Unslung-6.10 README If at any time you have any questions concerning the installation or operation of Unslung firmware, your first port of call should be the NSLU2-Linux wiki at: http://www.nslu2-linux.org Additional information, including ChangeLog information can be found in the associated Unslung NOTES file as well as on the NSLU2-Linux wiki. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There are three parts to completing the installation of the Unslung firmware: 1 - PRE-INSTALLATION CONSIDERATIONS 2 - FIRMWARE INSTALLATION DETAILS 3 - UNSLINGING DETAILS 1) PRE-INSTALLATION CONSIDERATIONS a) You *must* confirm that you can enter "upgrade mode" using the Reset Button method. This is necessary because once you install Unslung, you will be unable to use the web GUI to reflash the device; the Reset Button technique will be required to install new firmware, upgrade, or recover from a bad flash: http://www.nslu2-linux.org/wiki/HowTo/UseTheResetButtonToEnterUpgradeMode To upload the firmware, use either the Sercomm Update Utility (for Windows users) or the UpSlug2 Utility (for Linux and MacOS X users): http://www.nslu2-linux.org/wiki/Main/SercommFirmwareUpdater http://www.nslu2-linux.org/wiki/Main/UpSlug2 http://www.nslu2-linux.org/wiki/Main/UpSlug2onOSX b) You must have an external USB disk drive or an external USB flash device. There are a number of considerations to take into account in selecting the size and type of external device as well as which of the two USB ports to use: http://www.nslu2-linux.org/wiki/Unslung/StorageBasics http://www.nslu2-linux.org/wiki/Unslung/WhichUSBPortforUnslung6 It is important to make sure that the device you intend to use is functional with the standard Linksys firmware before you attempt to use it with Unslung. c) Review any known issues and errata: http://www.nslu2-linux.org/wiki/Unslung/KnownProblems (Hint: read the wiki pages carefully to determine the firmware release to which they apply; many of the pages contain information pertaining to older versions of Unslung, or even to other firmware entirely.) 2) FIRMWARE INSTALLATION DETAILS The installation process is simple, but each step is important. The most common problems reported are a result of skipping one of the steps in this process, so be careful. In particular, having a disk or flash device plugged in when it shouldn't be can mean the difference between success and failure. a) Preparation - Install either the Sercomm (Windows) or the UpSlug2 (Linux and MacOS X) utilities on the system you'll be using to upload the firmware. - Access the Linksys web GUI, and record your network settings. - Shutdown the NSLU2 and unplug all USB cables and devices. b) Flashing the New Firmware - Enter upgrade mode, using the Reset Button technique. - Use either the Sercomm or UpSlug2 Utility to upload the new firmware. c) Verifying the New Firmware - The NSLU2 will restart itself after the firmware in installed. - Access the Linksys web GUI. The new firmware version will be displayed on the "Home" screen. 3) 'UNSLINGING' DETAILS "Unslinging" is the process of copying the firmware to an external disk, and configuring that external disk for installation of packages. In order to perform this operation, you need to log in to the NSLU2 using telnet, and you need a suitable external disk or flash device. This procedure is made a bit more complicated because the behavior of the NSLU2 can change depending on the presence of an external disk. Specifically, when an external storage device is plugged in, the NSLU2 will switch over to using the passwords and configuration information stored on that external disk, if possible. Since we don't know the root password originally written to that device, you must be very careful to perform the following steps in precisely the specified order, or you'll lock yourself out of your own device. a) Gain Telnet Access - Power up the NSLU2 without any disks connected. - Enable telnet by going to the NSLU2's web GUI and clicking on the "Manage Telnet" link (right-hand side), then on the "Enable" button to turn on the telnet service. - Use your telnet utility to telnet into the NSLU2, and log in using the username root and password uNSLUng (upper/lower case is significant). - Do not logout before you go to the next step, or you'll have to start this step over again. b) Gain Access to the External Storage - Identify the drive or flash device to which you will be unslinging, and plug it in to the desired USB port. - Wait for a minute or two while the disk is mounted. - Check the web GUI to make sure that the disk has been recognized by the Linksys software - If the disk has not been previously formatted on the NSLU2, then now is the time to do that. - Be patient - it might take several minutes for the NSLU2 to recognize the hardware, mount the partitions, and verify that the drive is correctly configured to be considered "Formatted". - Do not continue if the drive is not marked as "Formatted (ext3)" in the NSLU2 web GUI. c) Unsling - In the telnet session, run "unsling disk2" if your device is on the USB port labeled "DISK 2", or "unsling disk1" if it's on the port marked "DISK 1". - When prompted, enter a new root password - this password will replace the uNSLUng password. - When the unsling is complete, reboot the NSLU2. d) Confirm That Your NSLU2 is Unslung: - Once rebooted, open the NSLU2 web GUI in your browser. - Confirm that the text at the bottom of the page reads "uNSLUng status: Unslung to disk2, /dev/sda1" (your devices may vary, of course). - Click the "Manage Telnet" link, and enable telnet as before. - Telnet to the NSLU2, and login using the root user and the new password you gave when unslinging. - Confirm that the login message states that you are running in Unslung mode. e) Updating Package Lists and Installing Optware Packages (This is, strictly speaking, optional - but we expect that you installed this firmware so that you could add additional software.) - Telnet into the NSLU2. - Check that your NSLU2 can reach the internet by pinging www.nslu2-linux.org. (if it fails, check your NSLU2 network settings (on the web GUI pages), or check your router or network configuration to correct this problem.) - Enter the command "ipkg update" to update the list of software packages ("optware") available for Unslung. - Install the "openssh" package with the command "ipkg install openssh". ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Congratulations! Your NSLU2 is unslung, and ready to do more than you'd imagine such a small device could ever do. Enjoy! If you find the Unslung firmware useful, you may wish to make a donation to help support the project: http://www.nslu2-linux.org/wiki/Main/Donate