Open Turbostation:SerialPort
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[edit] Serial Port Connections
This page details ways to connect to the serial port on the QNAP Turbostation series of devices. Both the TS101 and TS201 have a 2x3 pin connector located behind LED 1 on the HDD side of the board. The pin outs are shown on the figure and labelled below
| 3.3V | GND |
| N/C | Tx |
| N/C | Rx |
NOTE: This is a 3.3V TTL 232 communication protocol - you should level shift the cable so that a PC can see 5V TTL. There are a variety of ways to do this - most are documented at the nslu2-linux website. Use a Serial Console and Adding a serial port.
The easiest method is to purchase a FTDI USB TTL-232R-3V3 cable (e.g. here, or through international distributors). This enables a host machine to connect to the turbostation via a USB connection and interact directly with the U-Boot Bootloader. You could however use a level shifter (e.g. Maxim 3232) to enable the serial port to power other RS232 based devices.
[edit] Host to Turbostation Cabling
The FTDI TTL-232R-3V3 cable comes with a 6x1 0.1" female connector which needs to be connected to a 1mm pitch female connector. The easiest approach is to carefully remove the existing pins using a small knife or screwdriver to carefully lift the little black flap, and remove the pin. A small piece of wire can then be used to connect the two female plugs together. Note it is sensible to use a insluating cable around the bare plugs to remove the problem of short circuits.
Based on current FTDI colour coding and naming conventions the following setup works
| 3.3V | Red | GND | Black (GND) |
| N/C | Tx | Yellow (Rx) | |
| N/C | Rx | Orange (Tx) |
[edit] Host to Turbostation Communication
[edit] Windows XP Users
[edit] Driver
Inserting the FTDI cable into the USB socket should autostart the 'New Hardware Detected Wizard' - and all drivers should auto-install. Check which COM port is valid by going to Control Panel->System->Hardware->Device Manager. Under Ports (COM & LPT) you should see USB Serial Port (COMx). In most cases it will probably appear as COM4.
[edit] Terminal
Hyperterminal (Programs->Accessories->Communication->Hyperterminal) provides an adequate terminal so long as you don't try and scroll backwards which seems to cause corruption of the display.
Set up a new session (e.g. called QNAP) with Baud 115200; and select the default settings. You are now connected to your Turbostation; rebooting should produce the standard console output.
To get around the scrolling problem it is best to capture all sessions to a file 'just in case'. There is a Capture Text option under the Transfer menu.
[edit] Kermit
The version of kermit built into Hyperterminal is compatible with the U-Boot loadb command. After entering the command select 'Transfer->Send File', provide the filename (using browse) and ensure the transfer protocol is 'Kermit'.
[edit] Linux Users
[edit] Driver
There is a driver already built in to the 2.6 kernel and after plugging in the cable you should find that you have a /dev/ttyUSB0 device connected to your Turbostation.
[edit] Terminal
Minicom works fine as a serial console. Run minicom -s and under serial port setup select device: /dev/ttyUSB0, Bps/par: 115200 8N1, and software flow control. Save as the default settings for convenience. After a restart run minicom -o and you should be able to access the serial console on the Turbostation. Depending upon permissions you may need to do one or both steps as root.
[edit] Kermit
To enable kermit from within minicom so that files can be uploaded to U-Boot, it is necessary to install a compatible kermit implementation. Download gkermit and install. Then edit the file '/etc/minirc.dfl' as follows:
pu pname7 YUNYNkermit
pu pname8 NDNYNkermit
pu pprog7 /usr/bin/gkermit -iXs
pu pprog8 /usr/bin/gkermit -iXr
You can now send a file to U-Boot (in response to a loadb command) by choosing the Send file command within minicom, selecting kermit and then choosing the required file. Note: don't use 'run kermit' as this is incompatible with U-Boot.
