NSLU2

The NSLU2 is a NAS device for home users. It was produced by the company Cisco Linksys Group. The name means Network Storage Link for USB 2.0.

The unit was known mainly by the possibility of installing an alternative Linux firmware to take advantage of such advanced server features. As a successor to the NSLU2 has since mid 2012, the Raspberry Pi at.

Technology

In the case, the motherboard is equipped with an ARM processor from Intel ( XScale IXP420 ), which was initially clocked at 133 MHz and in newer devices with 266 MHz. The amount of memory is 32 megabytes of RAM for the operating system are 8 megabytes of flash memory available. The device has two USB ports for connecting disk drives, and memory sticks and a 100 -Mbps network connection. In addition, an RS -232 interface is provided which is, however, not to the outside.

The factory default operating system Embedded Linux with an SMB server installed. Administration is performed through a web interface. More options can be achieved by installing an alternative Linux distribution. Also, you can connect by using a USB hub, other peripherals such as printers, webcams, keyboards and hard drives.

Linux distributions for the NSLU2

There are numerous tailored to the NSLU2 firmware versions. Parts of the systems are distributed either outsourced to a connected hard drive or USB stick.

Unslung

Unslung is a specially tailored to the NSLU2 Linux distribution. The update is done via the web interface, which is maintained even after the update.

Debian/NSLU2

Debian/NSLU2 is the official branch of Debian to install Debian on ARM devices like NSLU2. It provides all the Debian packages for the ARM architecture on the NSLU2 available.

Current Debian distributions support installation on the NSLU2 hardware on the debian-installer. The official Debian Image support, however, for licensing reasons the onboard network controller not. But there are also unofficial images that contain the requisite proprietary IXP4xx microcode. Alternatively, two manual workarounds ( tarball and bootstrapping ) are described on the homepage. Tarball is the easier way to install Debian on the NSLU2, bootstrap more flexible as it is in principle suitable addition to the NSLU2 for other ARM devices.

The Debian packages are not optimized for the hardware of the NSLU2; which can in some packages lead to performance degradation.

SlugOS / LE (formerly Debianslug )

SlugOS / LE is a predecessor of Debian/NSLU2 and provides an alternative firmware for installing Debian on NSLU2 ready. To avoid confusion with the official support of Debian/NSLU2, Debianslug was renamed SlugOS / LE. The bootstrapping this version corresponds to that of Debian/NSLU2, but is deprecated.

Other variants

There are other variants of the firmware. Thus, one can choose a variant that is tailored to the individual usage conditions and habits.

Problems

• On the product website itself does not find the current firmware version, with the last units were shipped.
• The unit turns on automatically when it gets power from the outside. Remedy is possible through a hardware modification.
• The power supply shows occasionally subtle disturbances: Although the NAS is still working, but for example, connected USB devices receive sporadically not enough voltage and then show elusive error.