Hotcakes manager

[Ian Salmon]

Hi All,
Apologies I don't think this project Guy wanted us all to have a nose at was
posted the other week. Its worth looking at
http://cakeforge.org/projects/hotcakes/
Cheers,
Ian
www.opensourcemesh.org

[Guy Jarvis]

Hi All,

yes thanks for bring the subject up again Ian.

AAUI Hotcakes interfaces with chillispot, either locally (as an all in 1
hotspot linux box) or remotely with other AP at the edge of the network.

Hotcakes has potential to form the basis of CnC - what I like
particularly is that it is simply an Ubuntu box with the appropriate set
of back end applications installed and configured, hence each community
can add or extend as they see fit for their respective needs.

Another xmas job - build a hotcakes server then interface with various
chillispot-enabled devices and see what happens.

cheers,

Guy

[Stephen Ronan]

I recently ordered a couple of the La Fonera via the FON web site, the
US version (https://shop.fon.com/FonShop/shop/US/ShopController). I
didn't see any sign of a model number. When they arrived they turned out
to be model 2100. I'm told that those are considerably harder to reflash
than the recommended model 2200. I used the FON email comment/question
facility on the FON site to see if I could swap them but haven't
received any reply.
Caveat emptor.
-S

[Guy Jarvis]

Interesting point Steve.

reminiscent of the whole WRT54G/S/L saga :(

I guess it highlights the dangers of being beholden to a supplier with a
different agenda

- ideally we want hardware devices that are guaranteed for a long
production run and supplied by vendors whose interest extends to
shifting silicon and not having a business model that requires ownership
of a whole network ecosystem (eg, Fon, Meraki, Sputnik etc)

G

[Ian]

Hi Stephen,

I think it missed the list somehow ....... but we got a reply from
Antonio re flashing the Fonero model 2100..

Hi Ian,

I re-flash 2100 models with no problem using AP51-flash-gui for
windows.

Anronio

Hope that helps Stephen.... please report back!!!..... Ian

[Stephen Ronan]

Thanks, that's encouraging.

But I just tried it and after reading the rootfs and kernel files, the
AP51-flash-gui just endlessly reports "No packet".

In the readme, I see this: "The telnet access to RedBoot needs to be
enabled of course. This is the case, if you enabled it via serial cable,
via the sound file approach (see ../fonera/readme.txt), or if you
already flashed ff-fonera-pack, OpenWrt or DD-WRT. On the Meraki mini
it is enabled by default. "

I don't know if that's relevant to the problem, nor how to deal with it
if it is. I had been told that "FON 2100s can work, but it is really
hard to open up redboot on them to be able to reflash them." I just took
the 2100 fonera out of its freshly purchased box and tried the
AP51-flash-gui procedure described here:
http://ponte2.forumup.it/post-229-ponte2.html without any intermediate
step related to enabling telnet access to RedBoot.

Any advice would be appreciated.

- Stephen

[Richard B]

I can now reliably get in to RedBoot on a Meraki over Ethernet using a
TCL script run from XP. If access to the RebBoot interface on Fonero
is required it may be possible to use a modification of this script.

Details can be found by following the obvious link from http://www/nomaz/co.uk/info/
for which you will need to enter the username 'anyone' and
'whatitoldyou' as the password.

I think this approach could be used instead of needing a serial cable
if anyone needs to "unbrick" a corrupted Meraki.

Richard B

On Dec 20, 5:04 am, Stephen Ronan <sronan2...@comcast.net> wrote:
> Thanks, that's encouraging.
>
> But I just tried it and after reading the rootfs and kernel files, the
> AP51-flash-gui just endlessly reports "No packet".
>
> In the readme, I see this: "The telnet access to RedBoot needs to be
> enabled of course. This is the case, if you enabled it via serial cable,
> via the sound file approach (see ../fonera/readme.txt), or if you
> already flashed ff-fonera-pack, OpenWrt or DD-WRT. On the Meraki mini
> it is enabled by default. "
>
> I don't know if that's relevant to the problem, nor how to deal with it
> if it is. I had been told that "FON 2100s can work, but it is really
> hard to open up redboot on them to be able to reflash them." I just took
> the 2100 fonera out of its freshly purchased box and tried the

> AP51-flash-gui procedure described here:http://ponte2.forumup.it/post-229-ponte2.htmlwithout any intermediate

[Richie Jarvis]

Guy,

Why does it interface with Chillispot? It seems to perform the same
functions as Chillispot itself.

Surely it would make more sense to interface with a Authentication
server, such as a RADIUS server?

Cheers,

Richie

[Guy Jarvis]

Richie,

what I meant was hotcakes comes with chillispot if you follow the setup
recipe and acts as an all-in-1 hotspot controller for any layer 2
bridged AP(s) connected to its second ethernet port (and where its
primary ethernet port has internet connectivity).

My thought was (see p14 of setup guide -
http://cakeforge.org/docman/view.php/174/2112/hotcakes_setup.pdf )

if an edge node is running chillispot and can route to a remote hotcakes
server
then, as hotcakes is providing freeradius services, that server can
provide the AAA/billing we need across a layer 3 routed setup (essential
for scaleability)

Guy

[Stephen Ronan]

Thanks very much. I appreciate that info both in regard to trying to get
this 2100 reflashed and for potential Meraki bricks.

I've now tried running that TCL script on an XP machine in conjuction
with one of those Fonera 2100s. A little RedBootAccess box popped up but
stayed all grayed out. And then after a little bit there was an error
like the following (each time I tried the sock number changed but the
rest was the same):
error writing "sock664": socket is not connected
error writing "sock664": socket is not connected
while executing
"puts sock664 {}"
("after" script)

Any further suggestions would be gratefully appreciated.

- S

[Richard B]

Sorry Stephen, I am out of my depth with this one. I just adapted a
script published by Adrian Shotton in http://www.nslu2-linux.org/wiki/HowTo/TelnetIntoRedBoot
regarding accessing RedBoot on the NSLU2 (which I gather is the
hardware inside a number of devices from various manufacturers).

I modified the initial IP and port numbers and added a few cosmetic
messages to match the Meraki and guide a novice user. Perhaps the
issue is with the IP address or port number. Note that these are
embedded a couple of times in the script (as 192.168.84.1:9000) -
though one is just a message.

Hope that helps.

Richard B.

On Dec 21, 3:11 am, Stephen Ronan <sronan2...@comcast.net> wrote:
> Thanks very much. I appreciate that info both in regard to trying to get
> this 2100 reflashed and for potential Meraki bricks.
>
> I've now tried running that TCL script on an XP machine in conjuction
> with one of those Fonera 2100s. A little RedBootAccess box popped up but
> stayed all grayed out. And then after a little bit there was an error
> like the following (each time I tried the sock number changed but the
> rest was the same):
> error writing "sock664": socket is not connected
> error writing "sock664": socket is not connected
> while executing
> "puts sock664 {}"
> ("after" script)
>
> Any further suggestions would be gratefully appreciated.
>
> - S
>
> Richard B wrote:
> > I can now reliably get in to RedBoot on a Meraki over Ethernet using a
> > TCL script run from XP. If access to the RebBoot interface on Fonero
> > is required it may be possible to use a modification of this script.
>

> > Details can be found by following the obvious link fromhttp://www/nomaz/co.uk/info/

> > for which you will need to enter the username 'anyone' and
> > 'whatitoldyou' as the password.
>
> > I think this approach could be used instead of needing a serial cable
> > if anyone needs to "unbrick" a corrupted Meraki.
>
> > Richard B
>
> > On Dec 20, 5:04 am, Stephen Ronan <sronan2...@comcast.net> wrote:
>
> >> Thanks, that's encouraging.
>
> >> But I just tried it and after reading the rootfs and kernel files, the
> >> AP51-flash-gui just endlessly reports "No packet".
>
> >> In the readme, I see this: "The telnet access to RedBoot needs to be
> >> enabled of course. This is the case, if you enabled it via serial cable,
> >> via the sound file approach (see ../fonera/readme.txt), or if you
> >> already flashed ff-fonera-pack, OpenWrt or DD-WRT. On the Meraki mini
> >> it is enabled by default. "
>
> >> I don't know if that's relevant to the problem, nor how to deal with it
> >> if it is. I had been told that "FON 2100s can work, but it is really
> >> hard to open up redboot on them to be able to reflash them." I just took
> >> the 2100 fonera out of its freshly purchased box and tried the

> >> AP51-flash-gui procedure described here:http://ponte2.forumup.it/post-229-ponte2.htmlwithoutany intermediate

[Richard B]

A couple of ideas, Stephen, following some more tests. First, using an
old (10 only) NIC, I can't get the script it to work with a Meraki -
socket errors, though different to yours. On going back to a (still
elderly) 10/100 NIC the script worked again.

