Zyxel NSA310 & Crashplan - Is it Possible?

[DualPlatform]

After upgrading the backup system for my employer I decided to give my home backup a refresh into the 21st century. This means in with a ultra low power NAS solution to replace my old Pentium 4 tower running Ubuntu server. I'm also wanting this to be dirt easy. Actually easier than dirt as I plan to duplicate my efforts for my parents who live in another state.

So given the above I've mostly settled on Crashplan's free service with the intention of setting up a NAS at my home (for my parents off-site backup) and a NAS at my parents home (for my off-site backup). Yes I could pay for the online service and store it there but I'm also CHEAP and hate monthly fees.

I'm well aware that a headless install of Crashplan can go on a Synology NAS. Currently that's where I'm leaning however recent reviews I've read of some of the Zyxel models makes me wonder....

Can you install a headless Crashplan client on a Zyxel NAS? Specifically a NSA310? I have seen mention of a full debian install on a Zyxel which I believe could make this work. I have not been able to confirm this as of yet.

Remember I said I'm cheap which makes the Zyxel look really nice at about $60 cheaper than the Synology DS112J.

Any info you can provide would be most appreciated. In case anyone is wondering, I really don't plan on using the NAS for anything other than backup storage so a lot of what Synology offers in their software will not be used.

Thanks!
-Kirk

 

[eas]

It is possible, but it isn't exactly simple. There are two routes: One is to replace the stock firmware with Arch or Debian Linux, the other is to use either the firmware's telnet backdoor, or the fact that it will run properly named scripts off of USB storage when it boots. You'll have to compile, or otherwise obtain a copy of the Java runtime environment compiled for ARMv5, along with a few native libraries that Crashplan depends on, and package it and Crashplan in such a way that it will work right in the environment.

Check nas-central.org or archlinuxarm.org or forum.doozan.com for more info on installing Arch or Debian. nas-central.org also has info on usb_key_func.sh, for adding to the stock firmware. There is something called "fonz fun plug" that includes pre-packaged software for that environment.

I don't have a NSA310, I do have an NSA320, which I understand is pretty similar, other than having only a single drive bay. I installed Debain Squeeze on it using instructions from forum.doozan.com. I made a crude script a while ago for installing the necessary Debian packages, patching and compiling a needed native library and installing Crashplan and shared it on my blog (http://geekfun.com/2011/08/29/crashplan-install-script-for-arm-debian-on-pogoplugs-and-dockstars/). You probably want to edit it to install the current version of Crashplan, though it will update itself automatically once installed.

That'll get you further along if you decide to go down that road.

 

[banyon]

Hi Eas,

This is almost exactly what I am looking for, I just have some questions. I see the script says it is for "pogoplug, dockstar, ect". Is the NAS320 one of the "ect" or is this for people that have a hacked pogo plug in the back of their machine?

I haven't really looked into the NAS320 much as I've only had it for about a week, but I would like to install crashplan on the native OS without installing arch or debian into the box and wiping whatever came stock.

Is it possible to access this box through telnet or SSH and put any of the commands you put in your script to the box as is?

 

[DualPlatform]

I don't have either unit yet however I found another link with some good useful looking information regarding debian on the Zyxel. It appears this guy has been able to keep both the OEM and Debian at the same time.

http://7bits.nl/blog/2012/04/15/chrooted-debian-on-zyxel-nsa310

Definitely going to be a fun ride getting this working. I'll share any info I can once I dive in. Hope to get both the 310 and 320 this Christmas. Use the 320 locally with more storage space and the 310 remotely at my inlaws for offsite backups.

 

[banyon]

Dual,

Did you get the devices for Christmas, and have you tried this yet? The link you posted sounds like exactly what I need, but I haven't done anything with my 320 since my original post.

I will say, that little thing has been chugging along working great since I fixed an initial firmware issue. I just keep dumping data on it, and not a single issue.

 

[DualPlatform]

Yes, it is working, my apologies for not getting back on here sooner. I'll also include some more details later but here is what I have done. The nice thing is that you get to keep the Zyxel OS for regular shares, media sharing, bit-torrent, etc. Then you also get a debian build to run crashplan or anything else you want.

