Tantalus’ Firmwares

Most of my knowledge about N4B2 systems come from my previous experience with a N2R1 (exactly, a N2R1DD2). For that system I found two valuable sources:

• The NAS-Portal.org (german) site, more specifically the LG forum with posts such useful as “HOWTO: Enable SSH on N2B1 or N2R1” (in english). Remember: there’s no need to do this in N4B2 unless port 2211 is down in recent issues or root password is not empty.

• Tantalus’ Firmwares for arm-based LG NASes. Great project! If you have a N1* or N2* LG NAS, you should go grab it. It extends each firmware LG releases in a much convenient setup with extended functionality and lots of extras.

I loved Tantalus’ when I had the N2R1DD2. It’s a great work, install flawlessly and give you much more functionality, while preserving all that comes from LG. It’s a pity they’re only for arm; you can’t install them on the x86-based N4B2.

SSH

“So… how I’m suposed to hack a closed system like a NAS?”

Well, as a matter of fact it’s not that closed at all. If it’s not changed in recent releases, the N4B2 has an active ssh server to which you can log in… it’s just not using the standard port: it’s listening on port 2211. If you’re using a *nix derivative:

$ ssh -p 2211 admin@lg-nas.local

or using your LG NAS IP instead of “lg-nas.local”.

Presentation

The LG NAS N4B2 is a nice piece of hardware au pair with any other modern NAS of its category. It has a beautiful design, is silent and powerful, despite its price tag which is lower than more classic NAS brands.

Its main hardware specs are:

• Intel® Atom™ processor D510
• 1GB Memory
• 4 SATA HDD bays
• 1Gbps Ethernet port (some NASes of this category give two, but I think they are required only in rare configurations)
• 4-in-1 memory card reader
• 3 USB 2.0 ports
• 1 e-SATA port
• Blu-ray disc rewriter (unique feature)

However, what I do love more of this device is its software. Despite other NASes it’s not an customized embedded linux stored on a NAND, but a full fledged Debian Lenny (oldstable now, but still can be considered up-to-date for a secure appliance like a NAS) installed on a partition in the same disk array that keeps your data. It’s a very free software friendly system, as a matter of fact, you can even make use of (although it’s not very recommended) apt-get to install your own stuff!