This repository provides notes to install Ubuntu on a QNAP TS-453Be NAS, and to understand how some QNAP QTS features work. The panq binary allows to interact with the ITE IT8528 Super I/O controller in order to control the fan speed, the front LED and read the chassis temperature. This EC is not supported by regular Linux power management tools.
From memory, I did this project to:
- learn new things, and push my limits
- bypass QTS restrictions: hard-coded virtualisation limitation with 4GB of RAM, few control on encrypted data, not enough confidence to restore data without QTS, few ways to enforce firewall rules...
- get rid of the many CVEs targeting QTS and QNAP software
- avoid the QNAP Privacy Policy that indicates that QNAP
may collect your activities on our website, cloud services, software, and hardware
- stay away of the The eCh0raix Ransomware
- installing Ubuntu
- investigating QTS firmware recovery
- identifying fan controls
- reversing QNAP binaries
To my knowledge, others have succeeded in replacing QTS with another Linux distribution: