Install Bootstrap (ipkg) on Synology

This is just a quick article to recap the process about installing bootstrap (ipkg) on a Synology NAS. This has already been documented plenty of times (on Synology wiki, another Synology wiki and on nas-storage-blog) so I won’t go into the detailed process here. In fact, I am mainly doing this to provide a mirror of the bootstrap file that is necessary for the DS111 (or more generally for any Marvel Kirkwood mv6282 ARM based model).

The following assumes that SSH is enabled and that it is possible to connect to the NAS as root.

1. ssh root@synology-ip to connect to the Synology as root
2. cd /volume1/@tmp to go to a tmp folder
3. wget http://wizjos.endofinternet.net/synology/archief/syno-mvkw-bootstrap_1.2-7_arm-ds111.xsh to get the bootstrap. Possible mirrors include wget http://amazon.tryfonos.net/syno-mvkw-bootstrap_1.2-7_arm-ds111.xsh and wget http://jimmybonney.com/files/articles/install_bootstrap_ipkg_synology/syno-mvkw-bootstrap_1.2-7_arm-ds111.xsh.
4. chmod +x syno-mvkw-bootstrap_1.2-7_arm-ds111.xsh to make the file executable
5. sh syno-mvkw-bootstrap_1.2-7_arm-ds111.xsh to execute it
6. rm syno-mvkw-bootstrap_1.2-7_arm-ds111.xsh to remove the file (it might be necessary to go back one level with a cd ..)
7. ipkg update to update the list of available packages
8. ipkg upgrade to upgrade packages with newer version

Note that when bootstraping after a firmware update (i.e. bootstrap was previously installed and then you updated Synology firmware), you might receive some cryptic message like the following:

Backup your configuration settings, then type:
  rm -rf /volume1/@optware
  rm -rf /usr/lib/ipkg
This will remove all existing optware packages.

You must *reboot* and then restart the bootstrap script.

Doing so will remove all packages that you might have installed previously. Considering that this is the same bootstrap file than previously, it should not be necessary to go through a complete re-installation of all packages just because the firmware was updated. So the step 1 to 8 above should be sufficient in most cases. However, if you notice any unusual behavior, make sure that you clean that up.