I am trying to backup my legacy Netgear ReadyNAS (a ReadyNAS 214 firmware 6.10.10. in my case) to my new Truesnas backup file server but have been having difficulty doing that on an automated basis as none of the protocols on the Netgear server would work with the current more secure versions on the Truenas.
I tried SSH and SMB as the obvious candidates and both would connect using a manual connection and a password but neither could be used with cronjob and an automated password. In the end i have got SSH to work with the assistance of AI!
This is the AI summary of how it was done in case ot helps other people having rthe same problem setting up an automated regular connection from theri Truenas and a Readynas server.
The trick is to inject the public key into the ReadyNAS which over-rides all the non compatible checks between the two systems and give you an automated ssh connection to allow SSH access.
It has taken me many days to get this working and i am sure there are lots of other Netgear servers out there which this may be helpful for!
Step-by-Step Solution
1. Generate a Legacy-Compatible RSA Key on TrueNAS
Open the TrueNAS shell and run:
bash
ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 2048 -m PEM -C “truenas_admin’@’truenas”
-
Accept the default file location (/home/truenas_admin/.ssh/id_rsa)
-
Leave the passphrase blank
This creates a 2048-bit RSA key in legacy PEM format.
2. Confirm Key Format
Check the signature type:
bash
ssh-keygen -lf ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub
If it shows SHA256, it’s modern. ReadyNAS needs SHA1, but OpenSSH no longer lets you force SHA1 directly — so we’ll override it at runtime.
3. Inject the Public Key into ReadyNAS
Use ssh-copy-id to install the key cleanly:
bash
ssh-copy-id -o PubkeyAcceptedAlgorithms=+ssh-rsa -o HostkeyAlgorithms=+ssh-rsa truenas_admin’@’192.168.1.103
Enter your password once when prompted.
If ssh-copy-id isn’t available, manually copy the key:
bash
cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub | ssh truenas_admin’@’192.168.1.103 ‘mkdir -p ~/.ssh && chmod 700 ~/.ssh && cat >> ~/.ssh/authorized_keys && chmod 600 ~/.ssh/authorized_keys’
4. Create a Host-Specific SSH Config (Optional but Recommended)
bash
mkdir -p ~/.ssh
chmod 700 ~/.ssh
printf “Host 192.168.1.103\n HostName 192.168.1.103\n User truenas_admin\n PubkeyAcceptedAlgorithms +ssh-rsa\n HostkeyAlgorithms +ssh-rsa\n” > ~/.ssh/config
chmod 600 ~/.ssh/config
This ensures future SSH and rsync commands use legacy-compatible algorithms automatically.
5. Test the Connection
bash
ssh -v truenas_admin’@’192.168.1.103
Look for:
Code
Server accepts key: pkalg ssh-rsa
If you see this and no password prompt, it’s working.
You now have passwordless SSH access from TrueNAS to ReadyNAS, compatible with legacy OpenSSH 6.7. This unlocks automated rsync, scripting, and backup workflows.