ZyXEL NSA325v2 with Synology DSM 6.2

Hello @all,

I have an almost new ZyXEL NSA325v2 NAS (used only for a couple of hours) with 2x3TB HDD that I would like to give a new life (the old firmware is lacking security updates and SMBv2 per example).
I saw that someone "ported" the Synology DSM operating system to a WD NAS (https://wd.hides.su/fox_exe/WDMyCloud-Mirror-Gen2/DSM/).
I also saw that some older Synology NAS (like the DS213 - https://kb.synology.com/en-me/DSM/tutorial/What_kind_of_CPU_does_my_NAS_have) uses the same CPU (Marvell Kirkwood 88F6282) and amount of RAM (512MB), like the ZyXEL NSA325v2, and still gets DSM updates (v6.2 - https://www.synology.com/en-global/support/download/DS213?version=6.2#system).
So my question is: is there any possibility to do the same that was done for the WD NAS on the ZyXEL NAS (maybe using the UBoot found on this forum?), including running from NAND (the Synology NAS has 16MB SPI compared to 128MB NAND from ZyXEL)?
If the answer is positive, I would really appreciate any help to accomplish this task. :)

Thanks! :)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/06/2024 03:34PM by barroshelder.

barroshelder,

NSA325v2 is fully supported here.

Basic steps to install Debian and new u-boot (or stock u-boot) on a Kirkwood box: https://forum.doozan.com/read.php?2,136462

Read it over and post question if you are not sure.

-bodhi
===========================
Forum Wiki
bodhi's corner (buy bodhi a beer)

Hi bodhi,

Thanks for the link, do I need Debian running before installing DSM software from Synology?

barroshelder,

> Thanks for the link, do I need Debian running
> before installing DSM software from Synology?

The link above describes how to install new u-boot and Debian. And skip DSM altogether. And this will not allow to boot back to DSM.

====

If you still want to use DSM and also run Debian then you need to keep stock U-Boot. And install Debian on a USB drive. And that's this instruction: https://forum.doozan.com/read.php?2,102054,105374#msg-105374

Warning: while testing with booting Debian, do not run saveenv or resetenv at the u-boot prompt. We want to be able to reset the box back to stock booting whenever we want to abandon the test.

-bodhi
===========================
Forum Wiki
bodhi's corner (buy bodhi a beer)

Hi bodhi,

What I would like to do is install DSM on NAND (overwriting the old ZyXEL OS from NAS), like it was done on the Western Digital NAS (see link on my first post). On the WD instructions, the user must flash a BIN file (I suppose it is a new bootloader that will make the WD behave like a Synology NAS: https://wd.hides.su/fox_exe/WDMyCloud-Mirror-Gen2/DSM/_Info_en.txt) and boot from it to install the DSM.
Installing Debian probably will give more possibilities, but I will loose the Web GUI and DSM from Synology is one of the best and user friendly software for this type of NAS. This is why there is also a "port" for x86 with the XPEnology project (https://xpenology.com).
Sadly I'm not a programmer, but if I was one, I would definitely try to make DSM run on ZyXEL NAS.
Do you think it is difficult to do it, remembering that the above mentioned Synology NAS (or any other model with same hardware from the list I've posted above) has the same hardware like the ZyXEL?



Edited 8 time(s). Last edit at 03/06/2024 03:37PM by barroshelder.

barroshelder,

> What I would like to do is install DSM on NAND
> (overwriting the old ZyXEL OS from NAS), like it
> was done on the Western Digital NAS (see link on
> my first post)

I see.

>. On the WD instructions, the user
> must flash a BIN file (I suppose it is a new
> bootloader that will make the WD behave like a
> Synology NAS:
> https://wd.hides.su/fox_exe/WDMyCloud-Mirror-Gen2/DSM/_Info_en.txt)
> and boot from it to install the DSM.

> Installing Debian probably will give more
> possibilities, but I will loose the Web GUI and
> DSM from Synology is one of the best and user
> friendly software for this type of NAS

True. But the best out there does not mean it's good enough. DSM usually runs an old kernel, and so for internet facing server it's not worth keeping because it will be insecure at some point after. While running Debian, you can upgrade to the latest kernel and Debian release when you want.

> Do you think it is difficult to do it, remembering
> that the above mentioned Synology NAS (or any
> other model with same hardware from the list I've
> posted above) has the same hardware like the
> ZyXEL?

There is a risk that it won't run. Or run but with limitation. The hardwares are quite different. Even though both are of the same SoC, each manufacturer has a different board design, so certain features will not work.

=========

If you want a Web GUI and a good OS without worrying about manual steps of upgrading, I would run OpenWrt. It's not a NAS software, it's a router software, but if you are willing to install more packages, it could become a decent NAS.

-bodhi
===========================
Forum Wiki
bodhi's corner (buy bodhi a beer)

> But the best out there does not mean it's
> good enough. DSM usually runs an old kernel, and
> so for internet facing server it's not worth
> keeping because it will be insecure at some point
> after.

This is not true, if you check the links of my first post, Synology released this year (2024) a new DSM version for the mentioned old model (DS213) that includes patches and fixes. This is also why many out there build their own NAS using DSM from XPEnology project.

> The hardwares are quite different.

On this case, CPU, memory, ethernet and SATA controller are the same. This is why I would like to install DSM on it, but do not have the skills to do it alone. :(

I know OpenWRT, have it on some routers/access points, but for a NAS system, I don't think it is the best option.

> > But the best out there does not mean it's
> > good enough. DSM usually runs an old kernel,
> and
> > so for internet facing server it's not worth
> > keeping because it will be insecure at some
> point
> > after.
>
> This is not true, if you check the links of my
> first post, Synology released this year (2024) a
> new DSM version for the mentioned old model
> (DS213) that includes patches and fixes.

