Daniel TechTips: NAS

Showing posts with label NAS. Show all posts

Jan 25, 2024

Ubuntu : Apache 2 WebDAV with Directory List

At times, we need to serve some sort of file sharing over the Internet but instead of just grant the access anonymously, we need also to control who can access it. And also some SSL encryptions along the way.

The instructions herein are based on Ubuntu Server v.22.04.3 system, a TrueNAS Scale and all in the same VLAN.

The TrueNAS Scale server already have Samba Service (SMB) enabled with all the necessary credentials and folders permissions created.

1. As always, ensure the Ubuntu repositories are up-to-date. If there are "Kernel" update, a system restart is required.

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

2. Next is to install Apache2 server.

sudo apt install apache2 -y

3. Now we need to create a folder to hold the website. Replace "demo.com.my" with your domain name. You can also a Dynamic DNS, ensure the DDNS is updated.

sudo mkdir /var/www/demo.com.my

4. Next is to assign the proper ownership and access to the new folder. Replaced the text in "Red" accordingly.

sudo chown -R $USER:$USER /var/www/demo.com.my

sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/demo.com.my

5. For testing purposes, we need to create a temporary "index.html" file so that we can be sure the website is working as expected. Replaced the text in "Red" accordingly.

sudo nano /var/www/demo.com.my/index.html

6. Type-in the following scripts.

<html>

<head>

<title>WELCOME TO MY WEBSITE</title>

</head>

<body>

<h1>MY WEBSITE IS WORKING !</h1>

</body>

</html>

7. Next is to create apache's configuration file that correspond to the website. Replaced the text in "Red" accordingly.

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/demo.com.my.conf

8. Type-in the following configuration scripts. Replace text in "Red" accordingly.

ServerAdmin webmaster@localhost

ServerName demo.com.my

ServerAlias www.demo.com.my

DocumentRoot /var/www/demo.com.my

ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log

CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined

</VirtualHost>

9. Then we need to enable the new site. Replaced the text in "Red" accordingly.

sudo a2ensite demo.com.my.conf

10. Next is to disabled the "Default" site.

sudo a2dissite 000-default.conf

11. To ensure the configuration file is error free, perform a simple test. The result of the test return back should have "Syntax OK" displayed on the screen.

sudo apache2ctl configtest

12. Now, restart apache2 services.

sudo systemctl restart apache2

13. Next is to test whether the apache server is running correctly or not, open any preferred browser and browse to the URL. You will see the simple text word created earlier in the "index.html" file. Replaced the text in "Red" accordingly.

http://demo.com.my

In case, that the DNS is not up-to-date; you can use IP Address instead. Replaced the text in "Red" accordingly.

http://[IP Address]

13. In order for the server to access the TrueNAS Scale's SMB service, we need to install CIFS Utility.

sudo apt install cifs-utils -y

14. After installation complete, we now need to create a "Mount Point" or folder in the server first. Replaced the text in "Red" accordingly.

sudo mkdir /mnt/samba_share

15. Now, assuming that my TrueNAS Scale's IP Address is "192.168.0.2", where the intended share folder name is "Public", we need to manually mount the share to our local mount point. Replaced the text in "Red" accordingly.

sudo mount -t cifs //192.168.0.2/public -o username=demo_user /mnt/samba_share

You will be prompted for the password, type-in the password that corresponds to the credentials in TrueNAS Scale.

16. Next is to enabled the "WebDAV" module in Apache2 and restart the service.

sudo a2enmod dav

sudo a2enmod dav_fs

sudo systemctl restart apache2

17. Grant the proper access permissions for apache to that folder. Replaced the text in "Red" accordingly.

sudo chown www-data:www-data /mnt/samba_share

18. We need to create a folder location to store WedDAV's database file for storing username and password that have access to the webdav services.

sudo mkdir -p /usr/local/apache/var

19. Now, we need to modify the configuration of the website to work with webdav. Replaced the text in "Red" accordingly.

DavLockDB /usr/local/apache/var/DavLock

ServerAdmin webmaster@localhost

ServerName demo.com.my

ServerAlias www.demo.com.my

DocumentRoot /var/www/demo.com.my

ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log

CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined

Alias /samba_share /mnt/samba_share

Options Indexes

DAV ON

AuthType Digest

AuthName "webdav"

AuthUserFile /usr/local/apache/var/users.password

Require valid-user

</Directory>

</VirtualHost>

20. Verify the configurations and restart apache2 service.

sudo apache2ctl configtest

sudo systemctl restart apache2

21. Next is to create the WebDAV's database file for storing the username and password, the password is encrypted in the file.

sudo touch /usr/local/apache/var/users.password

22. Assign the proper ownership to the file.

sudo chown www-data:www-data /usr/local/apache/var/users.password

23. Next is to create the first user into the database. Replaced the text in "Red" accordingly

sudo htdigest -c /usr/local/apache/var/users.password webdav demo_user

Note :

(1) "webdav" = Realm

You will be prompted to key-in a password for this username and re-confirm the password again. Ensure that both password matches exactly the same.

24. Now, we need to enable the Authentication Digest module in apache and restart the service.

sudo a2enmod auth_digest

sudo systemctl restart apache2

25. Once all done, we can test whether the WebDAV services is configured directly or not. Open any preferred browser and type-in the following URL. Replaced the text in "Red" accordingly

http://demo.com.my/samba_share

You should be prompted for a username and password, key-in the credentials we have created earlier for WebDAV services.

26. You might also want to configure the auto-mount for the samba services, after every-time the server restart. This step is OPTIONAL.

sudo nano /etc/fstab

Type-in the following configurations. Replaced the text in "Red" accordingly

//192.168.0.1/public /mnt/samba_share cifs username=demo_user,password=demo123 0 0

27. If you want to allow access from External Internet, it is advised to have SSL Certificate (Let's Encrypt) installed. Also ensure that your "Router" or "Firewall" have the appropriate port "Whitelisted" or enabled "Port Forwarding" accordingly. (eg. 443/TCP)

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-apache -y

28. Now request for a new SSL Certificate from Let's Encrypt.

sudo certbot --apache

29. You will be prompted for an email address, please ensure the email address you type-in is "VALID", this is to ensure you will receive email notification about the renewal of the SSL Certificate.

Also you must agreed to Let's Encrypt's Terms and Conditions of use, type-in "Y" to accept it.

You can also opt-in to their newsletter and marketing materials, but as this is a demo I have chosen "N" for this tutorials.

30. Next, you will prompted to select which domain you want to have the SSL certificate installed, in this case I will just select "demo.com.my" domain, but you can also do the same steps for "www.demo.com.my" too.

31. Once everything is completed, we need to restart apache2 services again.

sudo systemctl restart apache2

32. Now we can test the new SSL certificate, open your preferred browser and type-in the following URL. Take note now we are using "HTTPS" instead. Replaced the text in "Red" accordingly

https://demo.com.my/samba_share

And as expected, you should be prompted for a username and password to access the content.

!!! HAPPY COMPUTING !!!

Dec 30, 2023

VMWare : SATA Controller Passthrough for TrueNAS Scale

How to passthrough an onboard SATA Controller in VMWare ESXi v.6.7 Update 3 for TrueNAS Scale installation.

As the HP Z800 WorkStation comes with onboard 6-ports SATA Controller and 8-ports LSI SAS/SATA Controller, the existing LSI Controller was dedicated to VMWare ESXi v.6.7 thus leaving the SATA Controller unused.

For experiment purposes, I wanted to passthrough this SATA Controller to a VM for TrueNAS Scale use as Storage Pool and thus able to directly manage all the HDDs connected on this controller.