1. Follow peter's excellent chroot instructions for placing Debian on the system. http://7bits.nl/blog/2012/04/15/chrooted-debian-on-zyxel-nsa310
2. Get the sources list working by appending the sources.list file (CAT command works well here since you don't have vi or nano..yet)
3. Now you can use apt-get and install what you want or need. I installed nano for easier file editing, webmin just cause if I'm doing a lot on the system I will start it up and remote in with a browser, and finally you need java (since that is what crashplan uses).
4. I need to get more info for you on the java needs. Basically it there are a few hoops to jump through and my PC at home has the saved sites I used for reference to get mine working. UPDATED INFO!
5. I found the site I used. The general direction of steps can be found on the site. http://crashbone.wordpress.com/ The trick is the libjtux.so. I remember having some difficulties getting this to build on the NSA itself. I may have built this on my Ubuntu 12.04 server which is also where I created the chroot distribution. I do not believe I had to deal with the MD5 library (I'll need to double-back and check that)
6. CRITICAL STEP! Make sure to check the log files for crashplan. That is where I found just what libraries were not working. The logs are in the install directory for Crashplan. Check their site for the headless configuration options. Basically you terminal in with port redirection and run the GUI from your PC to setup Crashplan on your NSA.

I just about have everything ready on my NSA310. There are some tricks in there that I did that others might have better luck with. I created a separate user and share in the zyxel program specifically for crashplan. In debian I mounted that share using "localhost/sharename" as the path and it worked well.

I haven't applied this to my NSA320 yet but will as soon as time allows. If you get as far as #4 before I post an update respond on here as I'm subscribed to the thread.

 

[DualPlatform]

Just thought I'd wrap up my experience with CrashPlan and the NSA310. See my previous post regarding getting Crashplan installed (chroot debian, java, and the modified library files you'll need as described in the links).

Once everything is on you just need to iron out some startup items and you'll be set. Here's what I did.

1. Create the mount to your desired storage location on the NSA310. Create a specific share for crashplan purposes to make it easy. For now we'll call it \\mynsa310\mycpshare
2. ---The rest of these are on the chroot debian so you'll need to telnet in---
3. Create a mount point in /mnts or wherever you prefer the crashplan service to use.
4. Modify the fstab file to mount your share \\mynsa310\mycpshare to your mount point. I would suggest a user and password be used for the mount.
5. Edit the /etc/chroot-init file. This is what is starting your OpenSSH server and will start crashplan for us. Add the following lines just below the SSH start entry.
   
   • In the START section, add a line for "/etc/init.d/crashplan start
   • In the STOP section, add a line for "/etc/init.d/crashplan stop"
6. Start crashplan "/etc/init.d/crashplan start"
7. ---Back to your PC/Mac now---
8. Follow the instructions from crashplan support to configure the headless install on your NSA310. http://support.crashplan.com/doku.php/how_to/configure_a_headless_client
9. ---Done!---
10. At this point you should restart your NSA310 and make sure the share is mounted and crashplan is automatically starting.

 

[DualPlatform]

Well, as always there is more than 1 way to do what you want. I just read about FFP being an installable package from ZyXEL. This is a very nice alternative to using the backdoor method and chrooting. If I can get java installed as outlined here http://nas-tweaks.net/419/installation-of-java-on-the-nas-under-fun_plug/ then crashplan shouldn't be far behind.

 

[stevech]

This thread speaks to running CrashPlan ON THE NAS, not a PC. Just for any readers that might assume the reverse.

BTW: CrashPlan on a windows PC will not use a share from a NAS. I tried it. CrashPlan tech support says windows prohibits that. Rubbish. Acronis and EaseUS on windows do backups with the target being a NAS's SMB share. Not so CrashPlan. Another lame excuse given was "CrashPlan doesn't want to pass NAS access credentials (username/pasword) in the clear, even on an inside LAN.

So Crashplan is, like Carbonite, about revenue from cloud backup. I do give them credit for this: Two CrashPlan-equipped PCs can collaborate in backups, with CrashPlan's freeware.

Sorry for the diversion.

 

[normsland]

Yes it is possible to get Crashplan working with FFP. I've written a "how to" but it's one for the more committed . It assumes that you have FFP installed and that you can SSH in to your NAS. Here's the link: http://forum.nas-central.org/viewtopic.php?f=249&t=8369 Enjoy!

 

[epicurean]

Sorry newbie here.
Is it easier to use the FFP route or installing Debian as detailed earlier for a non-linux user like myself.

I have a NSA320

thanks very much