Netgear ReadyNAS OS 6.5

We previously reviewed the Netgear ReadyNAS (Model RN202) which was running OS version 6.4.2.  See our two part review starting here.  At the time, that was the current OS version.  Netgear recently released ReadyNAS OS 6.5 which brings a host of improvements and new features.

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Our ReadyNAS OS 6.5 Upgrade Experience

Perhaps the biggest feature of this upgrade is the merger of Netgear’s ReadyCloud service with its MyNetgear site.  These two sites have now been combined into a single sign-on process which means that in addition to upgrading the firmware of your ReadyNAS, you also need to go through a short process to combine your accounts.  If you don’t already have a MyNetgear account, that’s OK.  The upgrade process will guide you through the steps needed to create one.

Netgear suggests that you go through the account merger process before you actually upgrade the firmware on the ReadyNAS.  We’re not sure if this is critical but we followed their instructions and our upgrade went through without a problem.  We were able to merge the accounts, download and install the OS 6.5 update to our ReadyNAS RN202 and then upgrade the ReadyNAS iOS application in about 15 minutes.  It may have actually taken less time since we walked away from our computer when we started the actual OS download and when we returned the process had already completed so perhaps we could have shaved a couple of minutes off our total time had we been sitting at the screen when it completed.

When we initially tested the ReadyNAS RN202 we gave a mixed review of Netgear’s documentation with some of it, like their OS 6 User Guide being very complete but the hardware and disk installation process lacking.  For the entire OS 6.5 upgrade process, Netgear really did a great job of communication and documentation.

A couple of weeks before the ReadyNAS OS 6.5 upgrade was released, we received an email alerting us to the changes that were coming and a preview of what would be needed to successfully complete it.  Once the upgrade was available we found the documentation to be clear and thorough.  There were ample knowledge base articles posted on their Community Support page including:

How do I upgrade my ReadyCLOUD account if I do not have a MyNETGEAR.com account?

How do I upgrade my ReadyCLOUD account if I have a MyNETGEAR.com account?

 Detailed instructions on how to update the firmware is here.

The ReadyNAS OS 6.5 package itself is a combination of nine (9) New Features, twelve (12) Enhancements and forty-two (42) Bug Fixes.  The complete lists as they appear on the Netgear site are listed below.

ReadyNAS OS 6.5 New Features

1. Bi-directional Cloud Sync Services:

• Amazon Cloud Drive
• Egnyte

2. Custom snapshot schedule configuration
3. Custom snapshot retention policies:

• Control how long and how many snapshots are retained

4. Option to “Only take snapshot with changes”:

• If a previous snapshot exists, a new snapshot will only be taken if data has changed since

5. Camera import:

• MTP (Media Transfer Protocol) support allowing for automatic backup for cameras, tablets and smart phones

6. Active Directory user mapping import/export capability
7. Fan speed adjustment settings
8. Added Windows Web Services for Devices to better support Windows 10 ( WSD discovery support)
9. MyNETGEAR Account support for ReadyCLOUD

ReadyNAS OS 6.5 Enhancements:

1. Simplified backup interface
2. Snapshot management interface:

• Replaced snapshot timeline with new snapshot management interface
• Simplified multiple snapshot deletion
• Quicker snapshot navigation and recovery

3. ReadyNAS Vault moved to the Cloud tab
4. Dropbox moved to the Cloud Tab
5. Apps are now sorted alphabetically by default
6. Apps list can now be searched
7. Quota violation alerts can now be disabled
8. Boot progress is now displayed on systems with LCD panels:
   • Pressing the power button during boot displays advanced details
9. Backup jobs to/from FTPS targets are now supported
10. Enhanced SMB compatibility with Mac OS X
11. Configurable snapshot access policies:

• Folder access to snapshots
• Windows Previous Versions

12. Snapshot pruning threshold is now configurable in the Volume Settings menu

ReadyNAS OS 6.5 Bug Fixes:

1. Fixed CVE-2015-7547 (glibc getaddrinfo() stack-based buffer overflow)
2. Switching from a DHCP to static IP address now defaults to the DHCP-assigned DNS servers
3. Fixed Anti-Virus performance issues when browsing share contents
4. Fixed performance degradation when hot-adding disks. (RN202/204/212/214)
5. Fixed next power-on state after power loss to restore to the last state. (RN202/204/212/204)
6. Fixed occasional shutdown failures with Wake-on-LAN or Power Schedule enabled. (RN202/204/212/214)
7. Fixed shutdown failures with Wake-on-Lan enabled on bonded interfaces. (RN102/104/2120)
8. Added strings for various error codes
9. Added support for Kernel Plus app with the following features:

• USB formated with XFS
• USB serial devices drives
• Extra advanced network options (from the CLI)

10. Unconditionally enabled access to users’ home folder snapshots through ReadyCLOUD or Windows Previous Versions
11. Fixed buttons getting cut off in the UI with some apps
12. Additional Anti-Virus performance improvements in several situations
13. Update ReadyNAS Vault to the latest version (3.0.16)
14. Fixed errors with EDA500 volumes (RN516/716)
15. Fixed an issue where ethernet link LEDs would remain lit after poweroff without WoL enabled (RN102/104/2120)
16. Fixed a DLNA issue recording the new paths of video subtitle files when they were moved to a new location
17. Update to Linux kernel 4.1.20
18. Allow filtering by developer name and app description in Available Apps
19. Add warning before leaving ReadyCLOUD, cloud user home folders as well as shared links will be removed
20. Renaming a file with a length of greater than 255 characters will now show an error
21. Add support for spindown of USB disks
22. ReadyCLOUD now shows the logged in user
23. Fixed an issue where another volume could be added in X-RAID mode
24. Improved ReadyCLOUD error messaging
25. ReadyCLOUD users than have been invited to a NAS, but have not confirmed the invitation, can now be removed
26. Added log message if taking a snapshot is not successful
27. Fixed USB backup not showing correct path when using a port location
28. Show usage for USB drives
29. Changing share name or settings will no longer break ReadyCLOUD backup/sync job
30. Ignore EFI and “Microsoft reserve” partitions on USB drives
31. Fixed issue with quota size validation
32. Fixed issue where snapshots are not removed when a backup job fails
33. Fixed issue with formatting USB drives
34. Fixed character validation of backup job folder exclusions
35. Fixed NTFS driver performance degradation
36. Fixed improper power state after power is restored (RN3130/3138)
37. Adjusted fan algorithm to prevent unnecessary alerts
38. Fixed some Active Directory issues related to the Badlock fix
39. Updated OpenSSL to address newly announced security vulnerabilities
40. Fixed erroneous failed snapshot alerts on shares with a custom snapshot schedule
41. Fixed VPN services running unnecessarily with ReadyCLOUD disabled
42. Don’t send alerts when CPU voltage fluctuates, since this is normal behavior

ReadyNAS Remote is no longer supported. Remote access is now provided by ReadyCLOUD.
WARNINGS:

• ReadyCLOUD accounts must upgrade to MyNETGEAR account
• Devices updated with 6.5.0 firmware should not be downgraded to earlier firmware versions.
• ReadyNAS 102, 104, and 2120 must not be updated directly from 6.3.0 – 6.3.4 to 6.5.0. They must first be updated to either 6.2.x or 6.3.5.

Our ReadyNAS OS 6.5 Upgrade Issues

We’ve been using OS 6.5 for a couple of weeks and can report that on the server side, it appears to be very stable and issue free. Our only issue was with the ReadyCloud iOS app where we noticed two (2) issue.

First, while the app shows all of the folders across all of the shares (both public and the private home folder), the content is those folders does not always populate. This happens primarily for the video files we have in a folder called “Movies” and linked to the Plex app. When we try to lok at that directory, we get the message:

“The operation couldn’t be completed at this moment, try again.”

When we clicked on OK, the app defaults back up one level to the Movie folder.

We haven’t been able to figure out why this is happening and a quick check on the Netgear Support site and Community forum did not how this to be a common problem. We’ll keep looking into this to see if we can find a cause and solution.

The second issue was that following the upgrade to OS 6.5, the photo upload function would not work and the app would not stay connected to the “Photos” folder we created in our private Home folder. Again, a check on the Netgear site and Community did not address this. Logging out of out account and logging back in did not resolve the issue, nor did a reinstall of the app. Since the Photos folder in our Home share was currently empty, we deleted the folder and recreated it and that resolved the issue and the photos on our iPhone immediately started to upload again.

Perhaps recreating the “Movies” folders in our “Video” share would resolve the first app issue but since that has data in it, it will be a little more complicated but may be worth a try.

The Bottom Line

Since our upgrade to RaedyNAS OS 6.5, we have not had any significantr issues or complaints. This upgrade appears very stable and appears to be a worthwhile addition to what was already a very robust NAS device. This is a free upgrade and is available at: http://downloadcenter.netgear.com/.  An updated, comprehensive OS 6.5 Software Manual is available here.

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