1. Firstly is to create a VM and install TrueNAS Scale and configure the network settings.

2. Next is to shutdown the TrueNAS VM.

3. In the ESXi Server Host, under --> Manage --> Hardware.

4. Look for --> Intel ICH10R 4-ports Controller --> Passthrough = Enable.

5. Put the ESXi Server Host into --> Maintenance Mode, and reboot the server.

6. After reboot, Exit Maintenance Mode.

7. Under the TrueNAS VM, right-click --> Edit Settings.

8. Click --> Add Other Device --> PCI Device.

9. A new hardware will be listed, ensure the new PCI Device = Intel ICH10R 4-ports Controller.

10. Boot-up the TrueNAS VM.

11. Login to TrueNAS, goto --> Storage --> Disks.

12. Now you should be able to see all the HDDs connected on that SATA Controller and proceed to create Storage Pool.

!!! HAPPY COMPUTING !!!

Dec 26, 2023

TrueNAS : Create a Virtual Machine (VM)

Did you know that TrueNAS can function like a Hypervisor ? TrueNAS itself can have containerization of Virtual Machine (VM).

Although its not a full scale Hypervisor (Tier-1), sometimes we just need to temporarily test an application or operating system. So it is very useful to be able to run a VM inside TrueNAS.

!!! HAPPY COMPUTING !!!

TrueNAS : Create User, Group and Samba (SMB) Share

How to create Users then add them into Group and create a Samba Share. Samba share is very useful for folder(s) and file(s) sharing between computers.

But not all folders you want to share to everyone, maybe some confidential data that only you have the access.

Users account created in TrueNAS can be assigned or added into a Group, by grouping all your users together in group will make it very easy for an administrator to manage the permissions and access of file and folder sharing.

!!! HAPPY COMPUTING !!!

Dec 1, 2023

VMWare : Enable Hard Drive's Serial Number

There are times where some Operating System (OS) needs to have the Hard Drive's Serial Number or UUID enabled for it to work correctly.

This is especially true when it comes to TrueNAS installation in VMWare ESXi server. Although it is NOT RECOMMENDED to install TrueNAS (Scale/Core) in a virtualized environment, but for some Home Lab or for testing purposes, it is OK to do so.

1. The said Virtual Machine (VM) must be shutdown first.

2. Next, edit the VM's settings.

3. Goto --> VM Options.

4. Under --> Advanced.

5. Click --> Edit Configuration.

6. Click --> Add parameter.

7. Under Key, type --> disk.EnableUUID

8. Under Value, type --> TRUE

9. Save and exit.

10. Then only power-on the VM.

The Hard Drive's Serial Number will now be automatically created by ESXi server and TrueNAS will be able to detect those Virtual Hard Drive.

!!! HAPPY COMPUTING !!!

Nov 12, 2023

TrueNAS : Build Your Own NAS (Network Attached Storage)

Building your own NAS (Network Attached Storage) is very easy and simple with TrueNAS. It supports a wide variety of hardware thus making it simple and easy to install.

You can make use of any old computer with at least 4GB or more and a minimum of 4 Hard Drives with any make or model, preferably with the same capacity (eg. 1TB). The performance of system will solely depends on your choice of hardware but for Home use it is more than sufficient.

There are 2 Community Edition available :-

TrueNAS Core
TrueNAS Scale

TrueNAS Core is based on BSD (Berkeley Software Distribution), it's very robust and stable.

TrueNAS Scale on the other hand is based on Debian Linux, it's also very stable and more suitable for Home use because it's using Debian Package.

While TrueNAS Enterprise is more designed towards Enterprise companies with demands on High Availability, High Performance and Professional Supports. iX System also developed and sell pre-build TrueNAS System to cater for anyone that doesn't want to build their own.

For more information about TrueNAS, please visit their website at https://www.truenas.com/

Why TrueNAS ?

Well first of all, TrueNAS is using OpenZFS. It's an Open Source Storage Platform that have functionality of both traditional file system and volume manager.

Unlike other Array Controller that required all hard drives to be in the same Make and Model, OpenZFS make use of mixed Make and Model to create a Storage "Pool" thus making it very suitable for Home use because not everyone have the same hard drive specifications laying around.

