install freenas on iomega storcenter ix2

I decided to put what I learned in this guide (including the extracted Linux OS from the currently available firmware: version 2.1.25.229), since a lot of people seem to have trouble with this NAS.

Know that the new disk has to be prepared in Linux for RAID1 usage, otherwise the internal OS of the ix2-200 won't accept it. Fortunately, by using the data from the original disks and some trial-and-error, I extracted the Linux OS and put it on a new single disk which can be used to boot the ix2-200 and rebuild a new RAID1-set. Unfortunately, the firmware which Iomega offers for download seems to be encrypted. The power light will just keep blinking and nothing will happen. Symptoms of not being able to boot Linux are that after boot up the disks will spin up, but will never be read. If something happens to both disks, the internal OS cannot boot Linux and there is no way to recover the OS on a fresh pair of disks. by using a web interface.Ī flaw of the ix2-200 is that Linux is loaded from the HDDs. After Linux is started, you can configure the second partition (which uses the rest of the disk space) of both disks in JBOD or RAID1 for Shared Storage, iSCSI, etc. The only thing the internal OS does is boot Linux from the first partition (which is a little over 2 GB and always in RAID1) of both disks.

IntroductionThe Iomega StorCenter ix2-200 ( Pricewatch) is a cheap stand-alone NAS which runs a combination of an unknown internal OS on its mainboard and Linux from the HDDs. Do you want to put bigger disks in your Iomega ix2-200? Did you do a bad flash, bricking your ix2-200 in the process (symptom: the White Blinking LED of Death or WBLoD) and do you want to recover it? Or did you buy this little NAS without it ever working (also the infamous WBLoD)? If the answer is 'yes' to any of these questions, this guide is for you.

Install freenas on iomega storcenter ix2