Seagate Dockstar Discussion and Tutorial Thread

got my dockstar 2 days back, got time today so started installing debian, all worked, transmission installed but failed to mount the 2nd hdd,i did a reboot and the dockstar led is now conitnously blinking green, after that i hooked up serial connection and able to connect/talk with dockstar, followed a guide over open-wrt forum, after that it is now completely bricked, does any1 have a jtag programmer or free spare time to revive it? :(
 
Well got it! There is definitely DMZ/firewall in place by BSNL for i*ad schemes. Cause Reliance Worked flawlessly!

Anyways the next set of questions:

1. I had problem seems to Jassi that got rectified by converting to ext3. So far so good.

2. Now, I have installed dnsmasq, static ip address. But suddenly ppp is not auto starting anymore, even though there is correct statement in the interfaces files. I did search around with not much luck. Any clue? Yup, pon works fine. Update: Got it!, PPP module was not loaded by kernel and hence nothing got invoked. I did modprobe ppp_generic and it worked. So question, why wasn't it loaded previously? What disabled it? The line started appearing was " debian kernel: [ 20.202669] PPP generic driver version 2.4.2", but it missed out in previous kernel logs

3. Any script that can send mail about average speed for every 15 minutes or so (configurable again)?

+LT

linuxtechie said:
root@debian:/# echo -e "\n`wget -nv -O - Current IP Check 2>&1 | \

> sed -n -e 's/.*<body>\(.*\)<\/body>.*/\1/p'`\n"

Current IP Address: 117.228.27.198



Yup, could there be some firewall issue? Can you suggest any settings ?

+LT
Click to expand...


--- Updated Post - Automerged ---



@techie007, You lost your unix edge dude... I sense so much NT in you!

techie_007 said:
Can someone gimme simple to sue step by step instructions? Dont want to do too much R&D.

Basically -

1. how to convert to ext3.

2. What all and where all to make changes.

3. How to verify that everything is fine.
Click to expand...
 
linuxtechie said:
Well got it! There is definitely DMZ/firewall in place by BSNL for i*ad schemes. Cause Reliance Worked flawlessly!
Click to expand...

Well, I am on the iPad UL scheme as well but no issues at all. Tried it in Kerala and Chennai. Maybe its an issue in your circle alone?

linuxtechie said:
2. Now, I have installed dnsmasq, static ip address. But suddenly ppp is not auto starting anymore, even though there is correct statement in the interfaces files. I did search around with not much luck. Any clue? Yup, pon works fine. Update: Got it!, PPP module was not loaded by kernel and hence nothing got invoked. I did modprobe ppp_generic and it worked. So question, why wasn't it loaded previously? What disabled it? The line started appearing was " debian kernel: [ 20.202669] PPP generic driver version 2.4.2", but it missed out in previous kernel logs
Click to expand...

Not sure, but you can just add it to /etc/modules just to make sure its loaded automatically everytime.

linuxtechie said:
3. Any script that can send mail about average speed for every 15 minutes or so (configurable again)?
Click to expand...

I use vnstat to monitor the data transfer etc. It shows the total data usage per hour, week, month. There is also a live mode which shows the current speed too. I use a small script which sends me a mail once everyday with all my downloads in transmission and data transfer of the day. I use gmail attached to sSMTP for actually sending the mail.
archat68 said:
Me too - I'm running the old Dockstar. Want to buy a backup if there is any sweet deal.
Click to expand...

No good deals for the Dockstar. 1-2 weeks back the Pogoplug Pink and Grey were available for about $35. Its much better to get the GoFlex Net now, has SATA ports so much better file transfer speeds.

kanishk619 said:
got my dockstar 2 days back, got time today so started installing debian, all worked, transmission installed but failed to mount the 2nd hdd,i did a reboot and the dockstar led is now conitnously blinking green, after that i hooked up serial connection and able to connect/talk with dockstar, followed a guide over open-wrt forum, after that it is now completely bricked, does any1 have a jtag programmer or free spare time to revive it? :(
Click to expand...

So now no serial console as well? What did you do exactly to brick it?
 
varkey said:
Well, I am on the iPad UL scheme as well but no issues at all. Tried it in Kerala and Chennai. Maybe its an issue in your circle alone?
Click to expand...

Damn! It must be! But I can live with that.

varkey said:
Not sure, but you can just add it to /etc/modules just to make sure its loaded automatically everytime.
Click to expand...