More information about OpenZFS can be found here at https://openzfs.org/wiki/Main_Page

Step-by-Step Guide :

1. Download the latest ISO file from TrueNAS website (https://www.truenas.com/).

2. Use any preferred ISO Maker/Writer to an external USB Flash Drive, a minimum of 8GB will be sufficient.

3. Once the USB Flash Drive is ready, you can plug into the computer.

4. But before installation, we need to ensure that all the hard drive is correctly detected and remove any RAID array configuration. ZFS works best without any RAID configured.

5. You will need to choose the install drive, any capacity drive will do. Preferably the first drive that is connected.

6. After that, you will be prompted to specify an Administrator's password, this password will be used to login to TrueNAS Web GUI on the later stage.

7. Once the installation completed and computer rebooted, on another computer and open your prefer browser (eg. Google Chrome) and type-in the IP Address of the server displayed at console screen.

8. Some basic configurations is required, we need to specify a Static IP Address for the server. This will ensure that everytime the server rebooted, it will use the same IP Address and also it is more easy to configure port forwarding in your router (if needed) for some applications to work.

9. Next is to create the first storage pool, you can configure as many pool(s) you want but all depends on the available hard drives. For example, ZFS-z required a minimum of 2 drives (similarly to RAID-1), if you have more than 2 hard drives (eg. 3 drives) then the additional hard drive will be used as Parity Drive which are similarly to RAID-5.

10. Now you TrueNAS will work correctly, further configuration is required such as creating SMB (Samaba) Shares, NFS Share or whichever you required.

Video below :-

!!! HAPPY COMPUTING !!!

Oct 2, 2020

VMWare : How To Enabled for Synology Active Backup for Business

I believe anyone that uses a Synology product will or may be using of their plugin package called "Active Backup for Business". It's a FREE tools for you to do backup for Physical Desktops/Servers, Hyper-V, VMWare ESXi.

But how do you enabled the access from Synology to the ESXi server ? The steps are very simple and straighforward.

1. Login to the ESXi server and enable both the Secure Shell (SSH) and Console Shell services.

2. Next is to shutdown that VM Guest before performing the next step.

3. Still in the ESXi server, Right-Click the VM Guest --> Edit Settings.

4. Goto --> VM Options --> Advanced.

5. Click --> Edit Configurations.

6. Click --> Add Parameters.

7. Type-in the following configurations :

7.1 Parameter = ctkEnabled

7.2 Set the value = true

7.3 Parameter = scsi0:0.ctkEnabled

7.4 Set the value = true

Note : If the VM Guest is using an IDE HDD type then the parameter should be "ide0:0.ctkEnabled"

Also whenever a new HDD was added to the VM Guest, the device will be assigned either "scsi0:1" or "scsi1:1", this assignment may varies per VM.

8. Now save the configurations and proceed to boot-up the VM.

9. After boot-up, you can double check the configurations by browsing the datastore, a new file will be created "[VM Name]-ctk.vmdk". This file will be used by Synology Active Backup for Business the access and identification of the backup.

As how to configure for the Active Backup for Business it will be for another post, but you can always refer to Synology website for tutorials.

!!! HAPPY COMPUTING !!!

Sep 30, 2020

Xpenology - Synology DSM 6.1 in PC (Part #2 - Installation)

Now once everything is prepared & ready, let's move to the installation steps. If you're new here, do refer back to Xpenology - Synology DSM 6.1 in PC (Part #1 - Preparation) for start.

A. Prepare the USB Bootloader.
The reason we need 2 x USB Flash Drives is because the first USB drive will be used to save the iso image into it and the second USB drive to save the bootloader into it.

1. Run --> CMD (run as Administrator) --> Type --> Diskpart --> [ENTER].

2. You should have the following screen.

3. Type --> List Disk --> [ENTER].

4. Type --> Select Disk 2 --> [ENTER].

Note : If the USB flash drive is in "Disk 3" then change the numeric value accordingly. Do ensure the selection is the USB flash drive and not your local partition(s) or drive(s). As there's no way to reverse these step. Also ensure the USB flash drive doesn't contains any data in it, as my USB flash drive is a 16GB capacity thus its very easy for me to identify which disk.

