I have SSH Access but still running into problems

[dragonspirit254]

Firstly, i'm using firmware 1.00.03. I didn't upgrade because the patch I used as described on another thread did not work for 1.00.049. (http://thecususergroup.proboards106.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=n5200installations&thread=1159355042&page=1)

So.. I have SSH access. Great! But now what?

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PROPOSED: Perform rsync backups

PROBLEM: rsync not installed. Can't install because there are no installers or C compilers (that I know of) on the system.

REQUEST: Anyone able to get rsync properly working on the N5200?

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PROPOSED: Next best thing. Use custom script to SCP updated files to NAS.

SUCCESS: I generated a RSA key using "ssh-keygen -t rsa" in the /root/.ssh directory and added the .pub to authorized_keys2 on my webserver. his was MUCH faster and more secure than NFS or CIFS.

PROBLEM: Every day or so, the id_rsa file in the /root/.ssh is automatically deleted. Something must be resetting it. I even tried making the file immuniable using "chattr +i id_rsa", yet it still gets deleted.

REQUEST: It seems that a lot of files are being reset automatically everyday, how do I stop this?

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PROPOSED: Add a cronjob using crontab -e.

PROBLEM: The crontab is also reset every day!

REQUEST: Same as before..

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There's got to be some place all the defaults are coming from.. I tried going through the files set to run in crontab by default, and couldn't find anything..

I don't understand why Thecus tries so hard to make it impossible to do anything remotely technical with the N5200 and still try to sell it for $750. It is full of bugs, yet you can't "debug" it. I would have been better off building my own NAS from scratch.

[jamis]

While I don't need this to be a full fledged linux box with complete customizability (kind of defeats the purpose of an appliance)... i do wish they'd add module/script support abilities such as with the N2100.

Things like being able to use the box as a media server, enhanced monitoring capabilities, SFTP/SCP support... those are the primary things I want and most would be easy with module/plugin support.

[kevincy]

jamis said:

While I don't need this to be a full fledged linux box with complete customizability (kind of defeats the purpose of an appliance)... i do wish they'd add module/script support abilities such as with the N2100.

Things like being able to use the box as a media server, enhanced monitoring capabilities, SFTP/SCP support... those are the primary things I want and most would be easy with module/plugin support.

Yes! If they can do it ,that is very nice and I can do myself function in N5200. ;D

[mawe]

dragonspirit254 said:

There's got to be some place all the defaults are coming from.. I tried going through the files set to run in crontab by default, and couldn't find anything..

Did you restart your N5200 and after that your installations were gone, or did it happen without any restart?

I experienced the same with the Twonkyvision mediaserver I installed.

My guess is, that during the boot process the N5200 boots from a media card (64 Mb) and writes the operating system to the disks every time you boot it. Unless you change the os image, your installation is gone everytime you´re booting the N5200.

[nttakr]

dragonspirit254 said:

So.. I have SSH access. Great! But now what?

Hi dragonspirit254,

I cannot even log on to my two N5200 machines, because one has 1.0.4.9 and the other 1.0.4.10 on it and as far as I know I cannot downgrade???

I spoke to Thecus Germany and they told me that with version 1.0.4.9 they disabled the SSH daemon which is neccessary for logons.

I am a bit disappointed, because I had a lot of things in mind which could be very useful in a N5200. I keep being told from Thecus they will bring a lot of features in the N2100, but that does not help me at all.

If you are able to log on to your machine, could you try to take an image of the operating system? I even thought about removing the static memory module from the device and reading the operating system from there, but it would be easier if you could work with an already accessible device.

Easiest way would be to use the monitor / keyboard solution someone mentioned in another thread.

As Thecus does seem to play at very low speed and with no information at all I suppose we should build a group and design our own firmware for the N5200 like other people did for WLAN Routers or DVB-T Receivers.

Anyone interested?

Greetings from germany,
Andreas

[kniteowl]

While my linux skills are not the best, I did manage to modify omega's patch to gain SSH access to 1.00.05 for me. While looking over the filesystem, it looks like it might not be that hard to add the ability to support modules. The shares that are created are easily access from withing the linux system itself. If a patch was done to have the system look for a specific folder and run items found there, creating modules should be simple to do.

Back to the question that nttakr ask, has anyone created a custom firmware or is anyone interested in getting together and building a custom firmware. Just looking at the wishlist, there is a good starting point already.

[omega]

nttakr
Do you know, that with my patches you again have SSH access to the N5200 (and even more features like rsync & rsyncd)? My patches will be available for version 1.00.05 very soon.

kniteowl
It would be not a big deal to create a custom firmware for the N5200 as it is 100% PC-compatble with some special hardware added (e.g. the LCD status panel).

Instead of starting a N5200 firmware project we should try to convince Thecus to integrate our wishes or we need to convince them to support modules on the N5200 too.

Andreas

[nttakr]

Hi omega,

thanks for pointing me at the patches. I just scanned quickly through them and I am impressed.

I will try to test them tonight. Just the ssh login alone will be a big help to me.

Yesterday I disassembled one of my two 5200 machines again to have another look at the components. It is just an ITX board with an PCIe slot on the backside of it. So installing a "standard" Linux should be no problem.

The idea to create a "new" firmware was born out of the fact that thecus does show no reaction to problem reports or requests at all.
If they start being cooperative and would enable us to add modules that is fine with me.
Removing the SSH login was exactly the wrong move from Thecus.
I hope they did realize that.

Can you explain how you create those "patches"?

Thanks for the good work!

Greetings,
Andreas

[omega]

Hello nttakr,

I've added some details on how to create modules (or patches) on the Thecus Wiki here: onbeat.dk/thecus/index.php/N5200_Module_Development

I hope it is sufficient to be understood, I'm not a good documentation writer.....

Please help to improve "our" documentation at the Wiki there, I cannot do it alone in the future.

Good luck,

Andreas