Category:LS-CHLv2

Commercial Description
Buffalo LinkStation Live is a Network Attached Storage built in DLNA Server, desined for home networking to share your documents, pictures, movie and music over a network.

You can store contents from network computers or using the one touch direct copy function, that is a means of taking pictures or movies from your digital camera, camcorder and storage device via USB port directly. Stored data can be shared on your network and a built-in DLNA media server can stream it to a PC, a MAC, a Buffalo LinkTheater an other DLNA CERTIFIED™ entertainment devices. Our Web Access feature enables you to access your data and media stored in the LinkStation via the interenet by computuers and iPhone's. With a built-in BitTorrent Client, LinkStation can download content without the requirement to keep your PC powered up.

Intelligent Power Saving functions, timer power on/off and auto power on/off with your Windows PC all help towards power saving and eco in mind.

Features

 * With Web Access you can store, share and access files from any web browser
 * Use Web Access for iPhone to access the digital library on your LinkStation
 * Built-In Media Server connects to DLNA compatible digital entertainment devices
 * One touch transfer of media files from digital camera/camcorder with Direct Copy feature
 * Seamlessly integrates with iTunes® 7 and allows you to access your music files on the LinkStation from your iTunes software
 * Supports Apple Time Machine
 * Built-In BitTorrent Client
 * Eco Friendly Power Saving Mode (PC Interlocking Power System/Schedule Power Management System)
 * Built-in print server to print documents from anywhere on your network (*1)
 * Easy setup does not require drivers
 * Supports UPS connectivity via USB port
 * Expand storage by adding a USB 2.0 hard drive
 * Includes Memeo™ AutoBackup Software for Windows or Macintosh
 * 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet with JumboFrame support
 * Access your data from any Windows or Macintosh computers

Hacker's information
Following section documents some additional technical detail on LS-CHL(v2).

'''Hacking LS-CHL is dangerous and may potentially brick your device, void your warranty, damage your data. Do it at your own risk.'''

U-Boot
Das U-boot is the bootloader used in LS-CHL device, as well as all other recent Buffalo products. U-boot is stored on the device flash ROM. It is the ONLY thing in flash. A file copy of U-boot is also present on the hard disk's first partition (/dev/sda1) in a file named u-boot.buffalo.

This page, although focused on older Linkstations, documents some U-Boot features that are specific to Buffalo products. Note that LS-CHL's stock U-Boot does not include the network monitor, so it is not possible to control the boot sequence as described there.

Apart from normal system boot, the stock U-boot implements a system emergency recovery that is activated when a bootable system is not found on the hard disk.

Linux Kernel
Stock U-Boot loads the Linux kernel from a file named uImage.buffalo on the hard disk first partition (/dev/sda1).

The initrd (initial ramdisk)
Buffalo's stock U-Boot tries to load the initrd from a file named initrd.buffalo on the hard disk's first partition (/dev/sda1). The stock initrd implements Buffalo-specific system sanity checks, system recovery procedures and firmware update tasks.

This page documents how to alter the initrd.

The initrd is not an absolute system requirement. Providing an empty initrd.buffalo cause the system to boot straight with /dev/sda2 as the root filesystem. This is the key to start a different GNU/Linux system from the stock one. Note that "empty initrd" does not mean an empty file: rather, it means an initrd which contains and empty filesystem. shows how to create one.

Installing Debian Linux
It's possible to install Debian on the device successfully:
 * Debian Lenny (Debian 5.0) instructions.
 * Debian Squeeze (Debian 6.0) instructions.
 * Debian Wheezy (Debian 7.0): It may be possible to install this using relatively minor variations on the Squeeze instructions.

How to get Telnet access?
According to responses of LS-CHLv2 owner Open Stock Firmware LS-XHL covers the LS-CHLv2 also.

If the firmware version is older than 1.34, the process is different with LS-XHL. You need to use the acp_commander to copy the "telnetd" to /usr/local/sbin from older firmware, such as 1.10 and then follow the XHL guide.

Setting up a scanner server
This page walks you through the setting up of the SANE daemon saned on your linkstation. This allows you to plugin a scanner to your linkstation via the USB port and make that scanner available over the network.