5. To verify whether the selection is correct or not, type --> List Disk --> [ENTER] again. You will notice an "*" (asterisk) mark beside the selected disk as shown below.

6. Now type --> Clean --> [ENTER].

Note : There's now way to reverse this step, be very careful you are selecting the correct disk.

7. Next is to type --> Exit --> [ENTER] to exit from the "diskpart" utility.

8. Eject the USB flash drive, let's called this "USB-ISO", next insert the second USB flash drive and repeat from Steps #1 to Steps #7.

9. Let's called the second USB flash drive "Bootloader". Then proceed to close the command prompt window and eject it too. This is for easy references for this tutorial, so when I said "USB-ISO" means its the first USB flash drive and when I said "Bootloader" means its the second USB flash drive.

B. Change the configuration.
Now we need to modify some configuration of the downloaded bootloader file before saving the image into the USB flash drive. Assuming you have installed the "OSFMount" tool prior to this.

1. Run --> OSFMount utility now and you see the screenshot as below.

2. Click --> Mount new button and the following windows will be displayed.

3. Browse for the iso file "DS3615xs 6.1 Jun's Mod V1.02b.img" which you have downloaded.

4. Next you will be prompted to select which partition image, Select --> Partition 0 - 15.0 MB (DOS3.31 + FAT 16) as shown below.

5. Once selected, Untick --> Read-only drive option as shown below. And Click --> OK button to continue.

6. Now the utility will load the image and mount a virtual drive as shown below.

7. Open --> Windows Explorer --> Browse to the virtual drive --> [E:\grub] folder.

8. Locate a file called --> grub.cfg --> Right-Click --> Open with --> Notepad++ (assuming you have installed Notepad++ utility).

9. Now Notepad++ utility will be open the file accordingly as shown below.

10. Locate the following lines as shown below.

11. Leave this screen open for now.

C. Locating the VID and PID Value.
With the "USB-ISO" still plugin, its time to look for the VID & PID value, the simplest way is to use USB tool as you have downloaded earlier. I'm using the "CheckUDisk_v5.4.exe" utility for this.

Note : that not all utilities are created equal thus you may need to explore around which suits your USB flash drive best and have the accurate information.

1. Run --> CheckUDisk utility and the following screen will be displayed.

2. You need to Tick --> All USB Device option then it will shows all available USB devices as shown below.

3. Note down the VID & PID value as shown.

My USB flash drive's VID value is 0781 and the PID value 5567. These values varies and depends on the manufacturer and model.

4. Now you can close this utility.

D. Getting Serial Number.
As I've explained earlier, DSM will not run without a valid Serial Number thus we need to generate a S/N that can be authenticated.

1. Open any internet browser --> https://xpenogen.github.io/serial_generator/index.html, you have a similar webpage displayed as below.

2. Select the appropriate model from the drop-down list and Click --> Generate button. Example I've used DS3615xs model, the S/N is generated at the bottom box (sorry, I've to hide it now). Note down the generated S/N.

3. Proceed to close the browser.

E. Getting NIC's MAC Address.
Next is to get the NIC's MAC address, this can be either found inside the BIOS/UEFI or physically on a label at the NIC.

Assuming its a built-in NIC, the MAC address is usually located inside the BIOS/UEFI under "System Information". I can't exactly tell you where it will be located as each manufacturer may have different naming convention.

I've found mine MAC address is "5C-D9-98-F5-F1-B3", note down the address.

F. Making the changes.
Now its time to return back to the Notepad++ screen, with all the information ready lets make the configurations changes accordingly.

1. Replace the value accordingly, example as per screenshot below.

Note : I've leave the "0x" value intact and only replace the rear value with correct value of my USB flash drive.

Note : The MAC address must not contains any special characters, it must be remove.

2. You may also wanted to change the timeout value to "3" seconds as shown below. This is optional but its good slow things down a bit.