I did that, verified that kernel does print those kind of message, however pppd wouldn't start, I am

assuming that the file system is not available and hence its waiting. Any suggestions?

varkey said:
I use vnstat to monitor the data transfer etc. It shows the total data usage per hour, week, month. There is also a live mode which shows the current speed too. I use a small script which sends me a mail once everyday with all my downloads in transmission and data transfer of the day. I use gmail attached to sSMTP for actually sending the mail.
Click to expand...

If you can please share the script? For mail ended up with exim4, works fine with Gmail.

varkey said:
No good deals for the Dockstar. 1-2 weeks back the Pogoplug Pink and Grey were available for about $35. Its much better to get the GoFlex Net now, has SATA ports so much better file transfer speeds.

So now no serial console as well? What did you do exactly to brick it?
Click to expand...

Whats the difference between old and new ones? How do you identify?

+LT
 
linuxtechie said:
I did that, verified that kernel does print those kind of message, however pppd wouldn't start, I am
assuming that the file system is not available and hence its waiting. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

Maybe by the time pppd is started the modem doesn't get initialized? Can you check dmesg and see if the PPP Generic Driver message is coming after or before the GSM Modem ttyUSBx messages?

Here is part of my dmesg output

[ 19.563715] USB Serial support registered for generic
[ 19.569710] usbcore: registered new interface driver usbserial_generic
[ 19.576340] usbserial: USB Serial Driver core
[ 20.110669] USB Serial support registered for GSM modem (1-port)
[ 20.126513] option 1-1.4:1.0: GSM modem (1-port) converter detected
[ 20.146085] usb 1-1.4: GSM modem (1-port) converter now attached to ttyUSB0
[ 20.163045] option 1-1.4:1.1: GSM modem (1-port) converter detected
[ 20.192103] usb 1-1.4: GSM modem (1-port) converter now attached to ttyUSB1
[ 20.217841] option 1-1.4:1.2: GSM modem (1-port) converter detected
[ 20.242375] usb 1-1.4: GSM modem (1-port) converter now attached to ttyUSB2
[ 20.290535] option 1-1.4:1.5: GSM modem (1-port) converter detected
[ 20.321799] usb 1-1.4: GSM modem (1-port) converter now attached to ttyUSB3
[ 20.355177] usbcore: registered new interface driver option
[ 20.387316] option: v0.7.2:USB Driver for GSM modems
[ 21.052309] Adding 524284k swap on /dev/sda2. Priority:-1 extents:1 across:524284k
[ 21.366947] EXT3-fs (sda1): using internal journal
[ 22.129461] EXT4-fs (sda3): recovery complete
[ 22.134437] EXT4-fs (sda3): mounted filesystem with ordered data mode. Opts: (null)
[ 23.152076] ip_tables: (C) 2000-2006 Netfilter Core Team
[ 23.288308] nf_conntrack version 0.5.0 (1929 buckets, 7716 max)
[ 23.940614] NET: Registered protocol family 10
[ 23.948771] ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): eth0: link is not ready
[ 24.245400] PPP generic driver version 2.4.2
Click to expand...

linuxtechie said:
If you can please share the script? For mail ended up with exim4, works fine with Gmail.
Click to expand...

Sure will send it to you tomorrow, that script is on the GoFlex Net that I have at home and it comes online only between 2 AM & 8 AM (4 Mbps Night UL :D)

linuxtechie said:
Whats the difference between old and new ones? How do you identify?
Click to expand...

You mean the Dockstar and the GoFlex Net?

Dockstar : 4 USB Ports, Orange and Green LED
GoFlex Net : 1 USB Port, 2 SATA Ports (dock, supports GoFlex Portable Hard Drives), Orange and Green LED as well as two strips of white LEDs on either sides
PogoPlug Pink / Grey : 4 USB Ports, Internal Power Supply

So the GoFlex Net will give much better read/write speeds if you connect it via SATA. I was getting 30-40 MB over a Gigabit network on the GoFlex Net whereas only 20-22 MB on the Dockstar.

