Tenerix is a hardware investigation and Alpine Linux system project for the NETGEAR ReadyNAS RN426, an Intel Atom C3538 NAS. The work explores replacing the factory software while retaining the appliance's boot hardware, storage layout, cooling, front-panel display, and buttons.
This repository contains investigation records, source code, build tools, kernel patches, and selected test evidence. It is a development workspace for the RN426, rather than a ready-to-install general-purpose NAS distribution.
The main motivation is the end of vendor updates for otherwise usable hardware. NETGEAR identifies ReadyNAS systems and software as end-of-life, and its support page still lists ReadyNAS OS 6.10.10 as the latest release as of November 1, 2026. That release dates from January 2024; its public availability is documented in a January 28, 2024 release discussion. The release notes page's later edit date is not the firmware release date.
The factory baseline uses Debian 8 Jessie and a NETGEAR Linux 4.4.218-based kernel. Meanwhile, Linux kernel and userspace CVEs continue to be disclosed and fixed in maintained distributions. For example, Debian's September 29, 2026 kernel advisory addresses a large batch of CVEs, and the kernel project documents its ongoing CVE publication process. The goal is to regain a maintained OS and a regular security-update path while keeping the RN426 useful. These disclosures motivate continued maintenance; whether a particular CVE affects the factory firmware depends on its code, vendor patches, configuration, and enabled features.
Both Debian and Alpine were booted on the physical RN426 to evaluate operation and hardware support. The recorded test environments were Debian 13.7 Standard Live and Alpine 3.24.3 Standard. These version numbers identify the tested releases; the reports distinguish working hardware from features requiring custom drivers or further testing.
Alpine was selected to keep the installed system small enough for the existing approximately 4 GiB system RAID1, while retaining the factory partition and RAID layout and the existing data-volume structure. The design uses the internal DOM for boot assets and the existing system mirror for the OS, avoiding partition resizing or taking space from the data volume. Replacing the OS changes the system filesystem and its contents; preserving the layout does not mean keeping the factory OS intact. This was a footprint and storage-layout decision, rather than a finding that Debian could not boot on the hardware.
- Investigated the factory hardware, boot process, RAID, and filesystem layout.
- Evaluated Debian Live and Alpine Linux on the RN426 and prepared a serial-console Alpine boot image.
- Backported IT8613E hardware-monitoring support and tested temperature readings, fan RPM, and supervised PWM changes on the hardware.
- Integrated the OLED and five navigation buttons through a pinned panel dependency.
- Developed internal DOM boot images, recovery and update paths, and disposable QEMU fixtures for boot and failure testing.
- Added a disk-system build, kernel-update integration, fan monitoring and thermal guards, a front-panel status daemon, and a login status summary.
- Identified the ReadyNAS-specific Btrfs flag
0x10000as a per-subvolume auto-defragmentation switch and prepared compatibility patches for upstream Linux. The analysis and conclusions include links to the archived NETGEAR source package.
The reports describe particular stages of the work. Earlier statements such as “not loaded” or “not tested on hardware” belong to their recorded stage; later hardware-test records document subsequent results. QEMU results and physical hardware observations are identified separately.
Selected console captures from the RN426 investigation on October 31, 2026. Click an image to view it at full resolution.
| Firmware information | Boot device priorities |
|---|---|
 |
 |
| Firmware version, build date, and installed memory. | Available boot targets and their configured order. |
| Factory boot loader | Debian serial console |
|---|---|
 |
 |
| The factory SYSLINUX loader reports successful kernel and initramfs loading. | Debian Live boot parameters configured for a 115200-baud serial console. |
| Topic | Entry point |
|---|---|
| Factory hardware and storage baseline | ReadyNAS audit |
| Factory boot chain and recovery investigation | Boot audit |
| Debian Live compatibility | Debian audit |
| Alpine Live compatibility and system design | Alpine audit |
| IT8613E driver sources, backport, and verification | Driver documentation |
| Alpine driver build and packaging | Alpine driver documentation |
| OLED, buttons, and panel adapter | Front-panel documentation |
| Physical Alpine hardware and fan tests | Hardware-test results |
| Serial-console Alpine ISO and QEMU checks | Serial image documentation |
| DOM boot prototype, fixtures, updates, and recovery | Boot documentation |
| Self-contained Alpine system on the internal DOM | DOM system documentation |
| ReadyNAS Btrfs flag investigation and patches | Btrfs compatibility notes |
| Component | Source |
|---|---|
| Disk-system image and boot payload | Build script and QEMU tests |
| Disk-system early boot | Initramfs init |
| Kernel updates and DOM boot-entry updates | Kernel-update tool |
| Fan control, sensor monitoring, and thermal guards | Fan service and configuration |
| Front-panel status display | Panel daemon |
| Login status summary | Status script |
Build instructions and prerequisites live with each component. Generated images, downloaded packages, extracted filesystems, and local deployment inputs are kept outside Git; a clone does not include those artifacts.
Original contributions default to CC0 1.0 Universal. The panel integration and Linux-derived code retain their MIT and GPL terms. See LICENSING.md for the exact scope and exceptions, and LICENSE for the CC0 text.
AGENTS.md defines repository workflow and sensitive-data rules.