Secondly, I wonder if the issue is as simple as "cross over cable" or
"non-cross over cable". I have an idea I read that Meraki and FON are
different in this respect.

Richard B.

On Dec 21, 2:42 pm, Richard B <richardjbow...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Sorry Stephen, I am out of my depth with this one. I just adapted a

> script published by Adrian Shotton inhttp://www.nslu2-linux.org/wiki/HowTo/TelnetIntoRedBoot

[Stephen Ronan]

Richard B wrote:
> A couple of ideas, Stephen, following some more tests. First, using an
> old (10 only) NIC, I can't get the script it to work with a Meraki -
> socket errors, though different to yours. On going back to a (still
> elderly) 10/100 NIC the script worked again.
>
> Secondly, I wonder if the issue is as simple as "cross over cable" or
> "non-cross over cable". I have an idea I read that Meraki and FON are
> different in this respect.
>
> Richard B.
>

I appreciate the good tips. Still no luck with it though. When I connect
a Meraki to a computer running XP or Windows Server 2003, using either a
straight through or cross connect cable, and set the computer's IP
address in the 192.168.84.x range, and do a ping -t 192.168.84.1 and
then plug in power on the Meraki, I get something like this:

****************************************************
Destination host unreachable
Destination host unreachable
Destination host unreachable
Destination host unreachable
Destination host unreachable
Destination host unreachable
Destination host unreachable
Destination host unreachable
Destination host unreachable
Destination host unreachable
Destination host unreachable
Destination host unreachable
Destination host unreachable
Reply from 192.168.84.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.84.1: bytes=32 time=11ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.84.1: bytes=32 time=9ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.84.1: bytes=32 time=7ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.84.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
Request timed out
Request timed out
Request timed out
Request timed out
Request timed out
**************************************************

I get between two and eight successful replies and it seems that I tend
to usually get more replies with the straight through cable. When I
start the same ping test and then on the XP machine run the tcl script,
as you provided it, before powering up the Meraki connected to that
machine, I get something like this:

Destination host unreachable
Destination host unreachable
Destination host unreachable
Destination host unreachable
Destination host unreachable
Destination host unreachable
Destination host unreachable
Destination host unreachable
Destination host unreachable
Destination host unreachable
Destination host unreachable
Destination host unreachable
Reply from 192.168.84.1: bytes=32 time=28ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.84.1: bytes=32 time=28ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.84.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.84.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.84.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.84.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.84.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.84.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.84.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.84.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.84.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.84.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.84.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.84.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.84.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.84.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.84.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.84.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.84.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
and more of the same successful replies indefinitely

But when I use either of the two computers and either a straight through
or cross connect cable connected to the Fonera 2100 and set my
computer's IP address in the 192.168.1.x range, I never get any replies
from 192.168.1.254 or 192.168.1.1 (some pages seem to indicate one of
those is correct, some pages the other) (I've also tried the 192.168.0.x
range unsuccessfully).

- Stephen

[Richie Jarvis]

Ahhhh - gotcha :)

Well - RADIUS server (FreeRADIUS) is pretty easy to setup and host, so
AAA can be done quite easily to that.

[ne0e0n]

Steve,

I think the PC needs to have a static IP of 192.168.84.9/24 as that is
where the meraki/fonera looks to on boot up for tftp firmware image.

hth,

Guy

[Stephen Ronan]

Thanks, 192.168.84.x does seem to work for the Meraki.
But it seems as if it's different for the FON.
Sites like these
http://uselesshacks.com/?p=23#flashingfirmware
http://wiki.openwrt.org/OpenWrtDocs/Hardware/Fon/Fonera

indicate that it's 192.168.1.x for Redboot on the FON device
But that hasn't worked for me. I eventually decided to try reflashing/upgrading the version of the FON firmware via the web interface late last night... it hung up during the process and even though I left it untouched till morning, it doesn't seem to have recovered. I'm not seeing any wireless signal from it. Have now tried the reset button and will wait till tomorrow.

I do have one of the Meraki serial cables. Anyone know if I could open up the 2100 and use the Meraki serial cable unmodified with hyperterminal?
- S.

[Guy Jarvis]

Can't say I've done much to date as regards actually setting up radius
from scratch... what I read from other people's howtos is that it can be
a mite tricky... there again I guess x11 was similar 5 years ago.

I see coovaAAA is now updated to support transfer limits as well as time
based access.

I can't see where to download coovaAAA so maybe it is a closed source
system ? :(

G