Well, the Dockstar, GoFlex Net and PogoPlug all look very much different so you can easily identify.
 
i followed a guide over @ open-wrt forum which have have steps to flash kirkwood image to dockstar via serial, i did the same and after everything goes fine, rebooted it (after which the LED lights are acting like stock dockstar)and pressed the reset button (now no led blinking or network activity)
 
varkey said:
No good deals for the Dockstar. 1-2 weeks back the Pogoplug Pink and Grey were available for about $35. Its much better to get the GoFlex Net now, has SATA ports so much better file transfer speeds.
Click to expand...

So, any good deal for the GoFlex net. Can I boot directly from SATA or the USB drive is still required as boot drive?
 
^^ If the modem has more than one LAN port (which means it is a mini router) - you can. Some BSNL modems have 4 LAN port - if you one of those - you can.
 
archat68 said:
So, any good deal for the GoFlex net. Can I boot directly from SATA or the USB drive is still required as boot drive?
Click to expand...
Not at the moment. You have to try the auctions. I got mine for $36.

Yes you can boot directly from sata, although it needs slight modifications and kernel upgrade. I have documented the process in my blog.

@dingo : You can connect a modem directly to the dockstar as well (just like you are using a 3g modem) but then as it has only one Ethernet port you won't be able to connect any other clients to it. You'll have to go for a wireless adapter or usb-ethernet adapter for connecting to the local network.

Sent from my ZTE-BLADE using Tapatalk
 
Shameless showoff!

[attachment=9019:15623.attach]
Some awesome speeds!

+LT
 

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i had a error while trying to download from rapidshare via pyload three days back saying

Code: 
"Download failed 'NoneType' object is unsubscriptable"

Did a pyload ressetting again

Code: 
python /usr/share/pyload/pyLoadCore.py -s

and was able to download again from rapidshare.

Can someone tell me what that error means and also i am unable to download from megaupload
 
linuxtechie said:
Shameless showoff!

View attachment 16669

Some awesome speeds!

+LT
Click to expand...

Do you make sure the time is updated at boot time as the Dockstar does not have a hardware clock? My vnstat stats were showing junk values ie it showed very high data transfer even when I have not used that much.

Later when I checked the logs, it seemed the vnstatd daemon was not monitoring the ppp0 interface properly, and the logs showed

Jan 1 05:30:23 dockstar vnstatd[905]: vnStat daemon 1.10 started.

Jan 1 05:30:33 dockstar vnstatd[905]: Monitoring: ppp0 eth0

Jan 1 05:30:33 dockstar vnstatd[905]: Error: Interface "ppp0" has previous update date too much in the future, exiting.
Click to expand...

Then I added the option to update the time after a successful connection was established in the PPP IP-up script (/etc/ppp/ip-up) After that its showing correct values in vnstat. :)
 
varkey said:
Do you make sure the time is updated at boot time as the Dockstar does not have a hardware clock? My vnstat stats were showing junk values ie it showed very high data transfer even when I have not used that much.

Later when I checked the logs, it seemed the vnstatd daemon was not monitoring the ppp0 interface properly, and the logs showed

Then I added the option to update the time after a successful connection was established in the PPP IP-up script (/etc/ppp/ip-up) After that its showing correct values in vnstat. :)
Click to expand...

Hmm, I had NTP client installed as the first step, so am sure that as soon as the connection is made ntpdate gets updated. Its there in the log. Also I didn't receive those kinds of error messages. Also, vnStat has been consistent with bandwidth. For e.g. in below my torrents were turned off for the mentioned time, there is no peak there.

[attachment=9132:15754.attach]

Yup today it jumped to 21Mbps!

+LT
 

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A very basic question:

I've installed Samba on dockstar and shared the download folder on my dockstar. The download folder is with in the root partition itself (on a 250GB HDD). I can access the download folder on my PC/laptop but getting a terribly slow transfer speed of 2-3 MBPS. How to overcome this? I have installed the ext2 volume manager on my PC and for larger transfers I usually remove the HDD from Dockstar and connect it directly to the PC. But I don't want to do this.

Another update : after converting the filesystem to ext3 my "not booting into debian after powerfail" problem is solved - thanks Varkey for the help!!
 
Ummm, bumping the thread as i finally revived the dockstar with the wiggler jtag, and now my serial console is running and can login into ssh, installed the jeff's uboot. Can any1 guide me now how to make it work with linux and all ?

Ohh the mess;











Have to setup all the stuff with another computer as i my current pc motherboard dont have a parallel port for jtag adapter :(

Finally,

 
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