BootLoop on OpenWisp Firmware

[Jose Mota]

Hello, my name is Jose and I'm a Computer Engineering student.
I'm working on my Final Degree Project and found that OpenWisp could be a great option for my needs.
Currently I have OWM installed on a Debian server, and have been fiddling with OpenWisp Firmware for a couple of weeks with no success:
I've been given a Fonera+ (FON2201) to perform the installation. First I tried with a generic OpenWRT to get familiar with the flashing process and everything went fine, but problems arrive when I try to run OpenWisp Firmware.

Here's a simplified list of what i've done:
Downloaded OpenWRT Git
Added OpenWisp feed, updated it and installed openwisp-fw
When making menuconfig, selected target arch (Fonera+ has an atheros ar2315A) and enabled opwenwisp from the menu (not the UMTS part)
Generated overlay configuration file
Built the firmware image with make

The OpenWisp Firmware is built without issues, so I flashed it with methods 2 and 3 from here

After flashing, none of the interfaces seem to be properly configured (on generic OpenWRT, eth0.1 is on 192.168.1.1/24) so the only alternative I had, was to connect the AP via Serial port with minicom.
Having access to the OpenWRT command line, i could confirm that none of the ethernet interfaces were properly configured, so I manually edited them on /etc/config/network.
I also wanted wifi, so I enabled it via uci, and then used the 'wifi' command to bring the wireless interface up, but nothing happened.
So, I decided to reboot the access point, and that's when it gets into a bootloop: as I can see from minicom, It starts loading the system, then the watchdog sends a signal and reboots.
This happens even if I don't try to configure anything the first time, and I have no clue what could be causing it.

This is what i've been able to copy from the output, right when it reboots

[   51.320000] Call Trace:
[   51.320000] [<800767e8>] kthread_data+0x4/0xc
[   51.320000] [<80072dac>] wq_worker_sleeping+0x18/0xd0
[   51.320000] [<8004764c>] __schedule+0x11c/0x54c
[   51.320000] [<80060b88>] do_exit+0x108/0x788
[   51.320000] [<80050f8c>] default_cu2_call+0x0/0x44
[   51.320000]
[   51.320000]
Code: 03e00008  30420001  8c8201d4 <03e00008> 8c42fff0  27bdffe0  afbf001c  8c8501d4  24060004
[   51.320000] ar2315-wdt ar2315-wdt.0: watchdog expired, rebooting system

Can anyone help me, please?

I also have another question: Could it be possible to install OpenWisp packages on a generic OpenWRT that is already working? I could use this as a workaround, since OpenWRT installation already works.

Thanks in advance.

[Federico Capoano]

Hi Jose,

I'm sorry to hear you're incurring in this boot loop. Unfortunately I can't get my head around why is happening.

Yes you can install the OpenWISP packages via opkg.

After compiling OpenWRT with OpenWISP, you will find the compiled packages in the bin directory.

What are you using OpenWISP for?
If you are using it mainly to manage OpenWRT devices, I suggest you to try OpenWISP2 and openwisp-config.

Federico

[Jose Mota]

Thank you so much for your fast response.

I'm designing a network infrastructure in which one of the main requisites is centralized management. I didn't pick OpenWISP2 and openwisp-config because of the warning :

 prototype. Work in progress. Do not use in production.

So I discarded it since the network I'm designing is going to stay at my University after I finish my Final Degree Project.

I will try the installation via opkg first, and, if you recommend OpenWisp2 and openwisp-config for this purpose, I will try to introduce it to my tutor, and see if he feels confident about it, despite the "do not use in production" warning.

[Federico Capoano]

Hi Jose,

let me explain: recently we have been developing a new set of software modules that are going to gradually replace the OW Manager, OW Geographic Monitoring and OW Firmware, which I call openwisp1.
django-netjsonconfig, netjsonconfig, django-x509, openwisp-config and luci-openwisp are the new generation of modules which I refer to as openwisp2.
The ansible role ansible-openwisp2 installs the modules that are needed for controlling OpenWRT devices, but has nothing to do yet with the repo which contains the warning.
Recently I created the repo openwisp/openwisp2 (the one which contains the warning) to iterate, experiment and develop quickly new modules, but I just realized now that it was not a good idea.

Thank you for helping me realize this. I will take action asap to solve the misunderstanding.

Federico

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[Jose Mota]

First of all, thank you very much for replying so fast.

I understand that OpenWisp2 and openwisp-config are sort of the "equivalent" to OWM and OWF, right?

Does this new version have the same client-server model as on version 1? You've talked about some new modules I'm not familiar with, and right now I wouldn't be able to tell where to place them. I'd really appreciate it if you could shed some light on this matter.

[Federico Capoano]

On Friday, January 13, 2017 at 12:41:33 AM UTC+1, Jose Mota wrote:

First of all, thank you very much for replying so fast.

I understand that OpenWisp2 and openwisp-config are sort of the "equivalent" to OWM and OWF, right?

Right, but add luci-openwisp to the new OWF.