3. Click --> "Save" icon as shown below and close the Notepad++ utility.

4. Next is to unmount the virtual drive, Click --> Dismount All & Exit button.

5. Next is to launch "Rufus" utility, my version is v.3.4.1430 (as of writing), you may have the latest version downloaded.

6. Click --> SELECT button, browse for "DS3615xs 6.1 Jun's Mod V1.02b.img" file, example screenshot of the selected file as shown below.

Note : Ensure the correct USB drive is selected, mine is a 16GB USB flash drive thus its easily identified.

7. Click --> START button and when prompted, Click --> OK button to start the writing process.

8. This may take a while, go have some coffee.

9. Once completed, you will see the following status screen.

10. Proceed to close "Rufus" utility then eject the "USB-ISO" flash drive from the computer.

11. Plugin both the "Bootloader" and "USB-ISO" flash drive into the old computer.

12. You may need to configure the old computer's BIOS\UEFI to boot from USB drive, mine I have to press [F10] key during power-on to invoke the boot menu option and select the "USB-ISO" flash drive to boot. Your computer may be using a different key.

13. Also while in the BIOS/UEFI screen, look for "C1E Support" or similar wording. If applicable this option must be DISABLED prior to booting the USB drive.

14. After successfully booted from the USB drive, you will the following screen, give it another 3-5 minutes before proceeding to the next step.

15. Now back to your computer, browse, download and install the "Synology Assistant" tool. This tool is important to find the Xpenology unit in the network and in the installation steps. If detected successfully, you should see the following screen as below. Select the unit and click "Connect" button.

16. You will have the following screen displayed. Click "Setup" button to continue.

17. At this stage, select "Manual Install" option. DO NOT CLICK "Install Now" button.

18. At this screen, click "Browse" button and browse your local computer where the .pat file was downloaded previously. It can be downloaded at (https://www.synology.com/en-global/support/download/DS3615xs#firmware).

19. Once selected, click "Install Now" button to continue.

20. You will be prompted with this warning message, just select the option and click "OK" button to continue.

21. The progress bar will be displayed and depending on your hardware configurations the completion time may differs. Please wait for it to complete.

22. Once completed, you will be prompted to input the following information. You may put in whatever name and password you desired. Click "Next" button when ready.

23. Next is select "Download DSM updates and install them manually" option. This is to ensure that Xpenology will be updated automatically as the updates will BRICK the system and as such it is recommended to disabled the auto updates accordingly. Click "Next" button when ready.

24. At this screen, you need to click "Skip this step" option. It is located just below the "Next" button and its GREYED OUT. Please look carefully. If you setup the QuickConnect function, some forumers mentioned it may brick your Xpenology unit too, though I did not try thus unsure how true.

25. Ignore the message and just click "Yes" button to continue.

26. DO NOT select any option at this screen, just click "Go" button to continue.

27. Since this is Xpenology, you need to also select "Skip" option located on the top-right corner.

28. Once everything is done, you should be presented with the DSM Desktop screen as shown below. You may now proceed to configure the unit such as changing the to fixed IP address, creating Volume(s), installing package(s) etc.

The following steps is OPTIONAL but recommended if you want to have SHR (Synology Hybrid RAID) enabled. There are many benefits in enabling this option, you can Google the comparison of SHR vs RAID 5.

29. Open "Putty" application, if not available it can be downloaded here (https://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/latest.html). Type in the appropriate IP address of your Xpenology unit and connect to it. Ensure also that SSH is enabled on port 22.

30. At the command prompt type in the following :

30.1 sudo su
30.2 sudo -i vi /etc.defaults/synoinfo.conf

31. Inside the file, browse and look for "supportraidgroup="yes"" , it is found at Line 294,2. Once located you need to comment it out by adding "#" in front of the configuration. You may need to press the [INSERT] key in order to this.

32. Next is to insert a line just below the configuration, type in --> support_syno_hybrid_raid="yes", and when done just press the [ESC] key. Refer below screen for example.

