Debian NAS project turns to SheevaPlug

By Eric Brown
2009-11-09

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Martin Michlmayr has published several guides about running Debian on the Linksys NSLU2 ("Slug") router/NAS device, including one on migrating a Debian NSLU2 installation to Marvell's SheevaPlug NAS design. With the latest guides on troubleshooting, booting, modifying, and cloning Debian on the NSLU2, the documentation is essentially complete, says Michlmayr.

The free guides cover a number of topics about running Debian Linux with the much-hacked, Linux-ready Cisco/Linksys NSLU2 router and network-attached storage (NAS) platform. Topics are said to include:

Troubleshooting: common problems and their solutions
Internals about the boot process of Debian on the NSLU2
Modifying a NSLU2 firmware image
Cloning a NSLU2
Migration guide: How to move your Debian installation from your NSLU2 to a SheevaPlug

"I believe my NSLU2 web page now covers everything Debian users need to know about the NSLU2," reports former Debian project leader Michlmayr on his Cyrius.com site where he has posted documentation for Debian porting projects in partnership with the NSLU2-Linux project. "While I'll continue to maintain and update this information, I don't expect to make major additions. Instead, I'll focus my attention on the SheevaPlug (a great replacement for the NSLU2) and other devices, such as NAS devices from QNAP."

In March, Michlmayr announced plans to port Debian 5.0 to Marvell's SheevaPlug Plug Computer reference design (pictured), as well as Qnap Systems' TS-219 Pro NAS device, pictured farther below. At the time, Michlmayr called the SheevaPlug "a killer replacement for the NSLU2." Last month, he released a Debian installer for the SheevaPlug.

Earlier in March, Qnap announced Debian 5.0 (Lenny) support for a number of Qnap systems, including the four-bay, SMB-oriented TS-409 Pro Turbo. All of Qnap's current ARM-based Turbo NAS devices are equipped with Marvell Orion processors running the Feroceon architecture. Last year, the devices received a Debian installer developed by Michlmayr. All of these devices come pre-installed with Qnap's own Linux implementation, but can be easily switched to Debian, thanks to Michlmayr-supplied patches merged into Lenny's installer.

For several years, Orion SoCs based on Feroceon have been the leading processor choice for Linux-based NAS devices. However, a number of NAS device vendors are moving to Marvell's "Kirkwood" 88F6281 system-on-chip (SoC), while others are already switching to the Intel Atom. Both Marvell's SheevaPlug and the Qnap TS-219 Pro (pictured at left) are equipped with the Kirkwood, which offers a Sheeva core that combines elements of Marvell's earlier Feroceon and XScale architectures. Both of these architectures implement ARM Ltd.'s ARMv5 architecture, similar to ARM Ltd.'s own "ARM9" cores.

The SheevaPlug Plug Computer is further equipped with 512MB of DRAM and 512MB of flash, as well as gigabit Ethernet and USB 2.0 ports. Plugging directly into a standard wall socket, the Plug Computer draws less than five watts under normal operation, compared to 25-100 watts for a PC being used as a home server, claims Marvell. The SheevaPlug has been adopted by numerous licensees in the NAS and media server markets, including, most recently, Seagate.

Compared to the Linksys NSLU2, the SheevaPlug "is being offered at the same price range but offers considerably more," wrote Michlmayr in March. The SheevaPlug is much smaller and offers much faster speed than the NSLU2 (which today lives up to its nickname, the "Slug,"). The SheevaPlug uses the 1.2GHz Kirkwood compared to the NSLU2's Intel IXP4xx clocked at 266MHz. The SheevaPlug also offers faster networking, and adds a mini-USB port with serial console and JTAG, says Michlmayr.

In his NSLU2 to SheevaPlug migration guide, however, Michlmayr notes that "support for USB hard disks is currently quite broken on the SheevaPlug." Michlmayr continues, "You can go ahead if you want to migrate a USB stick. But if you have a USB hard drive, I suggest you either wait for a new version of the boot loader for SheevaPlug with better USB support or you copy your disk to a USB stick and migrate that."

Availability

The final guides for running Debian on the Linksys NSLU2 are available now for free download, here.

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