So how to start

[arnonymous]

So ok i've been using a GuruPlug server(not plus) with a jtag board for some time now and have run into some problems.
My main one is i am not a linux guru, so not amazing with the command line.
The second is whenever i find any information or guide for the guruplug somehow halfway in or in links people start talking a bout the sheevaplug. yet i have encountered many things that are not compatible with both, so what's the deal, are these the same in what way? what is compatible what is definently not.

Also i still have all the factory software on my guru.
and my goal is to use it as a homeserver with a big USB NTFS HD attached  to stream media around the house, and to do my torrent downloads for me.
Http server and such would also be nice, but that will come later.
basically an elaborate NAS, which maybe i should have bought instead.

So so far from a lot of confusing reading these are the steps i have come to:

1. So i understand i should upgrade my Uboot, why and to what other version? http://www.newit.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,866.0.html here i already mentioned i tried it, with i think the official version.
2. i should update the kernel i understand. But i really don't want to build it myself, can i get a ready image for it somewhere?
3. i should upgrade the linux? same as question two.
4. is the the right order of steps?
5. i often read about tftp, what's the goal of that? i already have access via terminal with the jtag board.

and last but not least are all these updates/flashes neccesary or highly recomended, in order to use it as a simple server?
Hope someone can help
Arnon

[chthon]

Hi Arnon

I took delivery of my Guruplug Standard last Friday and have made good progress setting it up so far (after a long hours of befuddled head scratching it has to be said).  Hopefully what I learned over the weekend as a complete newbie will be of some assistance.  

1. , 2. Are you proposing to connect your Guruplug to the network using an Ethernet cable or will you connect via wifi?  If you need to connect via wifi you will need to upgrade the kernel to 2.6.33.7 as my understanding is that the kernel shipped with the device does not work properly with the wifi firmware/drivers.  Follow the instructions on the Plug Wiki for how to connect to set up a stable wifi client.  They are complex but I accomplished it using the pre-built binary packages available on the Plug Wiki so I didn’t need to compile anything  from source.  I posted on the forum when I was stuck and had a helpful reply.  To use the new kernel you will need to upgrade the uboot bootloader as per the instructions that you link to in your post as the version of uboot that ships with the device can’t boot ‘vanilla’ kernels.

If you propose to connect to the network via Ethernet cable you may have a much smoother ride and things may just work for you out of the box.

3. The root file system is based on Debian Lenny which is the latest stable version of Debian. Although Lenny will be superseded by Squeeze in the next week or so I understand security updates will be available for quite some time yet.  So assuming Lenny can do everything you need it to then there is no desperate need to upgrade yet.  I don’t know how smooth the upgrade path is to Squeeze.  It is certainly possible but may be a hassle?
When you have an internet connection you can run ‘apt-get update’ followed by ‘apt-get upgrade’ to upgrade to the latest set of packages in Lenny (ie. security updates).

4.  I updated the kernel and kernel modules and firmware before I upgraded uboot so I couldn’t boot until I had upgraded uboot.  Next time I would update uboot first.

5.  My understanding is that you would use the TFTP server to flash the NAND memory in the device in the event that you can't do what you need to do via uboot bootloader and a USB device.  Following the helpful instructions you link to in your post I upgraded uboot and haven't needed to use a TFTP server yet.

I haven't yet got to grips with the configuration of Samba which allows sharing of attached USB storage devices but in principle this should be straightforward as Samba already is up and running on the Guruplug and is set up to share USB storage devices by default.  [I'm having a few problems with this myself but I think it is just me being stupid].  You may need an external powered USB hub to power your hard drive.  I heard of external devcies straining the power supply in plug computers.

Good luck and have fun.

[mabuhay]

Hello arnonymous

I think chthon already answered most of your questions. When I got my GuruPlug Server Plus I started to write down how I did certain things. This (reset GuruPlug) and this (tftp) might be helpful for you.

mfg