Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Modding my DNS-323




Since having bought the DNS-323 I have reading all information that I can find on how to mod the DNS-323.

I found much information from http://forum.dsmg600.info/f3-DNS-323-General-Discussion.html forum. This forum is dedicated on modding of the DNS-323.

I also found another blogger that has posted a very good guide on modding of the DNS-323. His blog can be found at http://www.horto.ca/?p=10

I'm putting up my version of the guide as a reference for myself should I need to re-do my NAS again. I'm a newbie when it comes to unix thus the need to document all this down.

1. First step is to install Fonz fun-plug0.5

The first thing that you need to do is to download Fonz fun-plug0.5 from http://www.inreto.de/dns323/fun-plug/0.5/

The files to download are
  1. fun_plug
  2. fun_plug.tgz
After having downloaded the two files, open "My Network Places" and access the DNS-323 Volume_1 by typing the following

\\(IP address of the DNS-323)\Volume_1

If you do not know how to find out the IP address of your DNS-323, Dlink does provide a software call "Easy Search Utility". If you cannot find the original disc that came with your NAS, you can download the software by going to Dlink website.


Copy
  1. fun_plug
  2. fun_plug.tgz
to
\\(IP address of the DNS-323)\Volume_1

Reboot the DNS-323 and wait for it to come online. Fonz fun-plug should auto-install itself.

Once the fun-plug has been installed, you will be able to Telnet to your NAS.

2. Setting up Telnet on the DNS-323

Click on "Start", "run" and type in "cmd". The command prompt window will open. In the command prompt window type "telnet (IP address of the DNS-323)"

You will see a "/# " prompt. It mean you have successfully telnet to the device.

The firmware comes with a disabled root account that cannot login the normal way. This is the reason funplug starts an open telnet server that circumvent the normal login procedure to provide a root shell directly.

To fix this , you should run pwconv to update /etc/shadow, set a password and change the shell.

/# pwconv
/# passwd
/# usermod -s /ffp/bin/sh root

If you omit the usermod command, login will start the shell configured for user 'root' in /etc/passwd. Before saving your changes, you should run additional checks on the password and group files. Some firmware versions duplicate the ftp user and now is a good time to fix this.

/# pwck
/# grpck

You may ignore the warnings about missing home directories and invalid group names.

If you are asked to remove a duplicate user, say 'yes' to remove one of them. Rerun the commands to check that it is fixed.

Test the changes with the login program by typing

/#login

type in 'root' then the password that you had created.

If you are successful in logging in then you will need to save the password files to the flash memory by typing the following

root@example:~# store-passwd.sh
Copying files to mtd1…
Copying files to mtd2…
Done.

3. Disable telnet and enable ssh for better secure communication.

Having successfully enable login with user 'root' and password, you will want to enable ssh for better secure communication.

Enable ssh permanently with the following steps via telnet

First telnet to your DNS-323. After successful login, do the following.

/# cd /ffp/start
/ffp/start/# chmod a-x telnetd.sh {this command disable telnet and stops it from starting}
/ffp/start/# chmod a+x sshd.sh {this command enable ssh to start automatically and able to execute manually}

I use PuTTY for connecting via ssh to the DNS-323. It is a freeware and you can download it at http://www.putty.org/

Alternatively, another popular option is to use WinSCP. WinSCP is an open source free SFTP client and FTP client for Windows. Legacy SCP protocol is also supported. Its main function is safe copying of files between a local and a remote computer. It has PuTTY integrated which makes it convenient to use it when you need it.

WinSCP is very easy to use and let you copy files from your computer to the DNS-323 easily.

You can download a portable version from http://portableapps.com/apps/internet/winscp_portable

Next will be installing Transmission, a free and easy bittorrent client. You can find out more at http://www.transmissionbt.com/

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