Difference between revisions of "DockStar"

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(Created page with "[http://www.seagate.com/ Seagate's] Free Agent DockStar is a very cheap, nifty little Linux machine with the following features: * 1.2 GHz ARM processor * 3 USB 2.0 ports * 1 US…")
 
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== Dockstar? ==
[http://www.seagate.com/ Seagate's] Free Agent DockStar is a very cheap, nifty little Linux machine with the following features:
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[http://www.seagate.com/ Seagate's] [http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/network_storage/freeagent_dockstar/ Free Agent DockStar] is a very cheap, nifty little Linux machine with the following features:
 
* 1.2 GHz ARM processor
 
* 1.2 GHz ARM processor
 
* 3 USB 2.0 ports
 
* 3 USB 2.0 ports
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* 1 Gigabit Ethernet NIC
 
* 1 Gigabit Ethernet NIC
 
* $20 price tag
 
* $20 price tag
* User replacable firmware (who needs a warranty?)
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* User replacable firmware (it comes with [http://www.pogoplug.com/ PogoPlug] from the factory -- the device is intended as a NAS)
 
   
 
It does have a few small annoyances:
 
It does have a few small annoyances:
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* No battery backed clock
 
* No battery backed clock
 
* Serial console is hard to get to (but the bootloader and Linux can use the normal Linux network console setup)
 
* Serial console is hard to get to (but the bootloader and Linux can use the normal Linux network console setup)
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== Debianizing a DockStar ==
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There are a number of options for replacing the PogoPlug OS on a DockStar: [http://www.openwrt.org/ OpenWRT] supports them. [http://plugapps.com/index.php5?title=Portal:Plugbox_Linux Plugbox Linux] does, too. But I'm a [http://www.debian.org/ Debian] fan, so that's what I'm running on mine.
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[http://jeff.doozan.com/debian/ Jeff Doozan] has done much of the legwork making Debian an easy option on a Dockstar. He has a procedure for installing a new bootloader, kernel, and root filesystem into the Dockstar's flash and bootstrapping a Debian installation onto a USB mass storage device attached to the Dockstar (thumb drive, jump drive, FreeAgent Go, portable USB hard drive or whatever)

Revision as of 16:48, 30 December 2010

Dockstar?

Seagate's Free Agent DockStar is a very cheap, nifty little Linux machine with the following features:

  • 1.2 GHz ARM processor
  • 3 USB 2.0 ports
  • 1 USB 2.0 port with a little mini connector allowing the user to just plug in a Seagate FreeAgent Go hard drive
  • 1 Gigabit Ethernet NIC
  • $20 price tag
  • User replacable firmware (it comes with PogoPlug from the factory -- the device is intended as a NAS)

It does have a few small annoyances:

  • Only 128 Mbytes of RAM (256 or 512 would be SO much nicer)
  • No battery backed clock
  • Serial console is hard to get to (but the bootloader and Linux can use the normal Linux network console setup)

Debianizing a DockStar

There are a number of options for replacing the PogoPlug OS on a DockStar: OpenWRT supports them. Plugbox Linux does, too. But I'm a Debian fan, so that's what I'm running on mine.

Jeff Doozan has done much of the legwork making Debian an easy option on a Dockstar. He has a procedure for installing a new bootloader, kernel, and root filesystem into the Dockstar's flash and bootstrapping a Debian installation onto a USB mass storage device attached to the Dockstar (thumb drive, jump drive, FreeAgent Go, portable USB hard drive or whatever)