DSM-G600, DNS-3xx and NSA-220 Hack Forum

sudos · 2015-01-24 23:10:25

I'm going to be using this thread as a means of reviving the staleness of the DSM-G600 area of this entire forum. a LOT of the posts here with any information on getting a proper install of Linux working, Debian or otherwise, are coming close to being 7 or 8 years old now, and the information within the wiki is just as stale. What I'll be including in this thread is going to be my journey into going from a stock DSM-G600 found in a thrift store for $15, to (hopefully) something running at LEAST a 2.6.32 kernel or above into the 3.x kernel set, and upgrading the Debian install to match.

Kernel 2.6.25 and above support all of the devices visible on the PCI bus for the G600, including the Ralink WiFi card, so there's no issues there. the hardest thing is going to be dropping a serial port on the device and using that towards getting a newer kernel working, and ultimately, HDD Boot and probably messing with an entire newer version of UBoot.

I'll also be delving into replacing the Ralink 802.11g card with an Atheros 802.11n card once I get a 2.6 or higher kernel running. Broadcom cards are not recommended with kernels over 3.7, as the drivers mess up. I *believe* this has since been fixed, but it's just overall safer to go with Atheros. Ralink (now Mediatek) will work too, but Atheros is again just the safest bet.

Stay tuned, since it will most likely take me a long time to get this all going. I'm hoping to get into some hardware hacking on this thing too, and maybe something will make it to Hackaday. Who knows?

I'm going to make a couple of reserved posts below for information on hardware and software sides of things.

sudos · 2015-01-24 23:20:11

Reserved space for information.

I'm placing this here so i can find it easier when it comes time to probably use it... Crosstool-NG

Last edited by sudos (2015-01-25 18:13:32)

sudos · 2015-01-24 23:27:06

Reserved space for more information.

sala · 2015-01-27 10:54:54

You might want to investigate possibility to use NetBSD altboot to get network support into bootloader. Or ditch linux kernel completely and use NetBSD.
http://dns323.kood.org/dsmg600/howto:netbsd

sudos · 2015-01-27 15:29:58

sala wrote:
You might want to investigate possibility to use NetBSD altboot to get network support into bootloader. Or ditch linux kernel completely and use NetBSD.
http://dns323.kood.org/dsmg600/howto:netbsd

I thought about it, but I don't have any experience with BSD, and I don't yet have a MAX3232 to interface with the serial on the thing yet. china post is very slow.
in the meantime, I did manage to get some key programs compiled under the existing kernel on the device itself.

once the max3232 is here I'll be doing serial testing to make sure it's functional, and then work on a RAM upgrade and the appropriate U-Boot patching.
I really want to see if I can get a 3.x kernel going, since that would essentially be a major win. it'd also be a proof of concept that it in fact can indeed run a 3.x kernel and isn't limited to the crufty yet amazingly optimized 2.4 kernel that's preflashed.

I am happy that there's NetBSD for it, it's a great alternative and not too screwy. but my gripe again is that I have no experience, and would rather stick to Linux for the time being.

DSM-G600, DNS-3xx and NSA-220 Hack Forum

Announcement

#1 2015-01-24 23:10:25

DSM-G600 2015 Revival

#2 2015-01-24 23:20:11

Re: DSM-G600 2015 Revival

#3 2015-01-24 23:27:06

Re: DSM-G600 2015 Revival

#4 2015-01-27 10:54:54

Re: DSM-G600 2015 Revival

#5 2015-01-27 15:29:58

Re: DSM-G600 2015 Revival

sala wrote:

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