerability)
Theres certain major options missing like adding additional IP addresses which I think is an essential for a box that is meant to be connected to multiple things.
The UI is dated, it hasn't been changed for years, don't tell me that's normal cause my router has had more UI changes than this Nas box.
Little to no apps, the store is a joke when you look at other Nas devices supplied by other companies.
Talking about compatibility, if older models can't run an updated version of readynas OS7 or what ever they end up calling it if and when it does ever happen. It's understandable that some devices won't support it, and Netgear might not be able to carry on supporting them devices which again is understandable, those customers of those unsupported device should be given the ability to swap the os, open up the bootloader and firmware, and have a open source team supporting netgears dropped devices, it's bound to happen one day, and ready Nas hardware that can do more should be given the ability to do more and not be held back by these old devices.
@SignedAdam wrote: It's obvious that support will be ending soon for the 4 series of readynas products, just like it did for the 3 series of products (end of life)
Various problems for us customers:
The meaning of EoL massively differs for between the vendors.