Interesting! So I guess probably the Europe CRA regulations might have had some effects. Synology is a good NAS for consumers. OTOH, some old Synology serious bugs (that caused a ot of bricks out there) have never been fixed for the old models.

> On this case, CPU, memory, ethernet and SATA
> controller are the same.

I'm curious. Can you post which WD model supported by that project that you think have the same memory, ethernet and SATA as the NSA325?

UPDATE:
I see,

DS213	Marvell Kirkwood 88F6282	1	1	✗	88f628x	DDR3 512MB

-bodhi
===========================
Forum Wiki
bodhi's corner (buy bodhi a beer)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/06/2024 08:32PM by bodhi.

Not sure if the DS213 Ethernet and SATA are configured the same way as the NSA325, though.

-bodhi
===========================
Forum Wiki
bodhi's corner (buy bodhi a beer)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/06/2024 08:34PM by bodhi.

Hello bodhi,

If we download the DS213 firmware (https://global.synologydownload.com/download/DSM/release/6.2.4/25556/DSM_DS213_25556.pat?model=DS213&bays=2&dsm_version=6.2.4&build_number=25556), we can extract kernel (zImage) and bootloader (rd.bin) with 7zip.
I was thinking something like the steps mentioned on step 3 (Boot from USB) of this debricking guide for the DS414 (https://forum.doozan.com/read.php?3,100059) but I do not know if the files from DS213 needs to be adapted for the ZyXEL NSA325v2. Could you take a look? :)
Because if we can start the bootloader, then we can flash the DSM_DS213_25556.pat or so I think, but I'm not an expert! :)
There is also the DSM rootfs on hda1.tgz...

Thanks!

UPDATE: I've seen that you already participated on a thread about the DS213 and have also seen that it is similar to the NSA325 (https://forum.doozan.com/read.php?3,108294,108474#msg-108474)... :)



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 03/07/2024 05:50AM by barroshelder.

@bodhi,

In the mean time I have also checked if it could be possible to change the ZyXEL NSA325v2 software with the QNAP software, because they still update their software for older NAS models.

I have found that QNAP has a model (TS-220) that is very similar in hardware with the ZyXEL (mainboard picture and hardware comparation between both found on this link): https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/nas/nas-reviews/zyxel-nsa325-v2-2-bay-power-plus-media-server-reviewed/.

There is also a picture of the mainboard from the QNAP TS-220 here (in russian): https://3dnews.ru/763381

The only differences seems to be the lack of eSATA on the ZyXEL and ZyXEL has a bigger flash module (128MB vs. 16MB from QNAP): CPU, RAM and LAN seems to be the same.

I was also able to decode (with this python script https://gist.github.com/ulidtko/966277a465f1856109b2d2674dcee741) the last firmware from the QNAP TS-220 found on their support page.

Here is the decoded firmware if you want to take a look: https://we.tl/t-SkWkXpI6tL

Inside the firmware we can find the following:

boot/
config/
update/
fw_info
fw_info.conf
libcrypto.so.1.0.0
libssl.so.1.0.0
qpkg.tar
qpkg.tar.cksum
rootfs2.img
rootfs2.img.cksum
update_img.sh
initrd.boot
initrd.boot.cksum
rootfs_ext.tgz
rootfs_ext.tgz.cksum
uImage
uImage.cksum

Do you thing it would be easier to boot this on ZyXEL instead of Synology? Could you give me some instructions how I could do it? :)

Thanks again for your time and help!

Hi barroshelder,

Sounds like the DSM built for the 2 boxes you mention will run on this NSA325, but likely with limitation. Things like Ethernet and SATA might or might not work. Each manufacturer has a differrent board design so some low level setup for these devices are likely different (even they use the same SoC and LAN chip).

I'm not interested in supporting any stock software here, so I cannot spend time to help with it. I'd rather use my time to help with u-boot/kernel/Debian issues.

-bodhi
===========================
Forum Wiki
bodhi's corner (buy bodhi a beer)

bodhi Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Sounds like the DSM built for the 2 boxes you
> mention will run on this NSA325, but likely with
> limitation.

Hello bodhi,

I didn't come further with DSM on the NSA325v2, so I was looking for alternatives and found this one https://rockstor.com/linux-btrfs-nas-server.html.
It is open source and the "ready package" runs on openSUSE, but the Rockstor backend is developed in Python and the frontend in Javascript (EJS): https://github.com/rockstor/rockstor-core
Do you thing it would be possible to run on top of your Debian build? I'm just seeking an easy NAS GUI that gives the old NAS a new life... :)

Thanks again for your time!

barroshelder,

> I was looking for alternatives and found this one
> https://rockstor.com/linux-btrfs-nas-server.html.
> It is open source and the "ready package" runs on
> openSUSE, but the Rockstor backend is developed in
> Python and the frontend in Javascript (EJS):
> https://github.com/rockstor/rockstor-core
> Do you thing it would be possible to run on top of
> your Debian build?

It looks like a full blown NAS solution. Not sure if you should try to separate and use only the front end and backend.

> I'm just seeking an easy NAS
> GUI that gives the old NAS a new life... :)

Then why not running Debian and install Cockpit ? if you only want to manage the NAS with SAMBA and NFS, it is easier. I did a bit of reading about Cockpit and I think it is good in that it is a Web interface to whatever you have installed in Debian (there is no special footprint like Webmin).

Note that you have to run systemd to use Cockpit. And my rootfs can run systemd (it is just a pure Debian rootfs with sysvinit running by default), with an additional boot arg.

-bodhi
===========================
Forum Wiki
bodhi's corner (buy bodhi a beer)