NDAS Installation in Linux Mint 7

[iclozm]

I need a lot of help. I'm two steps away from convincing my wife to ditch Windows with the NDAS being the first. I currently have a Gateway ML6720 laptop dual booting Windows Vista and even better Linux Mint 7 "Gloria"

1) I am very confused as to what driver I am supposed to download. Should I go for Ubuntu or Debian Drivers as the mfg offers both? I have the Ximeta 80GB Model # ND10
http://code.ximeta.com/trac-ndas/wiki/Ubuntu

2) I am also confused as to what the manufacturer is saying about the Kernel version and how to determine the Kernel version in Mint 7. I don't want to install an older kernel by accident, and I do not know if that is even possible without a complete reinstall.

3) After I understand what drivers I need and if the kernel is not an issue with the driver, I would also ask if anyone has a good tutorial on how to install linux programs from terminal or if something like this can be done through MintInstall or Synaptic.

I need to figure this out as I have about 50gb of that filled up with term papers, various research, and ebooks. My laptop is almost 100% dedicated to school work so this is pretty important to me. I do have my Windows available to access the drive, so that way I do not have to try anything rash in trying to fix this.

Thank you in advance for any help.

Chris

P.S. It was awesome to start this semester and not have to load windows FOR ANY of my online assignments, and on top of that get my wife excited to use linux for school and personal use as well.

[DrHu]

1) I am very confused as to what driver I am supposed to download. Should I go for Ubuntu or Debian Drivers as the mfg offers both?

If the manufacturer has a Linux file then the manufacturer is probably best, if they don't then you have to use the Linux version (might be experimental/beta drivers)

I would try the latest build they have in Linux for that system (Ximetra)
http://code.ximeta.com/trac-ndas/wiki/U ... ghtlyBuild
that is version 1.1.24 in source file format *.gz
--or try the *.deb file, which is closest to that in the Ubuntu wiki..
http://code.ximeta.com/trac-ndas/wiki/Ubuntu
The *.deb file is a couple of steps below the latest nightly build *.gz source file

Seems like it is a particular hardware:software system
http://blogs.gnome.org/calum/2006/08/28/ndas-on-linux/

2) I am also confused as to what the manufacturer is saying about the Kernel version and how to determine the Kernel version in Mint 7

Mint menu>Favorites>System Monitor>System TAB
--when you boot mint, the grub menu shows you the kernel version #

Can also be done in the terminal

• uname -r
  uname -a

--either command gives you that data, in slightly different formats

3) After I understand what drivers I need and if the kernel is not an issue with the driver, I would also ask if anyone has a good tutorial on how to install linux programs from terminal or if something like this can be done through MintInstall or Synaptic

Based on the link you provided for Ubuntu, it is not in the repository; hence the download from that link
--so no to mintinstall or synaptic
You will have to carefully follow that's site's installation guide for this driver admin file

[iclozm]

I wanted to thank you for all of your help as I am almost there in my installation.

I've had to do several patches of the ndas software and go through a lot of hoops, but I have the device almost registered after a successful installation of the drivers. I have to figure out how to show that the device is online somehow, but thats for scratching my head on later tonight.

Again, thank you for your prompt response. You have been a great help.

Chris

[dawgdoc]

@ iclozm

Once you have it working, could you make a post regarding the steps you followed. I also have an Ximeta NDAS.

TIA

[dequire]

I have two NetDisk NDAS drives and I got it to work following the how-to here.

You have to make sure you apply BOTH kernel patches, in order, that are listed there. Do this BEFORE you install any of the .deb packages. I have attached them here for your convenience, as they were not very easy to locate. However, the directions on the website were easy enough to follow step by step.

I do not use it, however, because starting and stopping the device (and mounting and un-mounting) via the CLI is a pain in the ass. So now I just use a USB cable to connect my NDAS drives to my main office PC and share those drives on the network. It really works the same way for a SOHO set-up typical in most people's homes or small offices. It's like using a shared printer vs. a networked printer. Not much difference for a few PC's...

Hope that helps.

*note* I also emailed ximeta asking for better Linux support. When I bought these NDAS drives, I was using XP...

[dawgdoc]

I have two NetDisk NDAS drives and I got it to work following the how-to here.
...

Thank you.

...I do not use it.... So now I just use a USB cable to connect my NDAS drives to my main office PC and share those drives on the network.

Yes, this is what I have done up until now. But, I now have a roommate and am contemplating the drive as NDAS so that he can make backups to it w/o opening my machines to him. He's a typical Windows user re: security and sites he visits. The other option I am considering is building a NAS server by installing FreeNAS on an old 450 mHz box I have. At the moment it has VectorLinux6. If I build this I will use an OLD hdd, 4 Gb -- I knew there was reason to save it, I have for the OS and pull 160 or 320 hdds from external enclosures.

Thanks for the tips and patches