 

Does this new version have the same client-server model as on version 1? You've talked about some new modules I'm not familiar with, and right now I wouldn't be able to tell where to place them. I'd really appreciate it if you could shed some light on this matter.

The model is similar, although simplified (there's no hard dependency on OpenVPN for the controller, openwisp-config downloads the configuration from HTTPS).

Regarding the modules, I'll take some time later to write something that explains them. It's a bit early to draw some diagrams, because things are evolving rapidly, but at least I can describe the new modules and explain how they interact with one another.

Federico

[Jose Mota]

Thanks Federico, for all your effort in helping me understand the new OpenWisp2 model :)

I've been taking a look at those new modules, and specially to openwisp-config and luci-openwisp. I've seen there's only pre-built packages for ar71xx, ramips and x86, so I guess I'll have to compile it for my Fonera+ (ar2315A), right?
So, at a first glance, what I can tell about module locations is:
Router: OpenWRT + openwisp-config & luci-openwisp installation via opkg
Server: django-netjsonconfig, netjsonconfig, django-x509 installed via ansible-openwisp2

Since the topic has derived from what it was originally about: should we start a new thread, or is it ok to continue here?

[Jose Mota]

El jueves, 12 de enero de 2017, 19:03:01 (UTC+1), Federico Capoano escribió:

Yes you can install the OpenWISP packages via opkg.

After compiling OpenWRT with OpenWISP, you will find the compiled packages in the bin directory.

I've tried to do this, but it looks like something's not working as intended:
When I compiled OpenWRT with OpenWISP I chose the following target system:

And when I tried to install the package via opkg:

root@OpenWrt:/tmp# opkg install openwisp-fw-base_4cf8215_ath25.ipk
Unknown package 'openwisp-fw-base'.
Collected errors:
 * pkg_hash_fetch_best_installation_candidate: Packages for openwisp-fw-base found, but incompatible with the architectures configured
 * opkg_install_cmd: Cannot install package openwisp-fw-base.

So I checked the architecture of my current OpenWRT build:

root@OpenWrt:/tmp# uname -m
mips

And it looks fine, since Atheros architecture is MIPS.

I don't know what can be happening here

[Federico Capoano]

Yes it would be good to start a new thread because it will be easier to find it in the future, for both of us but also for other people that may be looking for the same question.

Regarding the fonera, don't you really have another device to test with? I have never used one of those, and my colleague Riccardo (who doesn't write much here but usually lurks) was telling me today that is probably an old device. We are very comfortable with TpLinks WDR4300 and ubiquiti (Nanostation M2, unifi, ecc).

A list of hardware supported by OpenWRT is available at https://wiki.openwrt.org/toh/start.

Federico

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[Federico Capoano]

Mm.. I also do not understand what's wrong. It seems you are doing the correct steps.

What type of openwrt image did you flash on the device?

Federico

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[Jose Mota]

El viernes, 13 de enero de 2017, 13:23:20 (UTC+1), Federico Capoano escribió:

Yes it would be good to start a new thread because it will be easier to find it in the future, for both of us but also for other people that may be looking for the same question.

Ok, feel free to start a new thread whenever you have the time to write about the packages explanation, thanks!

Regarding the fonera, don't you really have another device to test with? I have never used one of those, and my colleague Riccardo (who doesn't write much here but usually lurks) was telling me today that is probably an old device. We are very comfortable with TpLinks WDR4300 and ubiquiti (Nanostation M2, unifi, ecc).

A list of hardware supported by OpenWRT is available at https://wiki.openwrt.org/toh/start.

Indeed it's an old device, and I don't think there's any newer hardware I can use for now... If I make OpenWisp run successfully on my "test" hardware I'll be able to choose newer devices for the infrastructure I'm designing.

[Federico Capoano]

On Fri, Jan 13, 2017 at 2:00 PM Jose Mota <joseignaci...@gmail.com> wrote:

Regarding the fonera, don't you really have another device to test with? I have never used one of those, and my colleague Riccardo (who doesn't write much here but usually lurks) was telling me today that is probably an old device. We are very comfortable with TpLinks WDR4300 and ubiquiti (Nanostation M2, unifi, ecc).

A list of hardware supported by OpenWRT is available at https://wiki.openwrt.org/toh/start.

Indeed it's an old device, and I don't think there's any newer hardware I can use for now... If I make OpenWisp run successfully on my "test" hardware I'll be able to choose newer devices for the infrastructure I'm designing.

I see. Could you try to install the precompiled  openwisp-config package on your test hardware?

Find it here: http://downloads.openwisp.org/openwisp-config/latest/

A few questions:

• what's the name of the image file you flashed on it?
  
• did you install an official openwrt image?
  
• if yes, could you provide the link?

Federico

[Jose Mota]

El viernes, 13 de enero de 2017, 13:26:42 (UTC+1), Federico Capoano escribió:

Mm.. I also do not understand what's wrong. It seems you are doing the correct steps.

What type of openwrt image did you flash on the device?

