Install Package Manager on IX4-300d NAS

The Optware package manager is a lightweight system designed to deliver and manage software packages on NAS devices and other Linux-based small computer systems. It provides a convenient way to extend the functionality of your device by allowing you to easily install, update, and remove additional software beyond the default offerings. This flexibility is especially valuable for users who want to customize their NAS with new services or tools tailored to their specific needs.

To add these extra services to your NAS, the first step is to install the IPKG package manager, which serves as the foundation for Optware. Fortunately, on the Lenovo IX4-300d, IPKG is already pre-installed, so there’s no need for a full installation. Instead, all that’s required is to add the appropriate software repositories, enabling you to quickly access and install a wide range of useful packages to enhance your NAS’s capabilities.

Requirements

Before proceeding, make sure you have SSH access enabled on your NAS. If you haven’t set up SSH yet, follow this guide to enable it.

Add IPKG Optware Repositories

To extend your NAS with additional Linux packages via IPKG (the package manager behind Optware), you need to add the appropriate repositories first. Follow these instructions carefully:

1. Open your SSH client
   Launch PuTTY (Windows) or Terminal (macOS/Linux) and connect to your NAS using the IP address and SSH credentials.

2. Set the repository feed URL
   Run the following command to store the feed URL in a variable:

   feed=http://ipkg.nslu2-linux.org/feeds/optware/cs08q1armel/cross/unstable


3. Download the IPKG package
   Fetch the latest IPKG package filename from the repository and download it:

   ipk_name=$(wget -qO- $feed/Packages | awk '/^Filename: ipkg-opt/ {print $2}')
wget $feed/$ipk_name


4. Extract and install IPKG
   Extract the downloaded package and install it on your NAS root filesystem:

   tar -xOvzf $ipk_name ./data.tar.gz | tar -C / -xzvf -


5. Create IPKG configuration directory

   mkdir -p /opt/etc/ipkg


6. Add repository sources
   Append repository URLs to the IPKG feed configuration file:

   echo "src cross http://ipkg.nslu2-linux.org/feeds/optware/cs08q1armel/cross/unstable" >> /opt/etc/ipkg/armel-feed.conf
echo "src native http://ipkg.nslu2-linux.org/feeds/optware/cs08q1armel/native/unstable" >> /opt/etc/ipkg/armel-feed.conf


7. Clean up installation files
   Remove the downloaded package to free space:

   rm ipkg*.ipk


8. Update IPKG package lists

   /opt/bin/ipkg update


Your NAS is now ready to install new software packages!

Installing Packages with IPKG

Try installing a useful tool like the nano text editor to test your setup:

Once installed, you can launch nano directly from the command line to edit files.

Useful IPKG Commands

• List all installed applications:

  /opt/bin/ipkg list_installed


• List all available packages in the repository:

  /opt/bin/ipkg list


• Install a package:

  /opt/bin/ipkg install "appname"


• Remove a package:

  /opt/bin/ipkg remove "appname"


Important: Never remove the default installed system packages, as these are critical for your NAS to function properly. Some of these are:
binutils, bzip2, diffutils, expat, libc-dev, libcurl, libdb, libevent, libnsl, libstdc++, ncurses, ncursesw, openssl, rcs, readline, sqlite, zlib, and others.

Following this guide, you will have a fully functional IPKG system on your NAS, unlocking a wide variety of additional Linux applications and tools. Enjoy customizing your device!