plugout.net

In this thread
http://forum.nas-central.org/viewtopic.php?f=236&t=7727
fvdw responds to OP belya's request for help in creating a disk image of his NS2's HDD, as a prelude to swapping it out for a bigger disk.

Though I don't plan to swap mine out, I do need to create a disk image of it (as a precautionary measure), and I have no greater familiarity with Linux than belya.

I'm running Windows8, and I've installed PuTTY and activated Telnet. I'm able to ping the NS2, but when - having opened PuTTY and entered the NS2's IP address (the one successfully pinged), and selected Telnet - I click on 'Open', I get this error-message (repeatedly):-
'Network error: connection refused'
- and PuTTY shuts itself down after I click on 'OK'

I checked my firewall settings and failed to find port 22. So I tried substituting one of the ports shown as open - it made no difference at all. I've now spent a lot of time googling and reading a number of threads on all sorts of forums. And got nowhere.

Can anyone please suggest what I might do?

Use ssh not telnet

Why, exactly?

PuTTY allows for other than ssh, why not use one of the alternatives?

I only want to be enabled to make a disk image - a one-off task. For that I need to connect to the NS2 over my network using PuTTY. Why get enmeshed in all the elaborate encryption rigmarole if I can avoid it by using Telnet? Server and client are on the same LAN, behind a firewall.

What I was hoping for was to get help in this forum to do that.

I assume you are still running the original Lacie firmware ?
If yes then you need to activate telnet first (or ssh)

if you use our firmware then you need to use ssh because there is no telnet server running in the fvdw-sl firmware because it is not secure.

You could consider to use the fvdw-sl console and running the standalone kernel and then transfer data, but if you want to make a full disk image this will be very time consuming.

So please explain more clear what your problem is then we can help you better ;)

Hello fvdw

Thanks for responding.

So please explain more clear what your problem is then we can help you better

I'd been trying to puzzle out how a disk image might be created of the NS2's HDD. I've made backup copies of the contents of mine but a) that's not the same and, b) the copies anyway are missing some few folders (because those folders' names were longer than the program I was using (SyncToy) could accept). So - unsatisfactory.

Searching I came across the thread in NAS-Central I linked-to in my first post, in which the answer you gave to the OP appeared to answer my prayers also. I therefore tried to follow it as closely as possible, but I fell at the first hurdle - connecting to the NS2 over my LAN.

I assume you are still running the original Lacie firmware ?

Yes I am.

That being so, I saw no reason not to use any of the choices provided by PuTTY rather than ssh exclusively. PuTTY's 'Help' is unusually comprehensive and nowhere is there the slightest indication that the other choices it provides aren't equally functional. As I saw it security isn't an issue just for this one task. But I haven't succeeded in connecting to my NS2 and for the life of me I can't understand why (despite googling all over the place looking for clues). Have you any suggestions please?

If yes then you need to activate telnet first (or ssh)

I have activated Telnet, at least according to the instructions for doing so which MS gives - which I followed.

if I read your well it seems you want to backup the data files stored on your nas by making an image of the disk, so you do not want to backup the lacie firmware.

Assuming that this is the case then you should know that the disk inside the nwsp2 has 9 partitions, one of them is the partition contains your data files (shared folders). In case you use the lacie firmware this is partition 2. This partition is formatted in xfs if I remember well. Such a partition can not be read directly under windows. So if you make an image of that partition you will need a pc running Linux to mount and read it. Furthermore this partition is big. If you have a 2TB disk it will take quite some time to make a disk image. The command I posted in the post you mentioned is suitable for backing up the system partitions which are relative small.
However you can use it also to backup partition 2 but you will need a disk with same size as that of the partition using it back up a 2TB position might take more then 1 day certainly when used over an ssh connection.
Why don't you just make a copy of the shared folders ? using a program like total commander

About telnet.
You need to activate the telnet server on the nwsp2 ! On nas-central forum you can find descriptions how to do that.
What you did on ms windows is activating the default telnet client of windows, that will bring you nothing without having a telnet server running on the nwsp2 to connect to.

When you succeed to get that telnet server on the nwsp2 running you can connect with putty or another telnet client but you will still have a problem. I assume you want to make disk image of the data partition on another computer. This is not possible using a telnet client as it can only store the disk image on the harddisk of the nwsp2. It will not fit as you wan to copy the full disk.There are work arounds for this like mounting a remote server on the nwsp2 and copy to that but that requires more then basic linux skills which you don't seem to have.

My advise, If you want a back up of your shared folder use a program like total commander or acronis true image home will be able to make a backup of the shared folders just fine (also with long file/path names
Hope the above is helpful to you

fvdw

I appreciate that this is very basic stuff for you, and I'm grateful for your patience. I have particular difficulty getting my head around networking.

I think I may have been barking up the wrong tree.

My advise, If you want a back up of your shared folder use a program like total commander or acronis true image home will be able to make a backup of the shared folders just fine (also with long file/path names

I have Acronis TI 2014 and that is actually where I started out! For some reason (don't ask me why) I couldn't seem to be able to get it to backup from the NS2 to an external usb drive I have, connected to my Windows 8 PC.

So it was then that I began looking for alternatives, and I now think I've been on a wild-goose chase ever since. Right now I'm back with Acronis and this time I hope to have more success with it - in which case that part of my task will have been accomplished, thanks to you.

I spoke too soon!

Despite all that I've spent on Acronis software over the years, it has AGAIN let me down when I need it most! I can't begin to describe my feelings about Acronis!

Acronis True Image 2014 supports the following file systems:

FAT 16/32
NTFS
Ext2/Ext3/Ext4*
ReiserFS*
Linux SWAP*
*The Ext2/Ext3/Ext4, ReiserFS, and Linux SWAP file systems are supported only for disk or partition backup/recovery operations. **You cannot use Acronis True Image 2014 for file-level operations with these file systems (file backup, recovery, search, as well as image mounting and file recovering from images), nor for storing backups on disks or partitions with these file systems.**

Note the words I've enclosed in '**'

The Catch 22 (also known as a "gotcha!")? Acronis TI does not detect network drives (despite their being mapped and allocated Windows 8 drive letters). This means the NS2 can't be selected as the source drive - therefore a disk or partition backup operation can't be performed by Acronis for the NS2 even though in theory it supports such operations.

Without realising that TI doesn't support file-level backups for Ext2/Ext3/Ext4 file systems I therefore selected those as the second-best alternative - only to be brought to a shuddering halt AFTER the process had virtually completed (typically for Acronis, no warning was given before that time and effort had been wasted).

So now I'm back to square one, and shall have to go through the process all over again with Total Commander. Why I ever bothered with Acronis's lousy (and not even freeware) products I'll never know and I'd strongly counsel anyone who reads this to avoid making the same mistake.

Sorry about the rant.

But whatever my opinion of Acronis, it was irrelevant anyway. I've now realised that I never needed to make a disk image - the solution was under my nose all the time!

All that was needed was to connect my external usb drive to the NS2's front-panel usb port (instead of to my PC). The NS2's proprietary firmware then allows (under "Creating a Backup Job") for the MyShare and OpenShare folders to be copied across directly to the attached external drive. It's a painfully slow process (as you warned) but it will get me there eventually.

Somehow I had managed to misunderstand that page in LaCie's user manual, despite reading it several times. Sorry for wasting your time. Although it makes me look an idiot I thought the least I could do in return was report that the problem was solved, and by what means.