33. Now press " : " key, and type "wq" and press [ENTER] key. This will save the changes.

34. Next is to exit putty and reboot the xpenology. Once booted up you can now have the options to create SHR Volume.

That's all and hope you'll enjoy playing with it. But I would strongly recommend to buy original unit from Synology if you are using it for business and their support.

!!! HAPPY COMPUTING !!!

Apr 9, 2019

Xpenology - Synology DSM 6.1 in PC (Part #1 - Preparation)

It have been sometimes now since my last posting, so I think its time for me to start some overdue posting.

Now we all know the famous Synology brand name, they are famous & popular with their range of NAS (Network Attached Storage) and particularly their user's friendly DSM (Disk Station Manager) operating system.

Before we move on to the next topic, take note that I do not recommend this in a production environment for company. This little project is merely for fun and to test out the DSM OS before purchasing the actual product. If you have important data or intent to use it in a company environment, it is HIGHLY recommended to purchase the Synology product directly as it comes with support & warranty.

Xpenology itself doesn't contains the DSM OS (for more information visit their website), its just merely a bootloader (similar to GRUB4) and its functions is to boot the DSM OS on a desktop PC and run it. Some people called it a "hack" while some called it "testing", whatever your reasons is.......... its just for fun and testing and in any conditions it is NOT RECOMMENDED FOR ENTERPRISE OR COMPANY OR IMPORTANT DATA STORAGE USE.

Let's start..... :)

First we need to prepare ourself a few things :-

1. An old desktop PC that you have (eg. lying in your garage or store room) with a decent CPU (eg. Intel Pentium 4 or above), 2GB RAM or more (recommended is to have more RAM the better), a few working HDD (any capacities, it can mix & match if running in SHR mode).

2. At least 2 x USB 8GB drives (recommended to use Sandisk brand). 1 for the installation & 1 for loading the Xpenology bootloader.

3. Download the matching Xpenology bootloader. I'm using the Jun's mod 1.02b version.
[Filename : DS3615xs 6.1 Jun's Mod V1.02b.img]

4. Download the matching Synology DMS OS version. I'm using Synology DS3615xs v.6.1.7 (15284) version.
[Filename : DSM_DS3615xs_15284.pat]

5. Download Rufus USB tool. Any version will do the job.

6. Download OSFMount tool. Any version will do the job.

7. Download Notepad++ tool (not necessary but recommended). You can also use the generic Notepad but it is better with this tool.

8. URL Link for Serial Number Generator. This is to generate a S/N for tricking the DSM into loading the actual DSM OS.

9. USB Flash Drive PID tool. This is to check the USB flash drive VID & PID number.

10. The desktop's MAC Address, this is usually found inside the BIOS/UEFI system information. But if you're using additional NIC card(s) then its usually stated either on the box or at the card itself. If you're unable to locate the MAC address then try use this MAC Address Generator tool (though I've never use it but it was suggested by some forumers).

11. Also lastly download SSH Client tool or more commonly known is Putty. This is to login to the DSM terminal to enable the SHR mode.

The desktop I'm using in this tutorial is a very old HP desktop lying in my store room. It have the following specification :-

HP Pro 3000 MT Desktop.
- Intel Core i3.
- 8GB DDR2 RAM.
- Intel ICH7R chipset Mainboard.
- Built-in Intel High Definition Graphics.
- Built-in Sound & Gigabit NIC.
- 1 x 500GB SATA HDD.
- Added 3 more SATA HDDs, 2 x 500GB & 1 x 250GB.

Note : The contents of the HDDs will be ERASED, please ensure you have backup all the data out before proceeding.

Another reminder on the HDDs, if you have a RAID Controller you might want to disabled it and let it run under AHCI or IDE mode if you wanted to use the SHR mode (Synology Hybrid RAID) which is highly recommended.

Unless you prefer to use hardware RAID instead then you can proceed to whichever RAID level you've wanted. But do keep in mind that hardware RAID required all HDDs to be in the same capacity or higher and have limited expandability.

That is why I use the SHR mode instead which it can be expanded in the future easily.

>>>>> Part #2 - Installation (coming soon...)