Federico

I think I'm starting to see the light here... I cloned the master branch from OpenWRT git, so I'm compiling Chaos Calmer, but  the generic image I downloaded from OpenWRT's Fonera page is WAY older (Backfire).
I think that is what might be happening:
All versions previous to Chaos Calmer have "atheros" images, but Chaos Calmer doesn't. It has "ath25" instead, so maybe that's where the difference is, and why the package tells about different architectures.
I will try to clone an older OpenWRT branch and compile again.

[Jose Mota]

I see. Could you try to install the precompiled  openwisp-config package on your test hardware?

Find it here: http://downloads.openwisp.org/openwisp-config/latest/

root@OpenWrt:/tmp# opkg install http://downloads.openwisp.org/openwisp-config/latest/ar71xx/openwisp-config-nossl_0.4.2a-1_ar71xx.ipk
Downloading http://downloads.openwisp.org/openwisp-config/latest/ar71xx/openwisp-config-nossl_0.4.2a-1_ar71xx.ipk.
Unknown package 'openwisp-config-nossl'.
Collected errors:
 * pkg_hash_fetch_best_installation_candidate: Packages for openwisp-config-nossl found, but incompatible with the architectures configured
 * opkg_install_cmd: Cannot install package openwisp-config-nossl.
root@OpenWrt:/tmp# opkg install http://downloads.openwisp.org/openwisp-config/latest/ramips/openwisp-config-nossl_0.4.2a-1_ramips.ipk
Downloading http://downloads.openwisp.org/openwisp-config/latest/ramips/openwisp-config-nossl_0.4.2a-1_ramips.ipk.
Unknown package 'openwisp-config-nossl'.
Collected errors:
 * pkg_hash_fetch_best_installation_candidate: Packages for openwisp-config-nossl found, but incompatible with the architectures configured
 * opkg_install_cmd: Cannot install package openwisp-config-nossl.
root@OpenWrt:/tmp# opkg install http://downloads.openwisp.org/openwisp-config/latest/x86/openwisp-config-nossl_0.4.2a-1_x86.ipk
Downloading http://downloads.openwisp.org/openwisp-config/latest/x86/openwisp-config-nossl_0.4.2a-1_x86.ipk.
Unknown package 'openwisp-config-nossl'.
Collected errors:
 * pkg_hash_fetch_best_installation_candidate: Packages for openwisp-config-nossl found, but incompatible with the architectures configured
 * opkg_install_cmd: Cannot install package openwisp-config-nossl.

 None of the precompiled packages worked for me :/

A few questions:

• what's the name of the image file you flashed on it?
  
• did you install an official openwrt image?
  
• if yes, could you provide the link?
  

I answered that in another message, before you asked :P
Its an official image (backfire) downloaded from here https://wiki.openwrt.org/toh/fon/fonera2 (its the FON2201 version)

[Jose Mota]

Regarding the fonera, don't you really have another device to test with? I have never used one of those, and my colleague Riccardo (who doesn't write much here but usually lurks) was telling me today that is probably an old device. We are very comfortable with TpLinks WDR4300 and ubiquiti (Nanostation M2, unifi, ecc).

A list of hardware supported by OpenWRT is available at https://wiki.openwrt.org/toh/start.

Good news, I've been allowed to order a new Access Point for testing. Which one would you recommend for a good compatibility with OpenWisp? The cheaper the better, since we don't need super high performance, we just need them to act as Access Points and to allow centralized management. I've been taking a look at TpLink WDR4300, but i think it might be a bit overkill.

 By the way, I've been trying more recent builds of OpenWRT on my Fonera+, and no other than backfire works properly, so I've downloaded  the oldest branch I found on OpenWRT's Git and will try to compile OpenWisp on it, to see if it can be installed.

[Federico Capoano]

Hi Jose,

great news! Yes, TP-Link WDR4300 or 3600 work very well, these are the ones I have been using latelly for testing.

Regarding backfire, OpenWISP Firmware (openwisp1) should work, but I've never tested openwisp-config (openwisp2), which I have tested only on Chaos Calmer, Designated Driver and LEDE (the recent OpenWRT fork).

Federico

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[Jose Mota]

great news! Yes, TP-Link WDR4300 or 3600 work very well, these are the ones I have been using latelly for testing.

Regarding backfire, OpenWISP Firmware (openwisp1) should work, but I've never tested openwisp-config (openwisp2), which I have tested only on Chaos Calmer, Designated Driver and LEDE (the recent OpenWRT fork).

In the end, we decided for a TL-WA830RE, since it costs about 30€, and the other models cost about 50~60... and in that case it would be easier just to buy EAP115, which include a central management utility from tp-link.

Regarding backfire, I tried to compile openwisp 1 packages with an older branch. Now I dont have any architecture issues, but some dependencies couldn't be installed, so I think I got to a dead end here...

Also tried to compile openwisp2 packages for backfire, but got some other errors, which I can't copy right now. I will try to build everything on Chaos Calmer for the new access point, to be ready for its arrival.

[Federico Capoano]

Ok. I have never tried that model, but as long as it's supported by chaos calmer, it should work.

Looking forward to read news on your work.

Fed

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