Tips and tricks for Debian on QNAP TS-209

Here are some tips and tricks about running Debian on the QNAP TS-209.

Automatic fan control

Debian ships a program called qcontrol which can be used to control the fan, LEDs and buttons on QNAP devices. You can edit the /etc/qcontrol.conf configuration file to change the behaviour of qcontrol, for example how the fans are regulated depending on the temperature or which commands to run when a button is pressed.

Automatic power on

QNAP machines can turn on automatically when power is applied if the device was not powered down correctly. This is helpful when your power goes down. In order to enable this feature, run the following command:

sudo qcontrol --direct autopower on

Battery for clock

There's a CR-2032 battery hidden on the bottom of the main board (similar to the CMOS battery on most PCs). It's likely that the battery is dead after all these years and has to be replaced.