Pogoplug replugged.

Against my brothers best wishes, I bought a Pogoplug. Not sure if it is the one I asked for, but I am not complaining. Spent less than twenty dollars for it (plus shipping). Noticed the price went back up after I bought mine. Up and down so it goes. What are the specs supposed to be:

What’s in the box

• Pogoplug
• Power cable
• Ethernet cable
• Quick start guide
• Limited warranty

Power requirements

• 100-240V, 50/60HZ

Drive connection

• USB 2.0 (4 ports)

Drive Formats

• NTFS, FAT32, Mac OS Extended Journaled and non-Journaled (HFS+), EXT-2/EXT-3

Network connection

• Gigabit Ethernet

After getting the unit, I logged into their site and immediately registered the unit and enabled ssh so I could log into it remotely. It actually uses a minimal nix type environment, so I felt real at home tooling around in the directories. You have to log in as root since there are no user accounts per se.  The first thing i did was run ifconfig to get the mac address for setting it up in the router. The second thing I did was to see what was under the hood so to speak. So It was over 1ghz speed.

$ ssh root@ipaddress


# cat /proc/cpuinfo
Processor    : ARM926EJ-S rev 1 (v5l)
BogoMIPS    : 1192.75
Features    : swp half thumb fastmult edsp
CPU implementer    : 0x56
CPU architecture: 5TE
CPU variant    : 0x2
CPU part    : 0x131
CPU revision    : 1
Cache type    : write-back
Cache clean    : cp15 c7 ops
Cache lockdown    : format C
Cache format    : Harvard
I size        : 16384
I assoc        : 4
I line length    : 32
I sets        : 128
D size        : 16384
D assoc        : 4
D line length    : 32
D sets        : 128

Hardware    : Feroceon-KW
Revision    : 0000
Serial        : 0000000000000000

You can power it off from the command line which is probably better than just pulling the power cord.

My main goal is to modify the unit to make it a true linux box. May wait till the warranty has gone out. I will probably back up the unit first and then proceed with the linux setup. One of the most popular versions of linux is Arch and that is the one most people suggest to use on the unit. Not used Arch linux before, but I am sure it should be fairly easy to pick up. Just have to learn some new commands to do the same old thing.

Depending on what version of the unit you have, there are  different instructions to set up the unit for linux. One thing is that it is a crap shoot to install linux on the units. You can very easily render them useless. You are doing it at your own risk. On the Nslu2, you do have a safety net to recover from a bad flash. This is a good time to make sure you have a good ups for the installation equipment and the pogoplug to be running on.

Anytime you plan to modify equipment, there are several steps you might want to take.

1. Get the installation directions and what files you need to download. Check and make sure they are for your unit. Double check it.

2. Search the net and look for problems and how they were solved. Check for any gotchas. Doing the research especially in support forums can save you a lot of headaches.

3. Do a walk through in your mind without ever touching any of the equipment so you have an idea of the total picture. This also verifies the instructions more than likely does not have errors. You can go back to the net and check for updates. If you have any questions you can resolve them now.

4. Make sure you have downloaded and verified all the software you will need. Not a bad idea to keep it in one place and the back it up to a place off the computer. That way you do not have a fail if your internet access becomes cut off.

5. Go back and reread the instructions again to make sure you have the gist of the project at your finger tips.

6. Make sure you are not in a hurry to do the project. Allot extra time for any possible setbacks.

7. REMAIN CALM through out the process.

8. Do it to it.

Typical Pogoplug linux install for a v2: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwPN7jp_A24)

Let you know how it all comes out soon.